In Lcinster also the two important " belts " which connected Dublin with the south were in peril. From the slopes of the mountains the clans attacked both the road by the coast and that through the plains. The latter also was assailed on the other side by the clans of the midland " island ", Lysaght O'Moore recapturing Dunamase and many other castles in 1329, and Conall O'Moore capturing others in 1346. The O'Connors recovered much of Ui Failghe from the ... Read More

A great deal of this change in the fortunes of the Irish was due to the impotence of the Crown of England, and to the feuds and weakness of the Irish Normans, as will be pointed out in the next section. But it was chiefly due to a change in the military methods and organisation of the clans themselves. They still despised the use of armour, and at Downpatrick and Athenry they fought without it. But they were improving in the building of ... Read More