In 1175, after a period of fighting between the
Normans and Irish, the Irish High King,
Rory O'Conor sued for peace with
King Henry II of England who agreed to a status quo allowing the Normans to consolidate their conquests in return for no more incursions into Gaelic territory. Henry's Norman vassals however remained restless. In 1176,
John de Courcy came to Ireland and, around the start of 1177, went about carefully planning an invasion of
Ulaid in eastern
Ulster. Having acquired the approval of the royal governor in
Dublin, de Courcy took 32 mailed horsemen and some 300-foot soldiers north into
Meath, where he had obtained the right of passage through from its lord, de Lacy. He then met up with Irish allies who helped provide men and information for the invasion. De Courcy's force then advanced beyond the northern extent of Norman control and into Ulaid, reaching the petty-kingdom of
Lecale having only set out from Dublin four days before. Until this, Ulaid had been untouched by "English" forces. De Courcy's force advanced on
Downpatrick, the chief seat of the
Dál Fiatach dynasty who then ruled Ulaid. Despite the small size of his force, de Courcy's attack caught the Ulaid by surprise forcing the over-king of Ulaid,
Rory MacDonleavy (
Ruaidrí Mac Duinn Sléibe) to flee. The papal legate, Cardinal Vivian, had been on a visit to Ulster when this attack happened and he called for the withdrawal of de Courcy's forces, however this went unheeded. About a week later, MacDunleavy returned to
Downpatrick with a great host drawn from across
Ulaid, however despite being vastly outnumbered, de Courcy's forces won the day. MacDonleavy followed up this attack with an even greater force made up a coalition of Ulster's powers that included the king of the
Cenél nEógain,
Máel Sechnaill Mac Lochlainn, and the chief prelates in the province. Again the Normans emerged victorious, even capturing the clergy involved included the
Archbishop of Armagh, the
Bishop of Down, and many of their relics. Despite forming alliances, constant inter-warring amongst the Ulaid and against their Irish neighbours continued oblivious to the threat of the Normans. De Courcy would take advantage of this instability and from his base in Downpatrick set about conquering the neighbouring districts in Ulaid.
Expansion Over the following year de Courcy, overly eager to extend his conquests, suffered several setbacks as the Irish managed to gain some victories. In one instance the Normans suffered a heavy defeat against the combined forces of MacDonleavy and Murrough O'Carroll of
Airgíalla, which was soon followed up by another defeat further north at the hands of the Uí Thuirtri and Fír Lí, the aftermath of which saw the Normans having to fight their way some 30 miles back to de Courcy's castle on foot, outnumbered and constantly harried by the Irish. Not all of Ulaid had fallen to de Courcy, the kingdom of
Uíbh Eachach Cobha that was situated in central and western
County Down, escaped conquest as did small areas here and there. The Normans rode through Eachach Coba (English:
Iveagh) on their way from Dublin to Downpatrick, and the nature of their surprise attack suggests that the Eachach Coba had given support to, or at least assented to, de Courcy's plan. Subsequently, the
Magennis clan that ruled Eachach Coba profited from trading with the Earldom of Ulster, and following its collapse in 1333 took over some of its lands to the east, and rebuilt
Magennis Castle. MacDonleavy continued to provide resistance to de Courcy, however Ulaid had been lost, and with it the balance of power in Ulster shifted. The success of de Courcy's invasion and ability to withstand the counter-attacks despite facing overwhelming odds is attributed to the military and technological superiority the Normans held in comparison to the Irish.
Consolidation Throughout his domain, de Courcy built motte castles to establish a presence and stand guard at importance approaches. At least 128 mottes have been discovered in Ulster, the majority of which can be found in the area of greatest Norman presence; south County Antrim and north County Down. The mightiest castle that de Courcy would build was
Carrickfergus Castle, which would eventually become his administrative center. He also built the castle of Rath, now known as
Dundrum Castle, which stood guard over Lecale. All of the conquests made by de Courcy had quick and easy access to the sea, which provided a vital lifeline for him and his forces when needed. In 1180, de Courcy married
Affrica, the daughter of the
Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles, which allowed him to call upon a strong fleet further reinforcing his position. Despite the initial opposition to the Normans, the Ulaid eventually seem to come to terms with their situation and even seek aid in resisting the increasing number of raids and attacks from the
Northern Uí Néill. An example of which is in 1182, when an alliance between de Courcy and the Ulaid saw the defeat of an incursion by the
Ó Doibhilin (Devlin) sept of the Northern Uí Néill. According to the Annals of the Four Masters: • In 1182, Domhnall mac Aodha Mac Lochlainn of the Northern Uí Néill, took an army to Dunboe in
Fir na Craoibhe (eastern County Londonderry) to fight the Foreigners, however they were defeated with many Gaelic nobles killed. Having committed crimes against the Church and its servants in his conquest of Ulaid, de Courcy set about making amends by granting land to the Church and establishing abbeys. He renamed Dun-da-lethglas Downpatrick after
Saint Patrick, and granted it to the Church, and had the alleged remains of saints Patrick,
Brigid, and
Colmcille, transferred there. For a quarter of a century, de Courcy ruled his domain like an independent king, styling himself
princeps Ultoniae, "master of Ulster". He administered his own justice and even minted his own halfpennies and farthings. He was also described as "prince of the Ulster people" and in his arrest-warrant, was called by
John, King of England, "King of all the barons of Ulster".
Incursions against the Northern Uí Néill In 1197 John De Courcy's brother, Jordan, was killed by one of his Irish attendants and as revenge John attacked various Irish
petty-kings. In this he was aided by
Duncan, Earl of Carrick, who was the cousin of his wife
Affreca. John led his army across the River Bann at
Eas Craoibhe (the Salmon Leap, in modern-day
Coleraine, County Londonderry), in Fir na Craoibhe, where they founded the castle of Kilsanctan. They then laid waste to the neighbouring territory of
Cianachta. From the castle in Kilsanctan, Rotsel Piton (Peyton), who had been left in charge of a large force, set forth to plunder the surrounding territories and churches, going as far as the harbour at Derry. The Northern Uí Néill king,
Flaithbertach Ó Mael Doraidh (Flaherty O'Muldory) of the
Cenél Conaill, took a force and engaged Piton on the strand at
Faughanvale resulting in a slaughter of the English as well as the death of a son of
Ardgal Mac Lachlainn—of the ruling dynasty of the Cenél nEógain, rivals of the Cenél Conaill—who was on the side of the English. As reward for his help, Duncan was rewarded a sizeable portion of the territory subjugated from the Irish, stated as being along the northern coastline of present-day counties Antrim and Londonderry. From the death of
Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn (Murtough Mac Loughlin), king of the Cenél nEógain, over-king of the Northern Uí Néill, as well as
High King of Ireland, in 1166, the Northern Uí Néill had been ruled by Flaithbertach Ó Mael Doraidh of the Cenél Conaill. During the same time the Cenél nEógain had had eight kings all of which had died violently, either in conflict with the Cenél Conaill or amongst themselves. Adding to the mix was the ascendancy of the
Uí Neill (O'Neill) sept to the kingship of Cenél nEógain in place of the Mac Lachlainn's. Upon the death of Flaithbertach Ó Mael Doraidh in 1197, Echmarcach Ua Dochartaigh (O'Doherty) of the Cenél Conaill ascended to the kingship of the Cenél Conaill and Northern Uí Néill. With the death of Ó Mael Doraidh, de Courcy launched an expedition to Derry and camped there for five nights. Ua Dochartaigh attacked him however he was killed and his force defeated enabling de Courcy to plunder all the cattle of
Inishowen. Two years later in 1199, de Courcy returned to Derry and plundered the surrounding countryside for a considerable amount of time until
Aedh O'Neill of the Cenél nEógain led a counter-attack by sea at Larne in de Courcy's own territory. In 1200 and 1204 de Courcy launched raids into the Cenél nEógain's territory, Tír Eoghain, however these were futile, the last battle of which was led by Dermot Mac Lachlainn, who was killed. It seems pretty evident that de Courcy was aiding the Mac Lachlainn's in their claim to the kingship of Cenél nEógain and as such received their aid in attacking their principle rivals and enemies, the Uí Neill's and Cenél Conaill. ==The De Burgh era (1263-1363)==