KING JOHN IN IRELAND

His first taste of power did not bode well

As the youngest legitimate son of Henry II, John was unlikely to inherit much from his father, but it seems that Ireland may have been earmarked for him and could have been a path to leadership if he hadn’t messed it up so thoroughly. King Henry named his son viceroy of the isle in 1177, perhaps with an eye to greater things in the future.

John arrived in Ireland in 1185 with 300 knights, cavalry, archers and around 60 ships, clearly set up to impose control. However, he quickly alienated the local lords by handing out land to his friends and generally fostering a belligerent atmosphere. He then wasted the money that was collected from the people. Eventually the other lords rose up against him and John was handed a humiliating defeat after only eight months in Ireland.

He returned to Ireland in 1210, now king of England, this time to bring to heel rebellious lords, which he achieved with relative ease considering his disastrous first stay in the country. With a choice between making his own son king of Ireland or bringing it more fully under English control, John chose to impose English laws, centralising control in a similar situation to the one that would upset the English barons in the years to come.