Cork in 50 Artworks, no 31: The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise

The story of how The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife came to be in the National Gallery of Ireland is almost as colourful as the painting itself.

Visitors at the National Gallery of Ireland view The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife

Most people know Daniel Maclise’s painting The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife from their history books in school. The monumental artwork depicts the marriage - in 1170 - of the Norman knight Richard 'Strongbow' de Clare to Aoife, daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, in Christ Church Cathedral in Waterford. It was used to illustrate accounts of how control of the island of Ireland passed from the native High Kings to a succession of English royals.

Maclise, a native of Cork who found fame and fortune in London, produced the work in 1854, and it remains his masterpiece.