Richard (Strongbow) de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Male 1130 - 1176  (46 years)


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  • Name Richard (Strongbow) de Clare 
    Suffix 2nd Earl of Pembroke 
    Born 1130  Tonbridge, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 20 Apr 1176  Dublin, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Wikipedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_de_Clare,_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke

      Richard was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. Richard's father died in about 1148, when he was roughly 18 years old, and Richard inherited the title 'count of Strigoil' Earl of Pembroke. It is probable that this title was not recognized at Henry II's coronation in 1154. As the son of the first 'earl', he succeeded to his father's estates in 1148, but was deprived of the title by King Henry II of England in 1154 for siding with King Stephen of England against Henry?s mother, the Empress Matilda. Richard was in fact, called by his contemporaries Count Striguil, for his marcher lordship of Striguil where he had a fortress at a place now called Chepstow, in Monmouthshire on the River Wye. He saw an opportunity to reverse his bad fortune in 1168 when he met Diarmait Mac Murchada, the deposed King of Leinster.

      In 1167, Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough) was deprived of the Kingdom of Leinster by the High King of Ireland ? RuaidrĂ­ Ua Conchobair. To recover his kingdom, Mac Murchada solicited help from the King of England ? Henry II. The deposed king embarked for Bristol from near Bannow on 1 August 1166. He met Henry in Aquitaine in the Autumn of 1166. Henry could not help him at this time, but provided a letter of comfort for willing supporters of Mac Murchada's cause in his kingdom. He failed to rally any forces to his standard until he met Richard de Clare (nicknamed "Strongbow") and other barons of the Welsh Marches. Mac Murchada came to an agreement with Richard for the Earl?s assistance with an army the following spring, he could have Aoife, Mac Murchada's eldest daughter in marriage and the succession to Leinster.

      Mac Murchada and Richard de Clare raised a large army, which included Welsh archers took the Ostman towns of Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin. In May 1171, Diarmait Mac Murchada died and his son, Donal MacMurrough-Kavanagh (Irish: Domhnall Caemanach mac Murchada) claimed the kingdom of Leinster. Richard de Clare also claimed the kingship in the right of his wife. In return for his lands in France, England, and Wales, Richard de Clare surrendered Dublin, Waterford, and other fortresses to the English king.

      On about 26 August 1171 in Waterford, Richard de Clare married MacMurrough's daughter, Aoife MacMurrough (anglicised as "Eva").[17] Their children were:

      1. Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, a minor who died in 1185

      2. Isabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke, who became Countess of Pembroke in her own right in 1185 (on the death of her brother) until her own death in 1220.

      Richard de Clare died in June 1176 of some type of infection in his leg or foot. He was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Dublin. Richard de Clare's actual tomb-effigy was destroyed when the roof of the Cathedral collapsed in 1562. The one on display dates from around the 15th century, bears the coat of arms of an unknown knight, and is the effigy of another local knight.

      King Henry II took all of Strongbow's lands and castles for himself and placed a royal official in charge of them. He guarded well the inheritance of Isabel. King Henry II had promised Sir William Marshal that he would be given Isabel as his bride, and his son Richard I upheld the promise one month after his ascension to the throne. The earldom was given to her husband as her consort. Marshall was the son of John the Marshal, by Sibylle, the sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury.

      Eve was given her dower rights and possibly held Striguil [Chepstow] as part of those dower rights until the Welsh rebellion of 1184/85. There is a record of Eve confirming a charter in Ireland in 1188/89 as "comtissa de Hibernia". Richard de Clare's widow, Aoife, lived on and was last recorded in a charter of 1188.
    Person ID I36233  Master File
    Last Modified 4 Oct 2016 

    Family Aoife (Eva) MacMurrough, Princess of Leinster, Countess of Pembroke,   b. 1145, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1188, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 43 years) 
    Children 
     1. Isabel de Clare,   b. ca 1172, Pembrokeshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1220, Pembrokeshire, Wales Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 48 years)
    Last Modified 4 Oct 2016 
    Family ID F14951  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart