Frequent  reference  is  subsequently  made  in  our  Annals  to
the  monastery  and  See  of  Clonfert,  but  it  is  oftentimes  a
saddening  record.  Its  buildings  were  four  times  plundered,
and  six  times  burnt.  Nor  was  this  the  work  of  the  Danes
alone.  The  degenerate  chieftains  of  Ireland  too  frequently
followed  their  bad  example,  and  provoked  Divine  vengeance
by  unspeakable  acts  of  sacrilege,  especially  during  the  tenth
and  eleventh  centuries.
In  A.D.  838,  Turgesius  brought  a  great  fleet  to  Lough
Ree,  which  he  stationed  there  for  the  express  purpose  of
harrying  the  banks  and  islands  of  the  Shannon.  He  plun-
dered and  burnt  Clonfert,  Clonraacnoise,  and  indeed  all  the
monasteries  and  churches  from  Lanesborough  to  Limerick,
which  were  within  reach  of  his  marauders ;  and  not  once  but
frequently  between  the  years  a.d.  838  and  845.  Yet  strange
to  say  it  is  stated  in  the  old  Annals  of  Innisf alien,  lAi&t
Feidhlimidh,  son  of  Crimthann,  King  of  Munster,  had  a
friendly  conference  with  Niall,  son  of  Hugh,  King  of  Ulster,
in  the  year  a.d.  840,  at  Clonfert,  and  there  received  Niall's
homage  as  High  King,  and  sat  in  the  seat  of  the  abbots
of  Clonfert.
