Bunratty Castle is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village, by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage as tourist attractions.
The Battle of Dysert O'Dea took place on 10 May 1318 at Dysert O'Dea near Corofin, Ireland. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland. The Norman Richard de Clare attacked the Gaelic Irish chieftain Conchobhar Ó Deághaidh, chief of the Cineal Fearmaic and ally of Muircheartach Ó Briain, but he was defeated.
Thomond, also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenagh and its hinterland. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Dál gCais people, although there were other Gaels in the area such as the Éile and Eóganachta, and even the Norse of Limerick. It existed from the collapse of the Kingdom of Munster in the 12th century as competition between the Ó Briain and the Mac Cárthaigh led to the schism between Thomond and Desmond. It continued to exist outside of the Anglo-Norman-controlled Lordship of Ireland until the 16th century.
de Lacy is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorded for Hugh de Lacy (1020–1085). His sons, Walter and Ilbert, left Normandy and travelled to England with William the Conqueror. The awards of land by the Conqueror to the de Lacy sons led to two distinct branches of the family: the northern branch, centred on Blackburnshire and west Yorkshire was held by Ilbert's descendants; the southern branch of Marcher Lords, centred on Herefordshire and Shropshire, was held by Walter's descendants.
Richard de Clare 1st Lord Clare was the son of Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond and Juliana FitzGerald.
Margaret de Badlesmere, Baroness Badlesmere was a Anglo-Norman noblewoman, suo jure heiress, and the wife of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere.
Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht, was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, the wife of Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught and Strathearn (c.1194–1242), and the mother of his seven children, including Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster. She was also known as Gille de Lacy. Egidia was the daughter of Walter II de Lacy by his second wife Margaret de Braose.
Maud de Badlesmere, Countess of Oxford was an English noblewoman, and the wife of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford. She, along with her three sisters, was a co-heiress of her only brother Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere, who had no male issue.
Juliana FitzMaurice, Lady of Thomond was a Anglo-Norman noblewoman, the daughter of Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly, and the wife of Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond, a powerful Anglo-Norman baron in Ireland, who was a younger brother of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford. Juliana was married three times; Thomas being her first. She is sometimes referred to as Juliane FitzMaurice.
Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville was a Norman-Irish noblewoman and wealthy heiress who inherited half the estates of her grandfather Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, upon his death in 1241. The lordships of Trim and Ludlow passed to her second husband Sir Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville by right of his marriage to her; although she helped to rule and administer the estates in an equal partnership. She is sometimes referred to as Matilda de Lacy.
Barnabas O'Brien, 6th Earl of Thomond, son of Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond; succeeded his brother as earl, 1639; was lord-lieutenant of Clare, 1640–41: had his rents seized, 1644; admitted a parliamentary garrison to Bunratty Castle and went to England: joined Charles I; successfully petitioned parliament for £2,000 spent in the parliamentary cause.
Maud de Prendergast, Lady of Offaly, was a Norman-Irish noblewoman, the first wife of Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly, Justiciar of Ireland, and the mother of his two daughters, Juliana FitzGerald and Amabel. She married three times; Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly was her third husband.
Maurice FitzMaurice FitzGerald was an Irish magnate, soldier, and Justiciar of Ireland from 1272 to 1273. His family would come to epitomise the ideal of cultural synthesis in Ireland, becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves", fusing Gaelic and Norman customs in Irish identity. "But others say he never enjoyed that lordship himself, but that it passed to the son and grandson of his eldest brother Gerald."
Ela Longespee, Lady of Ashby was a wealthy heiress and daughter of Stephen Longespée, Justiciar of Ireland, and Emmeline de Riddlesford, granddaughter of Walter de Riddlesford. She was the wife of Sir Roger La Zouche, Lord of Ashby.
The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial liberty in medieval Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive with the medieval kingdom of Meath. At its greatest extent, it included all of the modern counties of Fingal, Meath, Westmeath as well as parts of counties Cavan, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly. The Lordship or fiefdom was imbued with privileges enjoyed in no other Irish liberty, including the four royal pleas of arson, forestalling, rape, and treasure trove.
Maud de Clare, Baroness de Welles was the eldest daughter of Thomas de Clare, Lord of Inchiquin and Youghal, Lord of Thomond, Lord of Bunratty Castle (1245–1287) and Juliana FitzGerald (1236–1290). She married twice. Her first marriage was to Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, 1st Lord of Skipton (1274–1314) on 3 November 1295 by which she had four children. Her second marriage was to Sir Robert de Welles, 2nd Baron Welles, Constable of Pendragon Castle (1297–1326) on 16 Nov 1315. They had no children. She was born in 1276 in Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Hundred, Gloucestershire, England and moved to Badlesmere to be near her sister, Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere. She died in Badlesmere in 1327 twice a widow.
Ennis Friary was a Franciscan friary in the town of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. It was established in the middle of the 13th century by the ruling O'Brien dynasty who supported it for most of its existence. Following the suppression of the monasteries in the 16th century, the friary continued to function for a while despite the loss of its lands. In the early 17th century, the buildings were handed over to the Church of Ireland as a place of worship. It was used as such until the late 19th century. After the construction of a new Church of Ireland building, the friary fell into ruin. Managed by the Office of Public Works since the late 19th century, it was formally returned to the Franciscan Order in 1969.
Conor na Siudane Ua Briain also by the descriptives "Roe" and also as "broad-eyed" was a King of Thomond, in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain.
Toirdhealbhach Mór Ó Briain was King of Thomond (1276-1306) and the main protagonist of Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith's epic Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh describing his struggles against the Norman Thomas de Clare.
The Battle of Thomond was fought in Ireland on 14 July 1328 between the forces of William de Burgh and an army led by Brian Bán Ó Briain, Lord of Thomond. It was fought near Thurles in modern County Tipperary and featured powerful Gaelic Irish and Hiberno-Norman figures on both sides.
