Ransoms And Rivalries
The most striking firmly dated event of the year was the capture of Amlaíb, son of Sitriuc, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin. The Annals of Ulster call Amlaíb “king of the foreigners”, while other annals describe him as the son of Sitriuc, lord or king of Dublin. His captor was Mathgamain Ua Riagáin, king of Brega. Brega, in the rich east-midland lands around Meath, lay close enough to Dublin for its rulers to be both rivals and necessary partners of the port-town. The episode shows that Dublin’s rulers were not isolated urban kings: they were deeply entangled with Irish inland politics.