in the aftermath of his successful defence of the island. Godred's expansion in the Irish Sea may well have had serious repercussions on mainland politics. Certainly, in the eyes of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, King of Alba, the prospect of Godred's expansion into the Solway region would have been a threatening development. Furthermore, in the last decades of the eleventh century there was a breakdown in relations between Máel Coluim and William II, King of England. In 1091, Máel Coluim led the Scots across their southern border. Although peace was subsequently restored without bloodshed, the temporary truce fell apart the following year when William seized Cumberland, and established an English colony at Carlisle. Although this northern advance is sometimes regarded as an attempt to keep the Scots in check, the operation also established English control over Norse-Gaelic coastal populations, and further secured England's vulnerable north-western maritime flank. Godred's conquest of Dublin the year before, therefore, may well have influenced William's strategy in the north-west. The early dioceses of Dublin and the Isles The ecclesiastical jurisdiction within the Isles during the reigns of Godred's mid-twelfth-century successors was the Diocese of the Isles. Little is known of the early history of the diocese, although its origins may well lie with the Uí Ímair imperium. Unfortunately, the Chronicle of Mann'''s coverage of the episcopal succession only starts at about the time of Godred's reign. The bishop first mentioned by this source is a certain "", whose recorded name appears to be a garbled form of the Old Norse . The chronicle records that Roolwer was the bishop before Godred's reign, which could either mean that he died before the beginning of Godred's rule, or that Roolwer merely occupied the position at the time of Godred's accession. Roolwer's recorded name may be evidence that he is identical to one of the earliest bishops of Orkney. Specifically, either Thorulf or Radulf. Considering the evidence of early-eleventh-century Orcadian influence in the Isles, it is not inconceivable that the near contemporaneous Church in the region was then under the authority of an Orcadian appointee. A noted contemporary of Roolwer was Dúnán, an ecclesiast generally assumed to have been the first Bishop of Dublin. In fact, the Annals of Ulster instead accords him the title "" ("high-bishop of the Foreigners"), and the first Bishop of Dublin solely associated with Dublin is Gilla Pátraic, a man elected to the