2.2: The Battle of Slane 1176 - The Fall of Raymond Le Gros & Rise of John de Courcy

Strongbow is dead, and the Norman colony in Ireland enters a new and uncertain phase. In 1176, Henry II sends William FitzAldhelm to Ireland to take control of the king’s growing lordship. His arrival brings the remarkable career of Raymond le Gros to an end, while other veterans of the conquest find themselves pushed aside by a new royal administration. But beyond the Norman settlements, the Gaelic kingdoms are watching and fighting back. When the Normans of Slane launch raids into the surrounding countryside, Máel Sechlainn Mac Lochlainn strikes into Meath. The resulting attack on Slane exposes just how fragile Norman power still is beyond its principal strongholds. As settlements are attacked and abandoned, another Norman adventurer arrives in Ireland: John de Courcy. Restless, ambitious and soon to become one of the most extraordinary figures of the conquest, de Courcy is about to turn his attention north. The struggle for Ireland is entering a new phase.