Finbar, the patriarch of the fictional O'Doole family reads this poem to his grandchildren as they row across Lough Gill in Leitrim. As they approach the Parke's castle on the shore of the lough, notes that the castle once belonged to the O'Ruaraic family. The tale speaks of the family in the distant past.
Dermott MacMurchad of Leinster,
with heart of wood,
Ruled stolen land with cruel
blood
Chieftains of Eire who stood to
fight,
If they kept their life, they
lost their light
Insulted the Abbess of St.
Bridgit's Church grand,
Closed her in a cell in the bed
of a man.
Lusted beyond the fjords of Wex
and Water
E'en to the walls of Dublin's
fine quarter
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In MacLoughlin of Ulster Dermott
found a friend
Thought his conquests then would
know no end
Set his greedy eyes on Connacht
and Meath
O'Connor and O'Ruaraic vowed to
stand to the death
The King and the Prince together
stood tall
With honor and sword 'neath
Breffni's stout wall
Ere the kerns of MacMurchad
heard the clarion's call
Had neither stomach nor heart
for naught but withdraw
O'Ruaraic's confessor in piety's
name
Bade the Prince make a
pilgrimage away from war's game
Prince Tiernan, the pilgrim left
with the first crow of the cock
Trusting husband saw not the
need for a chastity lock
He believed the Bride of Breffni
would wait
But the fair Derbforgaill did
not lock the gate
MacMurchad came under cover of
night
Abducted O'Ruaraic's wife and
took flight
T’was a dastardly act, or so it
would seem
Yet heard within Breffni's
walls, nary a scream
When Tiernan's horse boy gave
his account
He swore Derbforgaill was
astride the Prince's best mount
And several housemaids reported
before the gates closed
She was leading four pack horses
carrying all of her clothes
Prince Tiernan returned to find
a cold bed
With the fire of vengeance
burning his head
Mustered his army and moved with
great haste
Toward a fortress in Leinster
with intent to lay waste
Dermott's walls breached, the
villain escaped in the end
But in all Erin's Isle he found
not a friend
But there were those that owed
Dermott an old debt
With his daughter Eva sailed
o'er to England without regret
King Henry had once borrowed
Dermott's ships under sails
To suppress a pesky revolution
out there in Wales
Finding Henry in England was
sure of little chance
Because the King of England
spent most of his time in France
But once found, old Henry would
not lend a hand
Unless MacMurchad promised
fealty and, of course Irish land
Now Henry avowed he could not an
English soldier loan
Gave a letter permitting Dermott
raise an army on his own
He looked, but could not hire an
army anywhere
Until he met a red-haired Earl,
Richard de Clare
Now Dermott could not
understand, nor would he ever know
How this femme-faced Norman ever
earned the title of, 'Strongbow'
He was far from manly, never
mistaken for a swain
Some say of him was written,
"His blood is better than his brain"
But 'twas falsely accused,
Strongbow had a clever plan
His price for aid, an Irish
estate and the daughter Eva's hand
The pact agreed for Irish land
and Eva as his bride
Strongbow set out to hire some
men to fight for Dermott's side
Dermott for Éireann sailed with
Norman knights and gallowglasses
O'Ruaraic and O'Connor greeted
him and kicked some Norman asses
To buy some time and for his
kidnap crime Dermott offered Tiernan gold
Tiernan took the bribe and set
the stage for history yet untold
Irish troops fell back, laid
down their arms hoping to fight no more
But now Strongbow and his Norman
knights stormed onto Éireann's shore
With a thousand men at arms to
recapture Dermott's land
His promise kept, Strongbow
could now claim fair Eva's hand
The wedding assured Strongbow
became Dermott's heir
A
Norman on the Leinster throne was a curse on all of Eire
