Was she kidnapped or did she happily elope? Luke Bradley tells the story of the woman at the centre of a feud that resulted in Diarmait mac Murchada being the man to invite Strongbow and the Anglo Normans into Ireland
It is a tragic fact that most women are absent from our records of twelfth century Ireland. While women were recognized as an instrumental part of Irish society, they received little attention from chroniclers compared to their male counterparts. This lack of a feminine perspective is a serious gap in our knowledge of this period. These women are faceless in history; they have no voice.
However, there was one woman from this era who remains a hot topic among historians today. A woman who played a vital role in events that sent shockwaves throughout Ireland and continue to impact it 800 years later.
Her name was Derbfhorgaill.
In 1166, an event occurred that snowballed into a conquest the likes of which Ireland had never seen. It was in that year that Diarmait Mac Murchada, the long reigning King of Leinster, was ‘banished by the men of Erin’ and sent fleeing across the Irish Sea.
His house of cards came tumbling down with the advancement of the High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair and Diarmait’s nemesis, Tigernán Ua Ruairc, the King of Breifne. Having been exiled from his kingdom,
Diarmait realised that if he was going to regain his crown, he had to seek help from outside of Ireland. What followed was a course of action that would change Ireland forever and leave Diarmait’s already ailing reputation in tatters for centuries to come.
But before we move forward in time, let’s go back. Why was Diarmait banished from Ireland? How did this former king find himself exiled from his own kingdom?
Believe it or not, Diarmait’s fall from grace was related to actions he had taken fourteen years earlier. Actions involving Derbfhorgaill, the wife of his arch enemy.
It didn’t take marrying Ua Ruairc to make Derbfhorgaill a member of Irish royalty. The Queen-consort to Breifne was also the daughter of the long reigning King of Mide, Murchad Ua Máelshechlainn. Her father Murchad arranged a marriage between Derbfhorgaill and the up-and-coming Ua Ruairc while she was likely still in her teens.
Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own