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DE LACY Hugh
Birth: BEF 1135 Durrow, Leinster, Ireland
Death: 25 Jul 1186 Durrow, Ireland
Cause of Death: murdered
Burial: St. Thomas Church, Dublin, Ireland
Notes
http://www.worldramp.net/~wyatt/html/dat24.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_de_Lacy,_Lord_of_Meath
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (born before 1135, died 25 July 1186)
was an Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land
holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire, in England. Following his participation in the
Norman Invasion of Ireland, in 1172 he was granted the lands of the Kingdom of
Meath by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II, but had to gain control of them. The
Lordship of Meath was then the most extensive liberty in Ireland.
Early life[edit]
Born at Durrow, Leinster, Hugh de Lacy was the son of Gilbert de Lacy (died after
1163) of Ewyas Lacy, Weobley, and Ludlow. He is said to have had a dispute with
Joscelin de Dinan as to certain lands in Herefordshire in 1154. He was in possession
of his father's lands before 1163, and in 1165–66 held fifty-eight and three-quarters
knights' fees, and had nine tenants without knight service.[1]
Career in Ireland[edit]
In October 1171 Lacy went over with Henry II as part of an Anglo-Norman force to
invade Ireland, and early in 1172 he was sent to receive the submission of Rory, High
King of Ireland. Before Henry's return to England about the end of March 1172, Lacy
was granted Meath by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority; he
was also put in charge of Dublin Castle.[1] As such, it is generally accepted that Lacy
was de facto the first Viceroy of Ireland, a position he was to hold three times (in
1172, 1179, and c.?1180), the third time jointly with the Bishop of Salisbury.[2]
King Henry's ostensible grant of Meath to Lacy was not accepted by Tighearnán Ó
Ruairc, King of Bréifne, who ruled it at that time. Ó Ruairc refused to concede, but
parleyed with Lacy on the Hill of Ward, in Meath. After negotiations stalled, a dispute
ensued in which an interpreter was killed by a blow aimed at Lacy, who fled; Ó Ruairc
was killed by a spear-thrust as he mounted his horse, and he was decapitated. His
head was impaled over the gate of Dublin Castle and was later sent to Henry II. The
Annals of the Four Masters say that Ó Ruairc was treacherously slain. From the
account given by Giraldus Cambrensis, it would appear that there was a plot to
destroy Ó Ruairc.[3]
Lordship of Meath[edit]
Main article: Lordship of Meath
Lacy only escaped from Dublin with difficulty; he seems to have left the city in the
charge of Richard de Clare by the king's orders, and to have commenced securing
Meath by the erection of castles. Among these was Trim Castle, which was put in
charge of Hugh Tyrrel.[1] The Song of Dermot and the Earl states, "And Skryne he
then gave by charter to Adam de Feypo he gave it", and he built his castle there.
After this Lacy went back to England. On 29 December 1172 he was at Canterbury,
where, according to a story preserved by Giraldus, he reproved Archbishop Richard of
Dover for his boastful language. Next year he was fighting for King Henry in France
and held Verneuil against Louis VII for a month; but at the end of that time the town
was forced to capitulate.[1]
Lacy was sent back to Ireland as procurator-general in 1177, soon after the death of
Richard de Clare. The grant of Meath to Lacy was now confirmed, with the addition of
Offelana, Offaly, Kildare, and Wicklow. As governor of Ireland Lacy secured Leinster
and Meath, building numerous castles, while leaving the Irish in possession of their
lands. There were accusations that he intended to seize the sovereignty of the island
for himself. The author of the Gesta Henrici, however, says that Lacy lost his favour
with Henry in consequence of complaints of his injustice by the Irish.[1]
In 1181, Lacy was recalled from his royal post for having married the daughter of
Ruadri O Conchobair, King of Connaught and deposed High King of Ireland, without
the permission of Henry. He was sent back the following winter, although with a co-
adjutor, Robert of Shrewsbury, one of the royal clerks. Early in 1185 Henry sent his
son John over to Ireland, and the young prince complained to his father that Lacy
would not permit the Irish to pay tribute. This led to fresh disgrace, but Lacy remained
in Ireland and occupied himself as before with castle-building.[1]
Death, aftermath and legacy[edit]
In 1186 Hugh de Lacy was killed by Gilla-Gan-Mathiar O'Maidhaigh, while he was
supervising the construction of a Motte castle at Durrow at the instigation of An
tSionnach and O'Breen.[4] Prince John was promptly sent over to Ireland to take
possession of his lands.
Lacy's body was initially buried at Durrow Abbey. In 1195, the Archbishops of Cashel
and Dublin disinterred his body and reinterred his remains at Bective Abbey in Meath
and his head in St Thomas's Abbey, Dublin. A long controversy was then carried on
between the two abbeys for his body, settled only in 1205 when it was disinterred
again and reburied in St Thomas's Abbey, in the tomb of Lacy's first wife.[1]
Lacy was a benefactor of Llanthony Priory and also of many churches in Ireland,
including the abbey of Trim.[1]
Marriage and Issue[edit]
Hugh de Lacy was married twice.
Before 1155 Hugh married Rohese of Monmouth (also known as Rose of Monmouth or
Roysya de Monemue). She was the granddaughter of Gilbert Fitz Richard. Strongbow
was the grandson of Fitz Richard. Hugh and Rohese had 9 children, 4 sons and 5
daughters:
Walter de Lacy (1166–1241)
Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster (bef.1179–1242)
Gilbert de Lacy
Robert de Lacy (died young)[6]
Aegida de Lacy, who married Richard de Burgh
Elayne (Elena) de Lacy, who married Richard de Beaufo (Belfou)
Alice de Lacy, who married Roger Pipard, then married Geoffrey de Marisco, Justiciar
of Ireland, son of Jordan de Marisco, Justiciar of Ireland.
Daughter de Lacy, who married Sir William FitzAlan, son of Sir William FitzAlan, Lord
of Oswestry, and Isabel de Say.
Rohese died before 1180.
Hugh married 2nd Princess Rose Ní Conchobair, daughter of King of Ireland, Ruaidrí
Ua Conchobair.
They had 2 children, a son and a daughter:
William Gorm de Lacy (declared illegitimate by Henry II of England)
Ysota de Lacy
Parents
DE LACY Gilbert (ABT 1100 - AFT 1163)
----- ----- ()
Siblings
DE LACY Hugh (BEF 1135 - 25 Jul 1186)
Marriage To DE MONMOUTH Rohese (ABT 1136 - )
m. BEF 1155
Notes
Parents
DE MONMOUTH Baderon (ABT 1100 - 1176)
DE CLARE Rohese (ABT 1095 - BEF 1166)
Children by DE MONMOUTH Rohese ABT 1136 -
DE LACY Walter (ABT 1172 - 24 Nov 1241)
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