Editing Ards Peninsula (section)

==History==
{{further|Ards (territory)}}
In the Middle Ages, the Ards peninsula was inhabited by the Uí Echach Arda, a [[Gaelic Ireland|Gaelic Irish]] clan, and was part of the kingdom of [[Ulaid]]. In the late 12th century it was invaded and conquered by the [[Anglo-Normans]] under [[John de Courcy]], becoming a county of the [[Earldom of Ulster]]. The Earldom collapsed in the 14th century, but the [[Normans in Ireland|Hiberno]]-Norman [[Savage family (Ireland)|Savage]] family controlled the southern portion of the peninsula (the 'Upper Ards' or 'Little Ards') over the following three centuries, while the northern portion (the 'Lower Ards' or 'Great Ards') became part of the Gaelic territory of [[Clannaboy]]. There was a failed attempt by the English to [[Plantations_of_Ireland#East_Ulster|colonize the Ards]] in the 1570s. In the early 17th century, the Lower Ards was acquired by [[James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye|James Hamilton]] and [[Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery|Hugh Montgomery]], who settled Scottish Protestants there as part of the [[Plantation of Ulster]].