Ulick Fionn Burke, 6th

Clanricarde Clanricarde ( ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Terr ...

Mac William Uachtar Clanricarde ( ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Terr ...

( ; died 1509) was an Irish

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Family background

Ulick succeeded his father,

Ulick Ruadh Burke Ulick Ruadh Burke, 5th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1485) was an Irish chieftain and noble who was the son of Ulick an Fhiona Burke, 3rd Clanricarde (d.1424). Biography Ulick succeeded his uncle, William mac Ulick Burke, 4t ...

, 5th Clanricarde (d.1485), as chieftain. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

record Ulick's accession in 1485:

''Ulick Burke, Lord of Clanrickard, heir of the Earl of Ulster, a general patron of the learned of Ireland, died; and his son, another Ulick, took his place. An army was led by this son into Machaire-Chonnacht, and into Hy-Many, and burned and destroyed corn and towns; and, among other things, he burned and demolished the castle of Tulsk, and the prison.''

Burke was an especially aggressive warlord, and sought to impose his authority over not only his fellow Bourkes in north Connacht, but over the Ui Maine, the

Síol Muireadaigh The Síol Muireadaigh or Síol Muireadhaigh (; Anglicized ''Sil Murray'' or ''Silmurray''), was a leading sept of the Connachta group of Gaelic dynasties in medieval Ireland. The name Síol Muireadaigh was also used to refer to the territory occu ...

and the independent towns of

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. In 1486,

''A numerous army was led by O'Donnell into Connaught, and another by Mac William of Clanrickard, to oppose him. On coming together, however, they agreed to conditions of peace and amity. Felim Finn O'Conor repaired to these armies, and gave himself up into the hands of O'Donnell, in behalf of his territories and chieftains. The peace of Sil-Murray was concluded on this occasion; and the son of Felim Finn was taken as a hostage, instead of Felim Finn himself, by O'Donnell, who took him with him into Tirconnell, by the advice of Mac William of Clanrickard.''

The following year,

''An army was led by Mac William of Clanrickard (Ulick, the son of Ulick of the Wine) into Hy-Many, by which he destroyed the bawn of Athliag Maenagan, and destroyed much corn and many towns throughout Hy-Many and Machaire-Chonnacht. Rossa, the son of Felim Finn, was slain by one shot of a dart by a man of this army. The sons of Felim Finn O'Conor (i.e. Hugh, Turlough, and Conor) passed by them to Baile-tobair-Bhrighde, which they burned and plundered. Dermot, the son of Donnell, son of Turlough Dall O'Conor, while pursuing them, was slain at Roscommon; but his people followed them into Clann-Conway, and took some horses from them. It was at the instance, of O'Conor Don (i.e. Hugh, the son of Hugh, son of Turlough Don) that this incursion was made. The Sil-Murray concluded a peace among themselves, after having refused to do so, by the advice of their friends.''

Marriage to Lady FitzGerald

Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, in an attempt to restrain Burke's power, married him off to his daughter, Lady Estacia FitzGerald. However, there was only so much he could do against Burke on a local level. Neither could he prevent Burke from taking additional wives, including Slaine Ni Con Mara.

Activities

From the

* 1495 – ''Mac William of Clanrickard, i.e. Rickard Oge, came to Lower Connaught, and whatever O'Donnell had not destroyed was destroyed by him.'' * 1498 – ''Slaine, the daughter of Mac Namara (Sida Cam), and wife of Mac William of Clanrickard (Ulick, the son of Ulick), died.'' * 1500 – ''Mac William Burke was drawn to their assistance by O'Conor and the sons of William O'Kelly. The castle of Athleague was taken by him, and given up to the sons of William O'Kelly; and Conor O'Kelly, the second lord that was over Hy-Many, was taken prisoner in it, and delivered, together with the hostages of the subchiefs of Hy-Many, up to Melaghlin, the son of Teige, son of Donough, who assumed the full lordship of Hy-Many on that occasion. The castle of Tulsk was taken by Mac William and O'Conor; and the son of Carbry, son of Brian, was killed in it by a bullet-shot; and the hostages of the descendants of Felim, and their castles, were given to O'Conor. Mac William made peace between O'Conor and Mac Dermot; and each gave up hostages into the keeping of the other, namely, Owen, son of O'Conor, and Carbry, son of O'Conor.'' * 1501 – ''Edmond, the son of Rickard Burke, was taken by Mac William of Clanrickard, on his return from the pilgrimage of St. James in Spain. A great ransom was exacted for him, and good hostages of his people, besides his son''.

Knockdoe

By the early 1500s, Burke's power had grown to the point where he was the pre-eminent lord in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

, viewed as a threat both by FitzGerald and Hugh Dubh O'Donnell, King of

Tír Chonaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named ''County Tirconaill'' between 1922 and 1927. At times it also i ...

, who viewed north Connacht as one of his domains. To make matters worse, Burke entered into a successful alliance with Toirdhealbhach Donn Ó Brien,

King of Thomond The kings of Thomond () ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could not hold onto all of ...

. Early in 1503,

''Mac William of Clanrickard gave a very great overthrow to O'Kelly and a party of the people of Conmaicne-Cuile, where the greater part of the gallowglasses of both the Clann-Donnell and Clann-Sweeny were slain around their constables, and where Walter, the son of John Burke, a distinguished captain, was also slain.''

This was followed up with a successful encounter against the king of Ui Maine, at Bel Atha na nGarbhan:

''The defeat of Bel-atha-na-ngarbhan was given by John Burke, the son of Ulick, son of Ulick, grandson of Rickard, Tanist of Clanrickard, to O'Kelly, in which fell Walter, the son of John, son of Thomas Burke, heir to the lordship of Conmaicne, and many others of the Clann-Donnell and Clann-Dowell, were slain.''

Burke followed this by attacking, seizing and demolishing three of O Cellaigh's castles:

''Three castles belonging to O'Kelly, viz. Garbh-dhoire, Muine-an-mheadha, and Gallach, were demolished by Mac William Burke (i.e. Ulick the Third). O'Kelly, i.e. Melaghlin, went to the Lord Justice to complain of the injury done him, the result of which was, defeat of Cnoc-Tuagh.''

O Ceallaigh had a personal motive, in that his wife was in open

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

with Burke. FitzGerald had a similar motive, in that his daughter was being slighted by the affair, but, with Burke's capture of the independent towns of

and

, the matter had become national and could no longer be ignored. FitzGerald assembled an alliance of Gaelic-Irish and Anglo-Irish lords, led by himself, to confront Burke. They included Ó Donnell of Tír Conaill, Ó Neill of Tír Eoghain, Ó Connor Roe, MacDermot of

Moylurg {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda, anglicised as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of Connach ...

, Bourke of north Connacht and many lords of

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. Supporting Burke were Ó Brian and MacNamara of

Thomond Thomond ( Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the Kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nena ...

, Ó Carroll of Ely, Ó Kennedy of Ormond, Mac I Briens of Aran, plus several Gallowglass units. At the

Battle of Knockdoe A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

in August 1504, Burke was defeated.

Later life

The Annals of the Four Masters record little of Burke's activities till recording his death in 1509. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Richard Óge Burke, 7th Clanricarde (d.1519). All but three of the subsequent Clanricardes and

Earls of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde ( ; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 1 ...

would be his descendants.

Genealogy

Ulick Ruadh Burke, d. 1485 , , ____________________________________________________________________________________________ , , , , , , , , , , Edmund, d. 1486. Ulick Fionn Meiler, Abbot of Tuam John, d. 1508. Richard Óge, d. 1519. , , , , , _______________________________________________________ , _________________ Ricard, d. c. 1517. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Ulick Óge, d. 1519. Richard Mór Redmond Richard Bacach Ulick, d. 1551. Thomas John, fl. 1536. , , , , , , , , Ulick na gCeann Roland, Bp. Clonfert. Thomas Balbh John of Derrymaclaghtna , died 1580 , ___________________________, _____________________________ , , , , , , Ricard, d. 1593. , , , , , , Richard Sassanach John Thomas Feranta Edmond Redmond na Scuab (Burke of Derrymaclaghtna) , d. 1582. d. 1546. d. 1596. ,

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde ( ; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 19 ...

* Richard an Fhorbhair de Burgh (d.1343) ** Sir William (Ulick) de Burgh (d. 1343/53), 1st Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or Clanricarde (Galway) ***

Richard Óg Burke Richard Óg Burke, 2nd Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1387) was an Irish chieftain and nobleman who was the son of Sir Ulick Burke or Uilleag de Burgh, 1st Clanricarde (d.1343/1353). Biography Richard died in 1387, and was succ ...

(d. 1387), 2nd Clanricarde **** Ulick an Fhiona Burke (d. 1424), 3rd Clanricarde *****

(d. 1485), 5th Clanricarde ****** Edmund Burke (d. 1466) ******* Ricard of Roscam (d. 1517) ********

John mac Richard Mór Burke John mac Richard Mór Burke, 10th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1536), was an Irish people, Irish Chief of the Name, chieftain and nobility, noble. Background Burke was a son of Ricard mac Edmund Burke of Roscam, County Galway ( ...

(d. 1536), 10th Clanricarde ****** Ulick Fionn Burke (d.1509), 6th Clanricarde *******

Ulick Óge Burke Ulick Óge Burke, 8th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1520) was an Irish chieftain and noble who was Clanricarde for barely a year. Biography He was a son of Ulick Fionn Burke, 6th Clanricarde (d.1509) who had been defeated at t ...

(d. 1520), 8th Clanricarde *******

Richard Mór Burke Ricarde Mór Burke, 9th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1530) was an Irish chieftain and noble. Background Burke was the second son of Ulick Fionn Burke, 6th Clanricarde (d.1509) and Slaine Ni Con Mara (Slany MacNamara), succeed ...

(d. 1530), 9th Clanricarde ******** Ulick na gCeann Burke (d. 1544), 12th Clanricarde, 1st

(1543) *******

Richard Bacach Burke Richard Bacach Burke, 11th Clanricarde or Mac William Uachtar ( ; died 1538) was an Irish people, Irish Chief of the Name, chieftain and nobility, noble who was the ancestor of the Burkes of County Galway. Background Burke was a son of Ulick ...

(d. 1538), 11th Clanricarde ****** Richard Óge Burke (d. 1519), 7th Clanricarde ******* Sir Uilleag Burke (d. 1551), 13th Clanricarde **** William mac Ulick Burke (d. 1430), 4th Clanricarde *** Edmund de Burgh (d. 1410)

Family

Ulick had several children: *

, 8th Clanricarde (d.1520) *

, (d. 1530), 9th Clanricarde *

, 11th Clanricarde (d.1538) * Thomas Bourke (d.1517) * Catherine Bourke who married Daniel O'Ceallagh

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * ** ''Burke of Clanricard: Mac William Uachtar (de Burgh), Lords of Upper Connacht and Earls of Clanricard, 1332–1722'', p. 172. *

External links

Annals of the Four Masters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Ulick Fionn Nobility from County Galway 15th-century Irish people 16th-century Irish people Ulick Fionn 1509 deaths