William de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster

The ruins of Northburgh Castle, where William de Burgh imprisoned Walter Liath de Burgh in 1332

William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (born September 17, 1312 - † June 6, 1333 near Belfast ) was an Irish nobleman and temporarily royal deputy in the Lordship of Ireland .

Origin and youth

He was the only son of John de Burgh , the eldest son of Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster , and Elizabeth de Clare . His father died on June 18, 1313 in a battle near Galway . His mother became one of the three heiresses of the Clare family's extensive estates after the death of her brother Gilbert de Clare in 1314 and returned to England with her son. There she married again.

Return to Ireland

When his grandfather Richard died in 1326, William inherited his title of Earl of Ulster as a minor and returned to Ireland in 1327. In addition, he was on December 10, 1327 by Writ of Summons as Baron Burgh member of the English Parliament . He was knighted in 1328 . In 1328 he was given Carrickfergus Castle and around 1330 Athlone Castle . From 1330 to 1331 he was King's Deputy Deputy in Ireland.

Around 1328 he married Matilda of Lancaster , daughter of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud de Chaworth . As a friend and representative of King Edward III. he tried to restore English authority in the north of Ireland. He came into conflict with Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond , whom he suspected of allied against him together with Walter Liath de Burgh and Henry de Mandeville , Seneschal of Ulster. William attacked Walter Liath de Burgh and Henry de Mandeville in Ulster and Connacht . Henry de Mandeville fled to Dublin , where he was captured, while Walter Liath de Burgh was captured by William. Walter died in Northburgh Castle near Greencastle in 1332 , allegedly William let him starve to death. When William was traveling to Carrickfergus with Robert FitzRichard Mandeville the following year , he was murdered by the latter because his wife Gyle de Burgh had been a sister of Walter Liath de Burgh. Because of the murder, a bloody feud broke out between William's and Mandeville's followers. Williams' possessions were occupied by Walter's brother Edmond Albanach de Burgh from Connacht, who later called himself Mac William and declared himself independent from the English king. As a result, he became increasingly Gaelic and adopted the Irish language and clothing. With that, Ulster was again in Irish hands for over 200 years.

William's widow Matilda fled to England with her young daughter Elizabeth . Before 1343 she was second married to Sir Ralph Ufford , Justiciar of Ireland . Their daughter Elizabeth († 1363), the rightful heiress of Ulster, married Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence .

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Robert F. Foster: The Oxford history of Ireland . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-280202-X , p. 73
^ Margaret Anne Cusack: An Illustrated History of Ireland, Longmans, Green, and Company, London 1868. Retrieved April 7, 2015 .

predecessor	Office	successor
Richard de Burgh	Earl of Ulster 1326-1333	Elizabeth de Burgh
New title created	Baron Burgh 1327-1333	Elizabeth de Burgh

personal data
SURNAME	De Burgh, William, 3rd Earl of Ulster
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ulster, William Donn de Burgh 3rd Earl of; Burgh, William de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Irish nobleman and King's Deputy of Ireland
DATE OF BIRTH	September 17, 1312
DATE OF DEATH	June 6, 1333
Place of death	at Belfast

[1] Robert F. Foster: The Oxford history of Ireland . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-280202-X , p. 73

[2] Margaret Anne Cusack: An Illustrated History of Ireland, Longmans, Green, and Company, London 1868. Retrieved April 7, 2015 .