1. THE FIRST NORMANS ARRIVED IN IRELAND ON THE 1 ST OF MAY 1169. THEY WERE FROM NORMANDY IN NORTH-WEST FRANCE. THE NORMANS CAME TO IRELAND TO FIGHT FOR LAND. THE ARRIVAL OF THE NORMANS IN IRELAND WAS THE START OF 800 YEARS OF CONFLICT. THE NORMANS CONTROLLED OVER HALF OF IRELAND BY 1250 THE NORMANS ARRIVED AT BANNOW BAY IN WEXFORD. MOST OF THE NORMANS WERE FROM WALES AND ABOUT A QUARTER OF THEM WERE FROM FRANCE. WHEN THE FIRST NORMANS CAME TO IRELAND THEY LIVED IN A MOTTE AND BAILEY (A BIT OF A FIELD WITH A WOODEN FENCE AROUND IT. THE NORMANS LIVED IN IT AND GREW ALL THEIR FOOD IN IT).

2. AFTER A WHILE IN IRELAND, THE NORMANS BUILT CASTLES TO LIVE IN. THE NORMANS BROUGHT TWO NEW LANGUAGES TO IRELAND WITH THEM: ENGLISH AND FRENCH. Many Irish families came to work for Norman lords. They learned how to grow many new crops. They divided the land into three long strips or fields and learned different ways of tilling the soil. Every year a different crop was grown in each field and one field was left fallow (idle). In this way the soil regained its goodness. Crop Rotation

4. Dermot MacMurrough was the King of Leinster in the 1160s. He called on the Normans to help him with a row he was having with another king at the time. He did a deal with a Norman Lord called Richard de Clare (nickname Strongbow) – he promised him the Kingdom of Leinster and his daughter Aoife, if he would help. In August 1170, Strongbow (Richard de Clare) landed near Waterford with a group of about 1200 Normans (200 knights and 1000 soldiers). They defeated the Vikings and the Irish who lived in Waterford and captured the city. Then Strongbow got married to Aoife. Soon after this MacMurrough and Strongbow captured Dublin City. Dermot MacMurrough died suddenly, in May 1171, and Strongbow became king of Leinster.

5. The Normans were excellent soldiers They wore armor and carried shields, spears and swords. They wore a coat of chain mail – this could stop arrows. The coat of chain mail was made by linking circles of chain together into a coat. The Irish, or the Vikings in Ireland, didn’t have chain mail or armor.

6. There are many examples of Norman castles in Ireland Trim Castle in Co. Meath is the largest Norman castle in Ireland. It was built by Hugh de Lacy in 1173. Blarney Castle, Co Cork Kilkenny Castle Dublin Castle