Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1394 Richard II landed at Waterford with an expedition, the first reigning English king to visit Ireland since 1210. Seeking to strengthen the weakened lordship, he targeted Leinster, where Art MacMurrough challenged crown authority. MacMurrough burned New Ross, seizing wealth and hostages, while Ormond retaliated by ravaging Leinster. Richard travelled through Kilkenny to Dublin, obtaining meetings, pledges and uncertain submissions rather than decisive control. Parliament and counsel in Dublin underscored reliance on magnates, clergy and towns. Elsewhere, inter-lordship violence, clerical deaths, church destruction and rebuilding, and learned men’s killings revealed a fragmented society. Royal prestige rose, but conflict endured.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1386, Irish annals recorded local conflicts, raids and settlements rather than a single national event. Domnall Ó Conchobair’s coalition devastated Mac Wattin Barrett territory in Tirawley, killing leaders, taking a castle and destroying orchards. Connacht warfare shifted rapidly between raiding, pursuit, victory and negotiated peace among competing dynasties. Art Mór Mac Murchadha defeated the English of Ossory, while Midland feuds involved killings, castle seizures and hostage-taking. Richard II created Robert de Vere duke of Ireland, though he never visited; administration continued through deputies and chancery. Elite deaths and burials also marked status, kinship and lordship across a fragmented island.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1380 Edmund Mortimer, Richard II’s lieutenant and claimant to Ulster and Connacht, brought military resources and royal authority to Ireland. Gaelic rulers, notably Niall Mór Ó Néill, initially accommodated him, but Mortimer’s treacherous arrest of Art Mág Aonghusa damaged confidence and exposed limits to his influence. Campaigning in Ulster coincided with dynastic killings, territorial conflicts and successions among Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lordships across Ireland. In Dublin, Mortimer summoned parliament, secured clerical taxation for defence, and enforced discriminatory religious admissions rules. Murage at Ardee and ecclesiastical deaths reflect administrative and social continuity. The year demonstrated Ireland’s fragmented, contested political order.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1378, Ireland comprised overlapping political worlds rather than a unified national arena. Around Dublin, the English lordship defended Tallaght against O’Byrne pressure with 120 hobblers, compensated raid losses, mobilised tenants, regulated arms, and guarded Carlow during parliament. Exchequer officials collected debts, valued royal lands and administered payments, demonstrating limited but active government in core counties. Annalistic accounts record killings, rival successions and alliances among Burke, Mac Raghnaill, O’Rourke, Maguire and other lordships. Deaths of a bishop in Rome, scholars, poets and legal authorities reveal ecclesiastical and learned networks. Fragmentary sources portray power as military, fiscal, familial, scholarly and local.
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Archived: 22 October 2026
Abstract
Records for 1372 reveal Ireland’s overlapping Gaelic, Hiberno-English and royal jurisdictions. Sir William Windsor left the lieutenancy in March, succeeded by Gerald FitzGerald, while Robert Ashton became justiciar in June amid inquiries into Windsor’s administration. Annals commemorate Brian Mór Mac Mathghamhna’s treacherous killing, although sources dispute whether it occurred in 1371 or 1372; his death affected Oriel’s politics. Seoán Mór Ó Dubhagáin, historian to Uí Mhaine, died at Rinn Dúin, where Gaelic scholarship met a former colonial settlement. Deaths, succession, capture and conflict in Connacht and the midlands further demonstrate political, social and religious interdependence, while underscoring annalistic chronology’s limitations.
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Archived: 22 October 2026
Abstract
In 1369, Ireland’s contested lordships were shaped by dynastic conflict, royal administration and ecclesiastical change. Pilib Ó Raghallaigh, king of east Breifne, was imprisoned by nephews at Lough Oughter, but his son-in-law, Pilib Maguire of Fermanagh, captured the island castle by boat and restored him. Allied resistance had earlier failed at Blencup. William Windsor arrived as royal lieutenant, summoned a Dublin parliament, and executed Diarmait Mac Murchadha and his designated successor, demonstrating force without securing Leinster. In Thomond, Mathghamhain Ó Briain died and Brian Sreamhach succeeded. Church deaths in Oriel and Breifne underscored political importance. Alliances and waterways shaped power.
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Archived: 22 October 2026
Abstract
In 1363, Ireland comprised overlapping political worlds rather than a unified realm. Lionel of Antwerp, Edward III’s lieutenant, received English money, troops and lordship revenues to sustain royal authority, while regulation of purveyance and weights addressed administrative abuses. Dublin remained crucial: Lionel granted civic liberties on 26 September, confirmed by Edward in November, strengthening the Guildhall’s jurisdiction and commercial governance. Elsewhere, annals recorded deaths of Magnus Ó Domhnaill and Áed Mag Uidir, killings, captivity and inter-kindred conflict in Connacht and neighbouring regions. A severe windstorm damaged churches and houses and sank vessels, disrupting communities, trade and transport networks across waterways.
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Archived: 22 October 2026
Abstract
In 1361, Lionel of Antwerp, Edward III’s son and earl of Ulster, arrived in Ireland as royal lieutenant with troops to reinforce the threatened English lordship. Landing at Dublin in September, he campaigned in Leinster, where Gaelic rulers remained powerful. Irish annals recorded the deceptive seizure and subsequent custodial deaths of Art Mac Murchadha and Domnall Riabach, though details remain uncertain. Lionel transferred the Exchequer to fortified Carlow, creating a forward administrative and financial base without displacing Dublin’s importance. Meanwhile, the widespread epidemic Cluiche an Rí, probably pestis secunda, intensified economic and military pressures, demonstrating the limitations of royal intervention.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1358, Edward III protected masters, scholars and clerks travelling to Dublin, reinforcing the university associated with St Patrick’s Cathedral. The petition exposed poverty, hazardous sea crossings and inadequate educational resources. Annals recorded fragmented politics: Áed Ó Néill defeated Airgialla and Fermanagh forces; Ó Mórdha overcame men identified with Dublin in Leinster; and Clann Cathmhaoil killed Manus Maguire. Bishop Brian Mac Cathmhaoil and Gaelic rulers also died. A Carbury hailstorm illustrated environmental uncertainty, while disease reports cannot be precisely dated. Together, these events reveal contested authority alongside continuing learning, religious institutions, warfare and local seasonal vulnerability across late medieval Ireland.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1357, Ireland’s surviving records reveal overlapping worlds rather than national unity. Art Mór Mac Murchadha Caomhánach was born amid unstable Leinster alliances linking Gaelic rulers, settler lordships and Dublin government. Royal administration issued commissions and relied on magnates, notably Maurice FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, whose military resources supported authority. Annals record deaths of rulers, an earl drowned during a crossing, executions, killings and a peace, illustrating contested lordship. They also commemorate scholars, clerics and musicians. An English chronicler reported renewed pestilence devastating Gaelic communities, though its scale remains uncertain. Ireland combined political fragmentation, cultural networks, negotiation, violence and mortality.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1356, Áed son of Toirrdelbach Ó Conchobair was killed at Baile Locha Deacair after allegedly abducting Donnchad Carrach Ó Cellaig’s wife, prompting allied retaliation by Ó Cellaig, Clann an Bhaird and Uí Maine. Áed son of Feidlim claimed full kingship of contested Connacht amid further dynastic deaths. Killings and successions elsewhere, including Tír Chonaill, reflected fragmented lordship. In Dublin, Justiciar Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald died, and Gearoidín Tyrrell was publicly executed. The deaths of Armagh’s primate, Clogher’s bishop and relic-keeper Solam Ó Melláin marked ecclesiastical losses. Sources document political violence but cannot establish precise circumstances or wider economic conditions.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1355 Edward III appointed Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald, first earl of Desmond, justiciar of Ireland, and he began serving in August. His restoration after earlier conflict with the crown demonstrated royal dependence on powerful Anglo-Irish magnates. Dublin’s institutions could not control a politically fragmented island, where Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lordships exercised overlapping authority. Plague’s recent effects worsened economic and military pressures. Annal-dated reports describe killings, successions and retaliatory warfare in Bréifne, Annaly, Muintir Eolais and Connacht, alongside ecclesiastical and legal continuity. Desmond’s appointment was firmly dated, but annal chronology requires caution. Governance relied on negotiated regional, often violent power.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
During 1349, a pestilence remembered as the Black Death became an all-Ireland crisis, although its arrival and mortality cannot be dated or quantified precisely. John Clyn recorded contagion, deaths among clergy and households, pressure on burial and care, and costly imported goods in Kilkenny. Connacht annals reported heavy losses in Moylurg, while warfare, raiding and contested lordship continued across Connacht and elsewhere. Ecclesiastical vacancies exposed institutional vulnerability, though individual causes of death remain uncertain. Clyn's final entries, ending amid violence and epidemic fear, symbolise the fragility of record-keeping. The year strained trade, worship, families and political authority without halting conflict.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1348, pestilence reached Ireland by sea, devastating Dublin and Drogheda from late summer, though its extent elsewhere remains uncertain. John Clyn recorded a fearful pilgrimage by clergy, magnates and ordinary people to St Moling’s water at Taughmoling, seeking spiritual protection amid mass mortality. Meanwhile, Fulk de la Frêne fortified and coerced Ormond tenants around Nenagh, before James Butler received the earldom. Bishop Richard of Ossory gained independence from Dublin’s archbishop. In Connacht, killings, captures and war between kindreds ravaged Moylurg, while learned poets still travelled for patronage. The year combined disease, warfare, lordship, worship and cultural continuity under strain.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1346, Ireland experienced political instability, warfare and dearth following the death of Sir Ralph Ufford, the royal justiciar. Gaelic and settler forces contested Leinster, capturing castles, raiding communities and damaging churches. On 5 May, Diarmaid Mac Giolla Phádraig and an Ó Cearbhaill ally burned Aghaboe, including its church, cemetery and St Canice’s shrine, a religious and communal loss. Wheat prices reflected scarcity, worsened by conflict. Walter de Bermingham became justiciar in May but violence continued, including northern defeats, killings and winter raids. John Clyn’s annals document events, while evidence does not place the Black Death in Ireland before 1348–49.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1345, the sharpest political struggle in the English lordship of Ireland unfolded not at a frontier ford but across the towns, castles and lordships of Munster. Sir Ralph Ufford, justiciar of Ireland and the king’s chief governor, moved against Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald, first earl of Desmond. Their quarrel exposed a basic weakness in royal administration: the Crown needed the co-operation of the great Anglo-Irish magnates, yet Ufford sought to discipline them with an unusually forceful assertion of central authority.The year also brought a violent change of ruler in Connacht, fighting upon Lough Neagh in Ulster, and smaller but
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1344, Ralph d’Ufford became justiciar of Ireland, landing at Dublin with Maud of Lancaster and pursuing stronger royal oversight of grants, revenues, frontier defence and officials. His inquiries in Cork, administrative changes and Leinster campaign signalled intervention, though not restored island-wide control. Royal military demands also linked Irish magnates to Edward III’s French war. Elsewhere, annals recorded killings, imprisonments and rapid successions among Gaelic lordships in Mide, Airgialla, Breifne, Connacht and Ulster. Church affairs included James Bermingham’s appointment as bishop of Killala. Notices of Finnguala Ó Duibhgeannáin and Cill Rónáin illustrate cultural patronage and the uncertainties of medieval chronology.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1339, Ireland endured severe frost and snow that damaged livestock and winter crops, while warfare in Meath ruined grainlands and caused famine. Political violence accompanied hardship: Ruaidhrí Ó Cellaigh, king of Uí Maine, was killed, and Toirdhealbhach Ó Conchobhair reshaped Connacht alliances through marriage, repudiation and pressure upon Edmund Albanach Burke. Northern campaigning by Aodh Reamhar Ó Néill brought further deaths, while Tomás Mag Samhradháin was released from captivity. Despite instability, Fergal Muimhneach Ó Duibhgeannáin erected Kilronan church. In Dublin, Edward III’s administration briefly minted silver coinage, thereby linking local society to royal fiscal demands amid wider Anglo-French war.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
A Killing That Changed ConnachtThe most consequential Irish event securely placed in 1338 was the killing of Sir Edmund de Burgh, known in the annals as the son of the Earl of Ulster. He was captured by his kinsman Edmund Albanach de Burgh, had a stone tied about his neck, and was cast into Lough Mask. The stark formula occurs in both the Annals of Connacht and the Annals of Loch Cé. Neither supplies a day or month, and none should be invented; but both place the killing firmly within their annal for 1338.Its importance lay not merely in the
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1332, Ireland’s lordship faced acute political and social strain. Sir William de Bermingham was executed in Dublin after politically charged conspiracy proceedings, while his son Walter was released. Thomond forces destroyed Bunratty Castle, whereas Anthony de Lucy recovered and garrisoned Arklow. Hostages seized castles at Limerick and Nenagh, exposing fragile authority; civic action restored Limerick. Raids, rivalries and warfare affected Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster. Disease and exceptionally expensive wheat compounded hardship after famine. Edward III’s planned expedition was abandoned for Scotland, weakening government and leading to Lucy’s replacement by John Darcy. Richard FitzRalph’s Oxford chancellorship illustrated Irish connections.
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Archived: 23 October 2026
Abstract
In 1331, authority in Ireland was asserted, evaded and fought over in several very different places at once. At Dublin, Edward III’s government sent a new justiciar and issued ambitious instructions for reform. In Leinster, raiders captured a royal castle and struck at the estates of the archbishop of Dublin. In Connacht, a lord abandoned secular rule for the monastery just as an army burned through his son’s territory. The surviving records do not create a complete national narrative: they are annals, administrative measures and later compilations, each with its own priorities. Yet together they show a lordship in which
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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 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
In 1320, Ireland showed contrasting efforts at order and continuing conflict after the Bruce invasion. Archbishop Alexander de Bicknor established statutes for a studium generale at St Patrick’s Cathedral, appointing teachers and a chancellor to promote theology and canon law, while strengthening ecclesiastical discipline through synodal measures. Roger Mortimer’s Dublin parliament reaffirmed English statutes, regulated administration and market measures, and named the earl of Kildare deputy justiciar. Elsewhere, authority remained contested: Cathal Ó Conchobair broke peace with Maelruanaid Mac Diarmata, seizing captives and ravaging Connacht; a Connacht claimant was killed; and Munster’s Ó Briain tanist Mathgamain died violently, unsettling succession.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1317, at the height of the Bruce invasion, Robert Bruce joined his brother Edward in Ireland and marched through Meath towards Dublin. Fearing siege, Dublin’s citizens burnt western suburbs, demolished the Liffey bridge and religious buildings for defensive stone, and detained the earl of Ulster. The Bruces bypassed the fortified city, campaigned unsuccessfully in Munster, and retreated north; Robert departed in May. Famine, worsened by military requisitioning, afflicted Ireland amid warfare, dynastic struggles and castle destruction. Connacht changed kings, while learned legal culture suffered a loss. Irish leaders’ Remonstrance to Pope John XXII sought support, but Edward’s kingship endured.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1313, Thomond faced a contested O’Brien succession after Diarmait Cléirech Ó Briain died and was buried in the Franciscan habit at Ennis. Donnchad Ó Briain asserted his claim through destructive campaigns in Uaithne and Ara, while Muirchertach Ó Briain entered from Connacht, defeated his rivals and ravaged the Limerick district. Their conflict ended in a territorial partition, though warfare resumed in 1314. Regional struggles involved O’Brien factions, Mac Conmaras and Anglo-Irish magnates, notably Richard de Clare and the de Burghs. In Dublin, acting justiciar Edmund Butler held a feast and knighted thirty men, asserting royal authority amid political instability.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1312, ecclesiastical and governmental transitions highlighted tensions within Ireland’s lordship. William de Bermingham’s death created a vacancy at Tuam, where Máel Sechlain Mac Áeda, formerly bishop of Elphin, was formally translated on 19 December, strengthening Gaelic representation in a major metropolitan see. Religious life continued through developments at Boyle and episcopal deaths in Connacht. In Louth, a de Verdon rising defeated royal forces near Ardee, exposing fragile crown authority. Edmund Butler replaced John Wogan as keeper in August and administered Dublin while campaigning in Wicklow. These institutional changes preceded, but did not initiate, the crises of 1315 and afterwards.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1311, conflict at Bunratty in Thomond brought rival Uí Bhriain branches, Richard de Clare, William Liath de Burgh and forces from Connacht and Meath into shifting alliances. Although de Clare’s side suffered heavier losses, it captured de Burgh and northern nobles, briefly altering regional power. Thomond endured further killings, including King Donnchad Ó Briain’s murder, contested succession, hostage agreements and later fighting. Raids also struck the Dublin marches, exposing weak governmental control. Church appointments in Dublin and Armagh revealed competing royal, papal and local interests. Deaths, raids and scarcity heightened insecurity, foreshadowing vulnerabilities later exploited during the Bruce invasion.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1309, Áed mac Éogain Ó Conchobair, king of Connacht, was killed at Coill an Chlocháin by Áed Brefnech, triggering wider conflict among rival dynasties and allies. Elite casualties included legal scholar Gilla na Naem Mac Aodhagáin, illustrating the political importance of learned service. Competing claimants sought submissions, tribute, royal jewels and military support, while raids damaged grain and monasteries served strategic roles. Elsewhere, violence involved Leinster magnates and Thomond rivals; Cathal Ó Conchobair became bishop of Elphin. Roger Mortimer and Joan de Geneville assumed Meath's lordship, while Dublin received murage for bridge-tower repairs, revealing Ireland's interconnected local politics clearly.
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Archived: 24 October 2026
Abstract
In 1308, John Wogan’s defeat at Glenmalure exposed the vulnerability of royal power near Dublin, although administration continued. Piers Gaveston, Edward II’s controversial favourite, arrived as king’s lieutenant, combining political exile with military responsibility. Later campaigns against Wicklow opponents, including the Ó Byrnes, sought to restore authority through coercion and infrastructure. In Connacht, raids, broken peace agreements and failed hostages involved Ó Conchobair branches, Mac Diarmata, Ó Dubda and Anglo-Irish forces, demonstrating unstable alliances and dynastic violence. Stormy weather damaged people and cattle, while lightning struck Roscommon’s Dominican friary. The year revealed an uneven landscape where powers constrained royal government.
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