Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster

Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd earl of Ulster, the Red Earl. (1259 – July 29, 1326) was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a son of Walter de Burgh, the 1st Earl of Ulster (of the second creation) and Lord of Connacht.^[1] His name, "Richard Og", meant Richard the Young, probably a reference to his youth when he became earl in 1271, or to differentiate him from his grandfather, Richard Mor. He was also known as the Red Earl.

Richard Og was the most powerful of the de Burgh Earls of Ulster, succeeding his father in Ulster and Connacht upon reaching his majority in 1280.^[1] He was a friend of King Edward I of England, and ranked first among the Earls of Ireland. Richard's wife Marguerite de Guines was the cousin of King Edward's queen. He pursued expansionist policies that often left him at odds with fellow Anglo-Irish lords.

His daughter Elizabeth was to become the second wife of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. However, this did not stop him leading his forces from Ireland to support England's King Edward I in his Scottish campaigns and when the forces of Edward Bruce invaded Ulster in 1315, the Earl led a force against him, but was beaten at Connor in Antrim. The invasion of Bruce and the uprising of Felim O'Connor in Connacht left him virtually without authority in his lands, but O'Connor was killed in 1316 at the Second Battle of Athenry, and he was able to recover Ulster after the defeat of Bruce at Faughart.^[1]

He died July 29, 1326 at Athassel Priory, near Cashel, County Tipperary.

Children and family

Aveline de Burgh (b. c. 1280), married John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth
Eleanor de Burgh (1282 – aft. August 1324)
Elizabeth de Burgh (c. 1284 – 26 October 1327), married Robert I of Scotland
Walter de Burgh (c. 1285–1304)
John de Burgh (c. 1286 – 18 January 1313)
Matilda de Burgh (c. 1288–1320), married Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Hertford
Thomas de Burgh (c. 1288–1316)
Catherine de Burgh (c. 1296 – 1 November 1331), married Maurice Fitzgerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
Edmond de Burgh (b. c. 1298)
Joan de Burgh (c. 1300 – 23 April 1359), married Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Curtis, Edmund (2004) [1950]. A History of Ireland (6th ed. ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 78, 83–86. ISBN 0-415-27949-6. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster de Burgh Dynasty Born: 1259 Died: 1326
Preceded by Walter	Lord of Connaught 1271-1326	Succeeded by Edmond¹
	Earl of Ulster 1271-1326	Succeeded by William

[curtis-1] Curtis, Edmund (2004) [1950]. A History of Ireland (6th ed. ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 78, 83–86. ISBN 0-415-27949-6. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

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