The Black Death had a devastating impact upon European society during the fourteenth century. It is estimated that the plague killed almost one-third of the continent’s population and it would take over three centuries for Europe to recover from this demographic disaster. No corner of Europe was left untouched and Ireland was no exception. The plague arrived on Ireland’s more heavily settled eastern seaboard in 1348 and quickly spread across most the island. This talk will explore the arrival and consequences of the Black Death in Ireland’s colonial capital, Dublin. It will consider how plague impact upon urban society but also look at how the plague reshaped Irish politics during the mid-to-late fourteenth century.

Simon Egan is an Assistant Professor in Medieval Irish and British History at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on land and lordship in the Gaelic-speaking world of Ireland and Highlands and Islands of Scotland during the later middle ages.