Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill (died 1075) was a late eleventh-century King of Dublin. Although the precise identities of his father and grandfather are uncertain, Gofraid was probably a kinsman of his royal predecessor, Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin and the Isles. Gofraid lived in an era when control of the Kingdom of Dublin was fought over by competing Irish overlords. In 1052, for example, Echmarcach was forced from the kingdom by the Uí Chennselaig King of Leinster, Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó. When the latter died in 1072, Dublin was seized by the Uí Briain King of Munster, Toirdelbach Ua Briain, a man who either handed the Dublin kingship over to Gofraid, or at least consented to Gofraid's local rule.

Gofraid appears to have had little independence from his Uí Briain overlord, as evidence by surviving correspondence between him, Toirdelbach, and Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Gofraid's reign came to an end in 1075, when Toirdelbach drove him overseas from Ireland, perhaps to the Kingdom of the Isles, after which he died within the year. On one hand, it is possible that Gofraid was ejected for involving himself in the Anglo-Danish insurrection against the recently established Norman regime of the Kingdom of England. On the other hand, another possibility is that Gofraid was plotting with the Uí Chennselaig against their Uí Briain overlords. Whatever the case, Gofraid was succeeded in Dublin by Domnall mac Murchada, an Uí Chennselaig dynast. Whether the later ruled with Toirdelbach's consent is likewise uncertain. There is reason to suspect that Gofraid may be identical to Gofraid mac Sitriuc, King of the Isles.

Background

Gofraid seems to have been a close kinsman of Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin and the Isles.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Duffy (1992) p. 102. The familial background of the latter is uncertain. He could have been a member of the Waterford dynasty descended from Ímar, King of Waterford, and thus a descendant of Ímar's son, Ragnall, or the latter's son, Ragnall.Downham (2013) p. 147; Woolf (2007) p. 246; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 227–228; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 129; Etchingham (2001) pp. 158 n. 35, 181–182; Duffy (1992) pp. 96, 97; Hudson, BT (1992) p. 355. Alternately, Echmarcach could have been a member of the Meic Arailt dynasty, and a descendant of Ragnall mac Gofraid, King of the Isles.Downham (2013) p. 147; Woolf (2007) p. 246; Hudson, BT (2005) pp. 129, 130 fig. 4; Etchingham (2001) pp. 158 n. 35, 181–182; Hudson, BT (1992) pp. 355–356.

In the eleventh- and twelfth-centuries, four candidates to the high-kingship of Ireland managed to gain control of the Kingdom of Dublin, and appoint their intended heirs as its rulers. In effect, control of this Norse-Gaelic coastal kingdom, and the exploitation of its military strength and remarkable wealth, had become a prerequisite for any Irish ruler wishing to stake a claim to the high-kingship.Ó Corráin (2001b) p. 26; Duffy (1992).

In 1052, Echmarcach was driven overseas from Ireland by Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó, King of Leinster, who thereupon assumed the kingship of Dublin.Hudson, BT (2004a); Duffy (2002) p. 53; Duffy (1993a) p. 32; Duffy (1992) p. 94; Candon (1988) p. 399. For the next twenty years, Diarmait controlled the realm,Duffy (1993b) p. 13. and the town itself served as his capital.Duffy (2009) p. 291. About ten years after Diarmait's victory in Dublin, Echmarcach apparently fell prey to Diarmait again, as Mann was raided by Diarmait's son, Murchad, who received tribute from a defeated , perhaps Echmarcach himself.Hudson, BT (2005) p. 129; Hudson, BT (2004a); Duffy (2002) p. 54; Duffy (1993a) pp. 32–33; Duffy (1993b) p. 14; Duffy (1992) p. 100. Echmarcach eventually died in Rome, in 1064Downham (2007) p. 193 fig. 12; Duffy (2006) p. 57. or 1065.Clancy (2008) p. 28; Duffy (2006) pp. 53, 57; Hudson, BT (2005) pp. 129, 130 fig. 4. On his death, the contemporary chronicler Marianus Scotus described him in Latin as "",Charles-Edwards (2013) p. 573; Flanagan (2010) p. 231 n. 196; Downham (2007) p. 171; Duffy (2006) pp. 56–57; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 229; Hudson, BT (2005) pp. 129, 138; Duffy (2002) pp. 53–54; Etchingham (2001) p. 160; Oram (2000) p. 17; Duffy (1993a) p. 32; Duffy (1992) pp. 98–99; Anderson (1922a) pp. 590–592 n. 2; Waitz (1844) p. 559. a title that could either mean "King of the Isles",Flanagan (2010) p. 231 n. 196; Duffy (2006) pp. 56–57. or "King of the Rhinns".Charles-Edwards (2013) p. 573; Flanagan (2010) p. 231 n. 196; Clancy (2008) p. 28; Downham (2007) p. 171; Duffy (2006) pp. 56–57; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 229; Hudson, BT (2005) pp. 129, 138; Duffy (2002) pp. 53–54; Etchingham (2001) p. 160; Oram (2000) p. 17; Duffy (1993a) p. 32; Duffy (1992) pp. 98–99. If it represents the latter, it could be evidence that Echmarcach's once expansive sea-kingdom had gradually eroded to territory in Galloway only.Woolf (2007) p. 245; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 143; Duffy (1992) p. 100.

On Diarmait's unexpected death in 1072, Toirdelbach Ua Briain, King of Munster gained overlordship of Leinster,Duffy (1992) pp. 101–102. and took control of Dublin.Downham (2017) p. 100; Bracken (2004b); Hudson, BT (2004a); Duffy (2002) p. 54; Duffy (1993a) p. 33; Duffy (1993b) pp. 14–15; Duffy (1992) p. 101; Candon (1988) p. 399. The eleventh- to fourteenth-century Annals of Inisfallen claims that the kingship of Dublin was offered to Toirdelbach by the Dubliners.Annals of Inisfallen (2010) § 1072.4; Annals of Inisfallen (2008) § 1072.4; Duffy (2002) p. 54; Duffy (1993a) p. 33, 33 n. 11; Duffy (1992) p. 102. Although this record may be mere Uí Briain propaganda, it could instead be evidence of the Dubliners' preference for a distant overlord from Munster rather than one from neighbouring Leinster.Duffy (1992) p. 101.

King of Dublin

Accession and attempted consolidation

Within the year of Toirdelbach's takeover, the Annals of Inisfallen reveals that Gofraid himself held the kingship of Dublin.Annals of Inisfallen (2010) § 1072.6; Annals of Inisfallen (2008) § 1072.6; Duffy (2006) p. 57; Duffy (1992) p. 102; Candon (1988) p. 399. Toirdelbach evidently consented to this arrangement,Hudson, B (2006) p. 113; Ó Corráin (2001a) p. 102; Duffy (1992) p. 102; Candon (1991) p. 4; Ó Corráin (1971) p. 21; Ó Corráin (n.d.) p. 34. or may have even appointed Gofraid himself,Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Candon (1991) p. 4; Candon (1988) p. 399. perhaps on account of the considerable distance between the kingdoms of Dublin and Munster.Duffy (1993b) p. 15.

Uí Briain involvement in the Kingdom of the Isles soon followed their acquisition of Dublin. In 1073, an unsuccessful Irish-based invasion of Mann was apparently repulsed by Fingal mac Gofraid, King of the Isles.Duffy (2006) pp. 57–58; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 172; Woolf (2004) pp. 100–101; Oram (2000) pp. 18–19. The incursion is recorded by the sixteenth-century Annals of Loch CéAnnals of Loch Cé (2008) § 1073.3; Annals of Loch Cé (2005) § 1073.3; Duffy (1993a) p. 33; Candon (1988) p. 403. and the fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster, the latter of which states that the expedition was led by a certain Sitriuc mac Amlaíb and two grandsons of Brian Bóruma, High King of Ireland.Downham (2017) p. 100; The Annals of Ulster (2012) § 1073.5; The Annals of Ulster (2008) § 1073.5; Candon (2006) p. 116; Duffy (2006) pp. 57–58; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Hudson, B (2005b); Duffy (2002) p. 54; Oram (2000) pp. 18–19; Ní Mhaonaigh (1995) p. 375; Duffy (1993a) p. 33; Candon (1988) p. 403. The precise identity of these three slain raiders is uncertain, as are the circumstances of the expedition itself.Duffy (2002) p. 54; Duffy (1993a) p. 33; Duffy (1992) p. 102. It is very likely, however, that the incursion was closely connected to the recent Uí Briain takeover of Dublin.Duffy (2006) p. 57; Candon (2006) p. 116; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Duffy (2002) p. 54; Ní Mhaonaigh (1995) p. 375; Duffy (1993a) p. 33; Duffy (1992) p. 102; Candon (1988) p. 403.

There is reason to suspect that Sitriuc was a brother of Gofraid.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Hudson, B (2005b); Hudson, BT (2005) pp. 130 fig. 4, 172; Oram (2000) pp. 18–19. It is further possible that these two were not only closely related to Echmarcach, but that their family also included Cacht ingen Ragnaill, wife of Donnchad mac Briain, King of Munster. Certainly, Echmarcach's daughter, Mór, married Toirdelbach's son, Tadc.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Duffy (1992) p. 105, 105 n. 59. If the Uí Briain were indeed bound to a kindred comprising Gofraid, Sitriuc, Cacht, and Echmarcach, it is possible that—following the Dublin ascendancy of the Uí Briain—Sitriuc and his Uí Briain allies attempted to take what they regarded as his family's patrimony in the Isles.Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 232; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 172.

Ecclesiastical affairs