Sir Walter Liath de Burgh (English: /dəˈbɜːr/ də-BUR; died February 1332) was an Anglo-Irish noble whose imprisonment by the Earl of Ulster and death from starvation led to the Earl's murder the following year.
[1] He is first attested in 1326 when he and the late Earl of Ulster's son, Sir Edmond de Burgh, were appointed guardians of the peace in Connacht, Tipperary and Limerick, and custodians of the late earl's lands in those counties.
Warfare continued until November 1331 when the Earl captured Walter and his two brothers, imprisoning them in Northburgh Castle, County Donegal.
Walter's sister, Gylle de Burgh, planned revenge on the earl.
This death was a catastrophe for the Anglo-Irish colony, as within six months all Ulster west of the Bann was lost, while Connacht descended into factionalism.