Editing John de Gray (section)

==In Ireland==
[[File:Athlone Castle, 2008.jpg|thumb|alt=Part of castle battlements with worn stones|Part of the fortifications at [[Athlone Castle]], built on John de Gray's orders]]
By 1209 de Gray was in Ireland serving as the king's governor,<ref name=Handbook161>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 161</ref>{{efn|It appears that de Gray left England after July 1208, as he was a witness to royal charters constantly from January through July 1208, when he disappears from royal documents.<ref name=Richardson145>Richardson "Norman Ireland" ''Irish Historical Studies'' p. 145 and footnote 1</ref>}} an office sometimes referred to as [[justiciar]] for Ireland.<ref name=Wood219>Wood "Office of Chief Governor" ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'' p. 219</ref> One possible reason for his appointment was to save him from being accused of ignoring the interdict on England. As a bishop, it was de Gray's ecclesiastical duty to enforce the interdict, but by going to Ireland, which was not under interdict, he could continue to serve the king without provoking the papacy.<ref name=Warren195>Warren ''King John'' pp. 195–196</ref> De Gray's chief policy in Ireland was to extend English rule, to which end he was involved in battles on the [[River Shannon]] and in [[Fermanagh]].<ref name=Otway83>Otway-Ruthven ''History of Medieval Ireland'' p. 83</ref> He also replaced the Irish coinage with English, and attempted unsuccessfully to make English laws applicable in Ireland.<ref name=Barlow408>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom'' pp. 408–409</ref> De Gray's term of office in Ireland coincided with a time of change in Irish governmental practices.<ref name=Angevin55>Gillingham ''Angevin Empire'' p. 55</ref>

During John's persecution of [[William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber|William de Braose]] in 1209, [[William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke|William Marshal]] gave de Braose shelter on his Irish lands. De Gray demanded that Marshal surrender de Braose to him as a traitor, but Marshal refused, claiming that since he held some lands from de Braose, it would be an act of treason to surrender his lord to an outside authority.<ref name=Loss295>Powicke ''Loss of Normandy'' p. 295</ref> Marshal's refusal does not seem to have embittered de Gray, however, as three years later the bishop was praising him in a letter to John.<ref name=Warren201>Warren ''King John'' p. 201</ref>

John led an expedition to Ireland in 1210 in an effort to bring the Anglo-Norman barons under control. He opened talks with the native Irish kings, and some accounts state that his negotiations were so successful that the native Irish submitted to him. In contrast, the historian Seán Duffy has argued that the native Irish nobility were just as resistant to John as the Anglo-Norman barons. After John's return to England he ordered de Gray to build three new castles in [[Connacht]],<ref name=Duffy241/> one of them at [[Athlone]].<ref name=Orpen261>Orpen "Athlone Castle" ''Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries'' p. 261</ref> Associated with the castle building were two military invasions of Connacht by the royal government&nbsp;– one from Meath and Leinster and the other from Munster.<ref name=Duffy241>Duffy "John and Ireland" ''King John'' pp. 241–242</ref> De Gray left Ireland in 1211 to lead a military campaign against the Welsh,<ref name=DNB/> leaving his deputy [[Richard de Tuit]] in charge of the country.<ref name=Wood219/>

De Gray also faced resistance from the northern Irish. In 1212 he led a campaign against [[Áed Méith]], in the promotion of which he constructed castles at [[Cáel Uisce]], [[Belleek, County Fermanagh|Belleek]], and [[Clones, County Monaghan|Clones]],{{efn|Besides these castles and the earlier ones, in 1213, five more castles were either refurbished or built on de Gray's orders&nbsp;– at [[Clonmacnoise]], [[Durrow, County Offaly|Durrow]], [[Birr, County Offaly|Birr]], [[Kinnitty]], and [[Roscrea]].<ref name=Orpen266>Orpen "Athlone Castle" ''Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries'' p. 266</ref>}} bases for raids against the [[Ua Néill]] territory in the north. A naval campaign was also launched but to no avail.<ref name=Duffy241/> De Gray suffered a defeat at the hands of [[Cormac mac Art Ó Melaghlain|Cormac O'Melaghlin]] in 1212 at [[Fircal]], Offaly,<ref name=DNB/> and left Ireland the following year.<ref name=Evil108>Turner ''King John'' p. 108</ref> He continued to hold the office of governor for a time, but by July 1213 he had been replaced by [[Henry de Loundres]], the [[Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic)|Archbishop of Dublin]].<ref name=Wood219/> One of de Gray's final acts as justiciar was to take a force of [[Irish nobility|Irish knights]] to England to help repel a threatened invasion by the French king Philip II.<ref name=DNB/>