Page 73
CHAP. II.
Of the chief Persons in the Conquest of Ireland.
I. RIchard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, a Man much in Debt, had large Possessions, but had much lesned his Estate by his profuseness, and therefore more easily drawn in to the getting of new Territories. Chron. Joh. Brompton, pag. 1069. Vir plus nominis hactenùs habens, quam hominis: plus senii, quàm ingenii. Giraldus Hib. Expug. li. 1. cap. 12. Of a ruddy Complexion, Freckled, great Eyes, a womanly Face, a small Voice, a short Neck, Bountiful, and of a mild Nature; being fixed in Battel, was a Standard for his Forces to resort unto; not puffed up with a Victory, nor dejected with a Defeat. Giraldus Hib. Expug. lib. 1. cap. 27. He was sirnamed Strongbow from the strong Bowe which he used to draw, having Arms of an extraordinary length; of whom it is reported, that standing upright, he could touch his own Knees with the Palms of his Hands. Brooke in his Catalogue of Nobility, Title Pembroke. The King of England, Hen. II. gave him what accrued unto him in Right of Eva his Wife, and what he had got in War, and gave him the Counties of Weshford, Ossery, Caterlogh, and Kildare, to hold of the Kings of England. Cambd. Britan. pag. 731. Ireland. He died An. Chr. 1176. and Dermot King of Leinster, his Father-in-law, died at Fernys, about the Calends of May, Anno 1171. full of Days. Annales Hiberniae, at the end of Camb. Britan.
II. Hugh Lacy was also very instrumental in the Conquest of Ireland; [ 1172] to whom Hen. II. gave all the Land of Meath in Ireland, with the Apurtenances, by Charter, to hold of him and his Son John, for the Service of 100 Knights Fees: He gave him also in custody, the City of Dublin, with its Apurtenances, and appointed these following to belong to the Service of Dublin, —all the Land of Offlan, with its Apurtenances, and Wilkechelon with its Apurtenances, and the Service of Meath, and the Service of four Knights Fees, which Robert Poer ought to do for the Castle of Dunavet. Hoveden, pag. 528. & 566. He was Descended of Walter Lacy, a great Baron, who Founded Lanthony-Abby in the Valley of Ewyas, in the Borders of Monmouthshire; to which Wal∣ter, William Earl of Hereford gave great Possessions in those Parts. Cambden in Mon∣mouthshire. This Hugh was of a black Complexion, hollow Eyes; the right side of his Face even to his Chin, was disfigured by Burning, which hapned in his Youth; a short Neck, a hairy Body, strong Sinews, of a little Stature, and a deformed Shape; firm to his Trust, intent on his own Business, and very vigilant in the Affairs of Government, a good Soldier, much trusted by his Prince, who made him Lord Justice of Ireland, 1172. Hoveden, pag. 528. He Fortified Leinster and Meath, with many Castles; and had his Head chopt off with a Hatchet by an Irishman treacherously, as he stooped down, Anno 1186. at Dernath, where he intended to have built a Castle. Hoveden, pag. 631. also Annales Hiberniae. He left two Sons of great eminency in Ireland, Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, and Hugh Lacy, Earl of Ulster afterwards.
III. Robert Fitz-Stephen was the first of Strong-bow's Forces, who entred Ireland with three Ships, containing about 130 Soldiers of his Friends and Allies, Landing at Ban∣van about May, Anno 1167. besides 60 other Horse, and 300 Foot Archers, among whom Hervey de Mont-Morice: The Day after, Maurice de Prendergest followed with two Ships of Soldiers more, raised out of Cardiganshire, or thereabouts [De Rosensi Walliae Demetiae Provinciâ.] These with 500 Soldiers more, sent by Dermot out of his own Countrey, under the Command of his Bastard Son Donwald, Assaulted Weshford, but were beaten back, and the next Day it was surrendred to Dermot, who gave Weshford with its Apurtenances, to Robert Fitz-Stephen, and to Maurice, and to their Heirs, ac∣cording to his former Agreement; and to Hervey de Mont-Morice, he gave two Cantreds of Land, lying after the Sea between Weshford and Waterford. Girald. Hib. Exp. l. 1. c. 3.