Medieval Dublin ― Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium 2013

This volume contains reports on a number of important archaeological excavations in the Dublin area in recent years, including: Claire Walsh's discovery of a medieval property plot at Back Lane, which contained the remains of Hiberno-Norse and Anglo-Norman houses; Paul Duffy's excavations at Baldoyle that produced evidence of metalworking, cereal processing, animal husbandry and coastal foraging from the Viking Age onwards; and Edmond O'Donovan's discovery of a large early Christian cemetery at Mount Gamble in Swords. To accompany his detailed report on the latter the volume includes an important study of the ecclesiastical and political history of the Swords area written by the late Ailbhe MacShamhrain. Also of note: Matthew Stout reconsiders the evidence for Dublin's situation vis-a-vis the road network of ancient Ireland; Pat Wallace discusses the role of women in Viking-Age Dublin; Daniel Brown has a fascinating account of what happened in 1223 when Hugh de Lacy, the dispossessed earl of Ulster, raised a rebel army and marched on Dublin; and, to mark the 700th anniversary of the Scottish invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce in 1315, we include a hitherto-unpublished essay by the late Professor James Lydon on the Scottish threat to capture Dublin.