An Cláirseoir

The Normans are coming!

In the spring of 1169, a Norman force in Wales was preparing a fleet for sea: Fitz Gerald, Barry, Fitz Martin, de Courcy, Prendergast, Fitz Gibbon, and others. Before the end of the year, Leinster would be under their control. The following year, Dublin would also be in their possession. They would soon transform the life of the country from Wexford to Castlebar, and from Waterford to Ballyferriter.

But what was the reason for the invasion? What led the Normans to abandon their own domain in southern Britain and embark on adventures and dangers overseas?

A story of three races

In this novel, Diarmuid Johnson presents the Normans and the Welsh before the fateful invasion. Their story is told to us: the story of Gerald of Windsor and his journey to Dublin; the conspiracy against Henry I of England; the marriage to the princess Nest; Maurice fitz Gerald and the trunk filled with gold; the twist of fate and the escape over seas.

This is a story of three races: the story of the Gaels, the Normans, and the Welsh. Our own story.

The Irish literary tradition has reached a new peak

Diarmuid Johnson’s An Cláirseoir (The Harpist) is a masterpiece that will, I am sure, be ranked among the great novels of the Irish language. It tells a version of the story usually called The Coming of the Normans, but it is a subtle, sweeping, and complex version. Despite the fact that it deals with the forces and violence of major historical events at a crucial period in Irish life, there is a poetry and lyricism that will take your breath away. Between the mastery of language, the revival of old narrative styles, the creativity of the vision and the author’s control of every aspect of the plot, this prolific writer has achieved a feat. The literary tradition of the Irish language has reached a new peak. — Prof. Máire Ní Annrachái, Comhar.