Richard de Clare (after 1281 – 10 May 1318), 1st Lord Clare, was the son of Thomas de Clare, Lord of

Thomond Thomond ( Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), 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 Nena ...

and

Juliana FitzGerald Juliana FitzMaurice, Lady of Thomond (12 April 1263 – 29 September 1300) was an 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 ...

. A descendant of Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, he succeeded his older brother, Gilbert, in 1308 as Lord of Thomond. In 1309, and then again between 1312 and 1316, he was sheriff of Cork. As part of his duties, he put down a number of rebellions. He was killed while commanding his forces at the

Battle of Dysert O'Dea 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 ÓDeághaidh, chief of the ...

near the modern town of

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

. According to legend, the day before his death, Richard de Clare beheld a woman dressed in white on the river's edge washing bloody clothing and armor. When he asked whose clothes they were, she replied, "yours," and then vanished. This woman was believed to be a

banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...

foretelling his death. The next day, he lay dead with his clothes caked in blood on the battlefield of Dysert O'Dea. Richard was succeeded in the lordship by his son Thomas, who was born in 1318 and died three years later. Investigations pursuant to a writ issued on 10 April 1321 established that Thomas' heirs were his father's sisters:

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, the wife of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, and Maud, the wife of Sir Robert de Welle. As well as the stewardship of the

Forest of Essex The Forest of Essex was a royal forest that existed from around 1100 and was disestablished in the 13th century. Forests were legal institutions introduced by the Normans to denote an area where the King or another magnate had the right to keep ...

, Thomas' estate included numerous properties in Ireland.Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, 1st series, Vol. 4, No. 275.

References

1280s births 1318 deaths Normans in Ireland {{UK-noble-stub