The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway
Chap. III.
From the Anglo-Norman Invasion to the Year 1484.
From the Anglo-Norman Invasion to the Year 1484.
Arrival of Strongbow accompanied by William Fitz-Adnelm de Burgo,
ancestor of the family of Clanricarde - Landing of Henry II. -
Submission of subsequent revolt of the Irish Princes - Unsuccessful
attempt of Roderic O'Conor, the monarch, on Dublin - Treaty between him
and Henry II. - First hostile incursion of the Invaders into Connaught,
and their defeat - Grant of the Province to De Burgo - Deposition and
death of Roderic - Connor, his successor, defeats De Courcy - Cathal,
who succeeds, joins with Meiler Fitz- Henry the Justiciary, and subdues
De Burgo - Treaty between him and King John - Cathal dies, and Henry
III. orders the Lord Justice to seize on all Connaught and deliver it to
Richard De Burgo - Fedhlim, who succeeded Cathal, visits Henry in
England, and obtains an order to be restored to his territory - The
Castle of Galway fortified by O'Flaherty - Taken by De Burgo, who
strengthens the Castle and protects and encourages the Town - Walls,
great Gate, and Tower erected - Increase of Trade and Commerce - Church
of St. Nicholas built - Dispute between the families of Blake and Athy -
Death of William Earl of Ulster, and seizure of Galway by Mac William
Eighter - Charters of Murage and of the Staple granted by Edward III. -
Removal of the Staple - Merchants of Limerick jealous of the increasing
trade and prosperity of Galway - Revolt and submission of the Town - Two
Charters granted by Richard II. - Charter of Henry IV. - Mercantile
Regulations - Establishment of a Mint - Charter of Edward IV. and
Conflagration in the Town.
Arrival of Strongbow and Henry II; Unsuccessful attempt of Roderic
O'Conor on Dublin
The successful invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century, by a few
enterprising adventurers, is an event which has long astonished the
world. The suddenness and insignificance of the expedition, the easy and
unaccountable submission, almost without a struggle, of a numerous and
warlike people to a foreign foe, and the vast importance of the
acquisition to the crown and kingdom of England justly excited the
admiration of mankind. The causes which led to this great and memorable
revolution will be found fully detailed in the histories of the times;
its effects, which still continue, and which will inlfluence millions
yet unborn, are too well ascertained to require any new description: and
as neither properly come within the limits of a work of this nature the
following pages will, therefore, be confined to the local and provincial
transactions which afterwards took place, so far as they could be found
to affect, or have any bearing on the history of Galway.
In the year 1171 , Richard Earl Strongbow landed near Waterford,
accompanied by William Fitz-Andelm de Burgo, a principal leader in the
army, who, after the success of the invaders, was appointed to the chief
government of Ireland.r
Henry II soon afterwards arrived with an army of 4000 men, and having
received the submission of some of the petty princes of Leinster and
Munster, and of several of the bishops and clergy, he returned to
England. Immediately on his departure, the princes and chieftains who
had so recently submitted to his authority, as if on reflection they
felt ashamed of the pusillanimity with which they bowed their necks to
the yoke of servitude, revolted and commenced hostilities. Roderic
O'Conor, king of Connaught and monarch of Ireland, who tamely permitted
the encroachments of the English, now, when it was too late, roused from
his lethargy, crossed the Shannon with a considerable army, and
proceeded towards Dublin, which he invested: but in consequence of the
unhappy dissensions which prevailed among his troops, and which, amongst
the Irish, were at all times the cause of their ruin, he was defeated,
obliged to retreat, and sue for peace. He accordingly dispatched
deputies to England, who met the king at Windsor, and there a peace was
most solemnly concluded between the two monarchs. Roderic consented to
do homage, and pay tribute to the king of England; whereupon he was to
hold his kingdom of Connaught, with the title of king, under him, Rex
sub eo, and that in as ample a manner as he had done before the comming
of the English. Our historians are unanimous in declaring that there
never was any treaty more scrupulously adhered to than this by Roderic,
while few were ever more flagrantly violated than it afterwards was, by
Henry.
First hostile incursion of the Invaders into Connaught, and their
defeat (1178)
In the year 1178, the English, first set a hostile foot in Connaught.
Murrough, one of Roderic's sons, having received, or probably pretending
to have received some, supposed injury, privately dispatched messengers
to Milo de Cogan,s
who then lay in Dublin inviting him to march into Connaught, with a
sufficient force, and promising, that he would be ready to assist him:
holding forth, at the same time, great prospects of plunder. Milo, who
only wanted the invitation, immediately set out, with upwards of 500
men, and soon arrived in Connaught; but having met there with a
reception far different from what he expected, he was obliged to make a
shameful retreat, with considerable loss. The traitor Murrough, was
deservedly sentenced to lose his eyes, and suffer perpetual
imprisonment; but having been soon afterwards liberated, he became the
guilty cause of the most lamentable dissensions.
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