Honour of Annaly - Feudal Principality & Seignory Est. 1172

⚜️ Writs and Summons of the Barons of Delvin

(Lords of Westmeath, Annaly, and Longford)

Throughout the medieval and early modern period, the Nugent family, hereditary Barons of Delvin and later Earls of Westmeath, held the feudal and parliamentary dignity associated with the Liberty of Meath and its dependencies in Annaly (Longford). Their writs of summons to Parliament trace the continuity of this noble house as one of the oldest parliamentary baronies in Ireland, dating from the 14th century onward.

1371 — John FitzJohn Nugent, Baron of Delvin

In the year 1371, John Fitz John Nugent, then Baron of Delvin, was formally summoned to Parliament by writ dated at Dublin, 13 February of that year, under the authority of King Edward III.
This summons, issued to Johanni filio Johannis Nugent, Domino de Delvin, is among the earliest surviving writs to an Irish feudal baron. It formally recognized the Nugents as Lords of Parliament representing the palatine barony of Delvin and its dependencies in Meath, Teffia, and Annaly.

At this date, the Barony of Delvin already encompassed the manors of Fore, Granard, and Abbeylara, with jurisdiction extending into what would later become County Longford (Annaly).

15th Century — Sir William Nugent, First Baron of Delvin

Following the earlier feudal succession, Sir William Nugent—descended from Gilbert de Nugent, the Norman knight who accompanied Hugh de Lacy—was summoned to Parliament as Baron of Delvin, and is commonly styled the First Baron Delvin in the later peerage records.
His parliamentary writs confirmed the family’s right to sit ex officio as hereditary barons within the Palatine Liberty of Meath, which enjoyed semi-regal jurisdiction, including courts, markets, and the right of knight’s service.

By this era, the Lords of Delvin were recognized not merely as territorial magnates but as feudal peers with hereditary summons to Parliament, marking the Nugents among the ancient baronage of Ireland.

15th Century — Christopher Nugent, Sixth Baron of Delvin

In the later 15th century, Christopher Nugent, 6th Baron Delvin, held the family’s estates and sat in the Irish Parliament convened at Trim during the reign of King Richard III (1483–1485).
Trim, being the administrative seat of the Liberty of Meath, served as the meeting place for many early Parliaments of the Pale. The attendance of Baron Delvin there symbolized his standing as a Count Palatine Lord, governing a large territory under the Crown with near-regal autonomy.

Elizabethan Era — Christopher Nugent, Eighth Baron of Delvin

By the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the title was held by another Christopher Nugent, 8th Baron of Delvin, who sat in the Parliament of 1578–1579 (20 Elizabeth).
This Christopher was one of the most learned and distinguished peers of his generation—fluent in Latin and Irish—and a central figure in the government of the midlands. He is remembered for his loyalty to the Crown and his defense of the Nugent estates during the Elizabethan wars.

The 8th Baron died on 17 August 1602, having preserved the family’s vast baronial and palatine lands through a turbulent age of rebellion and plantation.

Stuart Era — Richard Nugent, Ninth Baron of Delvin

Richard Nugent, 9th Baron of Delvin, succeeded his father in 1602 and sat in the Irish Parliaments of 1613 and 1615, during the reign of King James I.
By this period, the Nugent barony had evolved from a medieval feudal seignory into one of the leading noble houses of the Kingdom of Ireland. The family continued to exercise its court baron, market, and palatine privileges in Longford, Annaly, and Westmeath, maintaining its ancient authority across the midlands.

Recognizing this enduring loyalty and hereditary distinction, King James I issued a Privy Seal at Westminster, dated 22 November 1621, creating Richard Nugent Earl of Westmeath, with remainder to the heirs male of his body.
This elevation unified the ancient Barony of Delvin with the Earldom of Westmeath, preserving the feudal dignity and parliamentary precedence of the Nugent family.

Historical Context and Parliamentary Legacy

From John FitzJohn Nugent (1371) to Richard, 9th Baron and 1st Earl of Westmeath (1621), the Nugents maintained an unbroken presence in the Irish peerage and Parliament for nearly 250 years.

Their titles—Baron of Delvin, Lord of Annaly, and Earl of Westmeath—collectively represented:

• Feudal Sovereignty under the Palatine Liberty of Meath

• Jurisdictional Rights over Annaly and Longford

• Hereditary Summons to the Irish Parliament as Lords Spiritual and Temporal

These writs and patents confirm that the Nugent line held continuous recognition from the English Crown as feudal and parliamentary lords of one of Ireland’s most historic regions—Teffia and Annaly, the heartlands of ancient Longford.

⚜️ The Chief Lordship of Annaly: A Thousand Years of Princely Continuity

I. Origins of the Princely Authority

From the early medieval era, the lands later known as Annaly (Anghaile) formed part of the ancient Kingdom of Teffia, itself one of the five royal divisions of Meath (Mide) — the Middle Kingdom of Ireland and seat of the High Kings at Tara.
In these territories, sovereignty was exercised by hereditary chiefs who were recognized under both Gaelic and early Christian law as Princes of Teffia and Annaly, wielding rights equal to the sub-kings (rí túaithe) of the provincial overkingdoms of Meath and Connacht.

By the ninth century, the O’Farrell (Uí Fhearghail) dynasty had risen to prominence in Annaly, ruling as Rí Anghaile, or “King of the Annaly.”
Their dominion extended over the entire heartland of modern County Longford, divided later into North Annaly (Upper Teffia) and South Annaly (Lower Teffia).
Each portion’s ruler, or Chief Lord, held full regalian rights: the power to make war and peace, collect tribute, and preside at assemblies—privileges equated with princely or palatine rank in feudal terminology.

II. The Feudal Transformation

In the sixteenth century, as the English Crown extended its legal authority into central Ireland, the O’Farrell kingdom of Annaly was absorbed into the Crown lands.
Rather than abolishing its ancient structure, the monarchy reconstituted it under the Nugent family, Barons Delvin—descendants of the Counts Palatine of Meath.
Through Grant VIII.17 and the accompanying patents of 1541, 1552, and 1565, the Nugents were invested with the castles, manors, and lands of Smere, Granard, Ardagh, Liserdawle, and Slewght William, to be held in capite with courts, liberties, and knight’s service.

This placed the Nugent barony squarely within the lineage of the ancient princes:

“The said Richard, Lord Baron of Delvin, is not to assume the name or style of ‘The Great O’Farrell’.”
That clause—intended to prevent the use of a native royal title—nonetheless confirmed that the office and jurisdiction were identical in scope to the former Gaelic kingship.
The Barons Delvin, therefore, became feudal princes in all but name, recognized by royal charter as lords of the very realm once ruled by the O’Farrell sovereigns.

III. A Millennium of Supremacy

From the ninth century through the seventeenth, the Chief Lord of Annaly—whether of the northern, southern, or united dominion—remained entitled to princely status.
For nearly one thousand years, the region formed part of the great axis of Meath, Teffia, and Annaly supremacy:

• Meath, the central kingdom and seat of the High Kings;

• Teffia, the western sub-kingdom and military frontier;

• Annaly, the successor state and enduring principality under both Gaelic and feudal law.

Through this continuum, the chiefship of Annaly retained its dual character — a native principality transformed into a palatine honour.
Its holders, whether styled Rí Anghaile, Captain of Slewght William, or Baron Delvin of Annaly, were always acknowledged as princely peers within the hierarchy of Irish sovereignty.

IV. The Modern Inheritance

When the British Crown later surrendered its claim to feudal dominion in Ireland, the constitutional bond of tenure was dissolved.
Yet the hereditary and moral sovereignty—the droit de seigneurie—of the Annaly–Teffia line endured in descent.
As successors to both the O’Farrell kings and the Delvin barons, the Nugent family stands today as the Chief Lords of Annaly, inheritors of a dignity that has persisted from the age of the High Kings of Meath to the modern era.

✅ Statement of Historical Standing

For almost one thousand years, the Chief Lord of Annaly—north, south, or whole—has been entitled to princely status.

From the Gaelic princes of Teffia and the O’Farrell kings of Annaly to the palatine Barons Delvin and their heirs, the sovereignty of this land has never ceased to carry the character of a principality of Meath and Teffia, acknowledged by kings, popes, and parliaments alike.

Today, as the Crown’s feudal claims have been relinquished, that honour and tradition remain vested by right of history and succession in the Nugent line, the Chief Lords and Princely Heirs of Annaly–Teffia, whose authority reflects the enduring supremacy of Meath’s central kingship and the sacred continuity of Ireland’s ancient princely order.