Year by Year
Explore Year by Year articles from the most modern historical year back to the oldest.
3,295 Articles Archived
Meath Sheriff
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1385, Ireland comprised overlapping Gaelic and Anglo-Irish jurisdictions, where warfare shaped authority, movement and livelihoods. Murchadh Ó Conchobair of Uí Fhailghe and Cenél Fiachach defeated the English of Meath at Tóchar Cruacháin Brí Eile, killing the sheriff and many others, though lasting consequences remain unknown. Dublin appointed Alexander de Balscot chancellor, while appeals for Richard II’s intervention and Robert de Vere’s lordship grant exposed administrative weakness. Connacht endured organised burnings, cattle raids, crop destruction, killings, captivity and hostage-taking before a negotiated partition and peace. The year also recorded deaths of notable clerics, rulers, women and scholar Tanaide Ó Maolconaire.
Carrickfergus Burning
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1384, Niall Ó Néill burned Carrickfergus, demonstrating Gaelic power against a major crown-held port and castle, though the sources do not show that the fortress fell. In Connacht, Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobair died of plague after a long reign, prompting rival inaugurations and provincial warfare, including attacks on lordly strongholds. Plague and other deaths affected leading families and rulers across Ireland, while feuds caused further killings. Annals also recorded deaths of churchmen and scholars, reflecting enduring learned institutions. Within the lordship, mediation addressed conflict between Ormond and Desmond, and Sir Philip Courtenay appointed Ormond chief governor, illustrating fragmented regional authority.
Ulster Campaign
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1383, fragmented Ireland experienced renewed royal administration, northern warfare and serious disease. Richard II appointed Sir Philip Courtenay lieutenant, who arrived at Waterford in September, while Ralph Cheyne served as chancellor. In Ulster, Niall Mór Ó Néill’s coalition burned and plundered territories associated with English lordship. During the campaign, his son Aodh Óg and Raibilin Savage fatally wounded one another, provoking further killing among the Bissets. Annalists reported widespread plague throughout Ireland, including the death in captivity of Art Magennis. Deaths, killings and successions among secular and religious leaders reveal local instability, while hospitality remained an important lordly ideal.
Aghaboe Friary
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1382, Ireland was divided among royal administration, Anglo-Irish magnates and Gaelic rulers. Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobair, king of Connacht, arrested rival chiefs at an assembly, exposing insecure personal power. Raids in Corcomroe and Desmond destroyed homes, crops and lives, while imprisonment claimed members of the Ó Briain dynasty. Deaths, including that of James Butler, earl of Ormond, altered lordly succession. William Tany resumed the Irish chancellorship, maintaining crown government through the great seal. Finghin Mac Giolla Phádraig founded a Dominican friary at Aghaboe, demonstrating enduring religious patronage. Annals also remembered women, clerics, entertainers and heirs, reflecting regional, interconnected medieval society.
Mortimer's Athlone
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1381, Ireland’s political geography was defined less by a single frontier than by a patchwork of competing lordships, castles, family claims and negotiated loyalties. King Richard II was lord of Ireland, but royal government was strongest in and around the Anglo-Irish towns and lordships of the east and south-east. Beyond them, Gaelic rulers, Gaelicised settler dynasties and Crown officers all exercised power in overlapping ways. The year’s clearest focal point was Athlone: a fortified crossing of the Shannon whose possession mattered not merely to the town, but to the balance between Meath and Connacht.
Mortimer's Campaign
Archived: 21 October 2026
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.
Dreach Battle
Archived: 21 October 2026
On 31 May 1379, Niall Mór Ó Néill defeated Pilib Mag Uidhir, lord of Fir Manach, and Domnall Ó Néill at Dreach, probably near Kinawley. Annals record serious Maguire losses but not the battle’s course. The victory asserted Ó Néill influence without ending Fir Manach’s power. Subsequent killings, including that of Pilib’s son Cú Chonnacht, exposed fragile lordships and kin rivalries. Notices of Gaelic, English and Hiberno-English elites, marriage alliances, church officers and learned figures reveal a plural political society. Edmund Mortimer’s October appointment as lieutenant foreshadowed intervention, though he arrived only in 1380. Ordinary people's experiences remain largely unrecorded.
Tallaght Hobblers
Archived: 21 October 2026
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.
Moylurg Conflict
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1377, Ireland’s regional lordships experienced warfare, fortification, religious loss and constitutional change. Clann Cuilein defeated Richard Burke’s Clanricarde force in Thomond, while Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobair overcame an alliance of Mac William Burke and Uí Maine at Roscommon. In Moylurg, war between Mac Diarmata and Ruaidhrí brought killings and the burning of crops and buildings, before peace and compensation. John O’Ferrall built Lissardowlin Castle in Annaly. Assaroe monastery burned, and prominent clerics and lords died. Edward III’s death, Richard II’s succession, and Robert Wikeford’s chancellorship affected Dublin government, whose authority coexisted with powerful local networks and military retinues across Ireland.
Windsor's Recall
Archived: 21 October 2026
In 1376, Sir William Windsor’s recall from Ireland followed resistance to his taxation and administration, as communities defended their customary right to consent. Maurice FitzGerald and then James Butler replaced him, but weakness persisted there. Warfare continued: English forces raided Annaly, whose O’Farrell lord retaliated with destructive incursions; Bran Ó Broin regained Wicklow and Newcastle castles; and northern lords faced captivity and death. Tadhg Ó Ruairc of West Breifne died, succeeded by his brother Tighearnán. Annals also recorded deaths among distinguished Gaelic historians, poets and ollamhs, underscoring the resilience of learned institutions amid fragmented authority, frontier conflict and contested lordship.
Some records do not yet have a verified historical year and are awaiting chronological placement.