The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages, ruled by the Earls of Ulster and part of the Lordship of Ireland. The Norman knight John de Courcy invaded the Gaelic Irish kingdom of Ulaid in 1177 and conquered most of its territory over the following few years.[1] In 1181 he was made earl palatine of Ulster by Henry II of England. The earldom was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland.[1] It covered most of what are now the Ulster counties of Antrim and Down, and briefly extended west to Lough Foyle.[1] Its capital was Carrickfergus Castle.
The Earldom of Ulster suffered heavily from the Bruce campaign in Ireland in the 1310s, from which it never recovered.[1] By the 15th century the earldom was restricted to coastal enclaves in County Down and around Carrickfergus, and the title of Earl of Ulster passed to the Crown in 1461.[1]