Diarmait Mac Murchada, was King of Leinster in Ireland from 1127 to 1171. In 1167, he was deposed by the High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. To recover his kingdom, Mac Murchada solicited help from King Henry II of England. His issue unresolved, he gained the military support of the Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, thus initiating the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.
Diarmait as depicted in the Expugnatio Hibernica, c. 1189
The Marriage of Aoife and Strongbow (1854) by Daniel Maclise, a romanticised depiction of the union between Aoife and Richard de Clare in the ruins of Waterford
Gravestone at Ferns Cathedral. This is said to be the gravestone of Mac Murchada.
Ruaidrí mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair was King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1198. He was the last High King of Ireland before the Anglo-Norman invasion.
Stone carving, Cong Abbey