 The two forces met at the Battle of Clontarf , on Good Friday in 1014 , a battle that claimed the lives of the main commanders on both sides : Brian and his son Murchad on the Munster side ; and Máel Mórda , Sigurd and Bróðir on the Leinster @-@ Norse side . According to Irish sources , Sigtrygg did not take part in the battle , but held his garrison in reserve in Dublin . The Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh records that Sigtrygg was able to observe the progress of the battle and the movement of the battle standards from the ramparts of his fortress . As the modern Irish medievalist historian Donnchadh Ó Corráin notes , Sigtrygg " wisely kept within the city and lived to tell the tale " . 
