Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1497, Ireland remained divided among competing Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lordships despite Henry VII’s nominal authority and Kildare’s Dublin administration. Perkin Warbeck briefly landed at Cork but gained no support before departing for Cornwall. In the south-east, Piers Ruadh Butler killed Sir James Ormond, strengthening his territorial position. Conn Ó Domhnaill succeeded in Tír Chonaill in May, yet succession conflict, defeat and invasion brought his death in October. Local peace-making and raiding continued elsewhere. A severe island-wide famine caused hunger, mortality and extraordinary food prices for communities. Religious developments included regulation of Lough Derg pilgrimage and Franciscan reform at Carrickfergus.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1493, Conn Ó Néill’s treacherous killing by his brother Henry Óg triggered a contested succession in Tír Eóghain. Backed respectively by Ó Domhnaill and by Uí Chatháin and Uí Mhealláin, Domhnall Clárach and Henry Óg fought at Glasdromainn, where Henry prevailed, though instability continued. Ó Domhnaill’s later Ulster hosting ravaged territories but won no settlement. Across Ireland, killings, raids, burnings and changes of lordship affected Leinster, Offaly, Breifne and Connacht. Gerald FitzGerald, earl of Kildare, visited Henry VII amid political scrutiny. Annals also recorded deaths of clerics, poets and aristocratic women, revealing cultural ties and piety during the year.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1490, Ireland’s fragmented political order was shaped by local warfare, disputed succession and negotiated authority. Feidhlimidh Fionn Ó Conchobhair Ruadh defeated rival kinsmen near Croghan before dying, prompting Ruaidhrí’s election and further instability in Connacht. Raids, cattle seizures and crop destruction burdened communities. In Ulster, Ó Néill factions fought over castles, Aodh Óg Ó Domhnaill seized Ballyshannon, and Conn Ó Néill and Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill maintained an armed stalemate. Henry VII summoned Kildare, whose indispensability reflected Dublin’s limited reach. Papal appointments, learned deaths, maritime links and a cautiously reported earthquake reveal an interconnected, unsettled society across the island.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1489, Ireland experienced a severe epidemic, recorded by the annals among ruling, learned, military and ecclesiastical households, though its precise nature and scale remain unknown. A November royal order demanded Dublin remove refuse, dung and swine, reflecting fears that polluted air caused pestilence and harmed commerce and government. Northern lordships remained violent: Conn Ó Néill raided Ó Catháin territory and seized hostages, while dynastic deaths altered regional politics. After harvest, Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill campaigned eastwards, raided the Route, captured Belfast Castle and reportedly demolished it. Despite disaster and conflict, civic, religious, learned and lordly institutions continued functioning precariously.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1476, Ireland’s competing lordships combined warfare, negotiation and institutional continuity. Henry Ó Néill captured and demolished Bel-Feirste castle, while raiding Oirghialla; Clandeboye survived. Maguire succession in Fermanagh was destabilised by killings and deaths. In Connacht, brief seizures of Roscommon castle exposed fragile authority, whereas Mac William Burke and Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill negotiated a division of Lower Connacht after confrontation. English forces devastated crops, a monastery and settlements in the midlands. Dublin lordship maintained parliamentary, fiscal and legal activity. Annals also recorded prominent poets, clerics and scholars, revealing interconnected political, religious and learned cultures amid violence across the island.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1474, Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill and his wife Finola Ó Briain began Donegal’s Franciscan friary, intended as a dynastic mausoleum and declaration of Ó Domhnaill power. Its dating remains uncertain within 1472–74, but annals associate its foundation with 1474. Elsewhere, Ireland remained politically fragmented: Ó Domhnaill fought Ó Neill and Clann Aodha Buidhe; succession, raiding and castle destruction destabilised the midlands; and failed negotiations produced warfare in Connacht and Thomond. Dublin officials feared Scottish intervention. Deaths of bishops and hereditary scholars underline religion’s cultural role. The friary endured as a religious institution amid violence, dynastic competition and weak authority.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1470, Ireland remained politically fragmented, with the English lordship largely confined to the Pale while Gaelic and Gaelicised dynasties contested power through warfare, alliances, tribute and inauguration. Enrí Ó Néill campaigned in Clandeboye and faced internal rivalry; plague struck Fermanagh amid Maguire succession disputes. Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill captured Sligo Castle, gained Lower Connacht’s submission and recovered Leabhar na hUidre and other dynastic treasures, though his Breifne intervention failed. Thomas FitzGerald became chief governor as parliament addressed local Pale concerns. John Ó Conchobair Kerry founded the Franciscan house at Lislaughtin there, illustrating lordly patronage alongside conflict and cultural prestige.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1469, Irish annals record struggles for lordship, wealth and security rather than a unified political order. Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill secured hostages in Lower Connacht, allied with the newly installed Mac William Burke, and burned Claregalway and neighbouring territory during a campaign against Clanricarde, partly revenging 1467. Uí Maine faced disputed succession after Aodh Ó Cellaigh’s murder; Maguire kindreds fought destructive raids in Fermanagh; and the Whites expelled the Savages from Lecale. Death notices for a harpist, historian-hosteller and ecclesiastical coarb illuminate cultural institutions. Violence, alliance, kinship, hostages and resources shaped lordship, while ordinary people remained invisible in sources.
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Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1468, Thomas FitzGerald, earl of Desmond and former deputy of Ireland, was beheaded at Drogheda after arrest by John Tiptoft’s administration, provoking widespread condemnation and retaliatory raids. His execution exposed the fragility of crown authority beyond Dublin and the Pale. Tiptoft’s forces also burned Cavan and its Franciscan monastery. Elsewhere, disputed successions, raids, cattle seizures and warfare convulsed Connacht and Ulster, damaging crops and communities. Annals recorded deaths of lords, churchmen and the historian-poet Torna Ó Maolconaire, emphasising hospitality, learning and religious observance. The year revealed Ireland’s deeply fragmented political order, sustained by often unstable alliances, lordship and coercion.
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