An Clairseoir

In the spring of 1169, a Norman force was in Wales preparing a fleet for sea: Mac Gearailt, de Barra, Fitz Martin, de Courcy, Prendergast, Fitz Gibbon, and others. Before the end of the year they would control Leinster. The following year, Dublin would also be in their possession. They would soon transform the life of the country from Wexford to Castlebar, and from Waterford to Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.

But what was the reason for the invasion? What made the Normans abandon their own domain in southern Britain and venture into adventure and danger overseas?

In this novel, Diarmuid Johnson presents the events of the Normans and the English before the fateful invasion. His story is told to us: the story of Gerald of Windsor and his journey to Dublin; the conspiracy against Henry I of England; the marriage to the princess Nest; Muiris mac Gerald and the trunk filled with gold; the twist of fate and the escape over the waves.

This is a story of three races: the story of the Gaels, the Normans, and the Britons. Our own story.