The unfortunate Irish prince little suspected all the false oaths his friend had taken, or all the villany he premeditated.  There was another claimant for the crown as usual, Turlough O’Brien.  He was defeated, but nevertheless the Earl turned to his side, got Brian Roe into his hands, and had him dragged to death between horses.  The wretched perpetrator of this diabolical deed gained little by his crime,[337] for O’Brien’s sons obtained a victory over him the following year.  At one time he was so hard pressed as to be obliged to surrender at discretion, after living on horse-flesh for several days.  In 1281 the unprincipled Earl tried the game of dissension, and set up Donough, the son of the man he had murdered, against Turlough, whom he had supported just before.  But Donough was slain two years after, and Turlough continued master of Thomond until his death, in 1306.  De Clare was slain by the O’Briens, in 1286.

In 1280 the Irish who lived near the Anglo-Norman settlers presented a petition to the English King, praying that they might be admitted to the privileges of the English law.  Edward issued a writ to the then Lord Justice, D’Ufford, desiring him to assemble the lords spiritual and temporal of the “land of Ireland,” to deliberate on the subject.  But the writ was not attended to; and even if it had been, the lords “spiritual and temporal” appear to have decided long before that the Irish should not participate in the benefit of English laws, however much they might suffer from English oppression.  A pagan nation pursued a more liberal policy, and found it eminently successful.  The Roman Empire was held together for many centuries, quite as much by the fact of her having made all her dependencies to share in the benefits of her laws, as by the strong hand of her cohorts.  She used her arms to conquer, and her laws to retain her conquests.

In 1281 a sanguinary engagement took place at Moyne, in the county Mayo, between the Cusacks and the Barretts.  The latter were driven off the field.  The Annals say:  “There were assisting the Cusacks in this battle two of the Irish, namely, Taichleach O’Boyle and Taichleach O’Dowda, who surpassed all that were there in bravery and valour, and in agility and dexterity in shooting."[338] There was a battle this year also between the Cinel-Connaill and the Cinel-Owen, in which the former were defeated, and their chieftain, Oge O’Donnell, was slain.  This encounter took place at Desertcreaght, in Tyrone.

Hugh Boy O’Neill was slain in 1283.  He is styled “the head of the liberality and valour of the Irish; the most distinguished in the north for bestowing jewels and riches; the most formidable and victorious of his tribe; and the worthy heir to the throne of Ireland.”  The last sentence is observable, as it shows that the English monarch was not then considered King of Ireland.  In 1285 Theobald Butler died at Berehaven.  After his death a large army was collected by Lord Geoffrey