The Burke/de Burgh Civil War was a conflict in Ireland from 1333 to 1338 between three leading members of the de Burgh (Burke/Bourke) Anglo-Norman family resulting in the division into three clans. Background Twenty-year-old William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster, known as "the Brown Earl", was murdered by his household knights in June 1333 after he had starved to death his cousin and rival Sir Walter Liath de Burgh in the previous year (1332). The Earl's only child, Elizabeth de Burgh (1332–1363), succeeded as Countess of Ulster and legal heir to the de Burgh estates as an infant. For safety, as an infant and a female heiress, she was taken by her mother to England as her lordships collapsed in a power struggle. Three members of the de Burgh family fought against each other in an attempt to preserve their own personal estates, and hold overall control of the massive de Burgh inheritance in Ireland. They were: Sir Edmond de Burgh of Castleconnell (only surviving uncle of the Brown Earl, and senior member of the de Burgh dynasty) who drowned in Lough Mask in 1338. Sir Edmond Albanach de Burgh of north Connacht (cousin of the Brown Earl, brother of the Walter Liath de Burgh who died in 1332) Sir Uilleag de Burgh of south Connacht (chief of another illegitimate branch of the de Burghs) Loss and divisions The eventual outcome of the war was the loss of almost all the de Burgh lands in Ulster, which was reconquered within a year by the Gaelic-Irish. The remaining de Burghs in Ireland fragmented into three distinct clans, all of which had several sub-septs. They were: Clan William Bourke of County Limerick Mac William Íochtar (Bourke) of County Mayo Mac William Uachtar or Clanricarde (Burke / de Burgh) of County Galway Clan William, Mac William, Clanricarde Walter de Burgh of Burgh Castle, Norfolk m. Alice William de Burgh (d. 1206) m. Daughter of Domnall Mór Ó Briain, King of Thomond Richard Mór / Óge de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught m. Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht Sir Richard de Burgh (d.1248), 2nd Lord of Connaught Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (d. 1271) Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (1259–1326) John de Burgh m. Elizabeth de Clare William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (1312–33) m. Maud of Lancaster Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of