Cavan Castle Broken
Archived: 19 October 2026
Abstract
In 1514 Ireland was not governed from a single centre, nor did political power stop at the edge of the English lordship. The young Gerald FitzGerald, ninth earl of Kildare and the king’s deputy, sought to demonstrate that he had inherited his father’s authority. Yet his forces encountered rival lordships whose leaders could raise their own military followings, command castles, make agreements and settle disputes by hostage-taking, compensation and war. The Irish annals record campaigns in Laois, Breifne, Munster and Ulster; a contemporary churchman writing to England described a country rich in foodstuffs but insecure by land and sea. Taken