Aoife MacMurrough

Aoife MacMurrough (; 1153 – 1188), also known as Eva of Leinster or Red Eva, was an Irish noblewoman. The daughter of King of Leinster Dermot MacMurrough, her marriage to Anglo-Norman nobleman Richard "Strongbow" de Clare on 25 August 1170 is considered a pivotal moment in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

Early life and family background Aoife MacMurrough was the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, and his wife Mor O'Toole, daughter of King of Uí Muiredaigh, Muirchertach Ua Tuathail.

As the daughter of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, the young Aoife would have been raised in much higher dignity than most other girls in Ireland who were of poorer stock than she; her privileged status ensured that she was educated in Brehon law and would have ensured that she was literate in Ecclesiastical Latin. Since her mother (who also produced one son and another daughter) was the second wife of Diarmait, her station was automatically lower than that of her husband's first wife, Sadb Ní Faeláin, and her issue of two sons and one daughter.

Marriage Aoife's father Dermot was deposed by Ireland's High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. Dermot failed in an attempt to take Waterford. Aoife, with her parents and a handful of their supporters, landed at Bristol in summer 1166. They made their way to Normandy, then to Henry II's court in Aquitaine. Dermot solicited Henry's help to recover his lost kingdom. Henry authorised Dermot to seek help from the Anglo-Normans.

In 1166 or 1168, Aoife married Richard almost immediately after

Issue NameBirthDeathNotesIsabel de Clare, 4th Countess of Pembroke 11721220 m. Aug 1189, Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, Lord Marshal, son of John Fitz Gilbert, Marshal (Marechal) of England, and Sibylla of Salisbury.Gilbert de Striguil (Chepstow), 3rd Earl of Pembroke after 1185 Inherited title from father but died as a minor. The title then went to his sister's husband on their marriage. Isabel's husband, William Marshal, was given the title Earl of Pembroke in his own right by King John of England. Marshal did not call himself the Earl until he had achieved the privilege in his own right in 1198, rather than through his marriage to Isabel.+ Children of Aoife MacMurrough and Richard de Clare (Strongbow)

Popular culture Aoife is the main character of the historical novel The Irish Princess, written by Elizabeth Chadwick.