When we think of attacks on Clonmacnoise we usually only think of those by the Vikings or Normans. However the most savage attacks were by the Irish themselves. We must remember that the church in ancient Ireland was deeply influenced by religious Abbots and the laws they enforced. Abbots were not simply religious leaders in their monastery. They were the head of what were usually the first urban settlements in Ireland. In a way they replaced the druids as the High Kings' new priests and operated as judges, tax-collectors and law enforcers in their areas. Monks and saints of this period were also not the peaceful people we think of today as saints. Most were well trained in warfare and many monsateries had an army that was usually quite capable of defending the buildings and riches they held. This caused much friction between monasteries and those around them. For instance it was the imposition of laws by the Abbot of Clonmacnoise that caused the battles with Birr and Durrow in 760 and 764//9. Flann mac Flaithbertaig was drowned in the Shannon in 837 by Cathal mac Ailella, king of Maine in a dispute over who should be the next Abbot. Many see his death as bringing the golden age of Clonmacnoise to an end. Feidlimid mac Crimthainn who was king of Munster took advantage of this to raid Clonmacnoise and Ui Maine on several occasions. His raids were mostly in 832 and in 833 when he killed most of the community. Two years after this it was sacked by Vikings. In the 11th and 12th centuries Clonmacnoise was closely linked with the kings of Connacht. And so when Domnall Ua Ruairc attacked Connacht in 1115 he started his raids in Clonmacnoise.