Richard De Burgh, Lord of Connaught

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

De Burgh, Richard, Lord of Connaught, son of preceding. In 1204 he succeeded to large estates in the province of Connaught, which were confirmed to him by King John for a fine of 300 marks, and by Henry III. for a fine of 3,000 marks. In 1225, after Cathal O'Conor's death, the whole of Connaught, with the exception of five cantreds for the support of Athlone garrison, was made over to him for 500 marks a year. But the O'Conors clung to their patrimony, and upon one occasion Felira O'Conor was even deputed by Henry III. to act against De Burgh and check his rising power. De Burgh exercised almost regal sway, and at his castle at Galway (built in 1232), and in that at Loughrea (built in 1236), he was attended by a train of barons, knights, and gentlemen. He was for some time Lord-Deputy of Ireland. He died on his passage to France, January 1243. whither he was proceeding, attended by his barons and knights, to meet the King of England at Bordeaux. His wife was Una, daughter of Hugh O'Conor, Prince of Connaught.

Sources

52. Burke, Sir Bernard: Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages. London, 1866.

134. Four Masters, Annals of Ireland by the: Translated and Edited by John O'Donovan. 7 vols. Dublin, 1856.

216. Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, Revised and Enlarged by Mervyn Archdall. 7 vols. Dublin, 1789.

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