Earldom of Ulster
The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Irelan ...
in medieval
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. Taking its name from the native Irish territory of '' in Tuaiscirt'', it spanned the northern coastland of
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...
and
County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
. At its height it stretched from
Glenarm
Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmacreva ...
Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
in modern
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrco ...
. It was conquered and settled by Hugh de Lacy and was centered on
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern ...
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 Route'' is a Ugandan film directed by Jayant Maru, based on a screenplay he wrote. It is about human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual ex ...
Earldom of Ulster
The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Irelan ...
from Hugh de Lacy, he granted land to those who had given him aid, primarily the
Scoto-Norman
The term Scoto-Norman (also Franco-Scottish or Franco-Gaelic) is used to describe people, families, institutions and archaeological artifacts that are partly Scottish (in some sense) and partly Anglo-Norman (in some sense). It is used to refer to ...
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...
Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...
to Duncan's cousins;
Alan, Lord of Galloway
Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of ...
, and Thomas, Earl of Atholl. This territory had only been partially conquered beforehand and the de Galloways fought hard to win the land.
With King John's death in 1216, de Lacy sought to return to Ireland and retake the earldom, even though it meant defying the new king of England, Henry III. After landing in Ireland in 1223, de Lacy went about waging war in what the ''
Annals of Connacht
The ''Annals of Connacht'' (), covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin.
The early sections, commenc ...
'' described as: ''produced assaults of war and dispersion amongst the Foreigners of Ireland''. De Lacy retreated from his siege of
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...
, however returned with the King of Tir Eoghain, Aed O'Neill. Together they destroyed Coleraine Castle of the Earl of Atholl.
By 1227, in return for giving two of his sons as hostage, de Lacy was given the Earldom of Ulster back; however, the northern coastlands that had been granted to the de Galloways were exempt.
Twescard
De Lacy in his desire to reclaim all of his earldom, wasted little time in ignoring the terms of his reinstatement and drove the Scots out of northern Antrim, and granted a portion of their land to one of their traditional enemies, John Bisset. Due to de Lacy's help in conquering the province of
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...
, Henry III indulged his defiance of his reinstatement.
The northern coastlands of the Earldom of Ulster was known as Twescard, with its capital at
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern ...
, and by the time of de Lacy's death in 1243, had become one of the most prosperous parts of his earldom.
Upon de Lacy's death in 1243, the earldom passed back into the hands of the
English Crown
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
, and though it was a troublesome entity, it would prove vital in penetrating deeper into Gaelic Ulster.
A dynastic dispute amongst the ''
Cenél nEógain
Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history
* Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) i ...
'' upon the death of Aed O'Neill in 1248 resulted in Henry III's chief governor in Ireland, John FitzGeoffrey, building a new bridge near Coleraine as well as a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
at
Killowen
Killowen (, now spelt ''Cill Eoin''), alternatively spelt Cill Abhainn is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is near Rostrevor and on the shore of Carlingford Lough. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 159 people. It lie ...
opposite, and also another castle at Magh Cobha (Ballyroney) further south. From these positions in Twescard, FitzGeoffrey was able to invade central Ulster as far south as
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , " Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the P ...
.
The bailiwick, or county, of Twescard
By 1333, an inquisition into the Earldom of Ulster records it consisting of five bailiwicks, or counties, of which Twescard had become one. Each
bailiwick
A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on the ...
was the responsibility of a sheriff or
seneschal
The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
, who would usually be one of the earl's barons. They held the county court, as well as manorial courts, as well as collecting the rent for the earl's treasurer.
After the earl, there were four great baronial families in the earldom, each of which were the principal landlords, with most having land and estates in Twescard. The Bisset dynasty still retained their land in the Antrim Glens granted to them by de Lacy, whilst the Savage dynasty had most of their manors in Twescard. The de Mandevilles, who had come over with King John, held manors in north Antrim. A minor family, the de Sandel dynasty, acquired land in Twescard in 1300.
As vassals and substantial farmers were forbidden to build stone castles they lived in mottes instead, however this was not the case in Twescard as it was annexed after the age of the motte had passed by.
Infighting between the Norman families was not uncommon with the Fitzwarins and de Mandevilles warring, resulting in the loss of two thousand livestock of the Fitzwarins in their Twescard demense.
The inquisition of 1333 also records the following towns that lay within the land of county Twescard: ''Le Roo'' (
Limavady
Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years between ...
), ''Portkamen'' (
Bushmills
Bushmills (From Irish language, Irish ''Muileann na Buaise'') is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. This article contains quotations ...
), and ''Portros'' (
Portrush
Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars ...
). The centre of Twescard,
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern ...
, recorded as ''Coulrath'', had a fortified bridge, was the forward position for raids into the north-west of Ulster, and vied with
Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the bur ...
to be the second-most important settlement in the earldom after the capital Carrickfergus itself.
Near Coleraine, the castle of Mount Sandel, was used by the Normans to keep a precarious hold over their manors in Twescard.
The end of Twescard
After the Irish invasion of Edward the Bruce in 1315, the Hiberno-Norman hold on Ulster was weakened. During the onset of the invasion, Domnal O'Neill advised Edward the Bruce to ravage the Earl of Ulster's settlements in
Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
and the Roe Valley, with the Scots destroying the bridge at Coleraine and wasting all of the crops and barns to hinder the earl and his forces. By 1315 only Carrickfergus held out, with the rest of the earldom including Twescard overrun.
By the 1460s, with the earldom of Ulster near its final end, the surviving de Mandevilles of north Antrim, deserted their manors in Twescard and sold their interests to the MacQuillans, who themselves had been driven out of Down. The MacQuillans had served as mercenaries of the earls of Ulster, and originally came from the south-west of Scotland. They renamed Twescard, now a shadow of its former size, ''An Rúta'' (
the Route
''The Route'' is a Ugandan film directed by Jayant Maru, based on a screenplay he wrote. It is about human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual ex ...
),Bardon, Jonathan, ''A History of Ulster'', page 67. The Black Staff Press, 2005. from whence it was known until the recreation of
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...
in 1584.
See also
*
Earldom of Ulster
The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Irelan ...
*
Route, County Antrim
The Route ( ga, An Rúta) was a medieval territory in Gaelic Ireland, located on the north-east coast of Ulster. It stretched between Coleraine and Ballycastle and as far south as the Clogh River. Originally part of Twescard, a county of the E ...