Godred MacHarold

Godred MacHarold (known in Sudrian legend as King Orry or Starstrider) was King of Sodor and Man from 979 to 989. After the defeat of the Norse by the Irish, he harried Wales, then landed on Man, where, he famously pointed to the stars reflected in the water and said to the locals "There is the path running from my county to this place. That is my road to fame and fortune." Godred gave Sodor and Man ten years of peace, and his reign is remembered as a golden age. In Sodor, he is remembered affectionately as King Orry.

Godred often fought off attempts by Earl Sigurd of Orkney to reclaim Man in 982 and Sodor in 984 at a ford near what is now Peel Godred, named in his honour, which has now been replaced by a bridge and known as "King Orry's Bridge".

Sigurd was not captured during either battles, and returned in 989. In a battle on Man Godred and his two elder sons were killed, but his wife, daughter Gudrun and youngest son Harold escaped to Islay.

Godred, who was #1 on the Culdee Fell Railway, was named after him. Culdee noted in "Mountain Engines" that this honour may have been a factor in his carelessness.