ABSTRACT
The first member of the de Lacy family to arrive in Ireland was Hugh de Lacy, of the Hereford branch of the family, who accompanied Henry II on his expedition of 1171–1172 and received a grant of the entire kingdom of Mide (Meath), possibly as a check on the territorial ambitions of Strongbow and probably also to provide a buffer between the land of the unsubmissive high king, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, and the capital of the new colony at Dublin, custody of which was entrusted to Hugh. Assassinated in 1186, Hugh left two sons by his first marriage: Walter (d. 1241) and Hugh II de Lacy (d. 1242). William Gorm de Lacy, son of Hugh I’s second marriage to “Rose” Ua Conchobair, was a close associate of his half brothers. As lord of Meath and earl of Ulster, respectively, Walter and Hugh were among the most powerful men in Ireland, but their relationship with King John was not an easy one, and they suffered forfeiture of their lands more than once.
