509 
made by Brodir to detain him. He sailed round Ireland, entered the 
Shannon, and joined Brian at Kincora. He embraced Christianity, ap- 
parently as the necessary consequence of his deserting the cause of the 
Norsemen ; in the words of the Saga, ‘‘he took baptism, and gave him- 
self over into the King’s hands.’’* 
Whilst these negociations were going on, or perhaps a little before, 
the Leinster men, aided by Flaithbertach, or Flaherty O’ Neill, son of 
Muirchertach, and grandson of Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks, made 
an inroad upon Malachy, but were repulsed. In revenge, Malachy, on his 
own resources, attacked the Dublin Danes, and plundered as far as Ben 
Edair, or Howth. There, however, he was met by the whole force of 
Maelmordha, King of Leinster, and of the Danes of Dublin. The army 
of Malachy was cut to pieces; and his son Flann, surnamed the Albanach, 
or the Scotchman, was amongst the slain.} Malachy then appealed to 
Brian, and demanded the protection to which, as a vassal, he had an un- 
doubted right. This was in the year 1012 or 10138, and we can scarcely 
require a more conclusive refutation of the calumny that Malachy was 
faithless to the cause of Brian on the plains of Clontarf. His whole life 
-had been spent in endeavouring to keep in check the power of the Danes 
of Dublin and their allies of Leinster. He had lost his crown by the alli- 
ance of the Danes of Dublin with Brian, and he had just smarted from 
a sharp defeat in battle by the Danes of Dublin, in which his eldest son 
had fallen. Every motive, therefore, was combined to make him both 
zealous and loyal to the battle in which the power of the Danes of Dub- 
lin was finally crushed ; and in fact it is evident that, if Malachy kept 
his forces for a time aloof from the battle, as the narrative of the 
combat states, he did so from policy. He waited until the impetuous 
troops of his allies had broken the ranks of the Danes, and then 
he rushed on with a decisive stroke, in which he enjoyed the 
luxury of a complete revenge for his recent loss. The Four Masters 
must have been well aware of the calumny that Malachy had been 
in league with Sitric and his allies. That calumny is to be found in 
the ‘‘ Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gaill,” and other authorities which 
the Four Masters had before them; nevertheless, the Four Masters not 
only make no mention of that calumny, but expressly tell us that, after 
the death of Brian and the slaughter of his choicest captains, the forces 
of the enemy were completely routed “by dint of battling, bravery, 
and striking,’’ by Maelseachlainn (i. e., Malachy) from the river Tolka to 
Dublin, ‘‘against the Danes and men of Leinster,” in which conflict 
Maelmordha himself was slain, with all the principal chieftains of 
- Leinster. There cannot, therefore, bea doubt, as Mr. O’Donoghue, the 
latest historian of the battle, has remarked, that the completion of the 
victory, and its pretensions to be regarded as decisive, were in a great 
measure, due to the prudence and valour of Malachy.{} 
* Dasent, ‘ Story of Burnt Nijal,” p. 332. ¢ ‘Wars of Gaedhil and Gaill,” p. 149. 
¢ O'Donoghue, “ Memoir of the O’Briens,” p. 33 ; and compare also Moore, ‘' His- 
tory of Ireland,” vol. ii., p. 114. 
