The near-constant warfare of the previous two centuries continued in 14th century Ireland.
Small kingdoms invaded, absorbed & fractured among one another, as before. In many parts of the island, those of Norman descent intermarried & otherwise lived alongside those of Gaelic or Norse descent.
The rule of the English crown was still nominally the ultimate power in the cities & the lands immediately around them, however throughout the 14th century the crown troops had less and less real power outside the walls of the towns.
In particular, the lands close to Dublin city were under constant conflict - Gaelic lords still controlled the Wicklow mountains, and raiding of the farms close to the city was very common. The citizens of Dublin begged the King of England for military re-inforcement to protect them from this.
During the 14th century, several battles were fought in the Wicklow mountains - Gaelic vs Crown forces (who were a mixture of men of fighting age from Dublin, & troops sent from England & the north of France).
This completely sapped the economy of the Irish colony, making it more of a burden to the English Crown than the cash-cow it once had been.
Laws at the time stated that if a subject of the English King was killed, their family were entitled to compensation - more compensation than if the person killed was *not* an English subject - ie, a Gaelic person or someone who was not of English descent and customs (it's important to note that many people of "Gaelic" or other descent were accepted as subjects as they lived & farmed in the Crown's land, had made agreements with English crown agents to do this, & lived by English laws).
Particularly during these violent years, there are many accounts of people being killed by Crown forces because they "looked Gaelic", only for the deceased person's family to then claim compensation, as they were in fact English subjects. This lead to a series of laws dictating what English subjects could and could not wear, what kind of sports they could play & who they were allowed to marry. The Statutes of Kilkenny are the most famous of these, passed in 1366. Other laws forbid English subjects from using the Irish language.
From a costume perspective, this era is particularly interesting due not only to the Statutes of Kilkenny making a clear distinction between 2 different types of dress, but also due to wider changes in Northern European courtly dress. From the last quarter of the 14th century, fashionable dress for the wealthy - particularly those with connections to English rule - became much more tailored and form-fitting.
