Ards (territory)

Ards is the name of several different historical territorial divisions all located on the Ards Peninsula in modern-day County Down, Northern Ireland.

It was once an ancient Irish district that was possessed very early on by the Mac Giolla Mhuire sept (English: Gilmore).[1][2] Their power was broken by the Irish O'Neills and MacCartans and the Hiberno-Norman Whites and Savages.[2] By 1333 it is recorded under the Normanised name of Del Art and noted as one of the seven counties of the Earldom of Ulster.[3] It is also the name of a former barony, which was split into Ards Lower and Ards Upper by 1851.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Ireland's History in Maps - Baronies
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bell, Robert; The book of Ulster surnames, page 78-79. The Black Staff Press, 2003. ISBN 0-85640-602-3
  3. ↑ Bardon, Jonathan, A History of Ulster, page 45. The Black Staff Press, 2005. ISBN 0-85640-764-X
  4. ↑ Database of Irish Historical Statistics - Literacy Notes