De Clare, Richard, Earl of Pembroke and Strigul
Visit Christchurch Cathedral, where in August 1170, following the Norman invasion of Ireland that her father had requested, Aoife Mac Murrough married Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Strongbow, the leader of the Norman invasion force, right here in Waterford. Their union ended the Viking reign in Ireland and was the beginning of a very different Ireland. This union strengthened the Norman hold within the south and east of Leinster, establishing Kilkenny Castle which formed part of the lordship of Leinster and effectively ending Viking reign in Ireland, introducing the Normans to the country to become ‘more Irish than the Irish themselves’.
