It has been 1,000 years since Brian Ború, High King of Ireland, went to battle with the Vikings at The Battle of Contarf and as part of Armagh’s Brian Ború millennium celebrations, a large scale Viking Tented Village will be on The Mall in Armagh City from Saturday 3rd to Sunday 4th May as Armagh City and District Council invites you to explore what life was like in Medieval times.
The event is the finale to a thirteen day festival, commemorating Brian Ború’s connections with Armagh and his burial at Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral. The special festival of events forms part of an Ireland-wide commemoration of the millennium anniversary. Armagh, as the final resting place of Brian Ború is one of four locations across Ireland taking part in the national programme and joins Clare, which was the seat of Brian’s High Kingship of Ireland, Tipperary, where Brian was crowned High King and Dublin, where Brian Ború was killed following his victory over the Viking rulers of Dublin at the Battle of Clontarf, in the special commemorations.
The Viking Tented Village on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May will see over 100 Viking warriors set up camp in the encampment for the weekend. Visitors will get the chance to see how life was in Brian Ború’s lifetime as Viking re-enactors work, cook, eat and sleep on site. Mock battles and a longship abandoned on The Mall will give visitors a glimpse of what life might have been like at the time.
Re-enactment group Fingal Living History Society, who travel all over Europe re-enacting Viking life, will set up the replica village, featuring over twenty Viking tents, to provide an insight into the daily life of the invaders, with costumed characters taking part in a range of activities from making weapons to cooking. There will also be children’s story-telling and talks on The Battle of Clontarf.
The Viking Tented Village will consist of:
- Living History Encampment: an area with authentic tents featuring Viking warriors and Viking families. The encampment will also have an exhibition featuring crafts displays including blacksmithing, fabric crafts, silversmith, leather work, bone carving, carpentry, pottery, coin minting and much more.
- Falconry display: There will be falconry displays at 1.00pm and 4.00pm each day, with visitors being given an opportunity to see Golden Eagles, Vultures, Hawks and Owls in flight.
- Cookery Displays: learn about the ancient cooking methods with camp fire cooking displays. All the re-enactors will be wearing authentic Viking dress and using authentic replica tools.
- Military Display: Viking weapons and armoury will be on display with the re-enactors giving a short presentation on the weapons and their uses. Members of the public will be given the opportunity to ask questions and hold the weapons and armour.
The village will be open to visitors from 11.00am to 5.00pm on Saturday 3rd May and 1.00pm to 4.30pm on Sunday 4th May. Falconry displays will take place at 1.00pm and 4.00pm daily, craft demonstrations at 3.00pm daily and children’s story-telling at 2.30pm and 3.30pm daily. Admission to the event is free.
Guides for the Brian Ború festival are currently available at City Centre venues or they can be downloaded from www.armagh.co.uk. For further details contact Armagh Visitor Information Centre on 028 3752 1800.
