Godred Crovan (1049-1099) was King of Sudreyjar from 1066 to 1099 (succeeding Thorfinn the Mighty and preceding Magnus Barelegs) and Count of Mann from 1079 to 1099 (succeeding Comgal of Carrick and preceding Magnus Barelegs).
Biography[]
Godred Crovan was born in Norway in 1049, and he supported King Harald Hardrada's invasion of England in 1066. Following the collapse of the campaign, Godred Crovan found refuge with his kinsman Gofraid mac Sitriuc, the ruler of Sudreyjar. He seized power from Gofraid's son in 1079 and became the new King of the Isles; in 1091, he became King of Dyflin and secured complete control of the trade routes through the Irish Sea region. Due to his alliance with King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd, he continuously warred with Gruffudd's Welsh rivals and the Norman magnates. In 1094, King Muirchertach Ua Briain drove Godred from Dublin and the Isle of Man, and he died of the plague at the Isle of Islay in 1099.