Marriage and Alliance
Sometime in the 1190s, William allied with the King of Thomond, either Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond (died 1194) or his son Murtogh, and married one of his daughters. This alliance probably took place during the reign of Murtough, as up to the time of his death Donal had been at war with the Normans. At any rate no more wars are recorded between the two sides for the rest of the decade. According to the Annals of Inisfallen, in 1201 William and the sons of Domnall Mór led a major joint military expedition into Desmond, slaying Amlaíb Ua Donnabáin among others.
From 1199 to 1202 de Burgh led military campaigns in Desmond with the aid of the Ó Briain. Success in the west and south allowed de Burgh to conquer the Kingdom of Connacht, which although he had been granted probably before 1195, he had never occupied. Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, fought a successful counter-attack against the Anglo-Norman castles in Munster, including de Burgh's castle of Castleconnell. Further fighting led to loss of three castles and property, all of which was eventually retrieved with the exception of much of Connacht.
Read more about this topic: William De Burgh
Famous quotes containing the words marriage and/or alliance:
“In marriage there are no manners to keep up, and beneath the wildest accusations no real criticism. Each is familiar with that ancient child in the other who may erupt again.... We are not ridiculous to ourselves. We are ageless. That is the luxury of the wedding ring.”
—Enid Bagnold (1889–1981)
“But wise men pierce this rotten diction and fasten words again to visible things; so that picturesque language is at once a commanding certificate that he who employs it, is a man in alliance with truth and God.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)