Above : Picture Of King Henry II

• A War of Plunder.—During more than a century Ireland was torn and harassed by the efforts of the Norman barons to occupy the lands thus allotted to their enterprise by their King. These grants were made, as we have seen, in utter disregard of the rights of the Irish owners ; they violated the spirit in which some of the Irish chiefs submitted ; many were in faithless breach of specific treaties ; others affected territories whose chiefs had never paid homage to Henry. Destitute of moral sanction, they had not even the excuse of successful conquest and future peace for the lands were not yet occupied, and could not be without bitter warfare. They were, in fact, an utterly callous inducement to a general war of extermination—” letters of marque authorising them to rob, plunder, and steal whatever they could, and to hold as of right whatever they could steal.”*
• Isolated Fighting.—The fighting that resulted was, for the most part, isolated and local. Each Norman endeavoured to seize his own particular piece of country ; each clan defended its own territory against the assailant. On neither side was there unity or cohesion. Th« barons were far from being loyal to the King, and the King, for his part, was far from trusting them; from the first the rivalries between the adventurers were fierce, and often broke out in open warfare, sometimes marked by treachery. But they were the attacking parties, and could choose their time and place, relying upon the power of the Crown until opportunity offered. The clans, on the other hand, content to restrict themselves to the defence of their respective territories, could not know when or whence an attack might come. It was a situation which demanded constant vigilance, but, too often, the opening for the attack was afforded by the rivalries of clans and the dissensions of families.

* Professor Geo. Stokes—Lectures on “Ireland and the A nglo-Norman Chunk,” nirinity School, Trinity College, Dublin.

• Influence of Geographical Features.—The topography of the country contributed to this feature of the struggle. The mountains and most difficult country lay along the coasts of the island, and a wide circle of unconquered clans always encompassed the invaders. These must-advance along the river valleys, and through the open country beyond as the earliest colonists or invaders had done in past ages {page 3). In the centre of the island the Irish availed themselves of the protection of the isolated mountain groups, the lakes, the extensive bogs, and the great forests which covered many districts for centuries afterwards.
• The Two Norman Bases.—There were two great bases of early Norman influence. One was at Waterford and Wexford; opening up, on the one hand, the valleys of the sister rivers—the Suir, the Nore, and the Barrow—and from thence into the plain of Leinster ; and, on the other, the narrow strip of coast leading to Dublin. The second was at Dublin—important as being the seat of the government and commanding the great Central Plain. It was from those two bases that wedges of Norman influence were driven into the island which split it into sections. Between the two lay Strongbow’s Lordship of Leinster, while De Lacy’s Lordship of Meath stretched away inland from Dublin, continued on the north by De Courcey’s earldom of ” Ulster ” and across the Shannon by the settlements in Connacht.
• Norman Jealousies.—The period immediately following the visit of Henry was taken up by the efforts of the invaders to push into the country from those two centres. The record of these tentative efforts is necessarily disconnected and confusing, and it is rendered more so by the rivalries of the great lords and the suspicion of all which was entertained by the King. So little did the latter trust any one of the barons that he feared to make any of them Chief Governor* for any length of time. During the twelve years after Henry’s visit that office changed hands no less than seven times. The same attitude of suspicion is shown by his other dealings with his unruly subjects. Lest Strongbow should become too powerful in Leinster, De Lacy was set up as his rival in Meath. It was De Lacy also, and not Strongbow, who was made the first Justiciary and Constable of Dublin. In the latter position, again, were associated with De Lacy, really as a check upon him, the two Geraldines —Maurice Fitz-Gerald and Robert Fitz-Stephen. No other office or grant was given at the time by Henry to any of the Geraldines —not even to the intrepid Raymond Le Gros. De Burgh and De Courcey, however, were each, in turn, utilised against their rivals, and, like them, were alternately encouraged and depressed.

* The Chief Governor was called the ” Justiciary” or ” Lord Justice ” ; when aperson acted in place of an absent ” Lord Lieutenant ” (often a member of the Royal Family of England) he was called the ” Lord Deputy.”

• Murder of O’Rourke.—The first exploit of De Lacy as Viceroy and Lord of Meath was the killing of the aged Tiernan O’Rourke. The latter’s submission to Henry did not save him when De Lacy, in seizing upon his Meath territories, came into conflict with the Chief of Breifne, whose land bordered upon them. A conference was arranged between the two at the Hill of Ward (the ancient CUccJa near Athboy in Meath). A body of fully armed knights accompanied De Lacy, and while the conference was in progress they rushed upon O’Rourke and slew him. His head was spiked over one of the gates of Dublin, and his body was gibbeted, feet upwards, at another gate (1172).

Below : Statue Of King John On His Tomb

• Battle of Thurles.—After a brief absence with the King in Normandy, Strongbow returned to establish himself in his territory of Leinster, and plundered Ui Failghe on one side, and the Deisi on the other. But Domhnall Caomhanach (page no) had now been recognised as their King by the Leinstermen, and he and his brother-in-law, Domhnall Mdr O’Brien, were united in opposition. Strongbow marched against the latter, who was aided by O’Connor, and at Thurles the Normans were utterly defeated (1174). Strongbow fled to Waterford, where he was closely besieged ; O’Brien razed the castle which had been erected at Kilkenny, while Rory entered Meath, broke down De Lacy’s castles there, and approached the walls of Dublin.
• Capture of Limerick.—Strongbow’s soldiers attributed these misfortunes to the absence of their favourite, Raymond Le Gros, who had been their commander, but had retired to Wales owing to a quarrel with Strongbow. The latter was forced to recall him, and to consent to his marriage with Strongbow’s sister. Under his leadership the tide again turned. O’Connor retired, and Raymond, aided by Mac Gilla Patrick of Osraidhe—traditional foe of Thomond—marched against Domhnall Mor, and captured Limerick—the lower gate to Connacht (1175).
• A quarrel having taken place at this time between Mac Carthy and his son, Raymond supported the former, and was rewarded by a grant of territory in Ciarraidhe on the south of the estuary of the Shannon. On the lands thus granted by an Irish chief, his descendants remained as Barons of Lixnaw—the earliest Geraldine settlers in Desmond.
• Treaty of Windsor.—O’Connor now sent ambassadors to Henry, one of them being St. Laurence O’Toole, and at Windsor a treaty was made between the two Kings (1175). By its terms, Rory was to remain King of Connacht under Henry as fully as he had hitherto possessed it; he was to have dominion over the other Irish Kings and princes, who were to pay tribute through him to the King of England, and, if they failed to do so, were to be deposed by Rory ; but the latter was to have no jurisdiction over the Norman settlements. Henry, in fact, was recognised as a superior King, but was given no dominion over any new territory.
• Death of Strongbow.—Next year Strongbow died at Dublin (1176), and Raymond hurried back from Limerick, which was immediately burned by O’Brien. Strongbow had succeeded De Lacy as Justiciary, and Raymond hoped to succeed him. But Henry hated him and all the Geraldines, and appointed their enemy, De Burgh, instead. Raymond surrendered all his authority to the King’s new representative, and he figures no more in Irish affairs.
• Fresh ” Grants.”—Soon afterwards fresh ” grants ” of Irish lands were made out to some of the principal Normans. The most important of these was that of ” Ulster ” to John De Courcey. It is not, indeed, certain whether that warrior ever got a formal grant or made a foray on his own authority. It resulted, however, as we shall see, in extending the Norman settlement northwards along the coast to the shores of Belfast Lough. About the same time De Burgh got a grant of Connacht and Limerick—this being in direct violation of the Treaty of Windsor made two years before. Cork was granted to De Cogan and Fitz-Stephen, and the Deisi to Le Poer (1177-9).
• Death of St. Laurence O’Toole.—In 1179 the Archbishop of Dublin attended the third Lateran Council at Rome when he was created Papal Legate for Ireland. Next year he proceeded on a mission from O’Connor to Henry II. The latter King was then in Normandy, and there Laurence O’Toole died at Eu (14th November, 1180), his last words being in Irish, and of his country. He was canonized in a remarkably short time afterwards (1226). Upon his death, Henry summoned some of the Dublin clergy to England, and caused them to elect his nominee, John Comyn, as Archbishop of Dublin. Henceforth the Archbishops of Dublin are practically the nominees of the English Crown, and are active and influential courtiers and politicians.
• Visit of Prince John.—De Burgh’s vice-royalty was short-lived, for he was removed to make way for Hugh De Lacy (1179). The latter, again, was dismissed in a year, only to be reinstated and again dismissed. Finally, Henry sent over his own son John to represent him (1185). John had been proclaimed (1177) by Henry II as ” King in Ireland “— another breach of the Treaty of Windsor—but now came as ” Lord of Ireland.” Young, profligate, and arrogant, he was surrounded by Norman courtiers of his own type. They grossly affronted the Irish chiefs, and mortally offended the Irish Normans. Their conduct aroused the Irish, while the settlers remained sullen, and soon all the colonists were driven into the towns, while the castles they had built through the country were broken down. The experiment lasted for eight months, at the end of which John was recalled by his father. Four years later, Henry died, discovering on his death-bed, that John, his favourite son, had joined his other sons in rebellion against him.