bloodycrackdown6

NORTHERN IRELAND TIMELINE- Beyond The Pale!

The siege of Carrickfergus 1315 - 1316

After the Battle of Connor all of Ulster was in the hands of Edward Bruce and his Irish allies, with the sole exception of Carrickfergus. In October 1315 Edward II's victuallers were ordered to supply 30 crannocks of wheat to the defenders of the castle, but ships carrying the grain were scattered by a storm and the supplies were diverted to Whitehaven and Skinburness. Those within Carrickfergus would have to survive on what lay within the storehouses.


Carrickfergus Castle Lacking heavy siege engines, the Scots settled down to starve the garrison into submission, while the main body of their army prepared to conquer the rest of Ireland. At first Edward Bruce swept all before him, defeating the de Laceys and Roger de Mortimer at Kells and winning other battles over the winter further south. A terrible famine was sweeping Europe, however, and unable to live off the country despite their success, the Scots were forced by hunger back into Ulster.

For Henry of Thrapston, keeper of Carrickfergus castle, the position was becoming desperate and the garrison was reduced to chewing hides. During Easter 1316 Sir Thomas de Mandeville attempted to relieve the castle by an approach by sea, but was defeated and killed. During a parley on 24 June 1316, the garrison seized 30 Scots and held them in the dungeons; according to the Laud Annals, eight of these men were later killed and eaten by the defenders. Finally, after a year's siege, in September 1316 Carrickfergus surrendered.