ULSTER, EARLDOM OF
ULSTER, EARLDOM OF
The Earldom of Ulster grew to be the most powerful
territorial unit in Anglo-Norman Ireland by the end of
the thirteenth century; yet from the mid-fourteenth
century onward, the earldom went into decline, suffer-
ing a dramatic reduction in its territorial extent, and
the original Anglo-Norman settlers—who became
increasingly Gaelicized—lost virtually all contact with
the central government in Dublin.
Control of the territory that eventually became the
earldom of Ulster was first won by John de Courcy in
1177 from the ancient Mac Duinn Sléibe dynasty of
Ulaid. De Courcy’s conquest, which roughly com-
prised the modern counties Down and Antrim, was
consolidated with settlement from England, notably
from Cumbria—just over seventy miles away across
the Irish Sea—where de Courcy had family connec-
tions. De Courcy ruled Ulster with exceptional inde-
pendence for over twenty-five years until, in 1205, he
was expelled by Hugh II de Lacy (d. 1242). De Lacy
was rewarded by King John with de Courcy’s lands,
and it was at this point that Ulster became the colony’s
first earldom. De Lacy was himself expelled by King
John during his expedition to Ireland of 1210, for
association with the king’s enemies. De Lacy was not
restored until, in the 1220s, he resorted to open war
with the government. In 1227, he was confirmed as
earl of Ulster for life, so that when he died in 1242,
the earldom reverted to the crown.
By this time, the earldom had developed into the
five administrative areas of Down, Antrim, Carrickfer-
gus, Newtown Blathewyc (Newtownards), and Cole-
raine. The borders of these regions were not precisely
defined and fluctuated periodically, but the earldom
protected itself by densely covering the landscape with
mottes, although rarely with the accompanying bailey.
There were important castles at Dundrum, Greencastle
(Co. Down), and Coleraine. The impressive fortress at
Carrickfergus was a royal castle and remained garri-
soned to the end of the Middle Ages. Ulster held liberty
jurisdiction, meaning that, with only minor exceptions,
the earls ruled independently of the crown and kept
separate administrative records. These records were
stolen from Trim Castle in the 1490s, and their loss
may partly explain why the earldom has been so
neglected by historians of the Irish lordship. Fortu-
nately, royal records afford a glimpse into its workings
during the periods when the earldom lapsed or the earl
was a minor.
Ulster remained in the king’s hands from the death
of de Lacy until, in 1263, it was granted to the lord of
Connacht, Walter de Burgh. Walter died in 1271 and
was succeeded by a minor, Richard de Burgh (d. 1326),
the “Red Earl.” Richard gained control of Ulster in
1281, and during his tenure the earldom reached the
height of its territorial extent and influence. Richard’s
control extended west of the river Bann to Derry, and
he built Northburgh Castle on the Inishowen peninsula.
He gained the submission of all the native Ulster lords
except Ua Domnaill, claiming from them military ser-
vice known as the “bonnaght” of Ulster (from buana,
a hired soldier).
The career of the “Red Earl” illustrates how Ulster,
far from being a peripheral region, was part of a wider
political community linked by the Irish Sea. As noted,
de Courcy colonized Ulster from the north of England.
Following de Lacy’s forfeiture in 1210, large tracks of
the earldom’s coastline were granted to the Scottish
earls of Athol, Carrick, and the lord of Galloway. This
interconnection was perpetuated under de Burgh, who
captured the Isle of Man for Edward I in 1290 and
served with his Gaelic retinue in Scotland in 1296 and- He was, moreover, linked by marriage to the
Bruces—earls of Carrick and future kings of Scotland—
whose claims to land in the earldom cannot have
been forgotten when between 1315 and 1318 Ulster
was the base for Edward Bruce’s attempt to claim
the kingship of Ireland. When, in 1328, Richard de
Burgh’s grandson William (the “Brown Earl”)
attempted to take control of his earldom, which had
been disturbed since the death of his grandfather in
1326, he was supported by a now ailing King Robert
Bruce of Scotland.
The Bruce invasion had a devastating effect on
Ulster, and the earldom suffered a further blow in 1333
when the “Brown Earl” was assassinated by his own
vassals. Thereafter, the earldom fell into the hands of
absentees. It descended by marriage to Lionel of
Clarence, and thence to the Mortimer earls of March.
Without the influence of a resident earl, the Gaelic
Irish and mercenary Scots—notably the Clandeboye
O’Neills and the Mac Donnells of the Glens of
Antrim—encroached on the earldom, pushing the prin-
cipal families into south County Down and the Ards
peninsula. These families increasingly adopted Irish
customs. We should, however, be careful not to exag-
gerate this development; it had begun long before - Since de Courcy’s time, there had been venera-
tion for Irish saints and alliances with native Ulster
lords. At his death in 1326, the “Red Earl” was the
subject of a Gaelic praise poem. Moreover, accultura-
tion also moved in the other direction, as is shown by
the appearance of the name “Henry” among the Ua Néills
of Clandeboye. Nor in practical terms did English rule
in Ulster end immediately with William de Burgh’s
murder in 1333. It was a gradual process, and the
earldom was still providing revenue, under its heredi-
tary seneschals the Savages, in the 1350s. Moreover,
for the rest of the medieval period, successive earls of
Ulster—chosen for their connection with Ireland to