Strongbow's Wife

In August 1166, aged 13, Aoife left Ireland in the company of her mother, Mor and father, Dermot MacMurrough, in pursuit of the latter’s quest to obtain support for his campaign to regain the kingship of Leinster. Events during the year that elapsed between departure and return are imagined and described through her eyes. By the time of the family’s return to Ireland she had been promised to Strongbow.
Another three years elapsed before Strongbow’s eventual arrival in Ireland. The book captures the frustration of this period for Aoife and her father. The marriage at the end of August 1170 was preceded by a massacre, by the invading force, of the citizens of Waterford and their allies. Aoife’s reaction to this event and her consequent reluctance to fulfil her father’s promise is explored.
The initial campaign by Dermot and Strongbow is at first successful but ends with the brutal murder of Dermot’s beloved grandson and other close relatives. Blaming this atrocity on the enduring hostility between O’Rourke and her father, Aoife is unable to forgive either.
The arrival in Ireland of Henry II of England is followed by the birth of Aoife’s first child. The impact on Aoife’s life of the marriage of Strongbow’s sister Basilia to Raymond Fitz Gerald aka Le Gros is profound. Just as she is becoming comfortable with that situation Strongbow dies bringing a further major change in her circumstances.
Based on the assumption that she then became dowager of Striguil (Chepstow), the book shows her dealing with the aftermath of the Abergavenny massacre and setting up a successful business.
The book ends with her musings about the future governance of Ireland in the light of the young Prince John’s behaviour during his visit to the island, an event that coincided with the death of her son.