Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1225, Connacht was devastated by a succession war after Cathal Crobderg Ó Conchobair’s death. Toirrdelbach, son of Ruaidrí Ó Conchobair, was inaugurated at Carnfree with support from Áed Ó Néill and Connacht allies, but Áed mac Cathail regained power through Anglo-Norman, Thomond and local assistance. Campaigns centred on cattle, territory and hostages, displacing communities and bringing plunder, killings, drowning, hunger and exposure. Alliances repeatedly shifted, while church and secular lands suffered alike. A second rising failed, forcing Ruaidrí’s sons back to Ulster. Fever, disrupted harvests and ploughing compounded destruction, leaving Áed restored but Connacht socially and economically shattered severely.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1226, Connacht remained unstable after Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair’s death, as his son Áed faced dynastic rivals, neighbouring lords and changing English policy. Killings, attacks on houses, captivity and local feuds across Connacht, Breifne and Iar-Chonnacht exposed fractured authority. Henry III ordered Geoffrey de Marisco to demand Connacht’s surrender from Áed, advancing Richard de Burgh’s interests despite opposition among colonial magnates. Cathal Ua Raigillig destroyed Cill Mór castle, illustrating the vulnerability of frontier strongholds. Deaths of bishops, nobles and Cong’s learned erenagh also marked the year, while religious houses preserved learning, patronage and dynastic commemoration amid wider ongoing conflict.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1227, Connacht faced intensified pressure from the English lordship, dynastic rivals and regional raiders. Summoned to Dublin, King Áed mac Cathail Chrobdeirg Ó Conchobair escaped an alleged plot through William Marshal’s intervention. He subsequently captured William de Marisco and companions at Lathach Caich, attacked Athlone, and exchanged prisoners for his children, Connacht hostages and a peace. Meanwhile Geoffrey de Marisco and Áed’s rivals took hostages, raided Connacht and constructed castles at Rindoon and Athleague, strengthening Shannon frontier control. Warfare brought cattle theft, captivity and local killings. Famine, cold and sickness compounded insecurity, while crusading observances linked Ireland to Christendom.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1228, Áed Ó Conchobair of Connacht was murdered in Leinster, intensifying dynastic conflict. Richard de Burgh, newly appointed justiciar, helped oversee a Connacht assembly that inaugurated Áed son of Ruaidrí at Carnfree, rejecting his elder brother Toirrdelbach. The settlement failed: warfare, cattle seizures and plunder devastated much of Connacht, causing hunger, displacement, and the flight of clergy and learned people. Elsewhere, lineage killings affected Breifne, royal administration promoted Magna Carta and land claims, and Dublin’s archiepiscopal succession became contested. Coleraine’s fortification was renewed, while Irish annalists noted Francis of Assisi’s canonisation, revealing Ireland’s wider ecclesiastical connections during the year.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1229, the disputed burial of Diarmait Mac Gilla Carthaig, erenach of Tibohine, exposed rivalry between Boyle’s Cistercians and Trinity’s canons, leaving his body at Drum for three days before settlement. The year also brought clerical deaths, resignations and the loss of learned canon Gerald Ó Catháin, amid Connacht’s instability after 1228. Duibessa Ó Conchobair died as a nun, while rulers of Desmond and Corcu Laígde died. Henry III granted Dublin a mayoralty and Drogheda urban liberties, disafforested lands linked with Glendalough, and Ballybeg Priory was conventionally founded. These events reveal regional institutions, succession, patronage and authority across medieval Ireland.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1230, Áed mac Ruaidrí Ó Conchobair’s revolt against Richard de Burgh, Mac William, intensified Connacht’s succession crisis. De Burgh assembled Anglo-Norman and Gaelic allies, advanced through Galway and Mayo, secured submissions and hostages, and defeated Donn Óc Mac Airechtaig’s forces at Fincharn. His troops devastated communities sheltering with cattle in remote terrain, causing hunger, deaths and dispossession. At Lough Key, de Burgh installed Fedlimid mac Cathail Chrobdeirg as king and expelled Áed, who sought Ó Néill’s protection in Tír Eógain. The year also recorded Áed Ó Néill’s death and obituaries illuminating ecclesiastical leadership, monastic craftsmanship and scholarship across Ireland.
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Archived: 26 October 2026
Abstract
In 1231 Richard de Burgh captured Fedlimid mac Cathail Chrobdeirg Ó Conchobair at Meelick, despite guarantees, exposing the fragility of Gaelic rulers’ alliances with Anglo-Norman power. Imprisoned in strategically placed Shannon castle, Fedlimid’s fate left Connacht contested; his release and later victory belonged to subsequent years. Annals also record Connacht’s religious and local life: deaths among ruling families, Boyle Abbey’s pilgrim connections, episcopal succession at Elphin, and Dionysius Ó Mórda’s death on Trinity Island. They note learned status, Mac Diarmata’s market project, a waterborne Breifne raid, and Ualgarc Ó Ruairc’s fatal Holy Land pilgrimage, revealing active networks amid political instability.
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Archived: 25 October 2026
Abstract
In 1232, Connacht’s contested kingship linked local dynastic rivalry to English royal politics. Richard de Burgh released Fedlimid Ó Conchobair after his patron Hubert de Burgh’s fall, while Áed mac Ruaidrí retained a precarious restoration. De Burgh’s castle at Bun Gaillme and Adam Staunton’s at Dunamon embodied efforts to secure enduring authority. Conchobar, Áed’s son, died invading the Three Tuatha, weakening his dynasty. Elsewhere, chieftains fought, hostages were taken, crops destroyed and coastal warfare continued. Yet churches were consecrated, regular canons organised, and religious figures were praised for learning, hospitality and care, showing warfare and institution-building advancing together across Ireland.
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Archived: 25 October 2026
Abstract
In 1233 Feidlimid mac Cathail Chrobderg Ua Conchobair regained Connacht after his coalition, assembled with Cormac Mac Diarmata at Druim Grecraige, routed and killed his cousin Áed mac Ruaidrí and leading supporters. The victory displaced Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair’s descendants, despite Anglo-Norman involvement on both sides. Annalists interpreted Áed’s defeat through alleged crimes against churches, but their accounts also record political propaganda. Feidlimid destroyed four rival castles, including Bun Gaillme and Dunamon, asserting territorial control and imposing praised order. In Breifne, Cathal Ua Ráigillig’s forces defeated William de Lacy’s raiders. Obituaries illuminate church households’ roles in landholding, hospitality, mediation and welfare.
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Archived: 25 October 2026
Abstract
In 1234, Richard Marshal, earl of Pembroke and lord of Leinster, brought his rebellion against Henry III’s Poitevin advisers to Ireland. Supported by Leinster allies, he recovered positions and captured Limerick, but royalist magnates Maurice FitzGerald, Hugh de Lacy and Walter de Lacy defeated him on the Curragh of Kildare on 1 April. Wounded and detained, Marshal died at Kilkenny on 16 April and was buried there. His defeat strengthened royal authority, restored Richard de Burgh’s Connacht interests under restrictive terms, and prepared subsequent expansion. Meanwhile, fighting at Tralee demonstrated continuing conflict between settler powers and Gaelic dynasties across Ireland.
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