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Richard de Clare; Richard fiz Gilbert , second earl of Pembroke [earl of Striguil]
(Richard Strongbow)

Born: c. 1130   Died: 1176 (20 April?)   Active: 1148-1176   

The son of Gilbert fitz Gilbert, first earl of Pembroke, whom he succeeded in 1148.

At the invitation of Diarmait Mac Murchada, the exiled king of Leinster, Richard embarked on a campaign to Ireland where he married Diarmait's daughter, Aife. During 1172-3 he seemingly made his base at Kildare and his campaigns in Ireland brought him wealth, a high status wife and, crucially, a warning to Henry II that 'a disaffected tenant-in-chief, who deemed himself to have been deprived of the lordship of Pembroke and of comital status, might avail of his strategically located territorial acquisitions in Ireland to attempt to foment a revolt in Pembroke or seize it by force' (M. T. Flanagan, ODNB). Richard was buried in Dublin; his daughter, Isabella, married William (I) Marshal.

Sites associated with this person

Usk Priory, Monmouthshire (confirms important charter)

Bibliographical sources

Web links (open in new window)

Flanagan, M. T., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online - Richard de Clare (Strongbow) (View website) (Subscription reqd.)


 
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