Editing Drogheda (section)

===Town beginnings===
[[File:Drogheda StMaryMagdaleneFriary.JPG|thumb|right|[[Magdalene Tower, Drogheda|St Mary Magdalene Friary]].]]
Despite local tradition linking [[Millmount Fort|Millmount]] to [[Amergin Glúingel]], in his 1978 study of the history and archaeology of the town, John Bradley stated that "neither the documentary nor the archaeological evidence indicates that there was any settlement at the town prior to the coming of the Normans".<ref>Bradley, J. 1978 'The Topography and Layout of Medieval Drogheda', ''Co. Louth Archaeological and Historical Journal'', '''19''', 2, 98–127.</ref> The results of a number of often large-scale excavations carried out within the area of the medieval town appear to confirm this statement.<ref>Bennett op cit.</ref>

One of the earliest structures in the town is the [[motte-and-bailey castle]], now known as [[Millmount Fort]], which overlooks the town from a bluff on the south bank of the Boyne and which was probably erected by the [[Normans in Ireland|Norman]] Lord of Meath, [[Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Hugh de Lacy]], sometime before 1186. The wall on the east side of Rosemary Lane, a back-lane which runs from St. Laurence Street towards the Augustinian Church, is the oldest stone structure in Drogheda.<ref>Archaeology No. 5257: The medieval walls of Drogheda</ref> It was completed in 1234 as the west wall of the first castle guarding access to the northern crossing point of the Boyne. A later castle, circa 1600, called ''Laundy's Castle'' stood at the junction of West Street and Peter's Street. On Meathside, the ''Castle of Drogheda'' or ''The Castle of Comfort'' was a tower house castle on the south side of the Bull Ring. It served as a prison, and as a sitting of the Irish parliament in 1494.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://droghedalife.com/news/the-bullring-from-the-normans-to-poynings-law-and-ollies-pub|title=The Bullring - from the Normans to Poyning's Law and Ollie's Pub|date=18 August 2023|newspaper=Drogheda Life|access-date=21 October 2023}}</ref> The earliest known town charter is that granted to Drogheda-in-Meath by Walter de Lacy in 1194.<ref>Bradley ''op cit'' 105</ref> In the 1600s, the name of the town was also spelled "Tredagh" in keeping with the common pronunciation, as documented by [[Gerard Boate]] in his work ''Irelands' Natural History''. In ''c.'' 1655 it was spelled "Droghedagh" on a map by William Farriland.<ref>NLI. MS. 716, copy of map by Daniel O'Brien, ''c. 1780''</ref>

Drogheda was an important walled town in the [[The Pale|English Pale]] in the medieval period. It frequently hosted meetings of the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]] at that time. According to [[Rosamond Joscelyne Mitchell|R.J. Mitchell]] in ''John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester'', in a spill-over from the [[War of the Roses]] the [[Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond|Earl of Desmond]] and his two youngest sons (still children) were executed there on Valentine's Day 1468 on orders of the [[John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester|Earl of Worcester]], the [[Lord Deputy of Ireland]]. It later came to light (for example in Robert Fabyan's ''The New Chronicles of England and France''), that [[Elizabeth Woodville|Elizabeth Woodville, the queen consort]], was implicated in the orders given.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fabyan |first1=Robert |url=http://archive.org/details/newchroniclesofe00fabyuoft |title=The new chronicles of England and France, in two parts: by Robert Fabyan. Named by himself The concordance of histories. Reprinted from Pynson's edition of 1516. The first part collated with the editions of 1533, 1542, and 1559; and the second with a manuscript of the author's own time, as well as the subsequent editions: including the different continuations. To which are added a biographical and literary preface, and an index |last2=Ellis |first2=Henry |date=1811 |publisher=London : Printed for F.C. & J. Rivington [etc.] |others=Robarts – University of Toronto}}</ref> The parliament was moved to the town in 1494 and passed [[Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)|Poynings' Law]], the most significant legislation in Irish history, a year later. This effectively subordinated the Irish Parliament's [[legislature|legislative powers]] to the King and his [[Privy Council of England|English Council]].