Ivar of Limerick (; ; died 977), was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate King of the Foreigners of Munster, reigning during the rise to power of the Dál gCais and the fall of the Eóganachta.
His repeated attempts to assert his authority in Limerick and the surrounding region and possibly over even the greater province of Munster itself earned him the most prominent role as antagonist in the first part of the early 12th century saga and political tract Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, as an enemy of Mathgamain mac Cennétig, claimant to the title King of Munster, and his more famous younger brother and successor Brian Bóruma.Todd, Cogadh, pp. 48–103
According to the author of the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, Ivar succeeded in establishing himself as King of Munster for a period in the 960s,Todd, Cogadh, pp. 48–9 until routed in the Battle of Sulcoit in 968, but this claim has long been doubted by scholars. He then appears to have returned only a year or two later and established himself in the region again in some capacity.
The sources
The two main sources for the career of Ivar are the early 12th century Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib itself and what support it receives from the Annals of Inisfallen. Both are believed to have used as their primary source a now lost collection of annals of ultimately Chronicle of Ireland descent to which were added material of Munster concern.Ní Mhaonaigh
Unfortunately, however, though the Cogad author made extensive use of these annals, as well as local sources also now lost, and also some contemporary poetry, his purpose was political and intended to glorify Brian Boru and the Dál gCais for the benefit of his descendant Muirchertach Ua Briain, so although in part annalistic it is also full of exaggerations, flowery language, and dubious passages of various origin. The major problem with the Annals of Inisfallen, on the other hand, is that they are a substantially abbreviated and otherwise edited redaction of the original and so actually preserve less ultimately reliable or contemporary coverage of Ivar in total than does the Cogad, with all its faults. The Annals of Inisfallen also suffer from a considerable lacuna or simply an empty gap containing no entries at all, for whatever reason, of two and a half critical years in Ivar's career, from mid-969 to the beginning of 972.
The third most important source for this period of Munster history are the Annals of the Four Masters, but they were compiled much later and are occasionally of doubtful reliability, suffering in some cases from interpolations, misplaced entries, and so on. They also cover little of Ivar himself and serve mostly for the major sources above to be checked against in places. A few other sources briefly mentioning Ivar survive but altogether these do not contribute much if anything to our knowledge of him. The Annals of Tigernach might have been of assistance but they no longer survive for over two centuries between 766 and 974.
Pedigree Ivar's patronym is not given in the Irish annals,Downham, p. 190 which as mentioned above have survived very incomplete, but he is generally accepted as a member of the prolific Norse dynasty known to historians as the Uí Ímair or House of Ivar. In the Cogad and related texts he is called Ímar ua (h)Ímair or Ímar, grandson of Ímar, but this can also be read Ímar Ua hÍmair,A correction silently made by Ní Mhaonaigh, p. 104. the capitalization producing the surname meaning "Descendant of Ímar", not unique to him and apparently used by other members of the dynasty as well. His precise relation to the previous rulers of Limerick is uncertain, the last member of the dynasty in the city state and its last known king before him being Aralt mac Sitric, who died in 940 and is generally believed to have been a third son of the great Sihtric Cáech (died 927), king of Dublin and later king of Northumbria. The problem with Ivar being a literal grandson of Ímar I (died 873) is that he would simply have been incredibly old by the time of his death in 977. A previous namesake of Ímar I, namely Ímar ua Ímair, killed in Scotland in 904, might be an alternative grandfather, in which case no correction of the form ua Ímair in the Cogad would be needed. At least two generations between the king of Limerick and the founder of the dynasty are required regardless. These assumptions made, Ivar of Limerick can be placed in the pedigree below.
The following list contains only members mentioned in the Irish annals and other reliable and semi-reliable sources, and among those only the ones who can be placed in the pedigree with relative confidence. Thus it is by no means complete.
After various authors. Birthdates are unknown. mac = son of; ingen = daughter of; ua = grandchild of; Ua (h)Ímair = surname (descendant of Ímar). Ímar/Ívar/Ivar/Ívarr (died 873) Bárid mac Ímair (died 881) Sichfrith mac Ímair (died 888) Sitric mac Ímair (died 896) ? mac/ingen Ímair, and/or among the above sons Amlaíb ua Ímair (died 896) Ímar ua Ímair (died 904) Ragnall ua Ímair (died 920/1) ? mac Ragnaill (died 942) Ímar (died 950)? probably Ímar of Waterford (died 1000) Gilla Pátraic mac Ímair (died 983) Ragnall mac Ímair (died 995) Donndubán mac Ímair (died 996) Ragnall mac Ímair II (died 1018) ? mac Ragnaill (died 1015) Ragnall mac Ragnaill (died 1035) Sihtric mac Ímair (died 1022) Sihtric Cáech (died 927) Sichfrith mac Sitric (died 937) Ausle mac Sitric (died 937) Aralt mac Sitric (died 940) probably Maccus mac Arailt (died 984/7) probably Gofraid mac Arailt (died 989) Ragnall mac Gofraid (died 1005) Lagmann mac Gofraid (died ?) Amlaíb mac Lagmann (died 1014) ? Donnchadh mac Amlaíb (died 1014) Máel Muire ingen Gofraid (died ?) Gofraid mac Sitriuc (died 951) Amlaíb Cuarán (died 981) Ragnall mac Amlaíb (died 980) Glúniairn (died 989) Gilla Ciaráin mac Glúniairn (died 1014) Sitric? mac Glúniairn (fl. 1036) Aralt mac Amlaíb (died 999) Ímar mac Arailt (died 1054) Dubgall mac Amlaíb (died 1014) Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb (died ?) Máel Muire ingen Amlaíb (died 1021) Gytha ingen Amlaíb (died ?) Sigtrygg Silkbeard (died 1042) Artalach mac Sitric (died 999) Amlaíb mac Sitric I/II (died 1013) Glúniairn mac Sitric (died 1031) Amlaíb mac Sitriuc II/I (died 1034) Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb (died ?) Gofraid mac Sitric (died 1036) Cellach ingen Sitric (died 1042) Gofraid ua Ímair (died 934) Alpdann mac Gofraid (died 927) Amlaíb mac Gofraid (died 941) Cammán mac Amlaíb (fl. 962) Ragnall mac Gofraid (fl. 943) Blácaire mac Gofraid (died 948) ? ua Ímair (or among the above grandsons?) Ímar of Limerick (died 977) Cú Allaidh (Amlaíb) mac Ímair (died 977) Dubcenn mac Ímair (died 977) Osli mac Dubceinn (died 1012) Amond mac Dubceinn (died 1014) Aralt mac Ímair (died 978)
Tyrant of Muman The passage in the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib describing Ivar's arrival and kingship in Munster:
The author goes on to describe the system of government which Ivar imposed on Munster, but doing so in a way which reflects the "structure of assessment and control in the territories of the Uí Briain at the time of composition of the text":Doherty, pp. 319–20.
There does, however, survive a very similar passage, found not in any surviving version of the Cogad but in another tract entirely, preserved by Duald Mac Firbis in the 17th century. Its date is uncertain, and it may or may not come from a lost version of the Cogad. Most of the following is also mentioned in the epic, following the above passages, but there is much expanded. The following account at least gives the appearance of being a summary, but this is probably not what it is:Bugge, ed. & tr. of Mac Firbis, On the Fomorians and the Norsemen, pp. 9, 3, and see Bugge's introduction.
That Ivar or the Norse in general may have been attempting the actual takeover of some part of Munster possibly finds support in the Annals of Inisfallen:
The term used here for the Norse soldiers is súaitrech "mercenary" and so the passage has been taken by Charles Doherty to refer to the practice of billetting the hired contingents of a standing army, as was common in later times.Doherty, p. 319. What is peculiar about this passage is the extent of cooperation between the Gaelic kings. Here the sworn rivals Mathgamain and Máel Muad (the son of Bran) are actually found working together, the only known occasion in their careers. They are joined by one Faelán of uncertain identity, whose mention may either refer to a king of the Déisi Muman who actually died in 966,Annals of Inisfallen 966.1; Annals of the Four Masters 964.10 and who the Cogad alleges Ivar actually killed,Todd, p. 73 or to an abbot of Emly later mentioned dying in 980.Annals of Inisfallen 980.5 Notably Emly was attacked by Ivar or his relations in 968 not long after the Norse loss in the Battle of Sulcoit in 967,Annals of Inisfallen 968.2 and possibly in retaliation for the Dál gCais plundering of Limerick.Downham, p. 53
The above account, however, is dated five years after Sulcoit in the Annals of Inisfallen, and is in fact the first entry following the lacuna beginning in mid 969, so we do not know what events have preceded it in the past two and a half years, assuming it is correctly placed. Ivar is first mentioned by name in the surviving annals in early-mid 969, which record that "Beólán Litil and his son were killed by Ímar of Luimnech."AI969.3: Beolán Lítil & a macc do marbad la Ímar Luimnich. The identity of this person is not completely certain but he is assumed to be identical with the Uí Néill king of Lagore (Loch Gabor) or Southern Brega whose death, without cause given, is recorded in several other annals in the same year.AU969.3; CS969; AFM967.9 Clare Downham notes that this puts Ivar and the Limerick Norse active all the way out in the neighborhood of Dublin and says that Beolán was an ally of the King of Dublin, namely Olaf Cuaran.Downham, p. 54 The Cogad also records this killing but provides no motive, simply mentioning it immediately after Ivar's return to Limerick, allegedly from Britain, with a second great fleet.Todd, Cogadh, pp. 84–5 After his alleged expulsion sometime following Sulcoit the author of the Cogad states Ivar and a certain "Amlaíb, son of Amlaíb" attempted the conquest of Britain, but without success, with Amlaib being killed by the king of Britain (unnamed). Having returned to Limerick and killed Beolán (or vice versa), Ivar is said to have then "made many spoils and battles." No other record of these survives, if this properly counts as one, and we must wait til 972 for the Annals of Inisfallen to pick up again.
Economics and the city-state