Ely

Ely was a Gaelic kingdom in Ireland, with Birr as its seat. By the twelfth century it had shrunk to two lordships, the northern under the O Carrolls and the southern under the O Fogartys. In 1337 the O Carrolls held the country around Birr.

In 1399 the Earl of Ormond captured Tadc O Carroll, king of Ely. Their conflict flared again in 1432, when the earl ravaged Ely and demolished two O Carroll castles. In 1552 Tadhg Cian O Carroll surrendered his lordship to the Tudor crown and received it back under English tenure.