At the age of thirty-eight and still unmarried due to a lack of royal favor, Richard was ready for the arrival and proposal of Dermot MacMurchada Lord of Leinster in 1168/69. Dermot arrived in Bristol, along with his daughter Aoife, and went to the home of Robert fitz Harding, a wealthy merchant, money-lender, and favorite of King Henry's. Dermot had gone to King Henry in Normandy and gained permission to recruit knights from Henry's lands in Wales and the Marches for his battle to regain his own lordship of Leinster in Ireland. It is possible and probable that fitz Harding, to whom de Clare may have owed money, recommended Strongbow to Dermot as a good candidate to be recruited. Dermot offered Strongbow lands in Ireland, his daughter Eve (Aoife) in marriage, and the lordship of Leinster on Dermot's death.