Today:	Éire Ireland

The Anglo Norman Invasions / Ré na Normannaigh

Just as the arrival of Saint Patrick and the Vikings were turning points in Irish history so too was the arrival of the Normans. The Anglo Norman Invasion , which commenced in 1169 was not planned…it just happened! A bitter rivalry existed between two warrior kings; Dermot MacMurrough of Leinster and Tiernan O'Rourke of Breifne (now Cavan). Mac Murrough had learned the wrath of O'Rourke by wooing his wife , Devorgilla, from him. Although she returned to her husband after a short interval , O'Rourke supported Rory O'Connor, King of Connacht, in a feud against Mac Murrough and his ally, Murtough Mac Lachlainn, the powerful king of Ulster. The sudden death of Mac Lachlainn left Mac Murrough isolated and helpless. His castle at Ferns in County Wexford was destroyed and he fled secretly to Europe to seek the assistance of Henry, Duke of Normandy, count of Anjou and Maine, who had been crowned King Of England in 1154 at the age of 21. Henry actively encouraged Mac Murrough to recruit some of the Normans and Flemings who had invaded England in 1066, a turning point in English history which secured Duke William of Normandy's position on the English throne.

About the beginning of the 11th century Connacht was divided by wars and feuds. The ruling O'Conors made frequent forays into the western districts of the province where the attempted to establish their authority by ousting the ancient chieftains. This they did, with some limited success , for a short time. Amongst the ancient chieftains it was considered that a sacred duty was owed to their people and their ancestors to preserve the rights and hereditary possessions inviolate against all aggressors. Even so these were the golden years of the Gaels when wealth, education and learning thrived.

It was inevitable the expansionist eyes of neighbouring England would eventually focus on Ireland. Unfortunately, on a war footing the smaller and far inferior Irish stood little chance of repelling the more powerful and advanced armies, in terms of manpower and weaponry of England. While the English never spiritually conquered Ireland, nor did they ever militarily conquer her, the undoing of Ireland was largely the work of one ambitious Irish prince. Ireland was beset by a motley of men greedy for power- high kings, provincial kings and petty chieftains all thinking themselves better than the rest and jousting for power.

Such a man was Dermot Mac Murrough , King of Leinster, and to him it is said was forever attached the stigma of betrayal. That the English would have invaded Ireland at another time or under different pretences does not lessen the considerable harm he did the country.

In 1126 Dermot Mac Murrough succeeded to the provincial throne of Leinster, but the ambitious man he was he soon fell foul of the High King, Rory O'Conor and he was banished from his kingship. On August 1, 1166 he sailed to Bristol and won the help of Richard Fitzgerald, Earl of Pembroke, named "Stongbow" in Irish tradition, with the promise of his daughters hand in marriage and the rights of succession to the Kingdom of Leinster.

Strongbow, a typical Norman adventurer, was pleased to accept the position, welcoming the prospect of adding the wealthy and fertile lands of Leinster to a small and poor earldom in Wales. The bargain took over four years to plan and execute, but Mac Murrough returned to Ireland in August 1167 bringing with him a small Norman force under the command of Richard FitzGodebert. This landing sufficiently unsettled the High King that he offered to restore to Dermot ten cantreds of Hy-Kinsella on the condition that the Norman landings were to cease. Mac Murrough accepted the offer made by the High King and agreed not to land any more Norman soldiers. However , in defiance of the High King and the pact he had agreed with him, within a year Maurice Fitzgerald and Raymond Le Gros of Carew had landed their armies in Ireland.

Then on May 1,1169 a flotilla of Norman vessels arrived in Bannow Bay in the south of Wexford carrying Robert FizStephen, Maurice Prendergast and their armies; 30 knights, 60 men at arms with armour and 300 bowmen. There on the headland of Baginbun they constructed the Norman earthwork in Ireland, the ramparts of which are still visible today.

Finally on August 23, 1170 Strongbow landed near Waterford with Dermot Mac Murroughs daughter , Eva, and without delay lay siege to and captured the town. Immediately Strongbow married Mac Murrough's daughter in the towns cathedral.

Included in Strongbow's landing party was William de Birmingham , a descendant of whose, named Risteard na gCath ("Richard of the Battles") was to cause considerable damage to the O'Kellys in Connacht several decades later at the Battle of Athenry.

Strongbow's ultimate objective was the capture of Dublin , where he marched to from Waterford conquered Dublin soon after.

Strongbow agreed to lead a force to Ireland in exchange for the hand in marriage of Aoife, Mac Murroughs daughter and the rights of succession to the land of Leinster. In May 1169 the first of the Norman invaders landed on the beaches of County Wexford followed later by Strongbow. The indigenous Irish, supported by their allies and naturalised Normans fought valiantly against the invaders but were thwarted by superior military ingenuity. Within a year Mac Murrough had died and his ambitions had come to nothing. The Normans however, thrived in Ireland and in 1175 Henry II came to Ireland to stop the progress and set up centralised administration. During his time in Ireland he built the first Dublin Castle, introduced coinage and the legal jury system.

Within eight years of their arrival the Normans dominated much of Irish life with the exception of parts of Munster and Connacht , which was still dominated by the O'Kellys of Uí Maine.The Normans were superb builders and administrators and gave much to the infrastructure of Ireland at that time. They did not however, completely conquer the country but integrated into the local population. So much so that the English initiated Poynings' Law .In an attempt to frustrate integration into the local population the Normans were forbidden to marry Irish, adopt the customs, dress or traditions of the local gaels or to speak the language.

The Twelvth Century in Uí Maine ;

       1133AD Dermott McMorrogh Conquers Leinster
       1132AD O'Connor builds bridges at Athleague and Athlone
       1135AD King of Meath visits Connaught
       1136AD O'Kelly repel attack by Dermott McMurrogh
       1167AD O'Kelly Church built at Clonmacnois
       1169AD Dermott McMurrough contests Leinster, O'Kelly kills King of Meath
       1170AD Strongbow Lands in Wexford, Uí Maine raid Ormond
       1173AD King Henry II lands in Ireland, completes conquest of Ireland
       1180AD Battle of the Conors
       1186AD Death of Morough O'Kelly Chieftain of Uí Maine
       1198AD Death of Rory O'Connor, King of Connaught