So here's how i feel about RIchard II in Ireland:
In the late fourteenth century with the Gaelic resurgence well underway, an attempt to regain lost lands and conquer new was made by king Richard II of England. Just back from France, Richard, clearly very interested in the Irish problem, assembled a huge army in england and sailed it to Leinster and the front door of Art Mac Murchada on what is believed to be around five hundred ships. This was the largest army to ever set foot on irish soil and due the the failed policies of wooing or bribing Irish kings and trying to deal with them with small armed forces, Richard understood the importance of a huge military approach. This was the first time the idea of such a large scale attack on Ireland had been entertained by an English king.
There are a few reasons argued for this attack such as distraction from the grievance of Richard's lost wife, an expression of just how powerful the English were or perhaps religious motivations to send a positive signal to Rome but it seems most likely that in order to keep hold of what he had in Ireland, Richard was left with no other choice. It was either this or forget about Ireland all together and let it slip back into the hands of the natives.
The massive landing of the English army was followed by swift submission to the king by many Irish kings. When they saw each other doing this most followed suit, probably realising the strength of Richards army. Rather than look to the trend of the Irish kings however, Niall g ONill confided in the advise of the archbishop of Armagh, perhaps because of the status still held by Armagh or his trust of a learned in all matters legal. Either way, he followed the submissions, be they sincere or otherwise, of the other irish kings to Richard.
The sincerity of these submissions is somewhat questionable, even with Niall g alluding to keeping the peace so long as it is kept against him. Making and breaking pacts often happened before however and it is probably foolish to assume there was any real allegiance been given to the king and it was merely their own best interests they were taking into account. We see from the breaking of promises by Richard that the Irish were right to be sceptical and that there is evidence to the suggest that these allegiances were not necessarily being taken seriously on either side.
The ultimate failure of this foray into Ireland overshadows the initial success. The legacy it leaves behind is that of Richard's military prowess. It is safe to say that given more time and money he may have achieved what he wanted at this first attempt. He is however also overshadowed by his second ill-advised campaign and the campaigns failure combined with the rumours of his mental illness.
In the late fourteenth century with the Gaelic resurgence well underway, an attempt to regain lost lands and conquer new was made by king Richard II of England. Just back from France, Richard, clearly very interested in the Irish problem, assembled a huge army in england and sailed it to Leinster and the front door of Art Mac Murchada on what is believed to be around five hundred ships. This was the largest army to ever set foot on irish soil and due the the failed policies of wooing or bribing Irish kings and trying to deal with them with small armed forces, Richard understood the importance of a huge military approach. This was the first time the idea of such a large scale attack on Ireland had been entertained by an English king.
There are a few reasons argued for this attack such as distraction from the grievance of Richard's lost wife, an expression of just how powerful the English were or perhaps religious motivations to send a positive signal to Rome but it seems most likely that in order to keep hold of what he had in Ireland, Richard was left with no other choice. It was either this or forget about Ireland all together and let it slip back into the hands of the natives.
The massive landing of the English army was followed by swift submission to the king by many Irish kings. When they saw each other doing this most followed suit, probably realising the strength of Richards army. Rather than look to the trend of the Irish kings however, Niall g ONill confided in the advise of the archbishop of Armagh, perhaps because of the status still held by Armagh or his trust of a learned in all matters legal. Either way, he followed the submissions, be they sincere or otherwise, of the other irish kings to Richard.
The sincerity of these submissions is somewhat questionable, even with Niall g alluding to keeping the peace so long as it is kept against him. Making and breaking pacts often happened before however and it is probably foolish to assume there was any real allegiance been given to the king and it was merely their own best interests they were taking into account. We see from the breaking of promises by Richard that the Irish were right to be sceptical and that there is evidence to the suggest that these allegiances were not necessarily being taken seriously on either side.
The ultimate failure of this foray into Ireland overshadows the initial success. The legacy it leaves behind is that of Richard's military prowess. It is safe to say that given more time and money he may have achieved what he wanted at this first attempt. He is however also overshadowed by his second ill-advised campaign and the campaigns failure combined with the rumours of his mental illness.