The 12th century marks a major turning point in Irish history. A new internal power struggle led to the Norman invasion of Ireland, which in turn led to England taking up permanent residence on the island, bringing it under the rule of the British crown. This domination lasted for many centuries, and placed Ireland in a very delicate situation, which continues to this day with the Northern Irish conflict…
King Diarmuid Mac Murrough
It all begins with a story of adultery, as Dervorgilla, wife of King Tiernan O’Rourke of Breifne, falls under the spell of another king, Dermot MacMurrough (Diarmait MacMurchada) of Leinster. Not surprisingly, war was declared, forcing MacMurrough into exile, where he pleaded his case in England, Wales and France.
In 1166, he met Henry II, King of England… in France! Indeed, Henry is more French than English. At this time, the Angevin empire included England, but above all Normandy, Anjou, Maine, Poitou and Aquitaine. It also has sovereign rights over the Toulouse region, Wales and Scotland.
For several years Henry had been interested in adding Ireland to his kingdom, but it had never really been a priority. Henry has nothing to lose by helping MacMurrough and accepts his offer of loyalty. He wrote him a letter inviting his subjects to assist him. MacMurrough then travels to Wales, where he meets the legendary Norman chieftain General Strongbow, Richard FitzGilbert de Clare.
The latter was leading troops in trouble against the Welsh princes of Gwynedd. Reluctant at first, he agrees to help MacMurrough when the latter promises him his daughter Aoife and the succession to the throne of Leinster. Norman knights were then recruited, whose names are now typically Irish: FitzHenry, Carew, FitzGerald, Barry, Prendergast, Fleming, Roche, Cheevers, Synott…
The Norman Invasions (1169) – Go to Ireland.com
Impatient, MacMurrough returned to Ireland with a handful of soldiers in 1167, but was quickly defeated by O’Rourke and O’Connor. It was in May 1169 that the bulk of the troops, 600 men, disembarked and marched on Wexford, which fell the following day.
At the same time, Strongbow’s bodyguard of ten knights and seventy archers, led by Raymond Carew, known as Le Gros, a brilliant FitzGerald warrior, landed near Waterford. They were immediately attacked by thousands of Vikings and Irish, but prevailed despite a clear numerical inferiority.
The two contingents joined forces and began the siege of Waterford. They were repulsed twice, but Le Gros finally broke through the defences, and Waterford fell. Aoife then joins the town, and the wedding is celebrated.
The next target is Dublin, then a semi-independent Viking kingdom. Despite an ambush by O’Rourke and O’Connor, Norman troops and MacMurrough reach the city, and while negotiations are underway, Le Gros and Milo de Cogan bring down the last forces and force Asgall, the Viking king of Dublin, to flee. He returned nine months later, in April 1171, to attempt to retake the city, but failed and was captured, while Strongbow was away at the bedside of a dying MacMurrough.
On his return, he faces a revolt led by Murtaugh, Dermot’s nephew and heir according to Irish tradition. Murtaugh organized a siege of the town with Rory O’Connor and the support of many Gaelic chiefs, but after two months Strongbow, Le Gros and Milo de Cogan, each leading 200 men, launched an attack that decimated the enemy troops and broke the siege.
In theory, Strongbow and his Norman troops were acting on behalf of Henry II, but the latter rightly suspected that their aim was to establish an independent kingdom in Ireland. That’s why, in the winter of 1171, he decided to cross the Irish Sea himself, with 4,000 men, which gave the Normans pause for thought.
Without a single drop of blood being shed, Strongbow pays tribute to Henry, as do all the dignitaries of the time, Normans, Irish, Vikings and bishops. Ireland became part of the Angevin empire.
The Treaty of Windsor was negotiated in 1175 and established that :
Almost immediately, the treaty collapsed, for two reasons. First of all, O’Connor proved incapable of levying taxes on his lands, let alone on the whole island, but above all, Henry was unable to contain the Normans, who wanted to expand their territory. Henry finally drops the treaty and grants land without even consulting O’Connor or the other Gaelic kings.
In 1189, on the death of Henry II, Richard the Lionheart came to the throne, followed by John I, who lost the war against Philip II (1206). As a result, Anjou, Normandy and Brittany were amputated from the Angevin empire. The defeat could have been even more severe had the Normans of Ireland not allied themselves with him.
At that time, the French-speaking Normans could have turned against the English aristocracy, abandoning French for English, and joined their rivals from Normandy and France, whose descendants they were, but remained loyal to John.
The Norman conquest continued, and the interior was profoundly changed. Indeed, while the coastal towns (Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick) were founded by the Vikings, most inland towns and villages are of Norman origin. The province of Munster soon became the most French of the territories outside direct French control…
The Normans gradually replaced the Irish nobility or became part of it through marriage. For the average Irishman, it made no difference. He kept his land and his animals, his only obligation being to adopt the new farming techniques recently imported. The other transformation was architectural, with the Normans building Dublin Castle and numerous churches (including St Patrick’s in Dublin, St Mary’s in Limerick and St Canice’s in Kilkenny).
The Norman territory reached its maximum expansion in the middle of the 13th century. At that time, Ireland was divided into three zones, geographically, ethnically and culturally. “The Pale, a 50km-long, 30km-wide zone centred on Dublin, is the only English zone.
Crown orders and rules are followed, English is spoken a little, and most inhabitants feel more colonial than Irish. Gaelic Ireland is mainly confined to western Ulster and the south-west coast. It was never conquered by the Normans, and so naturally retained its Gaelic organization and customs.
The rest of the island, around 70%, was divided into fiefdoms controlled by Irish-Norman nobles, who began to adopt the Gaelic language and culture and to integrate into society. They remain fundamentally loyal to the crown, but are not interested in a feudal system that would remove them from power for its benefit.
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