King of Wexford and Leinster, E Ireland (1126), who asserted his rule over neighbouring Waterford and Ossory in the 1130s. He ravaged the country with great cruelty, and abducted Dervorgill, wife of the Lord of Breifne (1152). In 1166 he was defeated by a combined force of chieftains. His enemy Tiernan O'Rourke formed an allegiance with the high king Rory O'Connor and the Dublin Normans to drive MacMurrough into exile in France. MacMurrough offered to become vassal to the English king, Henry II, in return for his assistance in the restoration of his kingship in Ireland. MacMurrough subsequently sought aid from Henry's Anglo-Norman vassals in England, such as Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow), recapturing Wexford in 1167. Richard de Clare in turn stormed Waterford and Dublin (1170) and was granted Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin, proclaiming himself king of Leinster. He married Eva, eldest daughter of MacMurrough (1170), assuring Anglo-Norman domination of Ireland.
| Reign: | 1126– 1171 |
| Predecessor: | Enna MacMurrough |
| Successor: | Domnall Cáemánach MacMurrough |
| Date of Birth: | c. 1100 |
| Place of Birth: |
Leinster, Ireland |
| Wives: |
Mór Ua Tuathaill, Sadb Ni Faelain, Derbforgaill Ni Mael Sechlainn |
| Buried: | Ferns, County Wexford |
| Date of Death: | 1171 |
| Parents: | Donnach MacMurrough and ? |
Diarmait Mac Murchada (also known as Diarmait na nGall, "Dermot of the Foreigners"), anglicized as Dermot MacMurrough (died 1 May 1171) was the King of Leinster, and is often considered to have been the most notorious traitor in Irish history. Ousted as King of Leinster, he invited King Henry II of England to assist him in regaining the throne.
Early Life and Family
Mac Murchada was born in 1110, a son of Donnchad, King of Leinster and Dublin;
Mac Murchada had two wives (as allowed under the Brehon Laws), the first of whom, Mór Ua Tuathaill, was mother of Aoife of Leinster and Conchobar Mac Murchada.
King of Leinster
After the death of his older brother, Mac Murchada unexpectedly became King of Leinster. This was opposed by the then High King of Ireland, Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair who feared rightly so that Mac Murchada would become a rival. King Tairrdelbach sent one of his allied Kings, the belligerent Tigernán Ua Ruairc to conquer Leinster and oust the young Mac Murchada.
After the death of the famous High King Brian Boru in 1014, Ireland was at almost constant civil war for two centuries. At that time Ireland was like a federal kingdom, with five provinces (Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught along with Meath, which was the seat of the High King) each ruled by kings who were all supposed to be loyal to the High King of Ireland.
Exile, Return and Death
In 1166, Ireland's new High King and Mac Murchada's only ally Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn had fallen, and a large coalition led by Tigernán Ua Ruairc (Mac Murchada's arch enemy) marched on Leinster. Mac Murchada fled to Wales and from there to England and France, in order to find King Henry II and plead with him to be allowed recruit soldiers to bring back to Ireland and reclaim his Kingship. (It should be mentioned that King Henry II had in his possession, the Papal Bull laudabiliter which would entitle Henry to come to Ireland in order to deal with the renegade Christians) On returning to Wales, he sought the abode of Robert Fitzstephen, who helped him organize a mercenary army of Norman and Welsh soldiers to retrieve his kingship.
In his absence Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (son of Mac Murchada's former enemy, High King Tairrdelbach) had become the new High King of Ireland. Mac Murchada planned not only to retake Leinster, but to oust the Uí Conchobair clan and become the High King of Ireland himself. Mac Murchada gambled that Ruaidri would not hurt the Leinster hostages which he had (including Mac Murchada's eldest son, Conchobar Mac Murchada).
Although in modern Irish history Diarmait Mac Murchada is often seen as a traitor, his intention was not to aid an English invasion of Ireland, but rather to use Henry's assistance to become the High King of Ireland himself.
Gerald of Wales, a Cambro-Norman historian who visited Ireland and whose uncles and cousins were prominent soldiers in the army of Strongbow, said of Mac Murchada:
"Now Dermot was a man tall of stature and stout of frame; Ua Conchobair was soon ousted, first as High King and eventually as King of Connaught. By 1171, England directly controlled a small territory in Ireland surrounding the city of Dublin known as "the Pale", and the city of Waterford, while the rest of Ireland was divided between Norman and Welsh barons sent by the English, and the various Irish Clans (like the Uí Conchobair who retained Connaught and the Uí Néill who retained Ulster).See also Kings of Leinster
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