Plague, absentee landlords and Gaelic recovery shrink English Ireland to a fortified strip around Dublin. They call it the Pale. Beyond it the O'Neills, O'Donnells and O'Briens rule as their ancestors did, and the great Norman houses go the same way, Burkes and Geraldines and Butlers turning Gaelic in speech, in dress and in law. More Irish than the Irish themselves, as the phrase went.
The largest royal army of the Middle Ages lands; Art MacMurrough submits, then shrugs it off.
Quick answersWhen was the Gaelic Resurgence in Ireland?
The Gaelic Resurgence spans 1334 to 1469 in this atlas. Plague, absentee landlords and Gaelic recovery shrink English Ireland to a fortified strip around Dublin.
Who ruled Ireland during the Gaelic Resurgence?
Power was divided: The English Pale (5 counties); Earldom of Desmond (FitzGerald) (4 counties); O'Neill of Tír Eoghain (3 counties); Clandeboye O'Neills & MacDonnells (2 counties); O'Connor lordships (2 counties), among others. County boundaries are modern approximations.
What is a lesser-known fact about the Gaelic Resurgence?
The Statutes of Kilkenny (1366) banned the colonists from speaking Irish, marrying Irish spouses, playing hurling, or keeping Irish poets. Laws like that are only passed when the battle is already being lost.
↗ links go to the relevant Wikipedia article for each event and ruler (sources & further reading).