Ireland shortly before the conquest

• Brian Boruma– King of Munster, 965-1002– High King, 1002-1014

• Marriage to Gormflaith, daughter of the king of Leinster; mother of Sihtric Silkenbeard, king of Dublin Vikings 989-1036

• Battle of Clontarf, 1014– Brian Boruma, Munster, and Limerick Vikings vs.

Leinster and Dublin Vikings– Máel Mórda mac Murchada, king of Leinster and

brother of Gormflaith

Ireland circa 1014

The aftermath of Clontarf• High king (ard rí), king of Ireland (rí Erenn), and king with opposition

(rí co fesabra)• Donnchadh O’Brien, king of Munster and high king, 1014-1063

[Rule of Munster and Connacht, but loss of Leinster]• Dermot mac Mael na mBo, king of Leinster 1032-1072 and ‘king

with opposition’ (Uí Cheinnselaig) [Rule of Leinster and Meath]• Turlough O’Brien, king of Munster 1063-1086 and ‘king of Ireland,’

1072-1086. [Rule of Munster, Leinster, Meath, and Connacht]• Murtagh O’Brien, king of Dublin 1075-1088, ‘king of Ireland’ 1088-

1119. [Rule of Munster, Leinster, Connacht, and Meath].• Turlough O’Connor, king of Connacht and ‘king of Ireland’ 1118/9-

1156. [Rule of Connacht, Munster, Leinster, and Meath].• Murtagh Mac Loughlin (Uí Néill), king of Ulster and ‘king with

opposition’, 1156-1166. [Rule of Ulster, Meath, and Leinster].• Rory O’Connor, king of Connacht and ‘king of Ireland’ 1166-1186.

[Rule of Connacht, Munster, Leinster, and Meath].

Religious reform in Ireland• The connection with Rome

– King Sitric of Dublin’s pilgrimage to Rome, 1028– Bishoprics after the Roman model established in Viking held cities from 1050 onward

(Dublin, Waterford, and Limerick)• The connection with Canterbury

– Bishops of Dublin consecrated in England in 1074, 1085, 1096, 1121– Bishop of Waterford consecrated in England in 1096– Many of these men educated in England

• The Gregorian Reform in Ireland– Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) to Turlough O’Brien, king of Munster, reform the Irish

church! (and particularly those uncivilized marriage laws)• Synod of Ráith Bressail, 1111

– Established two archbishoprics at Cashel and Armagh• The establishment of the Cistercian order in Ireland, circa 1140• Synod of Kells, 1152

– First synod to be presided over by a legate sent from Rome– Added two archbishoprics, Dublin and Tuam– Primacy of Armagh confirmed

• Pope Adrian IV, Laudabiliter, 1155

Laudabiliter, 1155• Laudably and profitably does your majesty [Henry II] contemplate spreading

the glory of your name on earth and laying up for yourself the reward of eternal happiness in heaven, in that, as becomes a catholic prince, you purpose to enlarge the boundaries of the Church, to proclaim the truths of the Christian religion to a rude and ignorant people, and to root out the growths of vice from the field of the Lord…

• Whereas then, well-beloved son in Christ, you have expressed to us your desire to enter the island of Ireland in order to subject its people to law and to root out from them the weeds of vice, and your willingness to pay an annual tribute to the blessed Peter of one penny from every house, and to maintain the rights of the churches of that land whole and inviolate: We therefore, meeting your pious and laudable desire with due favour and according a gracious assent to your petition, do hereby declare our will and pleasure that, with a view to enlarging the boundaries of the church, restraining the downward course of vice, correcting evil customs and planting virtue, and for the increase of the Christian religion, you shall enter that island and execute whatsoever may tend to the honour of God and the welfare of the land…

The conquest of Ireland• Dermot Mac Murrough, king of Leinster 1134-1171• Abduction of Derbhforgaill, 1152

– Wife of Tigernan O’Rourke, king of Brefni• Dermot allied to Murtagh Mac Loughlin, king of Ulster and ‘king with

opposition’ 1156-1166• Tigernan O’Rourke allied with Rory O’Connor, king of Connacht and ‘king

of Ireland’ 1166-1186• Dermot expelled in 1166, appealed to Henry II of England for help• Dermot’s assistants were younger sons of Anglo-Norman lords in Wales:

– FitzGilberts• Richard de Clare, aka Strongbow

– FitzHenries– FitzGeralds– FitzStephens– Carews– Barrys

The conquest of Ireland• 1167, Dermot Mac Murrough returned to Leinster• 1169, Dermot’s mercenaries arrive, Wexford falls• 1170, Waterford and Dublin fall, Dermot marries his daughter Aoife to

Strongbow• 1171

– Strongbow becomes king of Leinster upon Dermot’s death– Henry II arrives in Dublin; Strongbow submits and receives Leinster as a fief

• 1172– Henry issues a royal charter for Dublin– Waterford and Wexford receive royal garrisons– Petty kings of Leinster submit– Meath granted to Hugh de Lacy; De Lacy subsequently made justiciar for Ireland– Irish clergy recognize Henry as their secular overlord

• 1175, Treaty of Windsor– Rory O’Connor submitted to Henry II in exchange for overlordship of Connacht,

Ulster, and Munster• 1177, Prince John named Lord of Ireland

The kingdom of Henry II

The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife, by Daniel Maclise, 1854, National Gallery of Ireland

Anglo-Norman authors on the conquest

• Gerald of Wales’ History and Topography of Ireland and Conquest of Ireland (1185-1195) [Gerald accompanied John to Ireland in the 1180s; Gerald’s FitzGerald relatives also participated in the conquest]

• From the Conquest of Ireland– “…O’Rourke, prince of Meath, having gone on an expedition into

a distant quarter, left his wife… in a certain island of Meath during his absence; and she, who had long entertained a passion for Dermot took advantage of the absence of her husband, and allowed herself to be ravished, not against her will. As the nature of women is, fickle ad given to change, she thus became the prey of the spoiler by her own contrivance. For as Marc Antony and Troy are witnesses, almost all the greatest evils in the world have arisen from women…”

King John’s castle, Limerick, Ireland, building begun in late 12th century

The conquest of Ireland• Dublin and Anglo-Norman lordships under English Common law• Anglo-Norman families established in Ireland

– De Clares/Marshalls in Leinster; male line died out in 1245– Fitzgeralds in Leinster, made earls of Kildare in 1316 and earls of Desmond in

1329– Butlers in Leinster/Munster, made earls of Ormond in 1328– De Lacys, earls of Ulster; male line died out in 1243– De Burghs, conquered parts of Connacht in 1235, earls of Ulster after 1263

• English institutions in Ireland– Justiciars, from 1172– Exchequer, from 1200– Treasury, from 1217– Justices in eyre, from 1218– Chancellor, from 1232– Dublin Castle, 1212– Dublin Parliament, 1297– The Pale

The conquest of Ireland

• The role of the Irish church– Efforts at anglicization

• The creation of parishes• The arrival of the Dominican order, 1224• The arrival of the Franciscan order, 1231• Archbishops of Dublin (all English) refuse to recognize

primacy of Armagh• English monasteries refused entrance to Irish candidates

– Irish resistance• Archbishops of Armagh and Tuam almost exclusively Irish• Irish monasteries refused entrance to English candidates

The conquest of Ireland• From mid 1200s, Irish used gallóglach (gallowglass), foreign mercenaries to

fight the English [origin of the Mac Donnells and Mac Sweeneys]• The war of Edward Bruce, 1315-1318

– Edward the brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland and son-in-law of Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster 1286-1320

– Sent by Robert, but also offered the kingship of Ireland by Donal O’Neill of Ulster– After battles in Ulster, Connacht, and Leinster, Edward crowned king of Ireland in

1316– Donal O’Neill sends “Irish Remonstrance” to the papacy in 1317, asking for papal

support of the new king– Bruce killed in battle in 1318

• 1341, Edward III of England attempted to void grants made in Ireland after 1307 (Kildare, Ormond, and Desmond)

• 1343, Edward III appointed a new justiciar, whose actions drove the earls of Desmond and Kildare to revolt

• The Statutes of Kilkenny, 1366• 1394, Richard II of England arrives with 10,000 men; most native Irish lords

swore loyalty, few Anglo-Irish lords did

The Statutes of Kilkenny

• II. No marriage alliances, no fostering of children; no sale of horses or weapons to the Irish

• III. English must speak English, have English names, wear English clothes, and never speak Irish even among the Irish; saddles are required for those with means £100/year

• IV. English common law the only law• VI. Hurling outlawed, to be replaced by ‘gentlemanlike’

games• XIII and XIV. No Irish to be admitted to any church office

or monastery in English lands• XV. No contact with Irish spies (i.e. musicians, poets,

singers)

Maps of Ireland before (l) and after (r) the Anglo-Norman conquest