It happened at Roscrea in 1213. At this time this south-west midland region of Ireland was frontier land which the Anglo-Norman were slowly fortifying and gaining the upper hand over the Gaelic lords.
But sporadic resistance of guerrilla-type warfare did occur, sometimes posing more than just a local threat. The continuing threat caused by the raids of Murchadh Ua Briain in the early 1200s to the emerging Anglo-Norman colony and the burning of five of their newly-erected castles across north Tipperary and south Offaly, forced the King’s Council and Host to gather at Roscrea. Perceiving the destruction been caused by Murchad as quite serious, they made a decision to fortify the town. The decision was a strategic one as this early monastic town was on the Slighe Dhála, one of the five great ancients roads of Ireland, and pivotally positioned in a gap between the Slieve Bloom mountains, the great Bog of Ely and Devilsbit mountain.
Full story in this week’s Tipperary Star.