William the Conquer had no plans to invade Ireland. His son, William II, was the next Norman King of England. He once stood on top of a hill in Wales and boosted that one day he would invade and conquer Ireland. But he never acted on his boast and a hundred years after the Battle of Hastings, the Normans had still not come to Ireland. When he did come in 1170, it was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, an Irishman, who wanted the Normans to help him get revenge on his enemies. Dermot was not popular with his neigbours. They often fought over land.
Below you can see Dermot and his two enemies.
Dermot MacMurrough
Dermot MacMurrough
was King of Leinster.
He had few friends and
many enemies.
Rory O'Connor
One of his enemies was Rory O'Connor the High King. Dermot had tried to stop Rory from being High King.
King Tiernan
Dermot had another enemy, Tiernan O'Rourke of Breifne. They fell out over an area of land called Meath, which they both wanted.