Lydon, J. F., 'Richard II’s Expeditions to Ireland', The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 93 (1963)

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Quick Summary

In 1394 Richard II led a successful military campaign against Irish rebels who threatened the existence of the English colony in Ireland

  • By the 1390s Richard II was forced to act if he wanted to retain his lordship over Ireland
  • Richard landed in Ireland at the head of the largest army ever to land there in the middle ages
  • Richard showed himself to be a good soldier and strategist
Key Conclusion

Lydon explores the success of Richard II’s military expedition to Ireland in 1394. Lydon concludes that the presence of a large English army was the only way that Richard could solve the problem of rebellion facing the English colony in Ireland. The greatest single threat facing the English colony was posed by Art MacMurrough Kavanagh, king of Leinster. Even at the beginning of the fourteenth century the Leinster Irish had been strong enough to threaten the English stronghold at Dublin but by the 1390s the situation was critical. Richard was forced to act if he wished to retain his lordship over Ireland. MacMurrough was compelled to surrender, and Richard succeeded in stabilizing his lordship.

Content Overview

Richard landed at Waterford on 2 October at the head of the largest army ever to land in Ireland during the middle ages – Lydon calculates that the army numbered more than 5,000 men. The English strategy involved establishing a ring of garrisons to pin down the Irish, an embargo on imports from the colony of Leinster, a naval blockade, and large troop deployments of light cavalry. Success in war allowed Richard to implement a programme of reform. This included a complete pardon of those Irish rebels willing to submit, the confirmation of the Gaelic leaders in the lands they had held since the conquest, and the creation of new English land in Leinster.

Further Findings

Richard showed himself a good soldier with a ‘remarkable grasp of the difficulties of fighting in Ireland’. Moreover, his success made it clear that any policy of conciliation with the Irish rebels without significant military backing was ‘more than a hundred years of date’ (p. 148). The time had passed when the Gaelic leaders could be won over by ‘persuasion’: the only options left were withdrawal or conquest. Richard demonstrated that conquest was not an impractical suggestion, but his successors preferred withdrawal and created the Pale – a fortified area around Dublin. By 1399 the situation had deteriorated and Richard led another expedition to Ireland, but this was cut short by the rebellion in England that would lead to his deposition.

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