Exploring the legacy of the Vikings in Ireland

PA120/11 Viking experts at The University of Nottingham are reaching out across the Irish Sea to spread the latest research on the history and culture of the Norsemen. The Midlands Viking Symposium 2011 - being held outside the UK for the first time - brings together some of the foremost Viking researchers at a prestigious venue in Dublin, from April 29-30. The Vikings left a strong imprint on Ireland that is still apparent in place-names, archaeological finds and in the DNA of the modern population. Recent archaeological finds of weapons, jewellery and Viking remains have provided new evidence of the deep and widespread impact that the invaders had on Ireland, when they started arriving on its shores more than a thousand years ago. The recently-discovered site of Annagassan promises to rival Viking Dublin in the richness and variety of relics uncovered there. There is strong evidence to suggest that all modern Irish cities had their foundations in the Viking age, supported by name evidence in many cases. The city of Limerick, for example, can trace its heritage back to the Norsemen's settlement of Hlymrekr.