Ormskirk's first settlers were probably the Vikings or Norsemen from Ireland and the Isle of Man who invaded and settled in the north-west of England in the ninth and tenth centuries. Among the Viking leaders was Orme who, according to legend, settled on the coast near the south of the River Ribble in the year 840 AD.

There are many accounts of the invasion: some suggesting the Vikings were seeking new settlements, others suggesting raiding and looting as the motive or that they were cast ashore by shipwreck and therefore were obliged to stay. It is not known.