The Pale (Ireland)

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The Pale (Irish: An Pháil) or The English Pale (An Pháil Shasanach or An Ghalltacht) was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English Crown in the Late Middle Ages. By the mid-15th century, direct English rule was largely restricted to the "four obedient shires", comprising most of counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Louth. This was the region in which English culture and English law were observed. In 1454, trenches began to be dug on the borders of this region, to prevent raids by the Gaelic Irish and Gaelicized Normans. The first recorded use of the name "English Pale" was in 1494, in an act of parliament summoned by the Lord Deputy, Edward Poynings. The region "beyond the Pale" was largely Gaelic. The Pale was an area along the east coast, stretching north from Dalkey, just south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk. The inland boundary went to Naas and Leixlip around the Earldom of Kildare, towards Trim and north towards Kells. In this district, many townlands...

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