t, willing to sacrifice every
personal feeling for the good of his country: consequently, he proved a
most formidable foe to the Danish invader. Callaghan of Cashel was,
perhaps, as brave, but his name cannot be held up to the admiration of
posterity. The personal advancement of the southern Hy-Nials was more to
him than the political advancement of his country; and he disgraced his
name and his nation by leaguing with the invaders. In the year 934 he
pillaged Clonmacnois. Three years later he invaded Meath and Ossory, in
conjunction with the Danes. Muircheartach was several times on the eve
of engagements with the feeble monarch who nominally ruled the country,
but he yielded for the sake of peace, or, as the chroniclers quaintly
say, "God pacified them." After one of these pacifications, they joined
forces, and laid "siege to the foreigners of Ath-cliath, so that they
spoiled and plundered all that was under the dominion of the foreigners,
from Ath-cliath to Ath-Truisten."[206]

In the twenty-second year of Donough, Muircheartach determined on a
grand expedition for the subjugation of the Danes. He had already
conducted a fleet to the Hebrides, from whence he returned flushed with
victory. His first care was to assemble a body of troops of special
valour; and he soon found himself at the head of a thousand heroes, and
in a position to commence "his circuit of Ireland." The Danish chief,
Sitric, was first seized as a hostage. He then carried off Lorcan, King
of Leinster. He next went to the Munster men, who were also prepared for
battle; but they too yielded, and gave up their monarch also, "and a
fetter was put on him by Muircheartach." He afterwards proceeded into
Connaught, where Conchobhar, son of Tadhg, came to meet him, "but no
gyve or lock was put upon him." He then returned to Oileach, carrying
these kings with him as hostages. Here he feasted them for five months
with knightly courtesy, and then sent them to the Monarch Donough.

After these exploits we cannot be surprised that Muircheartach should be
styled the Hector of the west of Europe. But he soon finds his place in
the never-ceasing obituary. In two years after his justly famous
exploit, he was slain by "Blacaire, son of Godfrey, lord of the
foreigners." This event occurred on the 26th of March, A.D. 941,
according to the chronology of the Four Masters. The true year, however,
is 943. The chroniclers briefly observe, that "Ard-Macha was plundered
by th