rd was not in favour
with his royal master, who probably was jealous of the Earl, despite his
poverty; but as Strongbow did not wish to lose the little he had in
England, or the chance of obtaining more in Ireland, he proceeded at
once to the court, then held in Normandy, and asked permission for his
new enterprise. Henry's reply was so carefully worded, he could declare
afterwards that he either had or had not given the permission, whichever
version of the interview might eventually prove most convenient to the
royal interests. Strongbow took the interpretation which suited his own
views, and proceeded to the scene of action with as little delay as
possible. He arrived in Ireland, according to the most generally
received account, on the vigil of St. Bartholomew, A.D. 1170, and landed
at Dundonnell, near Waterford. His uncle, Hervey de Montmarisco, had
already arrived, and established himself in a temporary fort, where he
had been attacked by the brave citizens of Wexford. But the besieged
maintained their position, killed five hundred men, and made prisoners
of seventy of the principal citizens of Waterford. Large sums of money
were offered for their ransom, but in vain. They were brutally murdered
by the English soldiers, who first broke their limbs, and then hurled
them from a precipice into the sea. It was the first instalment of the
utterly futile theory, so often put in practice since that day, of
"striking terror into the Irish;" and the experiment was quite as
unsuccessful as all such experiments have ever been.[281]

While these cruelties were enacting, Strongbow had been collecting
forces in South Wales; but, as he was on the very eve of departure, he
received a peremptory order from Henry, forbidding him to leave the
kingdom. After a brief hesitation, he determined to bid defiance to the
royal mandate, and set sail for Ireland. The day after his arrival he
laid siege to Waterford. The citizens behaved like heroes, and twice
repulsed their assailants; but their bravery could not save them in the
face of overpowering numbers. A breach was made in the wall; the
besiegers poured in; and a merciless massacre followed. Dermod arrived
while the conflict was at its height, and for once he has the credit of
interfering on the side of mercy. Reginald, a Danish lord, and O'Phelan,
Prince of the Deisi, were about to be slain by their captors, but at his
request they were spared, and the general carnage was suspended. For