Dermot MacMurrough

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Dermot MacMurrough (c.1110–71), king of Leinster. Dermot is said to have succeeded his father as king while in his teens and to have been large, violent, and voluble. He plunged at once into fierce fighting but in 1166 was forced into exile and begged Henry II to assist him, promising homage in return. Henry gave him permission to recruit helpers and he was joined in Ireland in 1170 by Richard de Clare, ‘Strongbow’. Together they recaptured Dublin, and Strongbow married Dermot's daughter Eva (Aoife). Dermot died the following year and five months later Henry himself led an expedition which laid the foundation for the Anglo-Norman acquisition of Dublin and the Pale.

J. A. Cannon