Individual Details

Richard de Burgh, Lord of Connacht

(1194 - 17 Feb 1243)

According to Wikipedia:

Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connacht (c. 1194 - 1242,[1] or 1243,[2][3] ), was a Hiberno-Norman aristocrat and Justiciar of Ireland.

Background
Richard Mór de Burgh, born towards the end of the year in 1193 (came of age in 1214), was the eldest son and heir of William de Burgh and his wife who was the daughter of Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond. De Burgh's principal estate was in the barony of Loughrea where he built a castle in 1236 and a town was founded. He also founded Galway town and Ballinasloe. The islands on Lough Mask and Lough Orben were also part of his demesne.

From the death of his father in 1206 to 1214, Richard was a ward of the crown of England until he received his inheritance. In 1215 he briefly served in the household of his uncle Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. In 1223 and again in 1225 he was appointed seneschal of Munster and keeper of Limerick castle.[4]

Connacht
In 1224, Richard claimed Connacht, which had been granted to his father but never, in fact, conquered by him. He asserted that the grant to Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, the Gaelic king, after his father's death had been on condition of faithful service, and that his son Aedh mac Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, who succeeded Cathal that year, had forfeited it. He had the favour of the justiciar of England, Hubert de Burgh, and was awarded Connacht in May 1227. Having been given custody of the counties of Cork and Waterford and all the crown lands of Decies and Desmond, he was appointed Justiciar of Ireland from 1228 to 1232.

When in 1232 Hubert de Burgh fell from grace, Richard was able to distance himself and avoid being campaigned against by the King of England, Henry III. It was only in 1235 when he summoned the whole feudal host of the English lords and magnates to aid him that he expelled Felim mac Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair, the Gaelic king, from Connacht. He and his lieutenants received great shares of land, while Felim was obliged to do homage and was allowed only to keep five cantreds Roscommon from the Crown. Richard de Burgh held the remaining 25 cantreds of Connacht in chief of the crown of England. De Burgh took the title of "Lord of Connacht".[1]

Wife and children
Before 21 April 1225, he married Egidia de Lacy, daughter of Walter de Lacy, and Margaret de Braose. With this alliance he acquired the cantred of Eóghanacht Caisil with the castle of Ardmayle in Tipperary.

Richard de Burgh had three sons and four daughters by his wife, Egidia de Lacy:

Sir Richard de Burgh, Lord of Connaught, Constable of Montgomery Castle, married a relative of Eleanor of Provence,[5] but died without issue in Poitou in 1248.
Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster, Lord of Connaught, died 1271.
William Óg de Burgh, who was the ancestor of the Earls of Clanricarde and Mac William family, died 1270.
Alice married Muirchertach O Briain.
Margery de Burgh (? - after March 1253), married Theobald Butler, 3rd Chief Butler of Ireland
Matilda de Burgh, who married Sir Gerald de Prendergast of Beauvoir, by whom she had a daughter, Maud.[6]
Daughter who married Hamon de Valoynes and had a daughter, Mabel de Valoynes.
Richard died shortly before 17 February 1243.

Notes
Curtis, Edmund (2004) [1950]. A History of Ireland (6th ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 70-72. ISBN 0-415-27949-6.
Lodge 1754, p. 24.
Owen 1790, p. 8.
B. Smith, "Burgh, Richard de (died 1243)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004
Matthew Paris, Chronica majora, iv, pp 628, 655.
Burke, Bernard. "Prendergast Lineage", A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry, Harrison, 1895, p. 773.
References
Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines 73-30, 177B-8, 177B-9.
The Tribes and customs of Hy-Many, John O'Donovan, 1843
The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978.
The Anglo-Normans in Co. Galway: the process of colonisation, Patrick Holland, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 41,(1987-88)
Excavation on the line of the medieval town defences of Loughrea, Co. Galway, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 41, (1987-88)
Anglo-Norman Galway; rectangular earthworks and moated sites, Patrick Holland, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 46 (1993)
Rindown Castle: a royal fortress in Co. Roscommon, Sheelagh Harbison, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 47 (1995)
The Anglo-Norman landscape in County Galway; land-holdings, castles and settlements, Patrick Holland, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 49 (1997)
Annals of Ulster at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
Annals of Tigernach at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
Revised edition of McCarthy's synchronisms at Trinity College Dublin.
Secondary sources
Loege, John (1754). The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom; with Their Paternal Coats of Arms. 4. William Johnston.
Owen, W (1790). The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Ireland. III. London: Fleet Street, Holborn, Piccadilly.


-- MERGED NOTE ------------

According to Wikipedia:

Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connacht (c. 1194 - 1242,[1] or 1243,[2][3] ), was a Hiberno-Norman aristocrat and Justiciar of Ireland.

Background
Richard Mór de Burgh, born towards the end of the year in 1193 (came of age in 1214), was the eldest son and heir of William de Burgh and his wife who was the daughter of Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond. De Burgh's principal estate was in the barony of Loughrea where he built a castle in 1236 and a town was founded. He also founded Galway town and Ballinasloe. The islands on Lough Mask and Lough Orben were also part of his demesne.

From the death of his father in 1206 to 1214, Richard was a ward of the crown of England until he received his inheritance. In 1215 he briefly served in the household of his uncle Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent. In 1223 and again in 1225 he was appointed seneschal of Munster and keeper of Limerick castle.[4]

Connacht
In 1224, Richard claimed Connacht, which had been granted to his father but never, in fact, conquered by him. He asserted that the grant to Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, the Gaelic king, after his father's death had been on condition of faithful service, and that his son Aedh mac Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, who succeeded Cathal that year, had forfeited it. He had the favour of the justiciar of England, Hubert de Burgh, and was awarded Connacht in May 1227. Having been given custody of the counties of Cork and Waterford and all the crown lands of Decies and Desmond, he was appointed Justiciar of Ireland from 1228 to 1232.

When in 1232 Hubert de Burgh fell from grace, Richard was able to distance himself and avoid being campaigned against by the King of England, Henry III. It was only in 1235 when he summoned the whole feudal host of the English lords and magnates to aid him that he expelled Felim mac Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair, the Gaelic king, from Connacht. He and his lieutenants received great shares of land, while Felim was obliged to do homage and was allowed only to keep five cantreds Roscommon from the Crown. Richard de Burgh held the remaining 25 cantreds of Connacht in chief of the crown of England. De Burgh took the title of "Lord of Connacht".[1]

Wife and children
Before 21 April 1225, he married Egidia de Lacy, daughter of Walter de Lacy, and Margaret de Braose. With this alliance he acquired the cantred of Eóghanacht Caisil with the castle of Ardmayle in Tipperary.

Richard de Burgh had three sons and four daughters by his wife, Egidia de Lacy:

Sir Richard de Burgh, Lord of Connaught, Constable of Montgomery Castle, married a relative of Eleanor of Provence,[5] but died without issue in Poitou in 1248.
Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster, Lord of Connaught, died 1271.
William Óg de Burgh, who was the ancestor of the Earls of Clanricarde and Mac William family, died 1270.
Alice married Muirchertach O Briain.
Margery de Burgh (? - after March 1253), married Theobald Butler, 3rd Chief Butler of Ireland
Matilda de Burgh, who married Sir Gerald de Prendergast of Beauvoir, by whom she had a daughter, Maud.[6]
Daughter who married Hamon de Valoynes and had a daughter, Mabel de Valoynes.
Richard died shortly before 17 February 1243.

Notes
Curtis, Edmund (2004) [1950]. A History of Ireland (6th ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 70-72. ISBN 0-415-27949-6.
Lodge 1754, p. 24.
Owen 1790, p. 8.
B. Smith, "Burgh, Richard de (died 1243)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. online edition, Oxford University Press, September 2004
Matthew Paris, Chronica majora, iv, pp 628, 655.
Burke, Bernard. "Prendergast Lineage", A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry, Harrison, 1895, p. 773.
References
Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines 73-30, 177B-8, 177B-9.
The Tribes and customs of Hy-Many, John O'Donovan, 1843
The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978.
The Anglo-Normans in Co. Galway: the process of colonisation, Patrick Holland, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 41,(1987-88)
Excavation on the line of the medieval town defences of Loughrea, Co. Galway, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 41, (1987-88)
Anglo-Norman Galway; rectangular earthworks and moated sites, Patrick Holland, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 46 (1993)
Rindown Castle: a royal fortress in Co. Roscommon, Sheelagh Harbison, J.G.A. & H.S., vol. 47 (1995)
The Anglo-Norman landscape in County Galway; land-holdings, castles and settlements, Patrick Holland, J.G.A.& H.S., vol. 49 (1997)
Annals of Ulster at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
Annals of Tigernach at CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork
Revised edition of McCarthy's synchronisms at Trinity College Dublin.
Secondary sources
Loege, John (1754). The Peerage of Ireland; Or, a Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom; with Their Paternal Coats of Arms. 4. William Johnston.
Owen, W (1790). The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Ireland. III. London: Fleet Street, Holborn, Piccadilly.

Events

Birth1194Connaught, Ireland
Marriage21 Apr 1225Meath, Ireland - Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht
Acceded1227
Death17 Feb 1243Gascony, France
Title (Facts Page)Lord of Connacht, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Families

SpouseEgidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht (1205 - )
ChildLiving
ChildWalter de Burgh, Earl of Ulster (1230 - 1271)
ChildLiving
FatherWilliam de Burgh (1160 - 1205)
MotherMore O' Brien ( - )