seamus dubhghaill

Promoting Irish Culture and History from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Tag Archives: Fealty


by Leave a comment

Diarmait Mac Murchada is Defeated in Battle by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair

On August 1, 1166, Diarmait Mac Murchada (anglicised Dermot MacMurrough), King of Leinster, is defeated in battle by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (anglicised Rory O’Conor), who has recently become High King of Ireland. This defeat is a decisive blow to Mac Murchada’s power and marks the end of his reign as an independent ruler.

Mac Murchada has ruled Leinster since 1126 and is a powerful and ambitious king. He is an ally of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, High King of Ireland, but their alliance is strained by rivalries and political maneuvering. In 1166, Mac Lochlainn’s own position is weakened after his subjects rebel and kill him, and Mac Murchada is next in Ua Conchobair’s line of succession.

Ua Conchobair, now High King, turns his attention to eliminating rivals. On August 1, 1166, Mac Murchada is defeated in open battle and forced to flee Ireland. His expulsion is a critical turning point as it strips him of his kingdom and leaves him without a base to rule.

In exile, Mac Murchada seeks help from King Henry II of England. He promises to swear fealty to Henry and grant land in Ireland in exchange for military support to reclaim his throne. Henry allows him to enlist the aid of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (“Strongbow”), and other Norman lords from South Wales.

Mac Murchada returns to Ireland in 1167 with an advance party of Anglo-Normans. In 1170, Strongbow arrives with a larger force, and together they capture Dublin. Mac Murchada marries his daughter, Aoife (Eva), to Strongbow, and upon his death in 1171, Strongbow succeeds as ruler of Leinster.

Mac Murchada’s defeat and subsequent alliance with the Normans initiates the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, a process that leads to centuries of English political and military involvement in the country. His actions are remembered as a pivotal moment in Irish history, with complex legacies — seen by some as a desperate ruler trying to restore his throne, and by others as a traitor who opens the door to foreign domination.

In summary, August 1, 1166, is the day Diarmait Mac Murchada is overthrown by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, leading to his exile and ultimately setting in motion the Norman conquest of Ireland.

(Pictured: Diarmait Mac Murchada)


by Leave a comment

The Treaty of Windsor (1175)

The Treaty of Windsor, a territorial agreement made during the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland, is signed in Windsor, Berkshire on October 6, 1175, by King Henry II of England and the High King of Ireland, Rory O’Connor (Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair). The witnesses are Richard of Ilchester, Bishop of Winchester; Geoffrey Ridel, Bishop of Ely; Lorcán Ua Tuathail, Archbishop of Dublin; William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex; Justiciar Richard de Luci; Geoffrey de Purtico, Reginald de Courtenea (Courtenay) and three of Henry’s court chaplains.

Under the Treaty, O’Connor recognizes King Henry II as his overlord and agrees to collect tribute for him from all parts of Ireland. Henry agrees that O’Connor can be king of the areas not conquered by the Normans. But O’Connor cannot control the territories of which he is nominally king. Henry and his barons annex further land without consulting O’Connor.

Overall, the agreement leaves O’Connor with a kingdom consisting of Ireland outside the provincial kingdom of Leinster (as it was then), Dublin and a territory from Waterford Dungarvan, as long as he paid tribute to Henry II, and owed fealty to him. All of Ireland is also subject to the new religious provisions of the papal bull Laudabiliter and the Synod of Cashel (1172).

O’Connor is obliged to pay one treated cow hide for every ten cattle. The other “kings and people” of Ireland are to enjoy their lands and liberties so long as they remain faithful to the kings of England and are obliged to pay their tribute in hides through O’Connor.

The Annals of Tigernach record that: “Cadla Ua Dubthaig came from England from the Son of the Empress, having with him the peace of Ireland, and the kingship thereof, both Foreigner and Gael, to Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobhair, and to every provincial king his province from the king of Ireland, and their tributes to Ruaidhrí.” The Annals also list the ongoing violence in Ireland at the time. The text reveals a misunderstanding of the scope of the treaty and the matters agreed by the two kings that soon prove fatal to the peace of Ireland. Henry sees O’Connor as his subordinate within the feudal system, paying him an annual rent on behalf of all his sub-kings. O’Connor sees himself as the restored High King of Ireland, subject only to a very affordable annual tribute to Henry.

The treaty breaks down very quickly, as O’Connor is unable to prevent Norman knights from carving out new territories on a freelance basis, starting with assaults on Munster and Ulaid in 1177. For his part Henry is by now too distant to suppress them and is preoccupied with events in France. In 1177 he replaces William FitzAldelm with his 10-year-old son Prince John and names him as Lord of Ireland.


by Leave a comment

The Norman Invasion of Ireland

Cambro-Norman mercenaries land in Ireland on May 1, 1169 at the request of Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurragh), the ousted King of Leinster, who has sought their help in regaining his kingdom. The Norman invasion of Ireland takes place in stages during the late 12th century, at a time when Gaelic Ireland is made up of several kingdoms, with a High King claiming lordship over all.

Diarmait and the Normans seize Leinster within weeks and launch raids into neighbouring kingdoms. This military intervention has the backing of King Henry II of England and is authorized by Pope Adrian IV.

And there and then the high king stood strong and lay down too led by Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, more commonly known as Strongbow. By May 1171, Strongbow has assumed control of Leinster and seized the Norse-Irishcity kingdoms of Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford. That summer, High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O’Connor) leads an Irish counteroffensive against the Normans, but they manage to hold most of their conquered territory. In October 1171, King Henry lands a large Anglo-Norman army in Ireland to establish control over both the Cambro-Normans and the Irish. The Norman lords hand their conquered territory to Henry. He lets Strongbow hold Leinster in fief and declares the cities to be crown land. Many Irish kings also submit to him, likely in the hope that he will curb Norman expansion. Henry, however, grants the unconquered Kingdom of Meath to Hugh de Lacy. After Henry’s departure in 1172, Norman expansion and Irish counteroffensives continue.

The 1175 Treaty of Windsor acknowledges Henry as overlord of the conquered territory and Ruaidrí as overlord of the rest of Ireland, with Ruaidrí also swearing fealty to Henry. However, the Treaty soon falls apart. The Anglo-Norman lords continue to invade Irish kingdoms and they in turn launch counter-attacks. In 1177, Henry adopts a new policy. He declares his son John to be “Lord of Ireland” (i.e. of the whole country) and authorizes the Norman lords to conquer more land. The territory they hold becomes the Lordship of Ireland and forms part of the Angevin Empire. The largely successful nature of the invasion has been attributed to a number of factors. These include the Normans’ military superiority and programme of castle-building, the lack of a unified opposition from the Irish, and the Church’s support for Henry’s intervention.

The Norman invasion is a watershed in the history of Ireland, marking the beginning of more than 700 years of direct English and, later, British involvement in Ireland.