Strongbow's Wife

By Frank Parker

In August 1166, aged 13, Aoife left Ireland in the company of her mother, Mor and father, Dermot MacMurrough, in pursuit of the latter’s quest to obtain support for his campaign to regain the kingship of Leinster. Events during the year that elapsed between departure and return are imagined and described through her eyes. By the time of the family’s return to Ireland she had been promised to Strongbow.
Another three years elapsed before Strongbow’s eventual arrival in Ireland. The book captures the frustration of this period for Aoife and her father. The marriage at the end of August 1170 was preceded by a massacre, by the invading force, of the citizens of Waterford and their allies. Aoife’s reaction to this event and her consequent reluctance to fulfil her father’s promise is explored.
The initial campaign by Dermot and Strongbow is at first successful but ends with the brutal murder of Dermot’s beloved grandson and other close relatives. Blaming this atrocity on the enduring hostility between O’Rourke and her father, Aoife is unable to forgive either.
The arrival in Ireland of Henry II of England is followed by the birth of Aoife’s first child. The impact on Aoife’s life of the marriage of Strongbow’s sister Basilia to Raymond Fitz Gerald aka Le Gros is profound. Just as she is becoming comfortable with that situation Strongbow dies bringing a further major change in her circumstances.
Based on the assumption that she then became dowager of Striguil (Chepstow), the book shows her dealing with the aftermath of the Abergavenny massacre and setting up a successful business.
The book ends with her musings about the future governance of Ireland in the light of the young Prince John’s behaviour during his visit to the island, an event that coincided with the death of her son.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Parker
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310273094

Frank Parker

Frank Parker's writing has been likened to that of Laurie Lee, Ian McEwan and Charles Dickens. Not bad for a septuagenarian who came to writing late in life.Frank is a retired Engineer. He spent most of his working life in England where he was employed by UK based multi-national companies. He always wanted to write but has only found the freedom to do so since retiring to Ireland in October 2006.Formerly resident in Portlaoise, he now lives with Freda, his wife since 1963, in Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland.To date he has 4 e-books available on Smashwords, 2 novels and 2 collections of poems and short stories.He writes about people facing the challenges of history: The Norman conquest of Ireland, the dramatic changes in attitudes to sex and sexuality of the 1970s.He is currently researching and writing about the famine that struck Ireland between 1845 and 1852.