Here we may see the lovely Northburgh Castle, in Greencastle, where William de Burgh starved his cousin Walter to death on account of Walter was opposing him in some plan he had concerning Ulster. Northburgh would have looked much better in 1332, as, obviously, it would be very easy to escape from, in its current condition. (Photo by Von Radosław Botev – Eigenes Werk, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3934661)
William Donn de Burgh, the 3rd Earl of Ulster, was, alas, not so great at being the Earl of Ulster. Starving his cousin Walter Liath de Burgh to death led to Walter’s sister Gylle (also of course a cousin of William’s) getting her husband to have him murdered. And then, the whole succession problem — there were several cousins wandering around, and William’s heir was a girl, and that was right out — led to the Burke Civil War. What with one thing and another, though the de Burghs married into the Plantagenets and so became ancestors of the English royal family, they were also instrumental in causing Lots of Problems for England, in their attempt to keep Ireland under control, so their contribution to history is sorta vexed. Michelle is somewhat distressed by the lack of historical fiction about these people, but greatly mollified by the idea of touring Carrickfergus.
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