Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Strongbow & the Normans
The next wave of invaders came in 1169, when an army of Cambro-Norman knights led by
Richard de Clare (better known as Strongbow) landed in Wexford at the urging of Dermot
MacMurrough, who needed help to regain his throne as the King of Leinster. As a gesture
of thanks, MacMurrough made Strongbow his heir and gave him Aoife, his daughter, as a
wife. Strongbow and his knights then took Dublin in 1170 and decided to make it their new
capital.
Meanwhile, King Henry II of England, concerned that the Nor-
mans might set up a rival power base in Ireland, organised his
own invading force, and landed his army in 1171 - with the
blessing of Pope Adrian IV, who wanted Henry to make Ireland's
renegade monks toe the Roman line.
The Normans declared their fealty to the English throne and set
about reconstructing and fortifying their new capital. In 1172
construction began on Christ Church Cathedral, and 20 years
later work began on St Patrick's Cathedral, a few hundred metres
to the south.
Henry II's son, King John, commissioned the construction of
Dublin Castle in 1204 '…for the safe custody of our treas-
ure…and the defence of the city'. As capital of the English 'colony' in Ireland, Dublin ex-
panded. Trade was organised and craft guilds developed, although membership was limited
to those of 'English name and blood'.
As Dublin grew bigger so did its problems, and over the next few centuries misery
seemed to pile upon mishap. In 1317 Ireland's worst famine of the Middle Ages killed off
thousands and reduced some to cannibalism. In 1348 the country was decimated by the
Black Death, the devastating recurrence of which over the following century indicates the
terrible squalor of medieval Dublin.
In the 15th century, the English extended their influence beyond the Pale by throwing
their weight behind the dominant Irish lords. The atmosphere was becoming markedly co-
sier as the Anglo-Norman occupiers began to follow previous invaders by integrating into
Irish culture.
Best Books
A Short History of Dublin
(2000) Pat Boran
Cities of the Imagination: Dublin
(2007) Siobhán Kilfeather
Dublin - A Celebration (2000)
Pat Liddy
Dublin: A Cultural & Literary
History (2005) Siobhán Kil-
feather
Encyclopaedia of Dublin (2005)
Douglas Bennett
