Norman times and after

Letter from Goddard H. Orpen

Letter from Goddard H. Orpen (historian) to Thomas J. Lunn, Belvedere, Mullingar, 27 March 1913 in which Ballymore is described as

Letter from Goddard H. Orpen

Letter from Goddard H. Orpen

Letter from Goddard H. Orpen (historian) to Thomas J. Lunn, Belvedere, Mullingar, 27 March 1913 in which Ballymore is described as

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With the arrival of the Normans, the kingdom of Meath, including Ballymore, was granted to Hugh de Lacy. On Hugh's death in 1186, he was succeeded by his son Walter, who died in 1241, without male heirs. Ballymore Castle is said to have been built by the de Lacy family, though the date that is given for its construction - 1309 - would place it beyond their lordship.

Walter de Lacy's territory was divided between his granddaughters, Matilda and Margery. Margery was the wife of John de Verdon (or Verdun), and he assumed control of the western part of Meath including lands in the present counties of Westmeath, Offaly and Longford.

Ballymore became the seat of the family, and as such, was 'the principal seigniorial manor in Westmeath' (from a letter from Goddard H. Orpen (historian) to Thomas J. Lunn, Belvedere, Mullingar, 27 March 1913 (Small archival collections, P/O/B)).

A manor was granted to a lord or knight by royal charter and consisted of a defined area; it also enjoyed certain privileges including the right to hold courts. The 'lord of the manor' could sublet and there were about five categories of tenant, the lowest of which was the 'serf' or 'villein'. Manors were essential to the feudal system as introduced by the Normans.

We know from the calendar of justiciary rolls (transcriptions of court records, the originals of which were destroyed in 1922), that the justiciar's court sat in 'Loxyuedi' in the 1290s and early 1300s. The justiciar was the king's representative in Ireland, and would later be known as the viceroy.

When Edward Bruce arrived from Scotland in 1315 to aid the Gaelic clans against the Anglo-Normans, he occupied Ballymore Castle for Christmas, before burning the town and returning to Dublin. Theobald de Verdon died in the summer of 1316 and left four daughters, all of whom were minors. As a result, the de Verdon lands were divided between other families.

There is a tradition that a major battle was fought near Ballymore, between the Irish and the Anglo-Normans at which Theobald de Verdon was slain. Known as the 'battle of Maghera Tibbot' ('the field of Theobald'), the location is believed to be at the junction of the Athlone and Ballymahon roads. However, the date and the identity of Theobald de Verdon in question are both unknown.

The Normans also established Ballymore as an ecclesiastical centre. O'Donovan, writing in 1837, doubted the claim that a monastery had been founded there as early as 700. However, there was certainly a foundation from about 1218, established by the de Lacys in honour of the Virgin Mary. It was also referred to as the monastery of Plary and housed Gilbertine monks and Cistercian nuns in separate parts of the building. Thomas Tuite, the last prior of Ballymore, surrendered the monastery to King Henry VIII, but by then the convent had already ceased. For a brief time in Henry's reign, Ballymore was the cathedral town of the diocese of Meath.

The Dominicans were granted the right to establish a monastery at Tubber Cormac, about two miles from Ballymore, in 1488, but there is no evidence to show that it was built.

From the end of the de Verdon supremacy, the Dalton family grew in importance. Its ancestor, Walter, had been granted land at Mullenmeehan by Hugh de Lacy. By the mid-fifteenth century, the Daltons were lords of Rathconrath barony, and six main branches of the family were to emerge. They built castles in the area including at Clare Hill, Ballinacor, Empor, Mullenmeehan and Ballymore. The Daltons remained Catholic and some family members were among the 'Wild Geese' who left Ireland after the Treaty of Limerick (1691). One was Richard, who became a Count of the Holy Roman Empire. He built Mount Dalton House in 1784 and later returned to the empire to resume his service there, dying in Brussels in 1790.