Robert de Brus (V) had made a name for himself reestablishing the
independence of Scotland during the wards ending in the Battle of
Bannockburn. However he had some difficulty fathering a male heir and
named his brother Edward his successor in 1315... as they were
assembling an invasion force to counter English control of Ireland.
Robert's father in law, the Earl of Ulster, had already pledged his
support; many letters were circulating among the Irish nobility
proposing a grand Gaelic alliance against the English; and Edward was
even proclaimed High King of Ireland (as Edubard a Briuis) by several
of the lesser nobles in Ulster.
By 1317, the Ulster/Scots forces gained control over most of Ireland
and Robert had returned to Scotland. However a severe reversal of
fortune resulted in the death of Edward in October of the next year at
the Battle of Faughart.
Dual POD: The pro-Plantagenet commander John de Birmmingham is the one
who gets himself dismembered, while in Scotland the sudden death of
Robert dumps a second crown on Edward's head.
While the strength of central authority in either of Edubard I's
kingdoms can charitably described as minimal, he had a strong family
link to the effective overlord of Ulster and the control over the
Scottish lowlands was as good at it ever got. For all that the wild
men of the Scottish Highlands and Irish West accepted the rule of any,
the house of Briuis held more sway than the house of Anjou-Plantagenet
by 1325... and Edubard has a healthy son.
Now What?
Does England have a real chance of taking control over Ireland beyond
the eastern shore and Dublin, or would a Gaelic Empire centered on
Ulster and the Lowlands prove capable of holding the bulk of the
British Isles?
HTG
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