died on Islay, an apparent power centre in the Isles. Godred's greatest impact on history may have been his founding of the Crovan dynasty, his patrilineal descendants who ruled in the Isles for almost two centuries. Godred was an important maternal ancestor of Clann Somairle, a family that held power in the Isles centuries after the final extinction of the Crovan dynasty. As such, he may be identical to Gofraid mac Fergusa, an apparent genealogical construct claimed as a Clann Somairle ancestor. Godred may well be identical to the celebrated King Orry of Manx legend, a figure traditionally credited with instituting the Manx legal system. Godred and King Orry are associated with numerous historic and prehistoric sites on Mann and Islay. Familial origins While the familial origins of Godred Crovan aren't completely proven, it appears certain that he was a direct descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin. Although the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann calls him in Latin "... ", implying that his father was named Aralt, the fourteenth-century Annals of Tigernach instead calls him in Gaelic "... ", contrarily implying that it was Godred's grandfather who was named Aralt. Godred, therefore, may have been either a son, nephew, or brother of Ímar mac Arailt, King of Dublin. However, the early-thirteenth-century pedigree Achau Brenhinoedd a Thywysogion Cymru in the Welsh collection of genealogical tracts records "Gwrthryt Mearch" (Godred Crovan) as the son of "Harallt Ddu" (Harald "The Black" of Islay), who in turn was the son of "Ifor Gamle" (Ímar mac Arailt). As such, it appears that Godred was not the son, nephew or brother, but, in fact, the grandson of Ímar mac Arailt, King of Dublin, patrilineal descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin, and member of the Uí Ímair. The chronicle's passage may further cast light on Godred's familial origins. Although "" may represent Iceland, there is no other evidence linking Godred to this island. Alternately, the word may instead represent the Hebridean island of Islay, where he is otherwise known to have ended his life. Another possibility is that "" represents Ireland, which, if correct, would evidence Godred's close familial links with that particular island. Whatever the case, according to the same source, he had been brought up on Mann. When Godred is first noted by the Latin Chronicle of Mann, he is accorded the epithet "" or "". The origin