The Norse–Gaels (Old Irish: Gall-Goídil; Irish: Gall-Ghaeil; Scottish Gaelic: Gall-Ghàidheil, 'foreigner-Gaels') were a people of mixed Gaelic and Norse ancestry and culture. They emerged in the Viking Age, when Vikings who settled in Ireland and in Scotland adopted Gaelic culture and intermarried with Gaels. The Norse–Gaels dominated much of the Irish Sea and Scottish Sea regions from the 9th to 12th centuries. They founded the Kingdom of the Isles (which included the Hebrides and the Isle of Man), the Kingdom of Dublin, the Lordship of Galloway (which is named after them), and a Norse-Gaelic family briefly (939–944 AD) ruled the Kingdom of York. The most powerful Norse–Gaelic dynasty were the Uí Ímair or House of Ivar.

Over time, the Norse–Gaels became ever more Gaelicised and disappeared as a distinct group. However, they left a lasting influence, especially in the Isle of Man and Outer Hebrides, where most placenames are of Norse–Gaelic origin. Several Scottish clans have Norse–Gaelic roots, such as Clan MacDonald, Clan MacDougall and Clan MacLeod. The elite mercenary warriors known as the gallowglass (gallóglaigh) emerged from these Norse–Gaelic clans and became an important part of Irish warfare. The Viking longship also influenced the Gaelic birlinn or longa fada, which were used extensively until the 17th century. Norse–Gaelic surnames survive today and include MacIvor, MacAskill, and (Mac)Cotter.

The meaning of Gall-Goídil is "foreigner Gaels" or "foreign Gaels" and although it can in theory mean any Gael of foreign origin, it always was used of Gaels (i.e. Gaelic-speakers) with some kind of Norse identity. This term is subject to a large range of variations depending on chronological and geographical differences in the Gaelic language, e.g. Gall Gaidel, Gall Gaidhel, Gall Gaidheal, Gall Gaedil, Gall Gaedhil, Gall Gaedhel, Gall Goidel, Gall Ghaedheil, etc. The modern term in Irish is Gall-Ghaeil or Gall-Ghaedheil, while the Scottish Gaelic is Gall-Ghàidheil.[1]

The Norse–Gaels often called themselves Ostmen or Austmen, meaning East-men, a name preserved in a corrupted form in the Dublin area known as Oxmantown which comes from Austmanna-tún (homestead of the Eastmen). In contrast, they called Gaels Vestmenn (West-men) (see Vestmannaeyjar and Vestmanna).

The Norse–Gaels are also sometimes called the Norse-Irish and Norse-Scots.

© Composed by Seán Mór Ó Cuinn.

Blood of the Norse Gael

The Uí Ímair (meaning ‘scions of Ivar’), also known as the Ivar Dynasty or Ivarids was a royal Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and some part of Northern England, from the mid 9th century.

The dynasty lost control of York in the mid 10th century but reigned over the other domains at variously disputed times, depending on which rulers may be counted among their descendants. This has proved a difficult question for scholars to determine, because reliable pedigrees do not survive. Additionally, for between three and four decades, the Uí Ímair were overkings of the Kingdom of Scotland itself, distinct from the Kingdom of Strathclyde, of which they may also have been overkings, and later briefly the Irish province of Munster, dominated from Waterford, and later still, briefly the English kingdom of Mercia. In the west of Ireland, the Uí Ímair also supplied at least two kings of Limerick, from which they may have attempted to conquer Munster again.

Two members are styled queens of Ireland in the Irish annals (they were also queen of Mide and queen of Munster, respectively), while another was queen of Leinster (and Osraige). In the Norse sources, another was queen of Norway. Finally, another may have been queen of Brega. The name Uí Ímair in Old Irish means "grandchildren" or descendants of Ivar, but the dynasty includes its progenitor and his sons. The Irish annals describe Ivar as the brother of Amlaíb Conung and of Auisle, and the Annals of Ulster record his obituary under the year 873, reading: Imhar, rex Nordmannorum totius Hibernie & Brittanie, uitam finiuit "Ivar, king of all the Norse of Ireland and Britain, ended his life". Probably the senior leader of the Great Heathen Army, Ivar may thus have become the inspiration for the legendary Ivar the Boneless (fl. 865–860), son of Ragnar Lodbrok. In any event, Uí Ímair dynasts may also have exercised power as overkings of East Anglia during their career in Britain.

Norse/Native American Connection:

There is evidence of Norse trade with the natives (called the Skræling by the Norse). The Norse would have encountered both Native Americans (the Beothuk, related to the Algonquin) and the Thule, the ancestors of the Inuit. The Dorset had withdrawn from Greenland before the Norse settlement of the island. Items such as comb fragments, pieces of iron cooking utensils and chisels, chess pieces, ship rivets, carpenter's planes, and oaken ship fragments used in Inuit boats have been found far beyond the traditional range of Norse colonization. A small ivory statue that appears to represent a European has also been found among the ruins of an Inuit community house.

Descendance

Excerpt from 'The Battle of Largs' by Todd Ferguson.

The Norse believed witchcraft was at play to conjure the storm and there are two wonderful verses that say:

The careful king

Met witchcrafts many

From the wizard lord

Of Scottish land;

The rolling surf

By black arts driven,

Loses many a ship

Of canvas bright,

From moorings stout

Made fast on shore.

And:

The magic gale blew o’er the host

On board the sea-steeds closely manned,

And that restless bane of earth

The sea, drove warlike crews ashore

On Scottish land, their war shields bearing,

Eager to combat for their king.

By Black Arts Driven

Suðreyjar is a one-man project
based in Argyll, Scotland.

The very act of acknowledging our ancestors
helps us to find our place in the world,
a sense of belonging within the tribe.
Our past and our future!

© All songs composed by Seán Mór Ó Cuinn.

Suðreyjar

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