26/08/2022
It's uncertain as to the exact date and indeed location of Aoife Mac Murroughs death but August of 1188 seems to be the accepted time line. We have found only one link to the 26th August 1188 which would make today an anniversary of her passing.
Research by Catherine Armstrong in 1999 cites the following. "Tintern Abbey," I discovered the burial place not only of Gilbert fitz Gilbert de Clare, Strongbow’s father, but also the burial place of Aoife[Eve] Mac Murrough [MacMurchada] daughter of Dermot King of Leinster, wife of Richard "Strongbow" de Clare, and mother of Isabel de Clare (37-9). To my knowledge no one has recorded the date of Aoife’s death or her place of burial in any currently in-print history texts of this time period. It seems I have discovered a previously unknown fact. I knew that Aoife [Eve] de Clare was alive and recorded in the Pipe Rolls of the 30th, 33rd, and 34th years of the reign of Henry II covering the years 1183-1187 (154; 55; 142). One of the last known primary source records of Aoife [Eve] de Clare is a copy of a charter she issued as "Eve comitissa heres Regis Deremicii" confirming to John Cumin, archbishop of Dublin [1181-1212] and his successors possessions that had been previously granted by Aoife with "comes John’s" confirmation (Earldom of Gloucester Charters 23; MacNiocaill 282-306; Flanagan 133-4). Since John did not become a "comes" until 1189 when he became Count of Mortain and Earl of Gloucester, this charter could date to 1185-1189 or 1189-1194.
For Aoife [princess of Leinster and widow of "Strongbow"] to be buried in Tintern Abbey, she must have died in Wales. Aoife was an Irish princess; "Strongbow," is buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity [Christ Church] in Dublin (Barnard 92; Diceto i 407). Common sense and the customs of the times dictate that only by dying in Wales would Aoife have been buried there. The discovery of Aoife MacMurrough’s [MacMurchada] burial place raises more questions than it answers. When did she return to Wales from Ireland? What was she doing in Wales? When did she die? Is this why her daughter Isabel de Clare and Isabel’s two youngest sons are buried at Tintern?
There is in existence one tale of her demise. As a young woman, she lived many years following the death of Strongbow in 1176, and devoted herself to raising their children and defending their territory. She had a fortress tower constructed at Cappamore where she was to conduct a feud with the Quinns. One day, while walking in the grounds of Cappamore, she was shot through the throat by one of the Quinns while talking with the captain of her guard. Her remains were interred in the crypt of Kilkenny Castle.
It’s also been said that she was sent to live in Wales at one of Strongbows castles and in fact never set foot in Ireland again. She was 13 when she married Strongbow who was more interested in cementing his control over Leinster which ties in with Catherine's research.
