Dearbhforgaill - A woman in 12th Century Ireland
The twelfth century was a time of extreme turmoil for the Celtic people of Ireland. There were constant raids and warfare among rival kings, political struggles to attain power and the high-kingship, and religious reform in the churches which spilled over to society as a whole. Amidst this social turmoil women, who were bound by strict medieval Brehon law, were often ignored and their life stories forgotten. Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, was one of those women, but she is one woman who is hard to forget. From what is known of Dearbhforgaill, one can deduce that she made the most of her life in a time when most women simply let their lives happen to them; that she pushed the rules, bent them to the brink of breaking, finagling the circumstances to avoid social and legal punishment. But even as the daughter of the king of Meath, wife of the king of Breifne, and lover to the king of Leinster, Dearbhforgaill was not exempt from the restrictive social rules that bound Celtic women. While she appeared to have led an exciting life - one of controversy and adventure - until the ripe old age of eight-five, at which point she died after retiring to a monastery, the reality may have been much different. She seems to have been an extraordinary woman, living through tumultuous times. It appears she survived by learning to manipulate the ever changing rules to suit her aspirations, and in doing so she wrote her own life story that would survive long after her death. Yet her story is not unlike many other Celtic women of her time, other than the fact that it has been documented and survived through history. Though she is mentioned no less than five times in the annals - when most women are only mentioned on their death, if at all - it is because of the men she was associated with, not because her actions were so extraordinary. Her life makes a great story for the modern writer - with the family feuds, affairs, abductions, and convents - but all of these great adventures in Dearbhforgaill's life fall well within the parameters of acceptable and rather ordinary behavior for twelfth century Celtic society in Ireland. If one analyzes her behavior and the circumstances surrounding her actions, her life begins to appear much more somber and lonely than the historians tend to portray it. Rather than the adventurous woman, pushing the boundaries of society, Dearbhforgaill was likely a lonely and abused woman -emotionally if not physically - who simply did whatever she could to survive her circumstances.
Little is known of Dearbhforgaill during her younger years; the first time she is directly mentioned in the annals is when she was abducted by Diarmaid Mac Murchadha when she is forty-four years old. But much can be inferred about her by looking at the entries in the annals regarding her family and her husband. Also, we are aware of general social customs and the Brehon laws that guided Celtic societies in Ireland during the span of Dearbhforgaill's life. Therefore to interpret her life, one must compare the few known facts about her with Brehon law and the events documented about the men in her life.
Born in 1108 to Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, a claimant for the High Kingship[1] and Mor, the daughter of the most powerful king in Ireland[2], Dearbhforgaill was destined to be given in marriage to create a political alliance. In 1114, when Dearbhforgaill was eight years old, the power in Ireland shifted from her maternal grandfather, Muirchertach O'Brien, to Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair of Connacht.[3] Nine years later the annals tell of Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair and Tighearnan Ua Ruairc joining forces to lead an army into Meath to depose Dearbhforgaill's father. Dearbhforgaill would have been seventeen years old at the time this entry was made in 1125, a prime age for marriage. Whether she was given to Tighearnan at this point is unknown; it is more likely that her father had betrothed her to him prior to this, in an attempt to create an alliance that would prevent an event such as this from occurring. Muirchertach would not likely have given his daughter to Tighearnan after he had been deposed, and had Tighearnan taken her against her father's will she would not have been considered his wife under Brehon law. Furthermore, if Tighearnan deposed Muirchertach after Dearbhforgaill had been given to him as his wife, Muirchertach would have been more likely to have considered it a betrayal, which would explain the prolonged animosity between the two. What can be reliably deduced from this event, however, is that Dearbhforgaill would probably not have warm emotions toward her husband, and Tighearnan, likewise, would not hold Dearbhforgaill in the highest regard. This would lend well to the popular theory that Dearbhforgaill was a willing participant in her abduction many years later.
Whether Dearbhforgaill was betrothed before or after her father was deposed from Meath, it is clear from the numerous entries in the annals that their marriage did not align the two families. Dearbhforgaill's husband continued to constantly be at war with her father and brothers for the remainder of his life. But while Tighearnan's animosity toward Maeleachlainn remained strong, his alliance with Ua Conchobhair was rocky. The annals report that in 1137 Toirdhealbhach lead an expedition "against the fleet of the men of Breifne, under Tighearnan Ua Ruairc"[4] and in 1140 that Tighearnan attacked Toirdhealbhach's camp. But they also mention in 1144 that Toirdhealbhach "divided East Meath equally between Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, lord of Breifne, and Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, king of Leinster"[5]. This indicates that Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair was fluid in his alliances and enemies. His son, Ruaidhri, however, did not share this trait. In time, Ruaidhri would form a solid alliance with Tighearnan Ua Ruairc. Meanwhile, Maeleachlainn had formed an alliance with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha which would remain strong until his death. These two alliances developed over the years, and drew rigid lines between the men in Dearbhforgaill's life, which would have profound influence on future events.
It was against this political background that Dearbhforgaill was living as the wife of her father's enemy. It has been suggested that it was Tighearnan's mother who influenced Dearbhforgaill's mother to arrange the marriage of their children, and that Dearbhforgaill had been in love with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha,[6] however this theory is unsubstantiated. In medieval Celtic societies women had few legal rights, and until she was married, a woman was under the authority of her father, after marriage the authority transferred to her husband.[7] Whether or not Dearbhforgaill was in love with Diarmaid is irrelevant; love had no place in a woman's life in medieval Celtic society. Marriage, especially for someone of her lineage, was a political arrangement not an emotional one, and Dearbhforgaill's betrothal would have been decided by her father. When Dearbhforgaill was of age to marry, Muirchertach Maeleachlainn was in need of political favor from Tighearnan Ua Ruairc more so than Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, so that is who she was to marry. Interestingly, Maeleachlainn had given another daughter of his, Tailltin, in marriage to Tighearnan's ally, Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair. Muirchertach must have known that he needed Toirdhealbhach and Tighearnan on his side, and as such Dearbhforgaill's betrothal was likely decided long before she could have developed feelings for any man. She also was not likely to have been Tighearnan's first wife, as the annals mention that "Gillabroide, son of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, was slain by the Connaughtmen, on Loch En, and many others along with him"[8] in the year 1125, the same year that Tighearnan and Toirdhealbhach deposed Dearbhforgaill's father from Meath. Given that Dearbhforgaill was only seventeen years old at the time, she could not have been the mother of Tighearnan's son who was apparently old enough to be slain in battle and important enough to be named in the annals.
Polygamy was not unusual in medieval Celtic societies. We know that Tailltin was one of four wives of Toirdhealbhach[9], so it is likely that Dearbhforgaill also was one of several wives for Tighearnan. Being one of many wives to a man whom she likely despised, it is not surprising that Dearbhforgaill longed for a different life, and a loophole in Brehon law enabled her to pursue one, albeit temporary. As long as Dearbhforgaill was not Tighearnan's chief wife, she had the choice as to whether she wanted to be under the authority of her husband or her kin; had she been his chief wife the authority would have automatically gone to her husband[10]. Furthermore, Brehon law permitted divorce under certain circumstances, so it would not have been socially unacceptable for Dearbhforgaill to leave Tighearnan. However, if she were to leave him without just cause not only would she be an outcast in society, but anyone who harbored her would be subject to losing all of their rights as well.[11] This put Dearbhforgaill in a predicament because if she were to leave Tighearnan for any reason other than those spelled out in law, neither Diarmaid Mac Murchadha nor her family could take her in, lest they loose all their status and rights in society along with her. This left Dearbhforgaill with only one option; Brehon law specifies nine forms of sexual unions, the sixth of which is when a woman allows herself to be abducted without proper consent.[12] By allowing herself to be abducted she would be entering a legitimate union with her abductor without being held legally accountable for leaving her husband without just cause, for she will have presumably been taken against her will and without consent.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine who concocted the plan for Diarmaid to abduct Dearbhforgaill. The Annals of Clonmacnoise point to Dearbhforgaill's brother while other sources claim she and Diarmaid had planned it together and were just waiting for the right time.[13] The truth is likely to be a combination of the different theories. Dearbhforgaill's family had obvious motivation to help her escape her marriage to Tighearnan, as he continued to attack and kill numerous members of their family, but the timing of the event was crucial. They were not likely to succeed in their mission with the alliances as they were, with Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair allied to Tighearnan. So when their alliance began to crack, Diarmaid made his move. Toirdhealbhach, the husband of Dearbhforgaill's sister, joined Diarmaid and Dearbhforgaill's brother in an attack against Tighearnan in 1152. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, "on this occasion Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, and wife of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, was brought away by the King of Leinster, i.e. Diarmaid, with her cattle and furniture; and he took her according to the advice of her brother, Maeleachlainn"[14].
That Dearbhforgaill brought her cattle and furniture with her is a telling detail. According to Brehon law, when a woman is divorced, her dowry - or moveable property - leaves with her.[15] If Dearbhforgaill brought her property with her when she was abducted, that signifies that she was a willing participant in the abduction, even if she feigned to have been taken against her will. In essence, what she had done was create a scenario where she could leave her husband, keep her dowry, and not be held accountable under law for an unjust divorce. Diarmaid, likewise, would not lose his status or his rights for harboring her, since she had been abducted rather than having willingly abandoned her husband. However, he could be held legally accountable for her abduction, in which case he would have to pay her husband his honour-price as reparations.[16] Diarmaid would also be tasked with the sole responsibility of rearing any children from the union, as Dearbhforgaill would be exempt from any such responsibilities since the child would have been "begotten on a man's wife contrary to his wishes".[17] This appears to have been what happened with their daughter, Derboghyll, as she is mentioned as a legitimate child of Diarmaid in the annals and went on to marry a man of high social status.
Though one would assume Dearbhforgaill must have been considerably happier living with Diarmaid, she did not stay. The following year, after Ua Ruairc made amends with Ua Conchobhair, Dearbhforgaill was ‘rescued' from Mac Murchadha. The rescue itself does not appear to have been very impressive, as it is reported that Mac Murchadha did not attempt to stop her from leaving, and she once again took her wealth with her.[18] Where the annals described her abduction in great detail and excitement, of her rescue they simply report that "Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, came from the King of Leinster (Diarmaid) to Tighearnan Ua Ruairc again"[19]. There is discrepancies as to whether Dearbhforgaill returned to her husband after being ‘rescued' from Mac Murchadha, or if she returned to her family. The annals claim she went to Tighearnan, but other sources comment that "she did not return to Ua Ruairc but chose instead to live her life out in a convent" and "the whole of Ireland knew of the abduction of his wife and her refusal to go back to him when she was released"[20]. However later entries in the annals continue to refer to her as the wife of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, therefore she must have returned to her husband. Otherwise, under the Brehon divorce laws, she would no longer have been his wife. Either way, Diarmaid had "made an enemy for life; and it was an outrage for which, as we shall see, Tighearnan later sought harsh vengeance".[21]
Little is known of Dearbhforgaill's life in the decade following her return to Tighearnan in 1153. The annals tell us that her family came to power in 1156 when Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair died, and that the fighting between the rivals continued. Toirdhealbhach's son, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair - Tighearnan Ua Ruairc's ally - took his father's place as king of Connaught and immediately began leading incursions against Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn.[22] We can only speculate as to what life was like for Dearbhforgaill during these years; she was presumably living with Tighearnan, and we can assume, given Tighearnan's violent history and hatred for both Mac Murchadha and Mac Lochlainn, that Dearbhforgaill's infant daughter from Diarmaid did not reside with her under Tighearnan's authority. It is unclear whether or not she had other children with Tighearnan, but it is probably safe to assume she had. We know that he had many children, but we do not know which wives were the mothers of which children. One might think that with her family in power over Ireland she could have left Tighearnan and returned to Diarmaid had she wished[23], but that may not have been the case. Brehon law is very specific regarding marriage and divorce, and given the humiliation Tighearnan suffered from the abduction in 1152, he likely took precautions to prevent any further embarrassment. Whether it was by choice or not, Dearbhforgaill did not return to Diarmaid, and it seems to have been in her best interest in the long run.
Mac Lochlainn struggled to remain in power. Diarmaid helped defend him against endless raids and campaigns led by Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair and Tighearnan Ua Ruairc,[24] but after ten years Mac Lochlainn was overthrown by Ua Conchobhair; in 1166 Diarmaid Mac Murchadha found himself with no friends and his enemy with power and a grudge.[25] Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc almost immediately set out to dethrone Mac Murchadha. It is believed that Ua Conchobhair was satisfied by simply reducing Mac Murchadha's kingdom and taking hostages, but Ua Ruairc was set on destroying him completely.[26] Ua Ruairc was still bitter over the affair Diarmaid had had with Dearbhforgaill, and because of this grudge he ensured that Mac Murchadha was dethroned and subsequently driven out of Ireland.[27] At the center of this grudge was Dearbhforgaill; stuck in a marriage with a man she presumably despised, her parents now dead, and her lover banished from the country. There was little a woman in her predicament can do, and so it appears that Dearbhforgaill turned to the church while her men continued to fight and unwittingly lead the country to its demise.
Diarmaid Mac Murchadha was not going to give up his kingdom easily, and Dearbhforgaill most likely was aware of that. Diarmaid went to England to call in a favor from King Henry II; a favor that would ultimately change the course of Irish history. Diarmaid returned a year later and reclaimed his local power, but was quickly attacked by Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc.[28] Mac Murchadha submitted to Ua Conchobhair and gave him hostages. Interestingly, he also was forced to pay Ua Ruairc one-hundred ounces of gold in reparations for his abduction of Dearbhforgaill fifteen years earlier.[29] This is significant because under Brehon law, "if the wife has been abducted against the will of her father or kin, all her liabilities must be paid by her abductor".[30] By Ua Ruairc accepting the payment from Mac Murchadha he is signaling that he accepts that Dearbhforgaill had been taken against her will. Whether or not he believed this is pure speculation, but with that transaction the matter would have been considered settled.
While it may have been settled, it was not forgotten, although all three of them likely wanted to put the incident behind them. At this juncture Diarmaid was still trying to regain his territories, Tighearnan was unaware that he was about to face the toughest opposition he would ever see, and Dearbhforgaill was pouring all her energy and much of her wealth into the church, which likely served as her escape from the turmoil of her life. She had begun to center her attention on the church in 1157, just a few years after returning to Tighearnan from Diarmaid. This, at least, is the first we hear of it in the annals, which proclaim that "A synod was convened by the clergy of Ireland… Muircheartach Ua Lochlainn granted them also a town land at Droicheat-atha… O'Cearbhaill also gave them three score ounces of gold; and the wife of O‘Ruairc, the daughter of Ua Maeleachlainn, gave as much more, and a chalice of gold on the altar of Mary, and cloth for each of the nine other altars that were in that church".[31] This is not an insignificant size donation, especially for a woman during this period in a Celtic society, for women were not legally able to own or donate land, only moveable wealth.[32] With this donation she was not only joining the flourishing religious reformation movement of the twelfth century, she also was securing for herself a future, where she may live in peace among monastic women rather than among warring men. It is interesting to note, in light of the timing in which Dearbhforgaill turned to the church, that records show Diarmaid Mac Murchadha as the founder of no less than five religious houses between the years 1146 and 1171. Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, on the other hand, is not credited for founding any.[33] The annals did indicate that Tighearnan was in attendance at the synod in 1157, but his name is not among those listed as presenting donations or gifts. What this says about Dearbhforgaill is open to interpretation, but it appears to say that even though she physically remained with her husband, her heart and mind were with Diarmaid, and possibly that she felt closer to him and her father in the monastic houses they founded. This theory is somewhat punctuated by the claim that "the church of the Nuns at Clauin-mic-Nois was finished by Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn"[34] in the annals for 1167. It is also interesting to note that in the 1190s the daughter she had with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha is credited as being a major patron of one of the Cistercian abbeys founded in Dublin by Diarmaid.[35] Although it was common for this type of monastic participation by women during this period, the circumstances and timing surrounding Dearbhforgaill's involvement are curious, though pure coincidence cannot be ruled out.
While Dearbhforgaill was pouring herself into the church, Diarmaid was organizing an army unlike any Ireland had ever seen. In 1169 Diarmaid's army began to arrive "to contest the kingdom of Leinster for him"[36], but Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc went into Leinster and Diarmaid was compelled to give his son to Ua Conchobhair as a hostage. The following year, 1170, more forces arrived for Diarmaid, including ‘Strongbow', and the transformation of Ireland began. According to the annals, Mac Murchadha's army plundered and committed treacherous acts across Ireland. As retribution, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair killed Diarmaid's hostages - including his son and grandson. From there the violence escalated, until Diarmaid died of an unknown disease in 1171.
The effect Diarmaid's death had on Dearbhforgaill is not known. They had only spent one year together, and that had been nineteen years earlier. Even then, her emotional ties to him were unclear. Most likely he had served as a refuge for her - a year away from her life with Tighearnan Ua Ruairc. If that is the case, it would logically conclude that she had very fond feelings for him indeed. And if the contemporary poem ‘Song of Dermot and the Earl' is to be taken at face value, it clearly was an affair the two conspired together out of contempt for Tighearnan.[37] By the time of Diarmaid's death, however, he had committed such treacherous acts against Ireland that the annals recorded of his death that "he became putrid while living, through the miracle of God",[38] so there is no way of knowing how Diarmaid‘s death impacted Dearbhforgaill.
The destruction Diarmaid had begun did not die with him, for the same year he died King Henry II of England arrived in Ireland with two hundred and forty ships, and this was to have a profound impact on Dearbhforgaill's life. As King Henry proceeded to impose royal control through Ireland, he obtained the submissions of numerous Irish chiefs, including that of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc.[39] It appears as though his submission may not have been sincere however, for in 1172 Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair - who did not submit to Henry - is known to have attacked the kingdom of Hugo de Lacy, the same year in which the annals recorded that "Tiernan O'Rourke, Lord of Breifny and Conmaicne, a man of great power for a long time, was treacherously slain at Tlachtgha by Hugo de Lacy…"[40]. At the age of sixty-four, Dearbhforgaill was finally free from Tighearnan Ua Ruairc.
Free as she may have been from an presumably oppressive husband, a woman in a medieval Celtic society was never entirely independent. We do not know if Dearbhforgaill had any sons, so we do not know under whose authority she would have been after Tighearnan's death. We do know that under Brehon law, the authority would have transferred either to her sons, her kin, or the church. Because we do not know whose authority she was under, we also do not know with whom she lived for the first fourteen years after Tighearnan's death. Whichever the case, Dearbhforgaill would certainly have preferred it over that of her husband.
While we don't know the specifics of Dearbhforgaill's situation between 1172 and 1186, we do what was happening in Ireland. Tighearnan's ally, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair, continued to resist King Henry until 1175, at which point he entered the Treaty of Windsor - recognizing the English king as his overlord and relinquishing control of a substantial amount of territory in exchange for maintaining control over Connacht and outlying areas, including Breifne, Thomond and Uliad. Henry did not honor the treaty however, and announced his intention to make his son, John, the king of Ireland. By 1183 Ua Conchobhair had lost any realistic hope of maintaining control of Connacht and abdicated his throne. Two years later, in 1185, John arrived in Ireland with a large army and systematically removed and replaced all remaining native lords in Leinster.[41]
Meanwhile, as political control over Ireland changed hands, the social landscape of the country also began to change. As more Norman adventurers began to arrive in Ireland, two separate societies began to form; the native society who continued to follow their Celtic customs and Brehon law, and the Anglo-Normans who brought their English Common Law with them.[42] But the greatest influence had begun prior to the arrival of the Normans. The church underwent reformations, led by St. Malachy, that had begun to style the Irish church after the Cistercian order of Western Europe.[43] In addition to the social changes brought by the new religious orders, the architecture of the buildings also began to resemble the Romanesque and Gothic styles that the Anglo-Normans were familiar with on the continent. Interestingly, the Nuns' Church at Clonmacnoise that Dearbhforgaill is credited for, was done in an Irish Romanesque style, though it was done prior to the Norman invasion.[44] The location of the nunnery in relation to the other enclosures is in step with the trend to keep the nunneries relatively secluded but within reach of populated areas.[45] Most significantly, as it relates to Dearbhforgaill, was the sudden zeal of women's involvement in monastic life, allowing for the introduction of nineteen new nunneries.[46] Dearbhforgaill's grandfather, Murchad Ua Mael Sechlainn, was a patron of Clonmacnoise where Dearbhforgaill rebuilt the Nuns' Church in 1167. Patronizing the church, or one of its' associated houses, became a way for one to gain prestige in Irish society. As this became more common, these religious orders gradually became less of an isolated hermitage and more of a communal system.[47]
After the tumultuous life that Dearbhforgaill led, it is easy to understand why she would be drawn to this type of setting. Though monastic houses were occasionally attacked and raided, the peace they offered - relative to that of her life at the center of so many violent rivalries - must have been irresistible. The question is why did she wait so long? Tighearnan died in 1172, but Dearbhforgaill didn't retire to the monastery at Mellifont until 1186. Though we don't know with whom she lived during those fourteen years, we do know that Henry's son John arrived the year before she went to Mellifont, and he removed the native lords in Ireland. We can only speculate as to whether this contributed to her decision to retire to the church, however such speculation should be made with caution. Her patronage of these establishments, as well as that of her family, paved the way for her long before the arrival of the Normans. Furthermore, Dearbhforgaill was seventy-eight years old by the time she retired to the monastery, and these establishments were known to serve as boarding houses for well-off widows[48]. Whether she went there simply to finish her life in the religious habit or if she took more formal vows, she was not alone; for according to Dianne Hall, "Irish women seem to have entered the newly established convents enthusiastically in these heady years of reform".[49] Dearbhforgaill joined these other women in 1186 to live the last seven years of her life surrounded by God-fearing women rather than warring men. The annals of the Four Masters tell us that "Dervorgilla (i.e. the wife of Tiernan O'Rourke), daughter of Murrough O'Melaghlin, died in the monastery of Drogheda Mellifont, in the eighty-fifth year of her age".[50]
As a female with royal lineage, Dearbhforgaill's life was written for her the day she was born. She was destined to be married for her family's political gain, the most she could hope for was that the man would be decent and honorable. Instead, she was betrothed to Tighearnan Ua Ruairc - a man whose life mission seems to have been to destroy Dearbhforgaill's family. Her next hope would then be that it would be a short marriage, that Tighearnan's violent ways would cause an early death. But Tighearnan lived until Dearbhforgaill was sixty-four years old, after nearly fifty years of marriage. Her only reprieve from this life with a man she clearly despised was a short affair with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, that barely lasted a year, when she was in her forties. While the event is surrounded by controversy and speculation, Dearbhforgaill surely must have enjoyed the retreat from her life, regardless of the price she must have paid upon her return. Though her affair makes for a fantastic love story for poets and historians alike - after all, it is often blamed for causing the Norman invasion of Ireland - if taken in context, it was no more than a temporary escape from an otherwise sober life. Was their affair to blame? We can never know the answer to that question, but judging by the extent of the fighting between these rival kings, it was likely just a matter of time before someone drew the attention of the English. And while Dearbhforgaill is most remembered for her affair with Diarmaid, it only constituted one year of her very long life. She accomplished so much more than that despite her disheartening circumstances; it is an undeserved reputation indeed.
Other than her one controversial adventure, Dearbhforgaill lived her life as a proper Celtic woman would. She took her misfortunes in stride; it was just a part of life in her time. In a era of war and raids, Dearbhforgaill turned to the church for peace. Since a woman could not bequeath land, she gave the church what wealth she was free to give - gold, cloth, and a chalice. She had a Nuns' Church built at Clonmacnoise, supporting other women in their desire to devote their lives to the religious habit. And in the end it was these women with whom she chose to spend her final years. Though she is known for her one sexual exploit, the reality is that she was a woman of humility and faith; and it was this faith that helped her survive the extreme turmoil surrounding her life.
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[1] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 209.
[2] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 51.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts
[5] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[6] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 209.
[7] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 1.
[8] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts
[9] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 7.
[10] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 71.
[11] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 74.
[12] Ibid, 70.
[13] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[14] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[15] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[16] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 79.
[17] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 8.
[18] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[19] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[20] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[21] Sean Duffy, Ireland in the Middle Ages. St. Martin's Press (1997), 57.
[22] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[23] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 210.
[24] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 95.
[25] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 211.
[26] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 95-96.
[27] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 56.
[28] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 99.
[29] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 261-262.
[30] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 79.
[31] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[32] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 43.
[33] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 208.
[34] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[35] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 43.
[36] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[37] Song of Dermot and the Earl, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T250001-001/index.html. College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[38] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[39] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[40] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[41] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[42] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 14.
[43] Ibid, 16.
[44] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 52.
[45] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 91.
[46] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 67.
[47] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[48] Eileen Power, Medieval Women. Cambridge University Press (1975), 90.
[49] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 68.
[50] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
Little is known of Dearbhforgaill during her younger years; the first time she is directly mentioned in the annals is when she was abducted by Diarmaid Mac Murchadha when she is forty-four years old. But much can be inferred about her by looking at the entries in the annals regarding her family and her husband. Also, we are aware of general social customs and the Brehon laws that guided Celtic societies in Ireland during the span of Dearbhforgaill's life. Therefore to interpret her life, one must compare the few known facts about her with Brehon law and the events documented about the men in her life.
Born in 1108 to Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, a claimant for the High Kingship[1] and Mor, the daughter of the most powerful king in Ireland[2], Dearbhforgaill was destined to be given in marriage to create a political alliance. In 1114, when Dearbhforgaill was eight years old, the power in Ireland shifted from her maternal grandfather, Muirchertach O'Brien, to Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair of Connacht.[3] Nine years later the annals tell of Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair and Tighearnan Ua Ruairc joining forces to lead an army into Meath to depose Dearbhforgaill's father. Dearbhforgaill would have been seventeen years old at the time this entry was made in 1125, a prime age for marriage. Whether she was given to Tighearnan at this point is unknown; it is more likely that her father had betrothed her to him prior to this, in an attempt to create an alliance that would prevent an event such as this from occurring. Muirchertach would not likely have given his daughter to Tighearnan after he had been deposed, and had Tighearnan taken her against her father's will she would not have been considered his wife under Brehon law. Furthermore, if Tighearnan deposed Muirchertach after Dearbhforgaill had been given to him as his wife, Muirchertach would have been more likely to have considered it a betrayal, which would explain the prolonged animosity between the two. What can be reliably deduced from this event, however, is that Dearbhforgaill would probably not have warm emotions toward her husband, and Tighearnan, likewise, would not hold Dearbhforgaill in the highest regard. This would lend well to the popular theory that Dearbhforgaill was a willing participant in her abduction many years later.
Whether Dearbhforgaill was betrothed before or after her father was deposed from Meath, it is clear from the numerous entries in the annals that their marriage did not align the two families. Dearbhforgaill's husband continued to constantly be at war with her father and brothers for the remainder of his life. But while Tighearnan's animosity toward Maeleachlainn remained strong, his alliance with Ua Conchobhair was rocky. The annals report that in 1137 Toirdhealbhach lead an expedition "against the fleet of the men of Breifne, under Tighearnan Ua Ruairc"[4] and in 1140 that Tighearnan attacked Toirdhealbhach's camp. But they also mention in 1144 that Toirdhealbhach "divided East Meath equally between Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, lord of Breifne, and Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, king of Leinster"[5]. This indicates that Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair was fluid in his alliances and enemies. His son, Ruaidhri, however, did not share this trait. In time, Ruaidhri would form a solid alliance with Tighearnan Ua Ruairc. Meanwhile, Maeleachlainn had formed an alliance with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha which would remain strong until his death. These two alliances developed over the years, and drew rigid lines between the men in Dearbhforgaill's life, which would have profound influence on future events.
It was against this political background that Dearbhforgaill was living as the wife of her father's enemy. It has been suggested that it was Tighearnan's mother who influenced Dearbhforgaill's mother to arrange the marriage of their children, and that Dearbhforgaill had been in love with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha,[6] however this theory is unsubstantiated. In medieval Celtic societies women had few legal rights, and until she was married, a woman was under the authority of her father, after marriage the authority transferred to her husband.[7] Whether or not Dearbhforgaill was in love with Diarmaid is irrelevant; love had no place in a woman's life in medieval Celtic society. Marriage, especially for someone of her lineage, was a political arrangement not an emotional one, and Dearbhforgaill's betrothal would have been decided by her father. When Dearbhforgaill was of age to marry, Muirchertach Maeleachlainn was in need of political favor from Tighearnan Ua Ruairc more so than Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, so that is who she was to marry. Interestingly, Maeleachlainn had given another daughter of his, Tailltin, in marriage to Tighearnan's ally, Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair. Muirchertach must have known that he needed Toirdhealbhach and Tighearnan on his side, and as such Dearbhforgaill's betrothal was likely decided long before she could have developed feelings for any man. She also was not likely to have been Tighearnan's first wife, as the annals mention that "Gillabroide, son of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, was slain by the Connaughtmen, on Loch En, and many others along with him"[8] in the year 1125, the same year that Tighearnan and Toirdhealbhach deposed Dearbhforgaill's father from Meath. Given that Dearbhforgaill was only seventeen years old at the time, she could not have been the mother of Tighearnan's son who was apparently old enough to be slain in battle and important enough to be named in the annals.
Polygamy was not unusual in medieval Celtic societies. We know that Tailltin was one of four wives of Toirdhealbhach[9], so it is likely that Dearbhforgaill also was one of several wives for Tighearnan. Being one of many wives to a man whom she likely despised, it is not surprising that Dearbhforgaill longed for a different life, and a loophole in Brehon law enabled her to pursue one, albeit temporary. As long as Dearbhforgaill was not Tighearnan's chief wife, she had the choice as to whether she wanted to be under the authority of her husband or her kin; had she been his chief wife the authority would have automatically gone to her husband[10]. Furthermore, Brehon law permitted divorce under certain circumstances, so it would not have been socially unacceptable for Dearbhforgaill to leave Tighearnan. However, if she were to leave him without just cause not only would she be an outcast in society, but anyone who harbored her would be subject to losing all of their rights as well.[11] This put Dearbhforgaill in a predicament because if she were to leave Tighearnan for any reason other than those spelled out in law, neither Diarmaid Mac Murchadha nor her family could take her in, lest they loose all their status and rights in society along with her. This left Dearbhforgaill with only one option; Brehon law specifies nine forms of sexual unions, the sixth of which is when a woman allows herself to be abducted without proper consent.[12] By allowing herself to be abducted she would be entering a legitimate union with her abductor without being held legally accountable for leaving her husband without just cause, for she will have presumably been taken against her will and without consent.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine who concocted the plan for Diarmaid to abduct Dearbhforgaill. The Annals of Clonmacnoise point to Dearbhforgaill's brother while other sources claim she and Diarmaid had planned it together and were just waiting for the right time.[13] The truth is likely to be a combination of the different theories. Dearbhforgaill's family had obvious motivation to help her escape her marriage to Tighearnan, as he continued to attack and kill numerous members of their family, but the timing of the event was crucial. They were not likely to succeed in their mission with the alliances as they were, with Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair allied to Tighearnan. So when their alliance began to crack, Diarmaid made his move. Toirdhealbhach, the husband of Dearbhforgaill's sister, joined Diarmaid and Dearbhforgaill's brother in an attack against Tighearnan in 1152. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, "on this occasion Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, and wife of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, was brought away by the King of Leinster, i.e. Diarmaid, with her cattle and furniture; and he took her according to the advice of her brother, Maeleachlainn"[14].
That Dearbhforgaill brought her cattle and furniture with her is a telling detail. According to Brehon law, when a woman is divorced, her dowry - or moveable property - leaves with her.[15] If Dearbhforgaill brought her property with her when she was abducted, that signifies that she was a willing participant in the abduction, even if she feigned to have been taken against her will. In essence, what she had done was create a scenario where she could leave her husband, keep her dowry, and not be held accountable under law for an unjust divorce. Diarmaid, likewise, would not lose his status or his rights for harboring her, since she had been abducted rather than having willingly abandoned her husband. However, he could be held legally accountable for her abduction, in which case he would have to pay her husband his honour-price as reparations.[16] Diarmaid would also be tasked with the sole responsibility of rearing any children from the union, as Dearbhforgaill would be exempt from any such responsibilities since the child would have been "begotten on a man's wife contrary to his wishes".[17] This appears to have been what happened with their daughter, Derboghyll, as she is mentioned as a legitimate child of Diarmaid in the annals and went on to marry a man of high social status.
Though one would assume Dearbhforgaill must have been considerably happier living with Diarmaid, she did not stay. The following year, after Ua Ruairc made amends with Ua Conchobhair, Dearbhforgaill was ‘rescued' from Mac Murchadha. The rescue itself does not appear to have been very impressive, as it is reported that Mac Murchadha did not attempt to stop her from leaving, and she once again took her wealth with her.[18] Where the annals described her abduction in great detail and excitement, of her rescue they simply report that "Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, came from the King of Leinster (Diarmaid) to Tighearnan Ua Ruairc again"[19]. There is discrepancies as to whether Dearbhforgaill returned to her husband after being ‘rescued' from Mac Murchadha, or if she returned to her family. The annals claim she went to Tighearnan, but other sources comment that "she did not return to Ua Ruairc but chose instead to live her life out in a convent" and "the whole of Ireland knew of the abduction of his wife and her refusal to go back to him when she was released"[20]. However later entries in the annals continue to refer to her as the wife of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, therefore she must have returned to her husband. Otherwise, under the Brehon divorce laws, she would no longer have been his wife. Either way, Diarmaid had "made an enemy for life; and it was an outrage for which, as we shall see, Tighearnan later sought harsh vengeance".[21]
Little is known of Dearbhforgaill's life in the decade following her return to Tighearnan in 1153. The annals tell us that her family came to power in 1156 when Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair died, and that the fighting between the rivals continued. Toirdhealbhach's son, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair - Tighearnan Ua Ruairc's ally - took his father's place as king of Connaught and immediately began leading incursions against Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn.[22] We can only speculate as to what life was like for Dearbhforgaill during these years; she was presumably living with Tighearnan, and we can assume, given Tighearnan's violent history and hatred for both Mac Murchadha and Mac Lochlainn, that Dearbhforgaill's infant daughter from Diarmaid did not reside with her under Tighearnan's authority. It is unclear whether or not she had other children with Tighearnan, but it is probably safe to assume she had. We know that he had many children, but we do not know which wives were the mothers of which children. One might think that with her family in power over Ireland she could have left Tighearnan and returned to Diarmaid had she wished[23], but that may not have been the case. Brehon law is very specific regarding marriage and divorce, and given the humiliation Tighearnan suffered from the abduction in 1152, he likely took precautions to prevent any further embarrassment. Whether it was by choice or not, Dearbhforgaill did not return to Diarmaid, and it seems to have been in her best interest in the long run.
Mac Lochlainn struggled to remain in power. Diarmaid helped defend him against endless raids and campaigns led by Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair and Tighearnan Ua Ruairc,[24] but after ten years Mac Lochlainn was overthrown by Ua Conchobhair; in 1166 Diarmaid Mac Murchadha found himself with no friends and his enemy with power and a grudge.[25] Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc almost immediately set out to dethrone Mac Murchadha. It is believed that Ua Conchobhair was satisfied by simply reducing Mac Murchadha's kingdom and taking hostages, but Ua Ruairc was set on destroying him completely.[26] Ua Ruairc was still bitter over the affair Diarmaid had had with Dearbhforgaill, and because of this grudge he ensured that Mac Murchadha was dethroned and subsequently driven out of Ireland.[27] At the center of this grudge was Dearbhforgaill; stuck in a marriage with a man she presumably despised, her parents now dead, and her lover banished from the country. There was little a woman in her predicament can do, and so it appears that Dearbhforgaill turned to the church while her men continued to fight and unwittingly lead the country to its demise.
Diarmaid Mac Murchadha was not going to give up his kingdom easily, and Dearbhforgaill most likely was aware of that. Diarmaid went to England to call in a favor from King Henry II; a favor that would ultimately change the course of Irish history. Diarmaid returned a year later and reclaimed his local power, but was quickly attacked by Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc.[28] Mac Murchadha submitted to Ua Conchobhair and gave him hostages. Interestingly, he also was forced to pay Ua Ruairc one-hundred ounces of gold in reparations for his abduction of Dearbhforgaill fifteen years earlier.[29] This is significant because under Brehon law, "if the wife has been abducted against the will of her father or kin, all her liabilities must be paid by her abductor".[30] By Ua Ruairc accepting the payment from Mac Murchadha he is signaling that he accepts that Dearbhforgaill had been taken against her will. Whether or not he believed this is pure speculation, but with that transaction the matter would have been considered settled.
While it may have been settled, it was not forgotten, although all three of them likely wanted to put the incident behind them. At this juncture Diarmaid was still trying to regain his territories, Tighearnan was unaware that he was about to face the toughest opposition he would ever see, and Dearbhforgaill was pouring all her energy and much of her wealth into the church, which likely served as her escape from the turmoil of her life. She had begun to center her attention on the church in 1157, just a few years after returning to Tighearnan from Diarmaid. This, at least, is the first we hear of it in the annals, which proclaim that "A synod was convened by the clergy of Ireland… Muircheartach Ua Lochlainn granted them also a town land at Droicheat-atha… O'Cearbhaill also gave them three score ounces of gold; and the wife of O‘Ruairc, the daughter of Ua Maeleachlainn, gave as much more, and a chalice of gold on the altar of Mary, and cloth for each of the nine other altars that were in that church".[31] This is not an insignificant size donation, especially for a woman during this period in a Celtic society, for women were not legally able to own or donate land, only moveable wealth.[32] With this donation she was not only joining the flourishing religious reformation movement of the twelfth century, she also was securing for herself a future, where she may live in peace among monastic women rather than among warring men. It is interesting to note, in light of the timing in which Dearbhforgaill turned to the church, that records show Diarmaid Mac Murchadha as the founder of no less than five religious houses between the years 1146 and 1171. Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, on the other hand, is not credited for founding any.[33] The annals did indicate that Tighearnan was in attendance at the synod in 1157, but his name is not among those listed as presenting donations or gifts. What this says about Dearbhforgaill is open to interpretation, but it appears to say that even though she physically remained with her husband, her heart and mind were with Diarmaid, and possibly that she felt closer to him and her father in the monastic houses they founded. This theory is somewhat punctuated by the claim that "the church of the Nuns at Clauin-mic-Nois was finished by Dearbhforgaill, daughter of Murchadh Ua Maeleachlainn"[34] in the annals for 1167. It is also interesting to note that in the 1190s the daughter she had with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha is credited as being a major patron of one of the Cistercian abbeys founded in Dublin by Diarmaid.[35] Although it was common for this type of monastic participation by women during this period, the circumstances and timing surrounding Dearbhforgaill's involvement are curious, though pure coincidence cannot be ruled out.
While Dearbhforgaill was pouring herself into the church, Diarmaid was organizing an army unlike any Ireland had ever seen. In 1169 Diarmaid's army began to arrive "to contest the kingdom of Leinster for him"[36], but Ua Conchobhair and Ua Ruairc went into Leinster and Diarmaid was compelled to give his son to Ua Conchobhair as a hostage. The following year, 1170, more forces arrived for Diarmaid, including ‘Strongbow', and the transformation of Ireland began. According to the annals, Mac Murchadha's army plundered and committed treacherous acts across Ireland. As retribution, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair killed Diarmaid's hostages - including his son and grandson. From there the violence escalated, until Diarmaid died of an unknown disease in 1171.
The effect Diarmaid's death had on Dearbhforgaill is not known. They had only spent one year together, and that had been nineteen years earlier. Even then, her emotional ties to him were unclear. Most likely he had served as a refuge for her - a year away from her life with Tighearnan Ua Ruairc. If that is the case, it would logically conclude that she had very fond feelings for him indeed. And if the contemporary poem ‘Song of Dermot and the Earl' is to be taken at face value, it clearly was an affair the two conspired together out of contempt for Tighearnan.[37] By the time of Diarmaid's death, however, he had committed such treacherous acts against Ireland that the annals recorded of his death that "he became putrid while living, through the miracle of God",[38] so there is no way of knowing how Diarmaid‘s death impacted Dearbhforgaill.
The destruction Diarmaid had begun did not die with him, for the same year he died King Henry II of England arrived in Ireland with two hundred and forty ships, and this was to have a profound impact on Dearbhforgaill's life. As King Henry proceeded to impose royal control through Ireland, he obtained the submissions of numerous Irish chiefs, including that of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc.[39] It appears as though his submission may not have been sincere however, for in 1172 Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair - who did not submit to Henry - is known to have attacked the kingdom of Hugo de Lacy, the same year in which the annals recorded that "Tiernan O'Rourke, Lord of Breifny and Conmaicne, a man of great power for a long time, was treacherously slain at Tlachtgha by Hugo de Lacy…"[40]. At the age of sixty-four, Dearbhforgaill was finally free from Tighearnan Ua Ruairc.
Free as she may have been from an presumably oppressive husband, a woman in a medieval Celtic society was never entirely independent. We do not know if Dearbhforgaill had any sons, so we do not know under whose authority she would have been after Tighearnan's death. We do know that under Brehon law, the authority would have transferred either to her sons, her kin, or the church. Because we do not know whose authority she was under, we also do not know with whom she lived for the first fourteen years after Tighearnan's death. Whichever the case, Dearbhforgaill would certainly have preferred it over that of her husband.
While we don't know the specifics of Dearbhforgaill's situation between 1172 and 1186, we do what was happening in Ireland. Tighearnan's ally, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair, continued to resist King Henry until 1175, at which point he entered the Treaty of Windsor - recognizing the English king as his overlord and relinquishing control of a substantial amount of territory in exchange for maintaining control over Connacht and outlying areas, including Breifne, Thomond and Uliad. Henry did not honor the treaty however, and announced his intention to make his son, John, the king of Ireland. By 1183 Ua Conchobhair had lost any realistic hope of maintaining control of Connacht and abdicated his throne. Two years later, in 1185, John arrived in Ireland with a large army and systematically removed and replaced all remaining native lords in Leinster.[41]
Meanwhile, as political control over Ireland changed hands, the social landscape of the country also began to change. As more Norman adventurers began to arrive in Ireland, two separate societies began to form; the native society who continued to follow their Celtic customs and Brehon law, and the Anglo-Normans who brought their English Common Law with them.[42] But the greatest influence had begun prior to the arrival of the Normans. The church underwent reformations, led by St. Malachy, that had begun to style the Irish church after the Cistercian order of Western Europe.[43] In addition to the social changes brought by the new religious orders, the architecture of the buildings also began to resemble the Romanesque and Gothic styles that the Anglo-Normans were familiar with on the continent. Interestingly, the Nuns' Church at Clonmacnoise that Dearbhforgaill is credited for, was done in an Irish Romanesque style, though it was done prior to the Norman invasion.[44] The location of the nunnery in relation to the other enclosures is in step with the trend to keep the nunneries relatively secluded but within reach of populated areas.[45] Most significantly, as it relates to Dearbhforgaill, was the sudden zeal of women's involvement in monastic life, allowing for the introduction of nineteen new nunneries.[46] Dearbhforgaill's grandfather, Murchad Ua Mael Sechlainn, was a patron of Clonmacnoise where Dearbhforgaill rebuilt the Nuns' Church in 1167. Patronizing the church, or one of its' associated houses, became a way for one to gain prestige in Irish society. As this became more common, these religious orders gradually became less of an isolated hermitage and more of a communal system.[47]
After the tumultuous life that Dearbhforgaill led, it is easy to understand why she would be drawn to this type of setting. Though monastic houses were occasionally attacked and raided, the peace they offered - relative to that of her life at the center of so many violent rivalries - must have been irresistible. The question is why did she wait so long? Tighearnan died in 1172, but Dearbhforgaill didn't retire to the monastery at Mellifont until 1186. Though we don't know with whom she lived during those fourteen years, we do know that Henry's son John arrived the year before she went to Mellifont, and he removed the native lords in Ireland. We can only speculate as to whether this contributed to her decision to retire to the church, however such speculation should be made with caution. Her patronage of these establishments, as well as that of her family, paved the way for her long before the arrival of the Normans. Furthermore, Dearbhforgaill was seventy-eight years old by the time she retired to the monastery, and these establishments were known to serve as boarding houses for well-off widows[48]. Whether she went there simply to finish her life in the religious habit or if she took more formal vows, she was not alone; for according to Dianne Hall, "Irish women seem to have entered the newly established convents enthusiastically in these heady years of reform".[49] Dearbhforgaill joined these other women in 1186 to live the last seven years of her life surrounded by God-fearing women rather than warring men. The annals of the Four Masters tell us that "Dervorgilla (i.e. the wife of Tiernan O'Rourke), daughter of Murrough O'Melaghlin, died in the monastery of Drogheda Mellifont, in the eighty-fifth year of her age".[50]
As a female with royal lineage, Dearbhforgaill's life was written for her the day she was born. She was destined to be married for her family's political gain, the most she could hope for was that the man would be decent and honorable. Instead, she was betrothed to Tighearnan Ua Ruairc - a man whose life mission seems to have been to destroy Dearbhforgaill's family. Her next hope would then be that it would be a short marriage, that Tighearnan's violent ways would cause an early death. But Tighearnan lived until Dearbhforgaill was sixty-four years old, after nearly fifty years of marriage. Her only reprieve from this life with a man she clearly despised was a short affair with Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, that barely lasted a year, when she was in her forties. While the event is surrounded by controversy and speculation, Dearbhforgaill surely must have enjoyed the retreat from her life, regardless of the price she must have paid upon her return. Though her affair makes for a fantastic love story for poets and historians alike - after all, it is often blamed for causing the Norman invasion of Ireland - if taken in context, it was no more than a temporary escape from an otherwise sober life. Was their affair to blame? We can never know the answer to that question, but judging by the extent of the fighting between these rival kings, it was likely just a matter of time before someone drew the attention of the English. And while Dearbhforgaill is most remembered for her affair with Diarmaid, it only constituted one year of her very long life. She accomplished so much more than that despite her disheartening circumstances; it is an undeserved reputation indeed.
Other than her one controversial adventure, Dearbhforgaill lived her life as a proper Celtic woman would. She took her misfortunes in stride; it was just a part of life in her time. In a era of war and raids, Dearbhforgaill turned to the church for peace. Since a woman could not bequeath land, she gave the church what wealth she was free to give - gold, cloth, and a chalice. She had a Nuns' Church built at Clonmacnoise, supporting other women in their desire to devote their lives to the religious habit. And in the end it was these women with whom she chose to spend her final years. Though she is known for her one sexual exploit, the reality is that she was a woman of humility and faith; and it was this faith that helped her survive the extreme turmoil surrounding her life.
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CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts, ‘Annals of the Four Masters'. University College Cork. Available at http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts, ‘Song of Dermot and the Earl'. University College Cork. Available at http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published
Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery', IRSH410F: Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603. Retrieved from https://worldclass.regis.edu
[1] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 209.
[2] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 51.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts
[5] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[6] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 209.
[7] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 1.
[8] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts
[9] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 7.
[10] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 71.
[11] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 74.
[12] Ibid, 70.
[13] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[14] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[15] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[16] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 79.
[17] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 8.
[18] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[19] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[20] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 258.
[21] Sean Duffy, Ireland in the Middle Ages. St. Martin's Press (1997), 57.
[22] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[23] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 210.
[24] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 95.
[25] Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women. Constable and Company (1998), 211.
[26] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 95-96.
[27] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 56.
[28] T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History. Roberts Rinehart Publishers (2001), 99.
[29] Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland. New Amsterdam Books (2002), 261-262.
[30] Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (1988), 79.
[31] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[32] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 43.
[33] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 208.
[34] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[35] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 43.
[36] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[37] Song of Dermot and the Earl, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T250001-001/index.html. College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[38] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[39] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[40] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
[41] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[42] Margaret MacCurtain and Dunncha O'Corrain, Women in Irish Society. Greenwood Press (1978), 14.
[43] Ibid, 16.
[44] Roy Foster, The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford University Press, (2000) 52.
[45] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 91.
[46] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 67.
[47] Regis University, ‘The Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Gaelic Recovery'; IRSH410F- Irish Studies: Medieval Ireland 1169-1603, https://worldclass.regis.edu.
[48] Eileen Power, Medieval Women. Cambridge University Press (1975), 90.
[49] Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland. Four Courts Press (2008), 68.
[50] Annals of the Four Masters, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/index.html. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
