Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster
Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster, 2nd Lord of Connaught also spelt Burke or Bourke, was an Irish peer from the House of Burgh.
Biography
De Burgh was the second son of Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught and Egidia de Lacy.In 1243, he succeeded his father as Lord of Connacht. In a royal order from Westminster in September 1247, Sir John Fitzgeoffrey was charged by the king with seizing the lands of Walter de Burgh's older brother Richard, who had died. The de Burgh lands in Connaught were being held by John de Livet, likely the son of Gilbert de Lyvet, one of the earliest Lord [Mayor of Dublin|Lord Mayors of Dublin] and Marmaduke de Eschales.
The traditional account that Walter de Burgh became earl of Ulster through marriage to a cousin is no longer generally accepted. Upon the death of Hugh de Lacy, the 1st Earl of Ulster, in 1242 the earldom reverted to the crown. In 1263, De Burgh was created Earl of Ulster by Edward I.
In 1270, he and Walter de Ufford, the Justiciar of Ireland, were defeated by Aedh mac Felim Ua Conchobair at Áth an Chip.
He married Avelina, daughter of Sir John Fitzgeoffrey, Justiciar of Ireland, about 1257.
He died, aged about 60, in Galway, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster. Other children were three sons, Theobald, William and Thomas, and a daughter, Egidia, who married Sir James Stewart, 5th [High Steward of Scotland|James Stewart], 5th High Steward of Scotland.