The Young Adults of Muckross Hall Recap

 

  

Recap- de Clare/O’Flattery/Donnely/Flahey/Evan

On the west coast of Ireland in the year 1157 there stood a revamped monastery called Muckross Abbey which would school and house a special group of young men and women, most of whom were born in or relocated to the Kingdom of Leinster. This kingdom had seen much change, strife and conflict in the previous years. The royal family and the people of Leinster had experienced a long war between feuding tribes which resulted in their king, Dermott MacMurrough, being exiled to England. Upon returning to Ireland to win his kingdom back, he brought with him a Norman Lord, Richard “Strongbow” deClare, to help him. Strongbow in return would marry his daughter, Princess Aoife, and become ruler of Leinster when the King passed away from a weak heart. This string of events brought on what is known as the Norman invasion of the 12^th century.

                                                            (Gilbert de Clare)

While fighting to keep his kingdom and his wife, Strongbow brought the son he never knew from England to become his heir. This boy’s name was Gilbert deClare. Gilbert was brought up on a farm with his mother and lived the life of a peasant despite his birthright nobility.  Not wanting to leave the Kingdom of Leinster without an heir when the king suffered a near fatal stab wound, Gilbert was summoned to Ireland. It was then that they began a real father son relationship. Being brought to a strange country and becoming a prince was something he never expected and never thought he could ever want. The desire to make his new father proud forced Gilbert to make the best of the situation.

After a short while he found himself at Muckross Abbey. The English Normans, who now occupied Ireland and most of the kingdoms, financed a new concept of encouraging higher learning to its affluent young citizens to create more knowledgeable citizens, so that their new country would flourish.

There were 8 young adults, 6 from Leinster and 2 from the northern kingdom of Connaught. Gilbert de Clare was the only royal heir so he was given his own private chamber, much to the dismay of a few of the other young men. If that wasn’t difficult enough, he also found that his newly betrothed, Coblaith O’Flattery, was attending the abbey and living in the same residence as he. Gilbert felt an anxiousness he had never felt before.

(Edward de Clare staring at his cousin Gilbert, the new prince of Leinster)

Edward de Clare was Gilbert’s cousin and nephew to Strongbow. He was brought up noble, and had taken an instant dislike to Gilbert who felt he was only of peasant blood, and would never be of royal or even noble worth. Upon finding out that Gilbert was betrothed to Coblaith O’Flattery after the informal promise of her hand to Edward, the animosity towards his new royal cousin grew.

 

(Almaith Donnely and Patrick Flahey)

There were only two of the group that were neither noble nor royal. Almaith Donnely was the daughter of Michan Donnely who was a well known and well liked laborer in Leinster. Her mother died giving birth to Almaith, so Michan was left to raise his daughter alone. A prominent merchant had taken an interest in Michan and arranged for Almaith to be educated at the Abbey. After being longtime friends with Patrick Flahey, they were betrothed to each other just before leaving for Muckross.

Patrick Flahey was raised by the Monks, and Father Flanagan in Leinster along with his older brother after they were orphaned at a young age. Father Flanagan felt that Patrick had a gifted mind and would benefit from an education. Patrick was hesitant at first but then delighted to know that he would be experiencing this strange new concept with Almaith.

 

(Cole and Coblaith O’Flattery) 

Cole O’Flattery was the son of the most powerful Noble in Leinster, and was himself considered to be reckless and carefree. It was also well known that he had his eye on Almaith Donnely  even though she was clearly beneath him in class stature. He and his sister were chosen to attend the Abbey as well due to their noble standing. To her surprise, Coblaith had been promised in marriage to the new prince of Leinster, Gilbert de Clare. This was unsettling to her for she had heard that he was merely a farmer before he came to Ireland. She knew she would have trouble relating to this boy who would one day be her husband and king.

(Thora and Henry, two nobles from Connaught)

The two young people from Connaught were Thora and Henry. She was the daughter of a Norman Noble and he came from a Noble Irish family. They were betrothed despite the fact that neither of them were fond of the other. Henry was an obtuse, beastly sort of guy while Thora was distinguished and proper. The sight of Henry repulsed her. They both would not concede to the notion that they would someday be married, but their marriage would merge two powerful families in Connaught, so the decision was not negotiable.

This will be an interesting time for these young men and women as they embark on this new experience together. They will be merging different backgrounds, culture, and even class status which may be the most problematic of all. Will they all live in harmony under one roof or will it be a turbulent time of which was so prevalent of 12th century Ireland? Let’s find out together shall we?