Page 4 - A Ancient East (complete)_Neat

The O’Mores broke into the Barrow valley from western Leinster in 1297.

Around 1358, Irish tribes made attempts to sever the royal highway. By 1360
traffic along the valley required armed escorts but in 1378 the McMurroughs
were in control of this strategic artery. By the 1390s communications between
Dublin and Munster were increasingly made by
sea. The period 1450 to 1470 marked the low-
est point of English rule in Ireland (Ellis;69).
By that time the Anglo-Normans had construct-
ed miles of trenches to keep the natives out and
they built many fortifications. But they were
not always successful in resisting raids by the
O’Byrnes and O’Tooles who even reached the
streets of Dublin. Things began to change un-
der the Tudors particularly under Elizabeth I,
which eventually paving the way for the total
subjugation of the south-eastern tribes.

The Kavanaghs became
A complex story powerful enough to force
the crown to pay black rent
for the use of a bridge over
The conclusion that we have a story of two the river Barrow at Leigh-
opposing forces battling it out for domination linbridge
is an oversimplification. The fascinating histo-
ry of the area is more nuanced. In very general terms there were, indeed, two
sides; but they were, in turn, made up of disparate components. For example, the
Irish fought amongst themselves for domination. At the same time the King of
England ruled the enemies of the indigenous people from afar through a local
viceroy. Two rival families coveted this title and fought and feuded amongst
themselves to secure it. The first were the powerful Earls of Kildare
(Fitzgeralds) whose territory lay to the north and west outside the Irishry. The
earls maintained a formidable fortress at Maynooth. The second were the Earls
of Ormond (Burkes) to the south-west, centred around Kilkenny.

The Kildares were more successful. But to view them as Anglo-Normans who
were fully committed to the English crown is misleading. They used any means
possible to retain power, including intermarriage with the natives; or even incit-
ing Gaelic rebellion whenever their influence seemed to diminish, in order to
demonstrate to the king their usefulness in controlling the ‘wild Irish’. Self-
interest was their principal motivation.

An invisible presence

English resistance was relentless, particularly after the appearance of the New

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