Above : Richard “Red Earl” De Burgh Logo

De Courcey in ” Ulster.”—The extension of Norman power to the North was the result of pure brigandage, for there is no evidence that John De Courcey had even the excuse of a royal grant for his adventure. With a small body of picked men he marched beyond Dundalk, and penetrated the gap between the Mourne Mountains and Lough Neagh into the ancient retreat of the Clanna Rury (1177). Suddenly appearing before Downpatrick, he seized it despite the protests of the Papal Legate, Cardinal Vivian, who was then in the town, and defeated an army under Mac Dunlevy, the chief of Dal Araidhe. Firmly establishing himself in the territory of Lecale on the shores of Dundrum Bay and Strangford Lough, and in the peninsula of the Ards, De Courcey was eventually given the title of Earl of ” Ulster ” (1181). The name was borrowed—as were most of the Norman names for Irish territories —from the Norsemen of the maritime towns. ” Ulster ” represented then, and for centuries afterwards, only the narrow belt of north-eastern coast which hitherto we have known as the Kingdom of ” Ulaidh.” and only a part of this—Lecale and the Ards—had been occupied. But in later times it became the policy and interest of the English Crown to extend the name of this little maritime district over all the country which lay behind it.

De Courcey Suppressed.—The natural defences of his new possessions protected De Courcey. The narrow peninsula of the Ards was almost sea­girt ; while the wider entrance to Lecale was defended at either side by castles at Downpatrick and Dundrum. Continued fighting with varying success against his neighbours, Mac Dunlevy, O’Carroll of Oirghialla, Mac Loughlin of Tir Eoghain and O’Flynn of Dal Riada did not loosen his grasp or weaken his power, although it failed to extend the settlement. At one time he acted as Lord Justice, and later he made an unsuccessful raid on Connacht (1188). In his remote territory he was practically independent. At length, however, King John resolved to suppress him, and at the instigation of the King, the two De Lacys marched against him, and he was made a captive at Downpatrick (1204). Of his later life we know nothing authentic, but he disappears from Irish history, and his Earldom of Ulster was granted to Hugh De Lacy the younger.

The De Burghs become “Earls of Ulster.”—The career of the new Earl of Ulster is associated with the history of the lordship of Meath. Six years after the fall of De Courcey, his successor was in turn proclaimed a rebel and driven into exile with his brother, Walter of Meath. After an eventful life abroad, during which he aided his relative Llewellyn of Wales in a war against the English King (Henry III), Hugh returned to participate, as we have seen, in the ” War of Meath ” (1224), anc* ten years later to assist in the destruction of another ” rebel”—Richard Marshall. When he died he left an only daughter, upon whose marriage with De Burgh the title of Earl of Ulster passed to yet a third family, and became involved in the history of the Lords of Connacht.

Finally the title passed into the royal family of England .

De Burgh in Connacht.—The attempt to secure the fourth great Lordship—that of Connacht granted to De Burgh—was the longest delayed and the most protracted of all; and it was also the least successful in establishing a compact settlement. It is doubtful whether any formal grant was made by Henry during his stay in Ireland, but in 1179 a grant of Connacht and Limerick was made to William Fitz-Adelm De Burgh,* in flagrant violation of the Treaty of Windsor. Two years before, De Cogan had interfered, but unsuccessfully, in the disputes which took place between the members of the O’Connor family, but apart from this, no Norman had yet set foot in Connacht. The dissensions of the O’Connors continued, and afforded an opportunity for the Normans. De Burgh, De Lacy and De Courcey assisted the competitors, frequently fighting on opposite sides, and as frequently changing sides. Eventually, Cathal Crobh Dearg, the youngest son of Turlough Mdr, became undisputed King (1201), and next year a massacre, tainted with treachery, of the Normans in Connacht forced De Burgh from beyond the Shannon. In the two following years De Burgh raided Connacht, and for the first time erected castles and made settlements. He died, however, the following year (1204), and Cathal remained supreme in Connacht.

Confusion in Connacht.—During the rest of his reign—till 1224— Cathal’s supremacy in Connacht was unchallenged. On the occasion of King John’s visit (1210) he came to that King and accepted his protection, but as King of Connacht. In 1216 John died, and the chief power in England became vested in the great Justiciary, Hubert De Burgh, the cousin of William Fitz-Adelm, and his influence secured the issue of fresh grants of Connacht to his relatives. But they were not able to avail themselves of these until the death of Cathal, when the renewed dissensions of the O’Connors again gave them an opportunity. For twenty-five years—1224-1249—confusion ruled in Connacht, and the De Burghs, the Geraldines and other Normans again took part in the fighting, and extended their own power. But the rivalries and quarrels amongst the Normans themselves prevented any serious conquest. * Ancestor of tht Burkes.

Rivalry of De Burghs and Geraldines.—Hubert De Burgh had been dismissed by his ungrateful master (Henry III) in 1232, and his kinsmen in Ireland were powerless for a long time after his fall. Consequently, their rivals had been the chief gainers in Connacht—the Geraldines, in particular, establishing themselves towards Sligo, whence they menaced the borders of Tir Chonaill. But when, by marriage with the daughter of Hugh De Lacy, Walter De Burgh became Earl of Ulster his influence increased, and in 1265 he drove the Geraldines out of most of their lands and castles in Connacht. The De Burghs thus became sole leaders of the Normans there, while, side by side with them, the O’Connors were still the acknowledged leaders of the Irish clans.

Extent of Connacht Settlements.—The Norman settlements in Connacht were not compact but stretched, roughly, in three narrow belts. One line of castles led from Athlone westwards to Galway ; a second led northwards from Galway by the eastern shores of Lough Corrib and Lough Mask to the Moy and Killala Bay ; from the second belt a third branched off on the upper valley of the Moy, and reached to Sligo. Galway became the principal stronghold of the Normans, who controlled the districts north and south of that town ; Athenry was an important centre on the road from the Shannon ; Sligo, often lost and won, was a threat to the frontiers of Tir Chonaill.

Richard De Burgh, “Red Earl of Ulster.”—The power of the De Burghs reached its zenith in Richard De Burgh—known as the ” Red Earl ” of Ulster. Succeeding his father, Walter, in 1271, he was Lord of Connacht in his own right and Earl of Ulster through his mother, while through her he also claimed the Meath possessions of the De Lacys. The feuds of the O’Connor family, renewed in 1274, anc* continued for 35 years, effectively prevented any opposition from them ; and when the Geraldines, strengthened by their new acquisitions in Leinster, endeavoured to regain their Connacht territories, he finally expelled them. His power was unquestioned west of the Shannon ; he defeated his Norman opponents in Meath and Thomond ; he was the first Norman who forced the chiefs of Tir Chonaill and Tir Eoghain to submit. He, and not the King’s Deputy, was the real leader of the Normans in Ireland.

Below : Map Of Ulster