William de Burgh

William de Burgh (c.1160–winter 1205/06)[1] was a member of the House of de Burgh and founder of the House of Burke (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland.[2]

For other people named William de Burgh, see William de Burgh (disambiguation).
William de Burgh
Arms of de Burgh: Or, a cross gules (adopted at the start of the age of heraldry, c.1200–15).
Born1160 (1161)
Died1206 (1207)
Galway, Ireland
NationalityEnglish
ChildrenRichard, 1st Lord of Connaught
Hubert, Bishop of Limerick
William de Burgh the Younger
RelativesWalter de Burgh (father)
Hubert, Earl of Kent (brother)
Geoffrey, Bishop of Ely (brother)

In Ireland

He arrived in Ireland in 1185 and was closely associated with Prince John.

King Henry II of England appointed him Governor of Limerick and granted him vast estates in Leinster and Munster. De Burgh's castles at Tibberaghny (County Kilkenny), Kilsheelan, Ardpatrick and Kilfeacle were used to protect King John's northern borders of Waterford and Lismore and his castles at Carrigogunnell and Castleconnell were used to protect Limerick. He was Seneschal of Munster (Royal Governor) from 1201 to 1203.

Marriage and alliance

Sometime in the 1190s, William allied himself with the King of Thomond, either Domnall Mór Ó Briain, King of Thomond (died 1194) or his son Muirchertach. In 1193, William de Burgh married the daughter of Domnall Mór Ó Briain, King of Thomond.[3] This alliance probably took place during the reign of Muirchertach, as up to the time of his death Domnall Mór had been at war with the Normans. At any rate no more wars are recorded between the two sides for the rest of the decade. According to the Annals of Inisfallen, in 1201 William and the sons of Domnall Mór led a major joint military expedition into Desmond, slaying Amlaíb Ua Donnabáin among others.

From 1199 to 1202 de Burgh led military campaigns in Desmond with the aid of the Ó Briain. Success in the west and south allowed de Burgh to conquer the Kingdom of Connacht, which although he had been granted probably before 1195, he had never occupied. Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, fought a successful counter-attack against the Anglo-Norman castles in Munster, including de Burgh's castle of Castleconnell. Further fighting led to loss of three castles and property, all of which was eventually retrieved with the exception of much of Connacht.

Connacht

In 1200, "Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair went into Munster, to the son of Mac Carthy and William de Burgh to solicit their aid." This marked the start of de Burgh's interest in the province. King Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair (reigned 1190–1224) faced much opposition, mainly from within his own family and wished to engage de Burgh's aid to help secure his position. The following year William and Ua Conchobair led an army from Limerick to Tuam and finally to Boyle. Ua Conchobair's rival, Cathal Carragh Ua Conchobair marched at the head of his army to give them battle but was killed in a combined Burke/Ua Conchobair onslaught after a week of skirmishing between the two sides.

William and Ua Conchobair then travelled to Iar Connacht and stayed at Cong for Easter. Here, William and the sons of Rory O'Flaherty conspired to kill Ua Conchobair but the plot was foiled, apparently by holy oaths they were made to swear by the local Coarb family. However, when de Burgh demanded payment for himself and his retinue, battle finally broke out with over seven hundred of de Burgh's followers said to have been killed. William, however, managed to return to Limerick.

The following year in 1202, William returned and took revenge for his army that was destroyed a year early. He took the title “Lord of Connacht” in 1203.

Death

He died in winter 1205/1206[1] and was interred at the Augustinian Priory of Athassel in Golden which he had founded c. 1200.[4]

The Annals of the Four Masters recorded his passing thus:

"William Burke plundered Connacht, as well churches as territories; but God and the saints took vengeance on him for that; for he died of a singular disease, too shameful to be described."

Family

William's wife was the daughter of Domnall Mór Ó Briain, King of Thomond, whom he married in 1193.[5] A late medieval (A.D. 1397 - A.D. 1418) genealogy found in the Book of Lecan records his marriage to an unnamed daughter of Donmal Mor mac Turlough O'Brien,[6] and the descent of the Earls of Ulster and Clanricarde from their son Richard.

William had three sons and at least one daughter by his wife, the daughter of Domnall Mór Ó Briain, King of Thomond (with the spelling Connaught being used in titles of English nobility):[7]

Family tree

 
  Walter de Burgh of Burgh Castle, Norfolk.
 =Alice
  |
  |_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  |                                    |                                                |                              |
  |                                    |                                                |                              |
 William de Burgh, died 1206.    Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, d. 1243. Geoffrey de Burgh, d. 1228.  Thomas de Burgh
  |                                        (issue; John and Hubert)
  |_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  |                                                         |                                             |                                                     |
  |                                                         |                                             |                                                     |
 Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught Hubert de Burgh, Bishop of Limerick, d. 1250.    William de Burgh, Sheriff of Connacht    Richard Óge de Burgh (*Did not exist*)
  |                                      |
  |                                      |
 de Burgh Earl of Ulster,            William Óg de Burgh, d. 1270
 Burke of Castleconnell, County Limerick      |
 Mac William Iochtar Bourke of County Mayo.   |
                                              |______________________________________________________
                                                                               |
                                                                             Sir William liath, d. 1324
                                                                               |
                       ________________________________________________________|_____________________________________________
                       |                         |                             |                       |                    |
                      Walter, d. 1332   Sir Edmund Albanach, d. 1375     Richard an Fhorbhair        Raymund         Ulick of Umhall
                                                                               |
                _______________________________________________________________|
                |                                           |         |
                |                                           |         |
                Ulick Burke of Annaghkeen, d. 1343.     Raymond  Walter Óge
                |
                |
                Richard Óg Burke, d. 1387.
                |
                |
                Ulick an Fhiona Burke of Clanricarde
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See also

References (family tree)
  • A New History of Ireland, volume IX, Oxford, 1984;
    • Earls of Ulster and Lords of Connacht, 1205–1460 (De Burgh, De Lacy and Mortimer), p. 170;
    • Mac William Burkes: Mac William Iochtar (de Burgh), Lords of Lower Connacht and Viscounts of Mayo, 1332–1649, p. 171;
    • Burke of Clanricard: Mac William Uachtar (de Burgh), Lords of Upper Connacht and Earls of Clanricard, 1332–1722.

References
  1. Orpen, Goddard Henry. Ireland under the Normans. II. p. 194. ISBN 1-85182-715-3.
    Curtis, Edmund. A History of Mediaeval Ireland from 1110 to 1513. p. 107.
  2. Grenham, John (1994). The Little Book of Irish Clans. Dublin, Ireland: John Hinde. p. 11. ISBN 0-7858-0083-2.
  3. B. Smith, "Burgh, Richard de (died 1243)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. online edition, Oxford University Press, (2004), [author states, "Burgh, Richard de (d. 1243), justiciar of Ireland, was the son of William de Burgh (d. 1206) and his wife, the daughter of Domnall Mór Ó Briain, king of Thomond, who married in 1193".].
  4. Gwynn, Aubrey; Hadcock, R. Neville (1970). Medieval Religious Houses Ireland. Longman. p. 157.
  5. Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700. Eighth Ed. (2008), Line 177B-8.
  6. Empey, C. A (2004). "Burgh, William de (died 1206)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  7. Burke, Donald G. Burke’s East Galway: the culture, history, and genealogy of the families of east Galway. Burk of Clanricarde 1280 – 1333, (2013), [pedigree table of selected branches of the Burkes]. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
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