MORE than 1200 years ago hordes of bloodthirsty Viking raiders descended on Ireland, pillaging monasteries and massacring the inhabitants.

On Wednesday, one of their more mild-mannered descendants stepped ashore to apologise.

The Danish Minister for Culture, Brian Mikkelson, who was in Dublin to celebrate the arrival of a replica Norse longboat, apologised for the invasion and destruction inflicted.

"In Denmark we are certainly proud of this ship but we are not proud of the damage to the people of Ireland that followed in the footsteps of the Vikings," Mr Mikkelson declared in his welcoming speech delivered by the River Liffey.

"But the warmth and friendliness with which you greet us today and the Viking ship show us that, luckily, it has all been forgiven."

The Havhingsten [Sea Stallion] sailed across the North Sea with a crew of 65 men and women in what was described as a "living archaeological experiment".