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 deserted him, on account of his treacherous seizure of an important Irish leader, Magennis, lord of Iveagh, in what is now co. Down. But the O'Neils ruled without a rival over Western Ulster, and March could not even draw a supply of timber from the forests of the land that was nominally his own. He had to bring the oak timber used to build a bridge over the Bann, near Coleraine, from his South Welsh lands on the Usk. This bridge was protected by fortifications at each end and by a tower in the middle; thus only was it prevented from being captured by the Irish. March also made some efforts to obtain possession' of Connaught, and succeeded in capturing Athlone from the O'Connors, and thus secured the passage over the Shannon. But Kilkenny Castle was now assailed by the Hibernised Norman sept of the Tobyns, to revenge the imprisonment of their chief within its walls. This and other business drew the viceroy into Munster. There he caught cold in crossing a river in winter time, and on 27 Dec. 1381 he died at the Dominican friary at Cork (, Viceroys of Ireland, pp. 234, 242-7, gives the best modern account of March's Irish government). The Anglo-Irish writers, who thoroughly knew the difficulties of his position, say that after great efforts he appeased most of the wars in Ireland (Cart., &c., of St. Mary's, Dublin, ii. 285). In England his government of Ireland was regarded as pre-eminently wise and successful ('multum de hoc quod amisit recuperavit,', p. 19; Chron. Angl. p. 334; , p. 21).

According to the directions in his will, March's body was interred on the left hand of the high altar of Wigmore Abbey (, p. 104). An Irish chronicle speaks of his being buried in the church of the Holy Trinity at Cork, but this probably only refers to the more perishable parts of his body (Cart., &c., of St. Mary's, Dublin, ii. 285). March had been an extremely liberal benefactor to Wigmore Abbey, the chief foundation of his ancestors. The old fabric of the abbey church had become decayed and ruinous, and March granted lands in Radnor and elsewhere to the value of two thousand marks a year for its reconstruction. He laid the foundationstone of the new structure with his own hands, and by the time of his death the walls had been carried up to their appointed height, and were only wanting a roof. He also presented to the canons costly vestments and many relics, especially the body of St. Seiriol, and a large piece of the wood of the true cross. He further promised, when he took his departure from the canons of Wigmore as he went to Ireland, that on his safe return he would confer on them the advowson of three churches and the appropriation of Stoke Priory. Further benefactions were made by him in his will, including a rare and choice collection of relics. For all this liberality he is warmly commended by the Wigmore annalist (Monasticon, vi. 353), who quotes the eulogistic epitaph of the grateful canons, which celebrated his constancy, wisdom, popularity, and bounty. March supported Adam of Usk, his tenant's son, when the future chronicler was studying civil and canon law at Oxford (, p. 21), and in return Adam loudly celebrates his praises. March was also highly eulogised by the St. Albans chronicler, who was a warm partisan of the constitutional opposition.

The Countess Philippa died before her husband, who celebrated her interment at Wigmore by almost regal pomp. Her epitaph speaks of her liberality, kindness, royal descent, and severity of morals. The children of Edmund and Philippa were: (1) Elizabeth, the eldest, born at Usk on 12 Feb. 1371, and married to the famous 'Hotspur,' Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland [see ]. (2) Roger, also born at Usk on 11 April 1374 [see, fourth ]. (3) Philippa, born at Ludlow on 21 Nov. 1375, who became first the second wife of Richard Fitzalan III, earl of Arundel [q. v.], and afterwards married John of St. John; she died in 1400 (, p. 53). (4) Edmund, born at Ludlow on 9 Nov. 1376, the future ally of Owen Glendower [see, 1376–1409?]. The above dates are from the Wigmore annalist (Monasticon, vi. 354), who now becomes contemporary and fairly trustworthy. (5) Sir John Mortimer, executed in 1423 for treason, and sometimes described as a son of Mortimer's, must, if a son at all, have been illegitimate (, Genealogical Hist. pp. 222-3). He is not mentioned in March's will.  MORTIMER, EDMUND (III)  (1376–1409?), was the youngest child of Edmund de Mortimer (II), third earl of March [q. v.], and his wife Philippa, the daughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, and heiress of Ulster. 