Dunluce Campaign
Archived: 17 October 2026
In 1584 Sir John Perrot became lord deputy, pursuing Elizabethan efforts to convert military victory into durable government. He appointed Richard Bingham in Connacht and John Norris in Munster, where the Peyton Survey prepared forfeited Desmond lands for plantation amid famine and displacement. Negotiations revived towards the Composition of Connacht, while O’Reilly territory was organised as County Cavan. Perrot captured Dunluce but failed to subdue Sorley Boy MacDonnell or secure Ulster. Dermot O’Hurley’s execution highlighted confessional repression. Galway extended harbour defences, and Stanihurst published Latin history. Crown authority expanded through surveys, counties and garrisons, yet remained contested, costly and insecure.