Nick Maxwell

What did the ‘Normans’ ever do for us? We can debate the pluses and minuses, but one thing that’s hard to ignore, even today, is our landscape dotted with their castles. By Linzi Simpson and Seán Duffy For many people, the imprint on Ireland of the people often called the Anglo-Normans can be summed up … Read more

By Fiona Fitzsimons The family names of the military leaders who led the invasion of Ireland in 1169–76—the various ‘Fitzs’, Butler, de Barry, de Bermingham, de Burgh, de Clare, de Courcey, de Lacy, de Montmorency, de Roche, de Prendergast, Tyrrell and de Vernon—are evidence of their complex identity. They were descended from Norman families who … Read more

Since history is written by the victors, it is not surprising that our most detailed narratives of the invasion of Ireland that began in 1169 are partisan contemporary accounts by the likes of Gerald of Wales. Can we know what actually happened? By Seán Duffy In the late 1160s Ireland was invaded and—for the first … Read more

Did she elope? Was she abducted? A scarlet woman responsible for Ireland’s woes or a tragic victim who personified her country? The so-called ‘Rape of Dervorgilla’ has played a prominent role in the historiography of the 1169 invasion, but who was she? By Denis Casey With, for a husband, a ‘one-eyed king, nursing villainous treachery’, … Read more