John de Courcy, Conqueror of Ulster

• Son of WILLIAM, 6th Baron of Stoke Courcy, Royal Steward to HENRY II, who died in 1171 & his wife Avice de Copeland de Rumilly, Lady of Harewood.
• SIR JOHN DE COURCY (1150-1219), 7th Baron of Stoke Courcy, who having distinguished himself during the reign of HENRY II, in that monarch's wars in England and Gascony, was sent into Ireland, in 1177, as an assistant to William FitzAdelm in the government of that kingdom.
• John de Courci (1160–1219) was an Anglo-Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1176. From then until his expulsion in 1204, he conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the Cistercians and built strongholds at Dundrum Castle in County Down and Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim.
• John had a son, (could be illegitimate) John, the Younger DE COURCY, per Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and Volume 4, page 392, edited by George Edward Cokayne
• Both John de Courci and his wife, Affreca, were benefactors of the church and founded monasteries in Ulster. John replaced the secular canons of Down priory with Benedictine monks from St. Werburgh’s abbey, Chester.
• Sir John de Courcy, Earl of Ulster, is the most famous descendant of Robert de Courcei, the founder of the de Courcy line.
• Giraldus Cambrensis, in his history of the conquest of Ireland, and others from him, assert that the Earl died without lawful issue; but there reason to pronounce them mistaken in this point, from the foregoing record of King John, where he son seems to be mentioned the first hostage for his appearance, viz Milo, filius Johannes de Curcy, Juvenis. Miles, the son of John de Curcy, a youth; unless it be supposed that Milo was the son of his (the Earl's) natural son John de Courcy, Lord of Rathenny and Kilbarrock in the county of Dublin, whom Walter de Lacie, Lord of Meath, and Hugh de Lacie, Earl of Ulster, basely caused to be murdered in the year 1208, suspecting him to be a spy over their actions, and to have made grievous complaints of them to the King; on account whereof great confusions ensued, and obliged the King in person to come over, to restore peace, or banish the Lacies, which he did in 1211. - Had Milo been the son of John, Lord Rathenny and Kilbarrock, he must have succeeded to those honours, which he never did; but what puts it beyond doubt, that the Earl left a son, is that the privilege of being covered in the King's presence (which he demanded for himself and his issue male) is to this day enjoyed by the Lord Kingsale, as the lineal heir male of his body.

Married

• Married: Aufrica Guðrøðardóttir, daughter of Daughter of Gudrod the Black, King of Man & the North Isles and Finnguala mac Lochlainn

Children

• John (the Younger) de Courcy of Rathenny & Kilbarrock, an illegitimate son of John de Courcy, Conqueror of Ulster. Source: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and Volume 4, page 392, edited by George Edward Cokayne -

John de Courcy an Anglo-Norman Soldier who Conquered Eastern Ulster

Born around AD 1150, John de Courcy was a minor member of a Somerset family with important connections in the north of England. Described by the chronicler Gerald of Wales as ‘fair-haired and tall with bony and sinewy limbs’ and possessing ‘immense bodily strength’, de Courcy served Henry II in England and France before coming to Ireland in 1176.

De Courcy launched his attack on the kingdom of Ulidia in early 1176, marching rapidly through Meath with a force of 22 knights, 300 other Anglo-Norman troops and perhaps as many Irish fighting men. Gerald of Wales calls him impetuous, but the alliances formed for this and later campaigns show careful planning and shrewd local knowledge.

Ulidia was riven by internal warfare. Within three or four years de Courcy had consolidated his control over a substantial area, comprising eastern Antrim, the Ards, and southern and eastern Down. A strategic marriage to Affreca, daughter of the king of Man and the isles, reinforced his power, while a programme of castle building established Anglo-Norman authority in this ‘frontier’ region.

As well as building castles like those at Carrickfergus and Dundrum, de Courcy founded or refounded a number of monastic sites, such as Inch and Grey Abbey, many of which had strong Cumbrian links. He also encouraged the cult of Saint Patrick. Appointed Justiciar of Ireland in 1185, de Courcy expanded his territories as far north and west as Coleraine and raided as far as Inishowen in 1199.

A powerful individual, who developed his own coinage at Carrickfergus and Downpatrick, de Courcy posed a challenge to royal authority in Ireland and to other Anglo-Norman powers. Offered safe conduct to leave Ireland in 1202, he was finally expelled by his rivals the de Lacy family in 1203. Ironically, he returned as a member of King John’s expedition, which expelled the de Lacys in their turn.

De Courcy seems to have died, perhaps in exile, in France around 1219.

Carrickfergus Castle to be Renovated

800 years of Irish history unraveled in castle archaeological dig, by IrishCentral Staff Writer @irishcentral June 11,2014 04:00 AM

Excavation

Excavation work started at Carrickfergus Castle ahead of major renovation. Photo by: WikiCommons
Excavation work has started at Carrickfergus Castle in Co Antrim, Ireland’s best preserved Anglo Norman castle, in a bid to find out more about the 800-year-old fortification.

Archaeologists began test excavations at the site last week as part of the ongoing work by the Department of the Environment to uncover more of the landmark’s history and to help guide future development of the castle to improve visitor experience, the Irish Independent reports.

The castle boasts a long and storied history.

Constructed in the late twelfth century by John de Courcy, an Anglo Norman knight, the castle lies on the stretch of coastline where King William III landed in Ireland before the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Its history includes sieges by King John in 1210 and Edward Bruce in 1315. In 1760, it was captured by the French under Captain Francois Thurot.

The British Army used the castle until 1928. During World War II, it housed air-raid shelters.

According to UTV, the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, Queen's University Belfast, will carry out the work in Carrickfergus Castle on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency over the next three weeks.

The test excavations are to be carried out in two locations. One area of testing will focus on the remains of the Great Hall in the Inner Ward; the second area of testing will be in the outer ward to find out more about the date and survival of the archaeological layers.

Major renovation work is to be carried out on the castle and the archaeological excavation is to be completed before the new building work begins.

Environment Minister Mark H Durkan announced last year that the dungeons are to be opened up as part of the renovations. The renovation work will also see the roof of the Great Tower replaced and the opening up of the ammunitions room.

Durkan said of the excavation: "This is an exciting new phase in the life of Carrickfergus Castle.

"We do not know yet what we will find in the excavations and we want to make sure that any new discoveries become part of visitor experience at the site.

"I announced major funding for heritage-led development at sites such as Carrickfergus, Dundrum and Tullaghoge which will help strengthen Northern Ireland's unique heritage offering for all visitors to our treasured sites."

The excavations will be fenced off for safety reasons, but visitors to the castle will still be able to view the excavations as they take place.

Carrickfergus Borough's Mayor, Alderman Billy Ashe said, "This is a notable development and I look forward to witnessing the excavations at first hand.

“For visitors to the castle during the course of the next three weeks, the opportunity to view a live dig is an exciting proposition and will undoubtedly enhance the visitor experience.”

Photos: Beautiful castles of Ireland

Added by Y. DROST, 11 NOV 2014

Links

• https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2015/06/22/johns-1st-expedition-to-...
• http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2016/03/1st-baron-...
• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Y26VdZGmE
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Courcy
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch_Abbey
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnchadh,_Earl_of_Carrick
• https://www.libraryireland.com/Pedigrees2/de-courcy.php#john-de-courcy
• https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Affreca_de_Courcy
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Courcy WIKI John de Courcy
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/25508325?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior...
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-de-Courci
• https://alchetron.com/John-de-Courcy

Sources

• Anglo-Norman Ireland (1972) by M Dooley; Anglo-Norman Ulster: The History and Archaeology of an Irish Barony 1177-1400 (1980) by TE McNeill; Dictionary of Ulster Biography (1993) by Kate Newmann; ‘The First Ulster Plantation: John de Courcy and the Men of Cumbria’ by S Duffy, in Colony and Frontier in Medieval Ireland (1995) edited by T Barry, R Frame and K Simms; A New History of Ireland Vol. II: Medieval Ireland 1169-1534 (1998) edited by SJ Connolly.
• The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Fifth Series, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Sep., 1896), pp. 227-239 (13 pages), Published By: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
• Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and Volume 4, page 392, edited by George Edward Cokayne
• Courcy & Kingsale - http://www.courcy.com/sirjohndecourcy.html
• As appears from Dugdale's Mon. Angl: II 1019, 1020, 1021, 1025, 1046, etc
• The history and antiquities of the county of the town of Carrickfergus, etc, By Samuel MACSKIMIN - https://books.google.com/books?id=tORfNMab5KYC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=...
• As appears from Dugdale's Mon. Angl: II 1019, 1020, 1021, 1025, 1046, etc