nothing is known of de courcy's early life. he arrived in ireland in 1176, with henry's deputy in ireland, william fitz audelin (d. before 1198), and was a member of the english garrison of dublin. according to the gerald, de courcy led an invasion of ulaid in 1177 (an area roughly encompassing what is today county antrim and county down). he reached down (modern day downpatrick), drove off ruaidrí mac duinn sléibe, king of ulaid (d. 1201), and consolidated his conquest of the area with the erection of a castle. he thereafter ruled his lands with a certain amount of independence for about a quarter of a century. according to the "dublin annals of inisfallen", the marriage between affreca and de courcy took place in 1180. although scholars consider these annals particularly unreliable, a date of about 1180 may not be far off the mark, considering the time-frame of de courcy's rapid rise to power. it is possible that de courcy's marriage could have attributed to his success in ulaid, considering the military resources of the crovan dynasty. less speculative is the likelihood that de courcy's success was used by the crovan dynasty, who were allied by marriage with cenél neógain, as a means of settling old scores.