Shortly after his return to Man, overtures were made to Godfrey to cross over to Dublin and place himself at the head of the Northmen of Fingal, or Dublin _Ostmen_ as they now began to be called. He willingly responded to the invitation, but by adopting this course, and by some of his subsequent proceedings, he appears to have provoked the serious enmity of one of the leading magnates of the Isles. After the conquest of Man by Godfrey Crovan, the original clans, whose connection with the Northmen of Dublin and the Isles has been already noticed, were confined to the north of the island; whilst the south, partitioned out amongst the Islesmen who had contributed to the success of Godfrey, remained in the possession of their descendants, and became the seat of the government, the locality of the episcopal see, and the favoured portion of the island. The names of the leaders in the sanguinary battle of Sandwirth, Ottir and Mac Maras, point to the different descent of their followers; and it appears to have been the policy of Godfrey Crovan and his descendants to preserve the distinction between North and South, and to maintain their own ascendancy by holding the balance between the two races.[381] [Sidenote: A. D. 1142.] About ten years before Godfrey became connected with the Dublin Ostmen, Reginald Mac Torquil, a grandson of Jarl Ottir who fell at Sandwirth--and, perhaps, also a member of the old Hy Ivar race, which probably still lingered in the north of Man--had either been chosen, or deputed, to assume the government of the Dublin Norsemen, this leadership remaining in the possession of his descendants until the capture of Dublin by the English.[382] The arrival of the king of Man must have interfered with the authority of Reginald, and, upon his return home, Godfrey appears to have directed his enmity still further against the family of Reginald by depriving Thorfin Ottirson of his possessions in the island. [Sidenote: A. D. 1156] Thirsting for vengeance Thorfin sought out Somarled, who had married the sister of Godfrey Olaveson, undertaking to place one of the great chief’s sons upon the throne of the Isles in right of his maternal ancestry. Most readily was the offer accepted, and Thorfin, accompanied by Somarled’s eldest son Dugal, sailed amongst the northern islands, exacting the submission of their chieftains to the joint heir of the Isles and the Oirir-Gael, whilst Somarled, on his part, prepared to support his son’s claim with a powerful fleet of eighty vessels. [Sidenote: 6th Jan. A. D. 1157.] The proceedings of Thorfin could scarcely escape the notice of Godfrey, and he was fully prepared to meet the confederates when they appeared off the coasts of Man, where a desperate and bloody battle, lasting through a whole winter’s night, and terminating in favour of Somarled, led to the partition of the islands; the permanent cession of all the _Sudreys_, or Southern Hebrides, striking a fatal blow at the ancient ascendancy of the