Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1407, conflict, succession, learning and subsistence shaped Ireland’s localised political world. Tadhg Ó Cearbhaill of Éile was killed at Callan by Stephen le Scrope’s forces during wider Leinster–Munster struggles; annalists praised him as a leading military protector and patron of poets. In Connacht, rivals contested the kingship, and Cathal Ó Conchobair’s defeat at Cell Achaid brought captures and losses. Archbishop Muirchertach Ó Ceallaigh died at Tuam, remembered for wisdom, charity and learning. Northern captures, raids and internal violence exposed fragile alliances. Very bad weather and cattle losses damaged regional livelihoods, while warfare, church authority and cultural patronage remained intertwined.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1408 Ireland’s political geography remained sharply divided. The English lordship was strongest in and around Dublin, yet its government depended on cooperation from magnates, towns and religious houses, and on money which was chronically scarce. Beyond and across its frontier, Gaelic and Gaelicised lordships pursued their own rivalries, raiding routes and alliances. The year is unusually well illuminated by several annalistic traditions, although they do not all record the same matters. Their entries show an island in which a royal prince could arrive with military purpose, while deaths, cattle-raids, local feuds and new castles continued to shape life far
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
The most sharply dated Irish event of 1409 came in Connacht on the Monday after Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael on 29 September. A relieving force fought its way to the besieged castle of Roscommon with food and stores. The annalists regarded the operation as exceptionally daring. It was not a campaign of a unitary Irish kingdom, nor a clash simply between ‘Irish’ and ‘English’. It was a regional struggle among Gaelic dynasties and their allies, conducted around a formidable castle whose survival depended upon grain, supplies, mounted men and dependable political partnerships.Elsewhere, the year exposed the limited reach
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1410, Ireland’s political map was not a single kingdom directed from one capital but a field of overlapping lordships, kin-groups, towns and ecclesiastical territories. The year’s most striking recorded episode was the seizure of Domnall Ó Néill, lord of Tír Eógain, by Brian Mac Mathghamhna. Yet the annals also preserve a wider pattern: rulers and heirs dying, castles changing hands, cattle being driven away, a captive rival dying in Munster, and succession being managed amid danger. Taken together, these entries show how authority depended on personal alliances, control of strongpoints, inherited claims and the ability to reward followers.The surviving
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
Annals for 1411 portray Ireland as a patchwork of competing lordships, where succession disputes, captivity and violence shaped political life. In Munster, heirs and rivals among the Ó Briains, FitzGeralds, Mac Cárthaighs and Ó Súilleabháins were killed, expelled, blinded or displaced. Ó Conchobhair Fáilghe captured Meath’s sheriff for ransom, illustrating frontier insecurity, while Ó Domhnaill imprisoned Mulmhaire Mac Suibhne amid internal complaints. Annaghdown monastery burned, and church land officers, an historian and Thomond’s master poet died. The annals also report that Raphoe’s crucifix bled and healed illnesses, a medieval miracle claim reflecting devotion, pilgrimage and hopes for relief amid instability.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
The surviving evidence for 1412 presents Ireland not as a single political unit but as a country of intensely local powers, connected by warfare, kinship, devotion and movement. Annalists recorded raids and counter-raids from the Moy to Fermanagh, the escape of a high-status captive from Dublin, a campaign across Connacht involving Gaelic and Anglo-Irish forces, and reports of miracles at a Marian shrine in Trim. These were not episodes on a national stage directed from one centre. They reveal overlapping lordships, towns and ecclesiastical institutions, each vulnerable to events beyond its own boundaries. A Violent Night in Tullyhunco The sharpest
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1413, Ireland remained politically fragmented, with Gaelic lords, Anglo-Irish interests, towns and churches exercising local power. Limerick suffered a destructive fire attributed by annals to an unnamed woman. Roscommon Castle became the focus of rival military operations, while raids and victories in Meath and Leinster demonstrated continuing frontier warfare. Tuathal Ó Máille’s returning fleet was wrecked near Scotland, causing extensive loss of life. At Lough Conn, violation of church sanctuary led to restitution of land. Annals also recorded lordly deaths, legal learning and Henry V’s accession, portraying a connected yet dangerous society shaped by warfare, religion, trade and reputation.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1414 Ireland experienced overlapping warfare, political manoeuvre, disaster and disease. Murchad Ó Conchobair and Fergal Ruad Mac Eochagáin defeated English forces from Meath at Cill Echi, killing prominent clergy and nobles and securing ransoms. In Tír Eógain, hostage exchanges restored Domhnall Ó Néill, while Mac Diarmata lordship changed hands. Fighting between Mac Murchadha rulers and Wexford forces brought capture, burning, plunder and further hostages. Sir John Stanley died, John Talbot became lieutenant and arrived late in the year. A candle fire destroyed Sligo’s Dominican monastery; a dean died; plague was reported in Meath and Leinster. Annalistic discrepancies require caution.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1415 Irish annals recorded fragmented connected conflicts across lordship Ireland. John Talbot, Lord Furnival, the king’s lieutenant, campaigned through Leix, Oriel and other districts, seizing a castle, killing or taking livestock, and executing Gerald of Geraldine descent. Chroniclers condemned his plundering of poets and alleged disregard for churches and sanctuaries. In Umhall, rivalry within the O’Malley kindred culminated in Aed O’Malley’s defeat and death, enabling Diarmait to assume the lordship. A January night attack at Cloonshee killed Tomaltach O’Birn and devastated a household. Annals noted clerical deaths, burial, capture, ransom, and cultural commemoration, depicting authority as mobile and coercive.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1416, Ireland remained divided among Gaelic rulers, Anglo-Irish magnates and the Dublin-centred English lordship. Art Mór MacMurrough defeated Wexford’s English settlers, securing booty and hostages in a peace settlement, while alliances involving Talbots and Butlers complicated ethnic divisions. Annals record his death in 1416, though conflicting evidence places it in 1417, creating uncertainty over succession. Raids, feuds and battles affected Connacht, Breifne and Fermanagh. Friar Brian Mac Donnchadha rebuilt Sligo’s Dominican monastery after fire. Another blaze on Church Island destroyed books, precious objects and instruments, illustrating losses to Gaelic learning. Church offices and legal expertise nevertheless endured amid violence.
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