of the Isles, Muirchertach was able to access the manpower and large naval fleets of the Isles, and he had a base from which to launch assaults on Ulster in the Hebrides, which would prove useful in his war against Domnall Ua Lochlainn. However, this attracted the attention of the King of Norway, Magnus III, better known as Magnus Barefoot, who wanted to retain Norwegian power in the area and bring the Norse Kingdoms such as Orkney, the Isles and Dublin. With a fleet of around sixty ships and several thousand men, he re-established Norse power in the area, garrisoning the islands of Orkney and Man. Although some sources say he did want to conquer Ireland, there was not much contact between the Norwegians and the Irish, apart from an incident when three Norwegian ships were sunk by the Ulaid (who were under Muirchertach's overlordship), probably while cattle raiding in the area. Some sources do say Magnus planned a full assault on Ireland, but the Irish gathered a large army on the coast, and Magnus did not attack. Earlier, Muirchertach had sent a fleet to Wales to help the Welsh fight the Normans who were encroaching on their territory on the island of Anglesey. However, the Normans were able to buy off the Irish ships to their side, and the Welsh were defeated. The English victory celebrations were interrupted by Magnus, however, who landed and routed the Norman army, reputedly shooting Hugh de Montgomery, brother of Arnulf, through the eye. Later, when the Irish fleet returned home, they were punished by Muirchertach for their treachery. After this event, Anglesey was considered the southernmost point of the Kingdom of Norway. After these campaigns, Magnus went home to Norway to campaign against Sweden, but he would return later. In 1101, Muirchertach declared himself High King and travelled the island provinces. He is first named as High King in the Annals of Tigernach in this year. It was in this year that he gave the fortress on the rock of Cashel to the Church. He commissioned the piece of propaganda, Cogad Gaédal re Galliab, "the War of the Irish with the Foreigners" between 1103 and 1113. The work was intended to romanticize the accounts from the annals, in a bid by Muirchertach to secure the O'Brien Dynasty's claim to the High Kingship, in a time when the throne was fiercely contested by the