Derbforgaill

Who was Derbforgaill?

Dearbhfhorghaill, anglicized as Derval, was a daughter of Murchad Ua Maeleachlainn, king of Meath, and of his wife Mor, daughter of Muirchertach Ua Briain. She is famously known as the "Helen of Ireland" as her abduction from her husband Tigernán Ua Ruairc by Diarmait Mac Murchada, king of Leinster, in 1152 played some part in bringing the Anglo-Normans to Irish shores, although this is a role that has often been greatly exaggerated and often misinterpreted.

Unusually for a woman of her time, she is mentioned no less than five times in contemporary annals: her abduction by Diarmait in 1152,; her donation to the Cistercian abbey of Mellifont of altar cloths, a gold chalice, and 60 ounces of gold during the consecration ceremony in 1157; her completion of the Nuns' Church at Clonmacnoise in 1167; her retirement to Clonmacnoise in 1186; and her death in Clonmacnoise in 1193.