First Battle of Athenry
The First Battle of Athenry was fought on 15 August 1249 at Athenry (Irish: Áth na Ríogh) in modern County Galway, Ireland. The Gaelic forces of Connacht besieged the town but were repelled by the Normans under Jordan de Exeter, Sheriff of Connacht. Áth na Ríogh had existed as a Gaelic settlement under the Ó Mainnín kings of Soghain [1], but between 1236 and  1241 Meyler de Bermingham captured the area and made Athenry an urban walled settlement. Though by 1249 it featured a castle and Franciscan friary, it was still close to hostile Gaelic territory. The contemporary Annals of Connacht give the following account of the battle:

The kings' sons of Connacht made another hosting, to burn and pillage Athenry ('co hAd na Rig'), at the feast of Mary in mid-autumn.