The Fitzhenry linkage on my Mother's side (Grandmother Borrell - Francis Fitzhenry) and the link with
the Blair Grandmother (Charlotte Redmond) both have Norman links in Southern Ireland. Some background then to the Normans
with their links back to the Vikings has validity.
Who they were:
The Vikings or Norsemen loved going on adventures in their longships. Some Vikings left their homelands
and moved to different countries. Some of them moved to the North of France. After many years the place where they lived was
called Normandy and the people were called Normans. The Normans learned how to speak French and they became Christian. In 1035
William became the Duke of Normandy. He was seven years old!
The Normans come to England (The Battle of Hastings): The King of England, Edward the Confessor, died in
January 1066. He had no heir so there was an argument about who would be the next king. Before Edward died, he had chosen his
brother-in-law, Harold, to be the next king. But William, Duke of Normandy, claimed that Edward promised him that he could be
next king. William and his army decided to invade England. It took several months for William to prepare his army. He had
over 7,000 soldiers. Most of them were knights. Over 700 ships were needed to take all his soldiers from France to England. The
two armies met at Hastings. The battle took place on October 14th. Harold and his army were defeated. Harold was killed and
on Christmas Day 1066 William was crowned King of England.
The Normans in Wales
The Normans in time colonised most of England, The Irish component takes form from the settlements in
Wales. On his tour of Wales in the 12th century, Geraldus Cambrensis described the country as being "very strongly defended
by high mountains, deep valleys, extensive woods, rivers and marshes". That was soon to change as the invading Norman forces
undertook extensive woodland clearance, under the orders of King Henry III and then Edward I, to prevent ambush by the
Welsh. Edward I also ordered the extermination of wolves, but the dwindling population battled on in Wales until the 1600s.
Many of the woodlands were replaced with Norman hunting 'forests', which, ironically, were actually open
spaces, an example being Parc le Breos in the Gower. Fallow deer, which had disappeared before the last ice age and were reintroduced
by the Normans to provide sport for royalty, roamed the park, and deer and wild boar were protected from poachers.
Normans also introduced rabbits to Wales to provide an important source of food. At first the hunters
built raised earthworks in which the rabbits could dig their burrows, and they adapted well to life on cultivated land and
proliferated wildly.
Dermot MacMurrough:
Dermot MacMurrough was King of Leinster. He had many enemies including O'Connor, the most powerful king
in Ireland at the time. O'Rourke of Breifne was an enemy too. In 1166, MacMurrough was forced out of his kingdom so he and
his daughter Aoife went to England to get help from King Henry II. King Henry was not there. He was in France so Dermot and
Aoife went to France to meet him. King Henry was too busy to help Dermot so he gave him a letter. This letter gave permission
to Norman lords to go to Ireland and help Dermot to win back his kingdom. Dermot went to Wales where he met a Norman lord
called Richard de Clare. He is better known as Strongbow. MacMurrough and Strongbow made an agreement. Strongbow agreed to
gather and pay for a large army and to help MacMurrough to win back his kingdom. In return, Strongbow would marry Aoife and
become King of Leinster when MacMurrough died. Other Norman lords also promised to help MacMurrough. In 1167 MacMurrough
returned to Ireland with a small group of Norman soldiers.
Normans Arrive in Ireland:
On May 1, 1169, the first large group of Norman soldiers landed at Bannow Bay in Co. Wexford. Soon more Norman knights and soldiers joined
them. MacMurrough and his army also joined them. They marched to Wexford town. The Vikings who lived there marched out thinking they could defeat Dermot and
his army. They were amazed to see how well equipped the Normans were. Within a day Wexford was captured. In August 1170, Strongbow (Richard de Clare) landed
near Waterford with a group of about 1200 Normans (200 knights and 1000 soldiers). They defeated the Vikings and the Irish who lived in Waterford and captured the
city. Then Strongbow got married to Aoife, a daughter of Dermot. (Dermot MacMurrough is often known as Diarmuid na nGall). Soon after this MacMurrough and
Strongbow captured Dublin City. Dermot MacMurrough died suddenly, in May 1171, and Strongbow became king of Leinster.
Fitzhenry
Variously interpreted. Fitz is certainly son of in the Norman but some say illegitimate son of the nobility. If so the nobility must have been very
active sexually with the maid etc as Fitzpatricks, Fitzgeralds and other are numerous. Fitzhenry is not as common, Some say it is linked to Mc Henry and to Fitzharris.
What is certain is that this is a Wexford family whose links can be traced back to at least as far as 1800.
