Fingal mac Gofraid

Excerpt from folio 32v of British Library Cotton Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "". Fingal mac Gofraid, and his father, Gofraid mac Sitriuc, were late eleventh-century rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles. Although one source states that Gofraid mac Sitriuc's father was named Sitriuc, there is reason to suspect that this could be an error of some sort. There is also uncertainty as to which family Gofraid mac Sitriuc belonged to. One such family, descended from Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin, appears to have cooperated with Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó, King of Leinster. Another family, that of Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin and the Isles, opposed Amlaíb Cúarán's apparent descendants, and was closely connected with Diarmait's adversaries, the Uí Briain kindred.

If Gofraid mac Sitriuc was a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, it could mean that he was installed in the Isles by Diarmait after the latter oversaw the apparent expulsion of Echmarcach in the 1060s. Membership of this family may also explain apparent amiable relationship that Gofraid mac Sitriuc and Fingal appear to have enjoyed with Gofraid Crobán, their immediate successor in the Isles. It could also explain an attack on Mann in 1073, conducted by a possible the Uí Briain and a possible kinsman of Echmarcach. On the other hand, if Gofraid mac Sitriuc was a close kinsman of Echmarcach, it is possible that he is identical to Gofraid ua Ragnaill, King of Dublin, a contemporary ruler who is known to have reigned in Dublin during a period of Uí Briain overlordship after Diarmait's death. This identification could mean that Gofraid ua Ragnaill immediately succeeded Echmarcach in both Dublin and the Isles.

Gofraid mac Sitriuc is stated in one source to have died in about 1070, after which Fingal succeeded him. Fingal later appears to have fended off an attack upon Mann by men with Irish connections. At some point in the 1070s the kingdom was conquered by Gofraid Crobán, although the circumstances of this event are uncertain. Whilst it is possible that the latter overthrew Fingal, this is by no means certain. In fact, the throne may well have been vacant when Gofraid Crobán conducted his campaigns to gain the kingship. Whatever the case, there is reason to suspect that descendants of Fingal ruled the Kingdom of the Rhinns following his demise.

Uncertain parentage and identity

Excerpt from folio 32v of British Library Cotton Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "".

Gofraid mac Sitriuc is specifically mentioned twice by the Chronicle of Mann: once as "", and once as "". Although these passages seem to show that his father's name was Sitriuc, the first instance of "" is crossed out, and the corresponding marginal notes beside both passages read "". It is also possible that the marginal note refers to a place name rather than a personal name. For example, the notes could refer to Fine Gall, Dublin's agriculturally rich northern hinterland. The notes, therefore, could be evidence that Gofraid mac Sitriuc was a native Dubliner rather than a Manxman. or "territory of the foreigners". The modern personal name Fingal is derived from the Gaelic . This name is composed of the elements ("white") and ("stranger"), and was originally a byname accorded to Norse settlers like the comparable personal name (from elements meaning "dark" and "stranger"). See also: Dubgaill and Finngaill.|group=note If Gofraid mac Sitriuc's father was indeed named Sitriuc, there are several contemporaneous candidates.

One particular candidate is Sitriuc mac Ímair, King of Waterford, however there is no evidence that this man had a son named Gofraid. Although this man is known to have had a son named Gofraid, the latter is recorded to have been killed in 1036. This Sitriuc, however, is known to have had two sons named Amlaíb, one who died in 1013, and the other who died in 1036. In fact, it was not uncommon for parents to have several children with the same name,

For twenty years after Echmarcach's expulsion from Dublin, Diarmait enjoyed the overlordship of the coastal kingdom, and the control of its highly rated army and prized fleet of warships. On his unexpected death in 1072, however, Toirdelbach Ua Briain, King of Munster invaded Leinster, and followed up on this military success with the acquisition of Dublin itself. There is uncertainty as to when Gofraid ua Ragnaill assumed the kingship of Dublin. On one hand, he could have succeeded Echmarcach before Diarmait's fall. or at least consented to Gofraid ua Ragnaill's establishment under his own overlordship.

Implications of familial uncertainty

The uncertainty surrounding Gofraid mac Sitriuc's parentage means that he could have been a member of any of several families. One such family—that of the kings Sitriuc mac Amlaíb and Glún Iairn—descended from Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin. Another family was that of Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, a man whose parentage is uncertain. Whilst Echmarcach's family forged an alliance with the Uí Briain kindred, Diarmait—a bitter opponent of both Echmarcach and Donnchad mac Briain, King of Munster—appears to have cooperated with the descendants of Amlaíb Cúarán. In consequence, there are important implications in regard to Gofraid mac Sitriuc's familial identification.

As a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán

In 1066, Haraldr Sigurðarson, King of Norway embarked upon an ill-fated invasion of England. Unfortunately for the Norwegians, their forces were utterly destroyed by the English in the subsequent Battle of Stamford Bridge. It was in the aftermath of this defeat that the Chronicle of Mann first makes note of Gofraid mac Sitriuc, and his ultimate successor, Gofraid Crobán. Specifically, this source states that, following the latter's flight from the slaughter at Stamford, Gofraid mac Sitriuc honourably received him, and granted him sanctuary. If Gofraid mac Sitriuc was indeed a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, his generosity towards Gofraid Crobán may have been conducted in the context of interfamily fellowship, since the latter could have been a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán as well. In fact, Gofraid mac Sitriuc's apparent descent from Amlaíb Cúarán would also explain the circumstances surrounding his accession to the kingship of the Isles. The unlikelihood that Diarmait would have allowed a member of Echmarcach's family to continue to reign in the Isles suggests that Diarmait may have installed a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán—in this case Gofraid mac Sitriuc—as his client in the Isles. The latter seems to have been not only a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, uncle, or brother.

The name of Sigtryggr Óláfsson as it appears on folio 43v of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson B 489.

According to the Chronicle of Mann, Gofraid mac Sitriuc died in about 1070, and was succeeded by his son, Fingal, a man who may have ruled for as long as nine years. In 1073, a year after Toirdelbach's seizure of Dublin, Fingal evidently repulsed an Irish-based invasion of Mann. The incursion is recorded by the Annals of Loch Cé and the Annals of Ulster, the latter of which states that the expedition was led by a certain Sigtryggr Óláfsson and two grandsons of Brian Bóruma, High King of Ireland. The precise identity of these three slain raiders is uncertain, as are the circumstances of the expedition itself. It is very likely, however, that the incursion was closely connected to the Uí Briain takeover of Dublin in the wake of Diarmait's death the year before. There is reason to suspect that Sigtryggr was a member of Echmarcach's family, perhaps a brother of Gofraid ua Ragnaill himself. It is further possible that this family also included Donnchad's wife, Cacht ingen Ragnaill. Certainly, Echmarcach's daughter, Mór, married Toirdelbach's son, Tadc.

As a kinsman of Echmarcach

If Gofraid mac Sitriuc is instead identical to Gofraid ua Ragnaill, and thus an apparent member of Echmarcach's family, it could mean that Gofraid ua Ragnaill had succeeded Echmarcach in Dublin and the Isles. This identification could mean that Sigtryggr—slain in the ill-fated invasion of Mann in 1073—was a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán rather than a member of Echmarcach's family.