Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
The best-documented Irish event of 1429 was a major defeat at Achadh Cille Móire, now generally identified with Aghakilmore in County Cavan. It was not a battle between two neatly bounded nations. Rather, it grew from the shifting alliances, rival branches and armed followings that shaped lordship in the Breifne borderlands. The annals place it firmly in this year, while their differing emphases also reveal why a single encounter could matter far beyond the field on which it was fought. War in Breifne The Annals of Ulster report a “great war” between Tadhg Ua Ruairc (O’Rourke) and Eóghan Ua Raighillaigh
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1428, Irish annals recorded no single national crisis but interconnected regional events. Aedh Mag Uidhir, a Fermanagh lord returning from pilgrimage to Compostela, died at Kinsale on 11 August and was buried at Cork, illustrating maritime, religious and political links. His death coincided with Maguire dynastic violence, including seizure of his sons’ castle and the killing of Aedh Óg. In Leinster, Donnchadh Mac Murchadha Caomhánach’s ransom, return and cooperation with English authority reflected negotiated power. Deaths of ecclesiastical and local rulers, notably a Mac Conmara chief, reveal hereditary offices, patronage, protection and peace as foundations of Ireland’s diverse lordships.
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1427, Ireland’s fragmented political order was shaped by dynastic rivalry, constrained English administration and local military action. Donnchadh Mac Murchadha, king of Leinster, returned after eight years’ imprisonment in England, challenging his brother Gerald’s authority while receiving English support. Lord Grey briefly assumed the lieutenancy, reliant on local deputies amid fiscal and factional weakness. English or Anglo-Irish forces demolished Edenderry Castle, while an Ulster coalition led by Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill defeated MacQuillan’s forces, taking prisoners and booty. Annalistic obituaries emphasised penitence, hospitality and charitable guest-houses, demonstrating that reputation, kinship and religious patronage remained central to power and standing.
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1426, Ireland comprised overlapping English, Gaelic and Gaelicised jurisdictions rather than a unified state. Naghtan O'Donnell was ransomed from English captivity by his brother Niall, who provided extensive property and hostages; Turlough O'Donnell subsequently escaped with four fellow hostages. Annals record successions, deaths and kin violence, including O'Brien inauguration, Mac Mahon’s killing, and O'Conor losses. Reconciliation between Owen O'Neill and O'Neill aimed to recover alienated lands. Learned historians, hospitality, penance and plague also feature. Dublin received royal compensation for earlier military service, while an Ormond deed leased Kilkenny mills, demonstrating administrative, economic and seigneurial institutions alongside regional personal power.
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1424, Ireland’s political map was defined less by a single national struggle than by a series of overlapping lordships, rival dynasties and negotiated allegiances. The English crown governed most directly from Dublin and its surrounding lordship, but royal office depended upon the cooperation of magnates whose power reached well beyond the formal limits of crown administration. Gaelic rulers, Hiberno-Irish dynasties and English settlers all made and remade local political worlds through warfare, tribute, marriage, submission and the possession of castles. The year is especially notable for the arrival in Ireland of Edmund Mortimer, earl of March and Ulster, as
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1423, Ireland was shaped by competing Gaelic lordships and a weakened English administration. Domnall and Eóghan Ó Néill, with Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill, led an Ulster coalition through Louth into Meath, defeating forces associated with the king’s deputy and securing tribute and agreements. Niall Garbh also built Ath Seanaigh castle at Ballyshannon, reinforcing his new rule in Tír Chonaill after his father’s death. Dublin government was divided by disputes among Mortimer’s deputies and Richard Talbot. In Connacht, Uilleag de Burgh died, while Uí Maine underwent a violent succession. Clerical and scholarly obituaries reveal intertwined religious, hereditary and political authority.
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1422 Irish politics operated through local lordships, alliances, hostages, land and warfare. At Youghal, Ormond granted Desmond a life interest in 240 acres, securing revenues and services while retaining rights. In Tír Conaill, Toirdhealbhach Ó Domhnaill retired to Assaroe, succeeded by Niall Garbh, whose campaigns asserted authority across Ulster and into Connacht. Eóghan Ó Néill’s ransom and subsequent alliances demonstrated hostage diplomacy’s importance. Offaly’s An Calbhach defeated Meath forces near Trim, amid wider frontier fighting. Raids damaged crops, cattle, homes, churches and learned people. Henry V’s death brought Henry VI’s minority, while regional powers continued negotiating, raiding and fighting.
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Archived: 20 October 2026
Abstract
In 1421, Irish annals recorded interlocking conflicts, successions and deaths across Connacht, Breifne, Fermanagh, Offaly, Ulster and Munster. Ruaidhrí Mac Diarmata’s death brought Tomaltach’s contested succession in Moylurg, while Murchadh Ó Conchobhair’s death preceded Calbhach’s accession in Uí Fhailghe. Ó Ruairc, allied with Ó Domhnaill and Mag Uidhir, campaigned destructively against Clann Donnchadha; retaliation damaged Ó Ruairc’s residence before peace followed. Cathal Ó Ruairc seized Inis Caoin on Lough Melvin through garrison betrayal, capturing its lord and castle. Notices also commemorated bishops, nobles, Mór Mumhan, and historian Gilla Riabhach Ó Cléirigh, revealing ideals of hospitality, piety, learning and martial defence.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
During 1418, Ireland’s fragmented landscape was shaped by dynastic deaths, raids, fortification and scholarship. In Breifne, the deaths of Tigernán Mór Ó Ruairc, his heir Eógan, and East Breifne’s Risderd Ó Raigillig triggered contested successions; Risderd and his household drowned in Lough Sheelin. At Roscommon, Uilliam Ó Cellaig built a castle opposite the stronghold, resisting an Ó Conchobair-led siege. A royal council met at Naas, while Furnival’s raids in Iveagh met resistance and northern conflict involved Ó Domnaill and Ó Néill. Connacht saw cattle raids and violence. Meanwhile, the Great Book of Lecan neared completion, demonstrating scholarly patronage amid warfare.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1417, the death of Art Mac Murchadha, king of Leinster, ended the career of a Gaelic ruler who had challenged English authority through warfare, negotiation and cross-community alliances. Annals disagree over the date and alleged poisoning, but emphasise his piety, hospitality and power; his son Donnchadh succeeded amid uncertainty after Diarmait Red-hand also died. Elsewhere, John Talbot’s cattle raid demonstrated uneven royal reach. Connacht saw Ruaidhrí Ó Dubhda’s succession, drownings, kin conflicts and hostage settlements. Burnings, killings and ecclesiastical involvement reveal pervasive local violence. Annalistic records also stress penitent deaths, kinship, burial and generosity, showing a fragmented Irish authority.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1416, Ireland remained divided among Gaelic rulers, Anglo-Irish magnates and the Dublin-centred English lordship. Art Mór MacMurrough defeated Wexford’s English settlers, securing booty and hostages in a peace settlement, while alliances involving Talbots and Butlers complicated ethnic divisions. Annals record his death in 1416, though conflicting evidence places it in 1417, creating uncertainty over succession. Raids, feuds and battles affected Connacht, Breifne and Fermanagh. Friar Brian Mac Donnchadha rebuilt Sligo’s Dominican monastery after fire. Another blaze on Church Island destroyed books, precious objects and instruments, illustrating losses to Gaelic learning. Church offices and legal expertise nevertheless endured amid violence.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1415 Irish annals recorded fragmented connected conflicts across lordship Ireland. John Talbot, Lord Furnival, the king’s lieutenant, campaigned through Leix, Oriel and other districts, seizing a castle, killing or taking livestock, and executing Gerald of Geraldine descent. Chroniclers condemned his plundering of poets and alleged disregard for churches and sanctuaries. In Umhall, rivalry within the O’Malley kindred culminated in Aed O’Malley’s defeat and death, enabling Diarmait to assume the lordship. A January night attack at Cloonshee killed Tomaltach O’Birn and devastated a household. Annals noted clerical deaths, burial, capture, ransom, and cultural commemoration, depicting authority as mobile and coercive.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1413, Ireland remained politically fragmented, with Gaelic lords, Anglo-Irish interests, towns and churches exercising local power. Limerick suffered a destructive fire attributed by annals to an unnamed woman. Roscommon Castle became the focus of rival military operations, while raids and victories in Meath and Leinster demonstrated continuing frontier warfare. Tuathal Ó Máille’s returning fleet was wrecked near Scotland, causing extensive loss of life. At Lough Conn, violation of church sanctuary led to restitution of land. Annals also recorded lordly deaths, legal learning and Henry V’s accession, portraying a connected yet dangerous society shaped by warfare, religion, trade and reputation.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
The surviving evidence for 1412 presents Ireland not as a single political unit but as a country of intensely local powers, connected by warfare, kinship, devotion and movement. Annalists recorded raids and counter-raids from the Moy to Fermanagh, the escape of a high-status captive from Dublin, a campaign across Connacht involving Gaelic and Anglo-Irish forces, and reports of miracles at a Marian shrine in Trim. These were not episodes on a national stage directed from one centre. They reveal overlapping lordships, towns and ecclesiastical institutions, each vulnerable to events beyond its own boundaries. A Violent Night in Tullyhunco The sharpest
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
Annals for 1411 portray Ireland as a patchwork of competing lordships, where succession disputes, captivity and violence shaped political life. In Munster, heirs and rivals among the Ó Briains, FitzGeralds, Mac Cárthaighs and Ó Súilleabháins were killed, expelled, blinded or displaced. Ó Conchobhair Fáilghe captured Meath’s sheriff for ransom, illustrating frontier insecurity, while Ó Domhnaill imprisoned Mulmhaire Mac Suibhne amid internal complaints. Annaghdown monastery burned, and church land officers, an historian and Thomond’s master poet died. The annals also report that Raphoe’s crucifix bled and healed illnesses, a medieval miracle claim reflecting devotion, pilgrimage and hopes for relief amid instability.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1410, Ireland’s political map was not a single kingdom directed from one capital but a field of overlapping lordships, kin-groups, towns and ecclesiastical territories. The year’s most striking recorded episode was the seizure of Domnall Ó Néill, lord of Tír Eógain, by Brian Mac Mathghamhna. Yet the annals also preserve a wider pattern: rulers and heirs dying, castles changing hands, cattle being driven away, a captive rival dying in Munster, and succession being managed amid danger. Taken together, these entries show how authority depended on personal alliances, control of strongpoints, inherited claims and the ability to reward followers.The surviving
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
The most sharply dated Irish event of 1409 came in Connacht on the Monday after Michaelmas, the feast of St Michael on 29 September. A relieving force fought its way to the besieged castle of Roscommon with food and stores. The annalists regarded the operation as exceptionally daring. It was not a campaign of a unitary Irish kingdom, nor a clash simply between ‘Irish’ and ‘English’. It was a regional struggle among Gaelic dynasties and their allies, conducted around a formidable castle whose survival depended upon grain, supplies, mounted men and dependable political partnerships.Elsewhere, the year exposed the limited reach
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1408 Ireland’s political geography remained sharply divided. The English lordship was strongest in and around Dublin, yet its government depended on cooperation from magnates, towns and religious houses, and on money which was chronically scarce. Beyond and across its frontier, Gaelic and Gaelicised lordships pursued their own rivalries, raiding routes and alliances. The year is unusually well illuminated by several annalistic traditions, although they do not all record the same matters. Their entries show an island in which a royal prince could arrive with military purpose, while deaths, cattle-raids, local feuds and new castles continued to shape life far
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1407, conflict, succession, learning and subsistence shaped Ireland’s localised political world. Tadhg Ó Cearbhaill of Éile was killed at Callan by Stephen le Scrope’s forces during wider Leinster–Munster struggles; annalists praised him as a leading military protector and patron of poets. In Connacht, rivals contested the kingship, and Cathal Ó Conchobair’s defeat at Cell Achaid brought captures and losses. Archbishop Muirchertach Ó Ceallaigh died at Tuam, remembered for wisdom, charity and learning. Northern captures, raids and internal violence exposed fragile alliances. Very bad weather and cattle losses damaged regional livelihoods, while warfare, church authority and cultural patronage remained intertwined.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1406, Ireland’s fragmented political order was shaped by disease, warfare, ritual and succession. Plague killed several Leinster men eligible for lordship, potentially affecting dynastic calculations. In Offaly, Murchadh Ó Conchobhair Fáilghe defeated a mixed Meath, Connacht and mercenary force at Cluain Immorrais, inflicting heavy losses and capturing the prestigious Buacach Phádraig relic. In Connacht, Toirdhealbhach Óg Ó Conchobhair Donn, joint king for twenty-two years, was killed by rivals and Burke allies, prompting Cathal Ó Conchobhair Donn’s inauguration at Carnfree around year’s end. Dublin retained limited military and civic capacity, while elite deaths and monastic burials underscored lordship’s religious networks.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1405, Art Mór Mac Murchadha Caomhánach devastated County Wexford and burned Carlow and Tristledermot, demonstrating the vulnerability of English lordship towns and routes in Leinster. His campaign reflected conflicts over land, tribute, jurisdiction and authority, despite earlier interventions by Richard II. Government continued through appointments and James Butler, earl of Ormond’s deputyship, although his death added uncertainty. Elsewhere, warfare over dues in Moylurg killed Tadc Mac Diarmata and prompted succession. Annals also record local feuds, gallowglasses, learned men’s deaths, monastic burials and an early reference to uisce beatha. Ireland remained politically fragmented, culturally sophisticated and shaped by local power.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1404, Ireland remained politically fragmented between the English lordship, Anglo-Irish magnates and Gaelic rulers. At Blackford in Laigis, Gilla Pátraic Ó Mórdha defeated forces identified as English, capturing horses, weapons and armour. Connacht saw Mac Diarmata succession struggles, regional deaths and warfare, while Domnall Ó Néill claimed Ulster’s kingship amid continuing rivalry. Bishop Tomás Barrett died, Nicholas Fleming was appointed to Armagh, and widespread lectual sickness was reported. Maritime conflict occurred in Munster. The deaths of several ollamhs, or learned masters, highlighted the vulnerability of hereditary cultural institutions. Annals also record household figures, local violence and uncertain chronology throughout.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1403, Irish annals record shifting alliances, warfare and successions across Connacht, Breifne, Ulster and Munster. Muirchertach Baccach Ó Conchobair of Sligo joined Ó Conchobair Donn in a hosting through central Connacht, subduing Uí Maine and aiding Ulick de Burgh in Clanricarde, before dying that autumn. Uí Maine saw aristocratic deaths alongside killings. Breifne conflict brought deaths, captures and a Ó Raigillig ruler. Northern dynasties changed: Niall Ó Néill and his son died, while Oirgialla and Tyrone gained successors. Disputed annal dates complicate Ulster and Munster events. Records emphasise lordship, patronage, hospitality and religious prestige, while preserving fragmentary, partisan perspectives.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
Ireland in 1401 was shaped by competing Gaelic, Anglo-Irish, ecclesiastical and Dublin-based authorities. In Connacht, Thomas Burke’s death produced rival Mac Williams, while Conchobar Anabaidh succeeded in Uí Maine and fighting engulfed Lough Key and Muintir Eolais. Leinster suffered reciprocal devastation between Art Mac Murchadha and Dublin’s forces, alongside a local western plague. Northern politics centred on a peace at Caol Uisce between Niall Óg Ó Néill and Toirdelbach Ó Domhnaill, though annals differ over its date and later violence exposed continuing dynastic tensions. Church and chancery institutions remained influential but geographically limited. The year revealed fragile, locally negotiated power.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1399 Richard II landed at Waterford to subdue Art Mac Murchadha Caomhánach, whose Leinster forces avoided pitched battle, strained royal supplies and prevented a settlement. The expedition exposed the limited reach of English lordship beyond defended centres. While Richard campaigned, conflicts continued in Connacht and Ulster, and John fitz Gerald, earl of Desmond, drowned amid a Munster feud, leaving a minor heir. Annals note deaths of churchmen, rulers and Mac Egan legal scholars. Henry Bolingbroke's English invasion forced Richard’s July departure. Art remained unconquered, and Henry IV’s accession by September ended Richard’s reign, leaving Irish divisions and weakness unresolved.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1398, the political settlement imposed after Richard II’s first Irish expedition was visibly coming apart. The year’s most consequential firmly dated event was the death on 20 July of Roger Mortimer, earl of March and Ulster, the king’s lieutenant in Ireland. Mortimer was a major lord in his own right, an heir presumptive to the childless Richard II, and the Crown’s foremost military representative in Ireland. His death in a Leinster campaign exposed how limited English authority remained beyond the better-defended lordship towns and lordly estates. That did not make 1398 a simple national contest between ‘English’ and ‘Irish’.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1396, Richard II’s charter granted Galway’s provost and burgesses annual election of a sovereign, restricted retail trade to resident burgesses, and extended Drogheda’s liberties, for £6 13s 4d. Building on 1395 murage, it strengthened defence, commerce and civic government, while preserving Roger Mortimer’s seigneurial rights. The charter reflected insecurity in Connacht, where rival dynasties raided, fought and burned Sligo, while O’Tooles defeated English forces in Leinster. Off Aran, Ó Máille raiders drowned when their plunder-laden ship sank. Church life saw Thomas Sparkford appointed to Waterford and Lismore, and scholar-herenagh Matthew Ó Luinín’s death, illustrating enduring ecclesiastical and learned traditions.
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Archived: 21 October 2026
Abstract
In 1395 Richard II sought to stabilise Ireland through military pressure, submissions and negotiated service from Gaelic and Anglo-Irish rulers. Art Mac Murchadha accepted loyalty, payment and recognition of inheritance, while Niall Ó Néill and others sought royal protection against rival claims. More than eighty nobles submitted, receiving pardons, offices and knighthoods, but important western and northern lords remained outside the settlement. Raids in Uí Fhailghe and Éile, conflict within the Ó Néills, and succession violence in Fermanagh demonstrated instability. Richard departed in May, leaving Mortimer as representative. Deaths, church burnings and lordships underscored that ceremony had not pacified Ireland.
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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 1393, Moylurg experienced a succession crisis after Aedh Mac Diarmata died and his son Cathal drowned. Maelruanaid Mac Diarmata gained the kingship with Tomaltach Mac Donnchada’s support, defeated Aedh’s sons near Loch Gara, and imprisoned rivals who later escaped. By summer, territorial division and captive exchanges produced a negotiated peace. Elsewhere, deaths among regional lords, clerics, scholars and craftsmen reflected interconnected political and cultural networks. Ferghal Mag Samradain’s death highlighted patronage of learned people. Ó Conchobair Fhailghe founded a Franciscan house at Cill Achaidh, while Richard Northalis became chancellor, pursuing concealed royal debts, revealing diverse local authority across Ireland.
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