Person

John de Courcy

c. 1150–c. 1219 · 12th century

John de Courcy was an Anglo-Norman knight who invaded Ulster in 1177, captured Downpatrick and defeated the king of the Ulaid. He ruled eastern Ulster almost independently from Carrickfergus and Downpatrick, building castles and founding monasteries. In 1205 King John expelled him and created the earldom of Ulster for Hugh de Lacy.

John de Courcy
Image: SanglierT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Kingdom of UlaidDal FiatachEarldom of Ulster

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). John de Courcy. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-courcy
MLA
“John de Courcy.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-courcy. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “John de Courcy.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-courcy.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘John de Courcy’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/john-de-courcy (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻