On 26 May 1315 Edward and his fleet (and more than 5,000 men) landed on the Irish coast at points at and between
Olderfleet Castle at
Larne, and Glendrum. His brother had sailed from
Tarbert for the Western Isles with his son-in-law Walter Stewart, to subjugate them till
"all the isles, great and small, were brought to his will." Edward faced by an army led by vassals and confederates of the
Earl of Ulster, the de Mandevilles,
Bissets of the Glens, Logans, and
Savages, as well as their Irish allies, overall led by Sir Thomas de Mandeville. However they were defeated in battle by the Scots under
Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray. Subsequently, the Scots managed to take the town, though not the castle, of
Carrickfergus. In early June, Donall
Ó Néill of Tyrone and some twelve fellow northern Kings and lords met Edward Bruce at Carrickfergus and swore fealty to him as
King of Ireland. The Irish annals state that Bruce "
took the hostages and lordship of the whole province of Ulster without opposition and they consented to him being proclaimed King of Ireland and all the Gaels of Ireland agreed to grant him lordship and they called him King of Ireland." At this point Bruce directly or indirectly ruled much of eastern and mid-Ulster. In late June, Edward proceeded with his army from Carrickfergus along Magh Line (
Six Mile Water), burning Rathmore, near
Antrim town, which was a holding of the Savages. He then went south by way of the Moiry Pass – called
"Innermallan"/"Enderwillane"/Imberdiolan" in contemporary accounts – between
Newry and
Dundalk. This ancient routeway had been for centuries the passage south out of Ulster into the
Kingdom of Mide,
Leinster and
Munster but because of its narrowness Ulster armies had frequently ambushed and been ambushed at the pass. Here he was met by Mac Duilechain of Clanbrassil and Mac Artain of Iveagh, both of whom had submitted to him at Carrickfergus. Their attempted ambush ended in their defeat and the army pressed on, destroying de Verdon's fortress of Castleroache, and on 29 June attacked
Dundalk. The town, another possession of the de Verdon's, was almost totally destroyed with its population, both Anglo-Irish and Gaelic, massacred alike. In July, two separate armies opposing Bruce met and assembled at Sliabh Breagh, south of
Ardee. One was led out of
Connacht by
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and his ally, the King of Connacht,
Felim mac Aedh Ua Conchobair. The second consisted of forces raised in
Munster and
Leinster by the Justicier
Edmund Butler. The Scots-Irish army was located at Inniskeen, ten miles north. In between Sliabh Breagh and Inniskeen was the village of Louth. De Burgh moved his army north of Louth and set up camp while his cousin, William Liath de Burgh attempted to ambush Bruce's forces. While some skirmishing did result in a number of Scots deaths, Bruce refused to give battle and instead, with the Ó Néill, retreated northwards to
Coleraine via
Armagh. Bruce and Ó Néill sacked and burned Coleraine, threw down the bridge over the river Bann and faced off de Burgh's pursuing army on the opposite bank. While both sides now were experiencing shortages of food and supplies, Bruce and Ó Néill could at least draw support from local lords such as Ó Cathain and Ó Floinn. Mindful of this, de Burgh eventually withdrew back forty miles to Antrim, while Butler had to return to Ormond due to lack of supplies. In addition to this, Bruce sent separate messages both to King Felim and a rival dynast, Cathal Ua Conchobair, promising to support them if they withdrew. Cathal managed to return to Connacht and had himself proclaimed king, leaving Felim with no choice but to return to put down his rebellion. Worse followed: De Burgh found himself deprived of not two but three allies and their armies when his kinsman, Walter mac Walter Cattach Burke deserted back to Connacht at the head of several hundred men, probably to guard his own estates from the upcoming conflict. Thus, when in August, Bruce and his men crossed the Bann (in four ships supplied by Scots sea captain,
Thomas Dun), de Burgh retreated still further to
Connor, where on either the first or ninth of September a charge by the Scots-Irish led to his defeat. William Liath was captured and taken as hostage to Scotland by Moray who arrived there on 15 September 1315 to raise more troops,
"his ships filled with booty." De Burgh retreated back to Connacht, while other Anglo-Irish took refuge in
Carrickfergus Castle. Finally apprised of the seriousness of the situation, Edward II had on 1 September ordered an assembly of the leading Anglo-Irish, which met at
Parliament in Dublin in late October, but no decisive action was taken. On 13 November, Bruce marched further south via Dundalk – where, incredibly,
"some gave them the right hand", i.e., a fight – garrisoned Nobber on the 30th, and advanced to Kells, where he was met by Mortimer. Mortimer had managed to raise a large force consisting both of his Anglo-Irish and Gaelic vassals, in addition to forces of other magnates. At the same time, Bruce was reinforced by Moray who had returned from Scotland with around five hundred fresh troops and supplies. The
Battle of Kells was fought on the sixth or seventh of November, with Mortimer being decisively defeated by Bruce. Mortimer was forced to retreat to Dublin while his lieutenant, Walter Cusack, held out at Trim. He almost immediately set sail for England to urge Edward II for reinforcements. At the same time, Governor of Ireland (and
Bishop of Ely)
John de Hothum began to take drastic action to defend Dublin from Bruce, such as levelling entire tenements and churches to use the stones to reinforce their walls. After sacking and burning Kells, Bruce proceeded to do the same to
Granard, Finnea, the
Cistercian monastery of
Abbeylara and raided
Angaile (), the lordship of Gaelic lord O Hanely. Bruce spent Christmas at de Verdon's manor of
Loughsewdy, consuming its supplies entirely and before leaving, razing it to the ground. The only manors left alone belonged to Irish lords intimidated to join him, or that of a junior branch of the de Lacy family who in an effort to gain lands voluntarily joined him. ==Remonstrance of 1317==