Ireland’s Norman heritage will be celebrated in 2027 as part of a European-wide initiative to celebrate the group’s impact on western civilisation.
Originally from Normandy in France, the Normans conquered England in 1066 and then landed in Ireland a century later.
Their impact on Irish society is incalculable. Language, laws and the landscape were all transformed. They even introduced hedgerows and rabbits to the Irish countryside.
Kilkenny, Kildare, Athlone and Kildare are just some of the towns founded by the Normans. St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Dublin Castle, Kilkenny Castle and Carrickfergus Castle testify to their reputation as master builders.
Ticketmaster ordered by court to refund Coldplay fan who could not see band from his seat at Croke Park
Why has it taken so long to develop a greenway for Dublin Bay?
Boy who repeated sixth class because schools were full still has no secondary school place
Influencer and Aer Lingus employee boyfriend caught with €6,000 worth of drugs
Their legacy endures also through the surnames – Burke, Butler, Joyce, Power, Walsh, Griffith, Lynch and so many others that have for so long been a part of Irish life that many assume they are Irish names.
Even now, nine centuries after they first arrived, the Normans’ influence is seen in Irish politics. A study carried out in 2011 by Dr Eoin O’Malley of Dublin City University and Dr Kevin Byrne of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) found Fianna Fáil TDs were significantly more likely to have Gaelic names than Fine Gael.
[ Marking the Norman invasion of Ireland: 850 years and countingOpens in new window ]
Fine Gael politicians with Norman names include three former taoisigh: John A Costello, Garret FitzGerald and Simon Harris.
On the other hand, the Normans were the originators of the 850 years of oppression when Strongbow landed in Ireland in 1169 with a ragtag of mercenaries to help Dermot McMurrough recover his Leinster kingdom.
Two years later the English King Henry II, a great-grandson of William the Conqueror, arrived in Ireland with a papal blessing from Pope Adrian IV (the only English pope) and the rest is Irish history.
McMurrough died the same year (1171) and earned from the Annals of the Four Masters, which chronicles medieval Irish history, one of the most infamous obituaries in Irish history.
“Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, King of Leinster, after having brought over the Saxons, after having done extensive injuries to the Irish, after plundering and burning many churches, died before the end of a year of an insufferable and unknown disease. He died at Fearnamor [Ferns], without making a will, without penance, without the body of Christ, without unction, as his evil deeds deserved.”
The Normandy Regional Council has invited European countries and regions sharing Norman history and heritage (Britain, Channel Islands, southern Italy, Norway, Denmark) to take part.
The Normans ruled much of southern Italy and Sicily for centuries, as well as parts of the coast of north Africa and the Canary Islands.
Ireland’s participation is being co-ordinated by the National Monuments Service.
Minister for Heritage James Browne, who has a Norman name though he’s a Fianna Fáil politician, said his own county is marked to this day by the Norman influence.
“From their arrival in Wexford in the late 12th century, the Normans left their mark in monumental ways across our urban and rural landscapes, building towns and castles, abbeys and cathedrals that stand to this day,” the Wexford TD said.
“We are confident that this initiative will have a lasting legacy, delivering concrete achievements with economic and social benefits, and all carried out in a respectful, sensitive manner as all historical commemorations must be.”
