The British should suffer??

Submitted by Brian Riley (Ireland), Mar 7, 2008 at 09:31

Mr Coughlan -

Your knowledge of Irish history is, to say the least, poor. The "British" did not "March into Ireland"

During the 11th. Century, while the Celtic tribes in Ireland were squabbling among themselves, the Normans invaded in 1066 to defeat and occupy Saxon England. By the time that Henry II was on the throne, Dermot McMurragh, King of Leinster, abducted Dervogilla, wife of another Irish King.and as a result was pushed off his throne. Seeking allies to regain his throne, he asked Henry II for help. Henry had problems of his own with land-hungry and unruly Noman barons, so he sent Dermot on a search for a Norman knight, Robert Fitzherbert de Clare, known as "Strongbow", who would help.

Having located Strongbow, at that time fighting the Welsh along the border, Dermot made him an offer. "Come to Ireland with a force of Normans and help me regain my throne" Strongbow asked what was in it for him and Dermot offered his daughter, Aoife, as a bride and moreover that when Dermot died, Strongbow would succeed him as King of Leinster on the (hopefully!) regained throne.

To cut this short, Strongbow landedd in Ireland with a force of Normans, joined up with Dermot and such Irish forces as he could muster, and together they marched on Dublin. Strongbow/Dermot won and the throne was regained. A year later, upon Dermot's death, Strongbow became the first Anglo-Norman king of the province of Leinster, with Aoife as his queen.

The Norman knights who had come over with Strongbow then began to take land and build castles all over Ireland - exactly as they had in England-and to either defeat the Celtic lords in battle or to live with them through intermarriage and treaty.

After a year or so, Henry over in England began to get worried about this increasingly powerful island across the water, and so he called a great meeting at Mellifont in Ireland, attended by Norman landowners, Gaelic chieftains and Irish petty kings.

He made them an offer! If they would come before him, bow the knee and swear fealty and alleigence to him , his heirs and successors, before God, then they were to give him their land with the left hand and would give it back in the right hand with an English title. After that, Henry would return home, confident that Ireland was now pacified and loyal to the English Crown. The great assembly accepted the terms - Norman baron and Irish chief in turn came to Henry and swore their loyalty.

And THAT is the story of how the wicked "British" marched into and ""occupied Ireland!!

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