Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1321, Irish annals recorded an unprecedented cattle murrain across Ireland, corroborated in Connacht, Ulster and Munster, where famine was also noted. The disease, of unknown cause, destroyed vital sources of food, labour, wealth and political obligation, exposing fragile recovery after earlier war and subsistence crises. Conflict nevertheless continued: Cathal Ó Conchobair destroyed the Rock of Loch Key and rivals were killed; Oriel endured dynastic mutilation and assassination involving Dundalk; Meath forces defeated Offaly chiefs; and a Munster hosting sought castles and hostages. These events reveal local, interwoven Gaelic and settler politics, but cattle mortality remained the year’s island-wide calamity.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1322 Ireland was divided among royal, settler, ecclesiastical and Gaelic powers, while Edward II demanded troops, supplies and revenue for war against Scotland. John de Bermingham organised the Irish levy, leaving William de Bermingham deputy justiciar. On 29 September, O'Nolan forces killed Andrew Bermingham, Nicholas de la Launde and others in the unstable Leinster frontier. Dynastic murders, capture and plunder in Annaly, Connacht and the midlands revealed competition within Gaelic lordships. Obituaries recorded the deaths of Ardagh's bishop and legal scholar Andrias Mag Mailin. Uneven, sometimes misdated annals portray military, political and economic pressures rather than a nationwide crisis.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1323, Ireland’s importance lay in its connections with wider Plantagenet politics rather than a single decisive event. A Scottish truce cancelled planned paid military service by leading Anglo-Irish magnates, leaving local rivalries intact. Roger Mortimer’s escape from the Tower raised fears for his Irish estates and supporters, prompting Chancellor Roger Outlaw’s warning mission to Edward II. The king appointed John Darcy justiciar in November, although John de Bermingham remained in office until Darcy’s arrival in 1324. Legislation addressed official abuses, requisitioning, trade, fees and pardons. Meanwhile, Cistercian authorities condemned national exclusion in Irish monasteries, revealing ethnic and institutional tensions.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1324, Connacht experienced a decisive dynastic reversal when Toirrdelbach Ó Conchobair killed Cathal Ó Conchobair in Tír Briúin na Sinna in autumn and was recognised as king. Cathal, ruler since 1318, had long contested power with his rival amid Gaelic and Anglo-Irish pressures. Annála Connacht also recorded the continuing Mael Domnaig cattle murrain throughout Ireland, a severe but undiagnosed epizootic threatening food, farming, transport, wealth and lordship. John Darcy, newly appointed justiciar, administered English-controlled jurisdictions under Edward II, where common law, Dublin ordinances and local usages coexisted. Sparse annalistic evidence portrays political succession and rural vulnerability as closely intertwined.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1325, Domhnall Ó Néill, king of Tír Eógain, died at Loch Laoghaire, and his son Cú Uladh was murdered by rival kinsmen, precipitating a disputed succession eventually favouring Henry Ó Néill of Clandeboye. Intra-dynastic violence also affected Fermanagh and Thomond. Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald’s seizure of Bunratty Castle exposed contested Anglo-Irish authority and required intervention by justiciar John Darcy. Meanwhile, an audit at Westminster uncovered forged Irish exchequer accounts associated with Archbishop Alexander Bicknor, leading to confiscation of his temporal property. Together, these events reveal unstable, personal lordship, constrained royal power, and fragile administration across medieval Ireland at once.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
Richard de Burgh, the Red Earl of Ulster and lord of Connacht, died at Athassel on 29 July 1326, ending a powerful four-decade lordship. His fourteen-year-old grandson William inherited vast but vulnerable estates, exposing Ulster and Connacht to guardians, rivals and local conflict. Munster saw fighting between Maurice FitzGerald of Desmond and Arnold le Poer, temporarily restrained by Justiciar John Darcy. Royal administration continued through travelling chancery business and financial enforcement. Local records note Ímar Mag Ragnaill’s killing and the succession at Elphin. Meanwhile, English political crisis unsettled Ireland, making 1326 a pivotal year of insecure lordship and contested authority.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1327, Ireland experienced overlapping political, military and social crises amid the accession of Edward III. Thomas FitzGerald, earl of Kildare, became justiciar, but magnates contested royal authority while trade and administration continued. At Glendun, Robert Bruce secured a year’s truce with Ulster, paid for by promised wheat and barley. Domhnall Mac Murchadha was proclaimed king in Leinster before capture by royal officers. Rival Anglo-Irish lords devastated lands during private war, while O’Rourkes and O’Reillys fought over Lough Oughter. A widespread speckled sickness, probably smallpox but diagnostically uncertain, killed people across social ranks alike, disrupting labour, food supplies and lordship.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1328 Ireland endured crop damage, illness, destructive winds and scarcity, recorded across annalistic traditions. Political authority remained fragmented: William de Burgh returned to his Ulster inheritance, while royal orders sought to restrain magnates and an attempted Scottish-Irish peace meeting failed. De Burgh, Connacht and Thomond allies suffered defeat against Brian Bán Ó Briain; violence also killed John de Bermingham, earl of Louth. Obituaries reveal losses to legal, ecclesiastical and musical culture, amid church factionalism. On 2 November Edward III created James Butler earl of Ormond, granting Tipperary’s liberty and strengthening royal influence through territorial, judicial and commercial patronage networks.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1329, John de Bermingham, earl of Louth, was killed at Braganstown near Ardee by Louth’s English gentry, exposing divisions within the lordship rather than an ethnic revolt. His disputed authority, kern’s alleged depredations, and weak local roots fuelled resentment. Parliament in Dublin sought to curb magnate feuds, while rivalries persisted. The killers received pardons, Bermingham’s earldom lapsed, and Mortimer acquired Louth’s liberty. Political conflict also embroiled Bishop Ledrede. Campaigns and killings in Wicklow, the midlands, Breifne and Connacht revealed continuing warfare and shifting alliances. Wet weather delayed harvests, intensifying insecurity across Ireland for tenants, townspeople, and landed communities alike.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1330, violent storms and flooding devastated parts of Ireland, sweeping away nearly all Boyne bridges, damaging Trim and Drogheda, delaying harvests and raising grain prices. These disruptions hindered trade, travel, government and military movement. Meanwhile, Roger Outlaw’s Kilkenny parliament sought support against Brian Bán Ó Briain in Munster, exposing rival magnates’ uncertain loyalties. Edward III warned the earls of Ulster and Desmond against private warfare, while Adam de Lymbergh became chancellor. Violence afflicted Meath, although Wexford fighting is uncertainly dated. Gilla Ísu Ruad Ó Ragallaig died at Cavan’s Franciscan friary, illustrating the links between Gaelic lordship and religious patronage.
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