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Life was very different in Ireland before the Normans arrived.

• There was a series of kingdoms ruled by different families such as the O’Connors and MacMurroughs
• There were various kings who were often warring with one another
• There was an Ard Ri or High King whose role was more of a status symbol than a governing role (the High King was often decided by combat)
• There was little in the way of farming as we would know it - some crops were grown but not in an organised way
• There were very few towns and cities, except those that had been built up by the invading Vikings who had then settled in Ireland. Dublin, Waterford and Wexford were originally Viking settlements.
• Christianity was well established but still reflected many of the old pagan rituals.
• Irish society was one of the few places in Europe where women had a degree of rights. Women were allowed to own property and husbands were not allowed to mistreat their wives.

In 1167 , Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster was deposed by the High King, Rory O’Connor

After he had been defeated in battle by O’Connor, McMurrough fled to Wales. Determined to regain his position, he would need powerful military backing and so he turned to the Normans for assistance.

The Normans were the most powerful fighters in Europe because of their use of armoured knights on horseback. McMurrough asked the Norman ruler of England, King Henry II, for help.

Henry II did not want to lead an invasion himself but encouraged MacMurrough to hire Norman Knights from Wales.

Strongbow was so powerful that King Henry II now saw him as a threat. He decided that he needed a show of his power to keep Strongbow from challenging him. He amassed a huge force of 400 ships, 500 knights and 6000 soldiers and sailed for Ireland, becoming the first English monarch to do so. There were no battles however, as to take on this huge army would have ended in certain defeat.

Key points about Henry II's visit

• Strongbow gave his loyalty to the King and was allowed to keep the title of Earl of Leinster, deliberately lower than the title of king.
• Henry II kept Dublin and the other ports for himself and appointed Hugh de Lacy to run Ireland on his behalf. Again this was a deliberate snub to Strongbow.
• Even the Irish Kings paid homage to Henry II as they hoped this might protect their lands.
• At first O’Connor refused to give way but he signed the Treaty of Windsor in 1175 which recognised Henry II as King in return for a promise that the Normans would not take any more land from the Irish kings.

The King of England was now the most powerful man in Ireland. O’Connor was the last native King of Ireland and the promises that he got would not stop the Normans. They continued to seize the lands of the Irish Kings.