Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster

Walter de Burgh died in Galway on 28 July 1271, leaving behind a violent man who broke Aedh mac Felim Ua Conchobair at Áth an Chip but never stopped fearing the crown might take Ulster back. He married Avelina, daughter of his own enemy Sir John Fitzgeoffrey, turning a sword into a wedding ring and forcing Connacht to accept that de Burgh law could bend even royal officials. His sons inherited more than land; they inherited the habit of answering violence with marriage and marriage with more violence.