After his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce decided to expand his war against the English by sending an army under his younger brother Edward to invade Ireland. Some native Irish leaders also asked him to send an army to help drive the Anglo-Normans out of Ireland, offering to crown his brother High King of Ireland in return. Another reason for the expedition was that supporters of the exiled House of Balliol, rival competitors for the Crown of Scotland, had fled to Ireland.
The campaign effectively ended with Edward's defeat and death in the Battle of Faughart in 1318.
In 1258 some of the Gaelic aristocrats elected Brian Ua Néill high king; however, he was defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Downpatrick in 1260.
Invasion of Ireland
In 1315 Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, sent his younger brother Edward Bruce to invade Ireland. There have been several theories as to the motives behind Bruce's campaign in Ireland. One theory proposed for the invasion of Ireland was to drain England of men, materials and finance and even to exploit the resources in Ireland for Scotland's benefit, a second front in the ongoing war, as England relied heavily on Ireland for resources[3][2] and deprive the English of Irish tax revenues contributing to the war effort. This became critical when King Robert's control of the Isle of Man was lost to Norman-backed Scots in January 1315, opening a threat to the south and southwest of Scotland, and also reopening up a potential source of aid to England from the Hiberno-Normans and Gaelic Irish.
Added to this was a request for aid from the King of Tír Eógain (Tyrone), Domnall mac Brian Ó Néill (Donall Ó Néill). Ó Néill had been troubled by Norman incursions to the southeast (the de Verdons), the east (tenants of the Earl of Ulster) and west (also by the Earl of Ulster) of Tír Eógain and to retain his lands, he and some twelve of his vassals and allies jointly asked for aid from Scotland. The Bruce brothers agreed, on condition that Edward would be supported as King of Ireland. The brothers envisaged themselves as separate rulers of Scotland and Ireland. Robert would regain Man and Edward possibly make an attack on Wales, with Welsh support. Their vision included "a grand Gaelic alliance against England"[citation needed] between Scotland and Ireland, both countries having a common heritage, language and culture.
When Ó Néill approved of conditions for himself and on behalf of his vassals, preparations began. Roger Mortimer, 3rd Baron Mortimer, received news from Irish sources around this time that an invasion was about to take place, and made his way to Ireland, where he held land mainly in and around the castle and town of Trim. He had previously fought against the Bruces at Bannockburn where he was taken prisoner and freed to return King Edward II's royal seal, lost in the rout.
The Scottish Parliament met at Ayr on 26 April 1315, just across the North Channel from Antrim. As King Robert did not yet have a legitimate son, Edward was proclaimed his legal heir and successor as King of Scots and all other titles in case of his death. Edward's invasion fleet also mustered there, having received calls to assemble as far back as at least the previous month.
Campaign of 1315
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,[4] 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[4] 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.[4] 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.[2]
After sacking and burning Kells, Bruce proceeded to do the same to Granard, Finnea, the Cistercian monastery of Abbeylara and raided Angaile (Annaly), 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.
"And that we may be able to attain our purpose more speedily and fitly in this respect, we call to our help and assistance Edward de Bruyis, illustrious earl of Carrick, brother of Robert by the grace of God most illustrious king of the Scots, who is sprung from our noblest ancestors.
"And as it is free to anyone to renounce his right and transfer it to another, all the right which is publicly known to pertain to us in the said kingdom as its true heirs, we have given and granted to him by our letters patent, and in order that he may do therein judgment and justice and equity which through default of the prince [i.e. Edward II of England] have utterly failed therein, we have unanimously established and set him [Edward Bruce] up as our king and lord in our kingdom aforesaid, for in our judgment and the common judgment of men he is pious and prudent, humble and chaste, exceedingly temperate, in all things sedate and moderate, and possessing power (God on high be praised) to snatch us mightily from the house of bondage with the help of God and our own justice, and very willing to render to everyone what is due to him of right, and above all is ready to restore entirely to the Church in Ireland the possessions and liberties of which she was damnably despoiled, and he intends to grant greater liberties than ever otherwise she has been wont to have".
Similarities exist between the 1317 Remonstrance and the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath have long been evident. The Declaration of Arbroath was likewise sent to Pope John XXII complaining of mistreatment at English hands. Historian Sean Duffy argues that the author of the Declaration relied heavily on the text of the Remonstrance.[7]
Defeat in 1318
After several years of mobile warfare, Bruce and his allies failed to hold areas that they had conquered. His army fed itself by pillaging, which caused increasing unpopularity. The pan-European Great Famine of 1315–1317 affected Ireland also, and disease became widespread in his army, causing it to shrink, and he was defeated and killed at the end of 1318 at the Battle of Faughart in County Louth.
Representation in fiction
This campaign has sometimes been dealt with briefly or not at all in accounts of the Wars of Scottish Independence, but there are a few exceptions.
In Nigel Tranter's novel The Price of the King's Peace, the third part of his Robert the Bruce trilogy, the campaign, and particularly Robert's visit to Ireland to support his brother, are described at significant length. Edward Bruce is shown as out of his depth during his invasion of Ireland; there may be some truth in this, although the novel could exaggerate his lack of competence and the differences between the two brothers.
The invasion of 1315 also forms the backdrop of a series of novels by Tim Hodkinson, Lions of the Grail and The Waste Land
Robert I, popularly known as Robert the Bruce, was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to restore Scotland to an independent kingdom and is regarded in Scotland as a national hero.
Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish crown, then pursued his own claims in Ireland. Proclaimed High King of Ireland in 1315 and crowned in 1316, he was eventually defeated and killed by Anglo-Irish forces of the Lordship of Ireland at the Battle of Faughart in County Louth in 1318.
The House of Burgh or Burke was an ancient Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman aristocratic dynasty which played a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland, held the earldoms of Kent, Ulster, Clanricarde, and Mayo at various times, and provided queens consort of Scotland and Thomond and Kings of England via a matrilineal line.
The Burke/de Burgh Civil War was a conflict in Ireland from 1333 to 1338 between three leading members of the de Burgh (Burke/Bourke) Anglo-Norman family resulting in the division into three clans.
Felim McHugh O'Connor was king of Connacht in Ireland from January 1310 to 10 August 1316. The beginning of his kingship saw a revival in the ancient form of inauguration performed for the Kings of Connacht after a period of apparent lapse in the practice. His reign took place against the background of a Gaelic recovery following the Anglo-Norman invasion and the disputed High Kingship of Edwurd Bruce. He was the last King of Connacht to truly hold power over the entire province and his death halted the gains that had been made following the Anglo Norman invasion, by his kingdom. His foster father Maelruanid Mac Diarmata King of Magh Lurg would play an instrumental role in his reign.
Áed mac Felidlimid Ó Conchobair, known as Áed na nGall, was king of Connacht alongside his father Felim from 1258 reigning solely from 1265 until his own death in 1274. He is credited with turning the tide on Norman expansion in Connacht at the Battle of Áth an Chip. Aed took a different approach than his father to dealing with English crown authority in Ireland, placing his faith in alliances with the Gaelic speaking world and becoming the chief supporter of Brian Ua Neill's bid to revive the high kingship of Ireland. His byname na nGall comes from his marriage in 1259 to a daughter of Dubhghall mac Ruaidri King of the Hebrides which brought him 160 gallowglass commanded by Dubhghall's younger brother Ailéan as a dowry.
The history of Ireland from 1169–1536 covers the period from the arrival of the Cambro-Normans to the reign of Henry VIII of England, who made himself King of Ireland. After the Norman invasion of 1169–1171, Ireland was under an alternating level of control from Norman lords and the King of England. Previously, Ireland had seen intermittent warfare between provincial kingdoms over the position of High King. This situation was transformed by intervention in these conflicts by Norman mercenaries and later the English crown. After their successful conquest of England, the Normans turned their attention to Ireland. Ireland was made a lordship of the King of England and much of its land was seized by Norman barons. With time, Hiberno-Norman rule shrank to a territory known as the Pale, stretching from Dublin to Dundalk. The Hiberno-Norman lords elsewhere in the country became Gaelicised and integrated in Gaelic society.
The Battle of Faughart was fought on 14 October 1318 between an Anglo-Irish force led by John de Bermingham and Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, and a Scottish and Irish army commanded by Prince Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, brother of King Robert I of Scots. It was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence and more precisely the Irish Bruce Wars. The defeat and death of Bruce at the battle ended the attempt to revive the High Kingship of Ireland. It also ended, for the time being, King Robert's attempt to open up a second front against the English in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages, ruled by the Earls of Ulster and part of the Lordship of Ireland. The Norman knight John de Courcy invaded the Gaelic Irish kingdom of Ulaid in 1177 and conquered most of its territory over the following few years. In 1181 he was made earl palatine of Ulster by Henry II of England. The earldom was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland. It covered most of what are now the Ulster counties of Antrim and Down, and briefly extended west to Lough Foyle. Its capital was Carrickfergus Castle.
Rickard de Bermingham, otherwise Rickard Mac Fheorais, was Anglo-Irish lord of Athenry.
Joan Butler, Countess of Carrick was an Irish noblewoman, and the wife of Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, Justiciar of Ireland. She was the mother of James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond.
The Battle of Connor was fought on 10 September 1315, in the townland of Tannybrake just over a mile north of what is now the modern village of Connor, County Antrim. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland.
John de Bermingham, 1st and last Earl of Louth was an Irish peer. He was the commander of the Anglo-Irish army in the Battle of Faughart, the decisive battle in the Irish Bruce Wars 1315–1318. In this battle, Edward Bruce was killed, and Bermingham had Bruce's severed head 'salted in a chest' and transported to England to be put on display before Edward II. He was briefly Viceroy of Ireland in 1321.
Sir William Liath de Burgh was an Irish noble and Justiciar of Ireland (1308–09). He was an ancestor of the Mac William Uachtar and Mac William Íochtar who were later earls of Clanricarde and Mayo respectively.
Twescard is a former county of the Earldom of Ulster in medieval Ireland. Taking its name from the native Irish territory of in Tuaiscirt, it spanned the northern coastland of County Antrim and County Londonderry. At its height it stretched from Glenarm in the east of the Glens of Antrim to Inishowen in modern County Donegal. It was conquered and settled by Hugh de Lacy and was centered on Coleraine and the lower Bush valley. By the 1460s, the de Mandevilles abandoned and sold their remaining lands in Twescard to the McQuillans who renamed the territory the Route.
The history of the Bissett family in Ireland can be studied independently from that of the originally identical family in Scotland, because of their unique experience following their arrival in Ulster in the early or mid-13th century. Here, while still remaining involved in Scottish affairs, the Bissetts would establish themselves as the Lords of the Glens of Antrim and quickly become equally, then eventually more involved in the politics of the Irish province, becoming among the most Gaelicised of all the so-called Anglo-Norman families in Ireland. The heads of the leading branch of the family soon adopted the Gaelic lineage style Mac Eoin Bissett, by which they are known in the Irish annals, and which translates as "Son/Descendant of John Byset", after a prominent ancestor born in Scotland. In a number of English and Anglo-Norman sources the same head of the family is referred to as the Baron Bissett, also with variants.
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught, called The Red Earl, was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries and father of Elizabeth, wife of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland.
Aodh Méith or Áed Méith was a 13th-century king of Tír Eoghain. The son of Aodh an Macaoimh Tóinleasg, Aodh spent much of his career fighting off threats from Fir Manach, Tír Conaill and Galloway, as well as John de Courcy and the Lordship of Ireland. His involvement in Irish Sea politics may have seen him sponsor a Mac Uilleim claim to the Scottish throne, but this is unclear.
The Battle of Moiry Pass was a military engagement between a Scots-Irish army commanded by Edward Bruce, brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland and a Hiberno-Norman force. It took place during the First War of Scottish Independence and more precisely the Irish Bruce Wars. Edward Bruce attacked a garrison of soldiers from the Lordship of Ireland, as part of his attempt to revive the High Kingship of Ireland. Bruce considered the battle a great success but his campaign would ultimately fail.
Donnell O'Neill was a king of Tyrone in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Brian O'Neill of the battle of Down. O'Neill was king of Tyrone on several occasions contesting the kingship with his kinsman Niall Culanach and Brian O'Neill who both had the support of the Earldom of Ulster.
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