Diarmuid Mac Murchadha Caomhánach

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Diarmuid Mac Murchadha Caomhánach. Illustration of a manuscript from around 1200

Diarmuid Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (in older spelling Diarmait Mac Murchada , also Dermot von Leinster or Diarmuid na nGall , anglicized Dermot MacMurrough , * 1110 - † May 1171 ) was a king of Leinster in Ireland from the Uí Ceinnselaig dynasty . He paved the way for the Anglo- Norman invasion of Ireland and was therefore also called Diarmuid na nGall (Diarmuid of the foreigners) or the man who led the Normans into the country by the Irish .

Youth and family

Mac Murchadha was born to Donnchad mac Murchada, King of Leinster and Dublin . The grandmother of his father Devorgilla (Derbforgaill) was the daughter of Donnchad, King of Munster and thus granddaughter of Brian Boru . He had two wives, which was allowed under the Brehon Laws , the first, Sadb Ni Faeláin, gave birth to a daughter named Órlaith, who married Domnall Mór, the king of Munster. His second wife, Mór Ní Tuathail (O'Toole), was the sister of St. Lawrence O'Toole and the mother of Aoife von Leinster and Conchobar Mac Murchada, Mac Murchadha's youngest son. He had two other sons, Domhnall Caomhánach mac Murchada (murdered as a hostage by King Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobhair in 1170) and Énna Cennselach mac Murchada (blinded in 1169).

King of Leinster

On January 31, 1132, Mac Murchadha attacked Kildare Abbey, killed many people, set fire to the church, had the abbess of the Mac Faelain family, the successor of St. Brigids, rape by his soldiers and installed his niece Sadhbh Ni Gluniarainn as abbess . In 1141 he blinded or murdered 17 nobles from Leinster who had rebelled against his tyrannical rule.

Pioneer of the Anglo-Norman invasion

Diarmuid tried in vain to become the High King of Ireland . In 1152 he kidnapped Derbforgaill , wife of the King of Bréifne , Tigernán Ua Ruairc and daughter of Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair , King of Connacht and High King of Ireland, when she was on a pilgrimage to Lough Derg . Derbforgaill returned to her husband in 1153, but Tigernán Ua Ruairc still wanted revenge on Diarmuid. After long fighting, Tigernán Ua Ruairc was able to decisively beat Diarmuid with the help of his father-in-law Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair. In August 1166 he fled to Bristol with his daughter Aoife to solicit the support of King Henry II of England . However, since the king had already traveled on to France, Diarmuid followed him and met him shortly after Christmas in Aquitaine . Henry II promised him no direct help, but allowed him to seek support in England to recapture his empire. In Bristol, Diarmuid first tried to get the support of Richard Strongbow , the Earl of Pembroke, and promised him the hand of his daughter Aoife. Strongbow initially hesitated and requested the express consent of King Henry II. To do this, he negotiated with Maurice FitzGerald , who, however, first had to look for further supporters for an attack on Ireland. In August 1167 Diarmuid returned to Ireland and initially stayed at the Ferns monastery . In the spring of 1168 his Irish troops were defeated again by Tigernán Ua Ruairc, and Diarmuid had to pay 100 ounces of gold as compensation. When Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair was planning another attack on Leinster in the spring of 1169, Diarmuid asked his Anglo-Norman allies for urgent help. In May, Maurice FitzGerald and Robert FitzStephen landed at Wexford with a small force . They united their forces with Diarmuids Irish fighters, but were defeated after initial success by Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair at Ferns. The Anglo-Norman settled in Wexford, while Diarmuid Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair recognized as the High King and had to hold his son Domhnall and his grandson hostage. In August 1170, Strongbow landed in Ireland with another Anglo-Norman force. Ruaidhrí Ua Conchobair warned Diarmuid not to break the peace, but the latter replied that he was indifferent to the fate of the hostages. As a result, Diarmuid's son Domhnall was killed. The Anglo-Norman forces conquered Dublin, and Strongbow married Diarmuid's daughter Aoife. When Diarmuid died in 1171, Strongbow became his heir. Diarmuid was buried in the Ferns churchyard. His heir became his son-in-law Strongbow, which began the foreign rule of Ireland.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John T. Appleby: Johann "Ohneland". King of England . Riederer, Stuttgart 1965, p. 30
  2. ↑ Part 24 of the Annals of Tigern according to T1170.14
  3. ↑ Annals of Loch Ce, LC1132.1
  4. ^ Daniel Byrne-Rothwell: The Byrnes and the O'Byrnes, Argyll 2010, Vol. 1, p. 32
  5. ↑ Foriver For Allof - The Ravisht Timing A'Bride - by Clarence R Sterling 2001 (about the date January 31, 1132 in "Finnegans Wake")
  6. ^ Annals of the Four Masters, M1141.4
  7. ↑ Annals of Tigernach Part 24 T1170.16
  8. ^ John T. Appleby: Johann "Ohneland". King of England . Riederer, Stuttgart 1965, p. 32
personal data
SURNAME Diarmuid Mac Murchadha Caomhánach
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Diarmait Mac Murchada; Dermot from Leinster; Diarmuid by Leinster; Diarmuid na nGall; Dermot MacMurrogh
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Leinster in Ireland
DATE OF BIRTH 1110
DATE OF DEATH May 1171