Norman Invasion of Ireland

An illustrated set of characters from history, created for Irish publisher An Gum.

This is a set of illustrated characters created for a book published in Ireland by Irish language publisher An Gum.
First up we have Diarmuid Mac Murchada, the ousted King of Leinster and his beautiful daughter Aoife. As you can see Diarmuid is angry.
After being deposed and losing his kingdom, he sought help from Henry II of England and the Normans. Importantly, Diarmuid obtained the support of the Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare, AKA Strongbow.

Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. Here he is looking resplendent in purple. Hovering in the background is Strongbow. Strongbow married Diarmuid’s daughter Aoife but was later killed in battle, as was Diarmuid.
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