Page 123 - Demo

Chapter Four 123 that as soon as the decision to rise in rebellion had been agreed upon, the roars of approval
which permeated the gathering- ‘was the voice of hundreds as the voice of one man.’
Brian and Mahon’s forces assembled at Cashel in Tipperary and at the head of their combined and united army, the two re-united brothers crossed the Shannon and advanced unhindered against Ivar, the chief of the Munster Norsemen, who was joined by two lead- ing Munster chiefs, Donovan and Molloy. The opposing armies met in 968 at Sulchóid, pre- sent day, Solohead, also in county Tipperary, a little spot that would afterwards feature large in the pages of Ireland’s history. In any case, after a ierce encounter the Norsemen were heavily defeated and routed, leaving twelve hundred of their dead upon the ield.
It is recorded in local tradition that:-
‘although Mahon and Brian and the Dal gCais pursued the Norsemen as they retreated
in through the streets of Limerick, and that many of them were slain in the streets and in the houses, and that they gave up much gold and silver, valuables and goods; and also that their duns and fortresses were burned and thrown down, but Ivar, along with his two Irish allies escaped’
So it was that the mighty Norse stronghold of Limerick inally fell to the Irish, and in the aftermath, a victorious Mahon was established as King of Munster. Eight years after the battle of Solohead, Mahon was the victim of an assassination plot formed by the two aforementioned treacherous Munster chieftains, Molloy and Donovan and their fellow-con- spirator, Ivar the Norseman. However, Brian became his brother’s avenger and in less than two years he had defeated and slain all three conspirators and placed himself on the vacant throne of Munster. As undisputed master of Munster, Brian easily subdued any perceived threats to his position and authority and quickly received the homage of the kings of Lein- ster. Then, with one eye ixed on the sovereignty of all Ireland, he next overran Connacht and Meath and eventually agreed terms with King Malachy 11, under which, Brian allowed him, for the moment, to rule the northern part of the land. Brian now reigned over most of the country and all the Norse possessions in Leinster, including the city of Dublin, by then a trading centre of European importance.
But this new division of power proved distasteful to Maelmora, king of Leinster, who was no fan of Brians and disliked having him as his new overlord. Consequently, Maelmora unit-