Ivar of Limerick

Who is Ivar of Limerick?

Ivar of Limerick, died 977, was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate King of the Foreigners of Munster, reigning during the rise to power of the Dál gCais and the fall of the Eóganachta. His repeated attempts to assert his authority in Limerick and the surrounding region and possibly over even the greater province of Munster itself earned him the most prominent role as antagonist in the first part of the early 12th century saga and political tract Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, as an enemy of Mathgamain mac Cennetig, claimant to the title King of Munster, and his more famous younger brother and successor Brian Bóruma.

According to the author of the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, Ivar established himself as King of Munster for a period in the 960s, until routed in the Battle of Sulcoit in 968, but this extraordinary claim has long been doubted by scholars. He then appears to have returned only a year or two later and attempted to establish himself again in some capacity.