Battles Posts
May 8, 2024
Battle of Farsetmore - May 8th, 1567
Artificial Intelligence rendering of the Battle Of Farsetmore
Likely more than a 1,000 men lay dead on the shores, or in the tidal waters of the river Swilly near Letterkenny in Donegal. The encounter at the ford of Farsetmore (Fearsaid Súil…
April 15, 2024
The Battle of Kilrush - April 15th 1642
19th century etching of the Battle of Kilrush
On April 15th 1642, on the road between Athy and Dublin, two opposing armies faced off at Kilrush, Kildare. The ensuing battle between Irish Catholic Rebel Confederates and Protestant Royalist for…
March 5, 2024
Battle of Tallaght - March 5th, 1867
Battle of Tallaght from the London Illustrated News
On March 5th 1867, a planned uprising by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also known as the Fenians, resulted in a brief skirmish near Dublin.
The Fenians, aiming to overthrow British rule in Ir…
Sept. 7, 2023
OTD: Battle of Ballinamuck (September 7th 1798)
1798 Print Depicting the Position of the English and French armies at Ballinamuck Prior to Surrender
The last major military land engagement of the 1798 Rebellion took place on September 8, 1798 at Ballinamuck in Longford. A combined force of Frenc…
June 5, 2022
OTD: Battle of Benburb - June 5, 1646
During the 1640s and 1650s, a brutal war was waged across Ireland between Irish Catholics, British Royalists, British Parliamentarians, and Scottish Covenanters. This time of conflict was marked by extraordinary brutality and shifting alliances whic…
June 4, 2022
OTD: Battle of Cloughleagh - June 4, 1643
Cloughleagh Castle
More than a decade of war raged across Ireland from 1641 - 1653. The Irish historian, Padraig Lenihan, estimates that 20% of the Irish population perished in this conflict - some 200 thousand of the 1 million estimated to inhabi…
May 26, 2022
OTD: The Battle of Tara Hill - 1798
Some 4,000 United Irishman gathered at the Hill of Tara in County Meath in late May of 1798. They camped on the hilltop with the intention of controlling the main Ulster to Dublin road and also likely occupied the site due to its cultural significan…
May 25, 2022
OTD: Battle of Clontibret - 1595
The Battle of Clontibret, part of the Nine Years' War began on May 25, 1595. It would prove to be a two-day rolling engagement between the Irish forces of Hugh O'Neill (1550 - 1616) and the English troops of Henry Bagenal (1556 - 1598)
Bagenal an…
Feb. 21, 2022
OTD: Battle of Carrickfergus - 1760
On February 21, 1760, 600 troops under the leadership of François Thurot (1727 - 1760) landed in Antrim and captured Carrickfergus Castle from a small garrison. This minor military engagement was part of a broader global military conflict bet…
Dec. 31, 2020
A Lost Masterpiece, An Irish Artist, Two Historians and Irish Stew
Battle of Aughrim 1691 by John Mulvany (1839 - 1906)
I often remark that Irish people can successfully play a game of two degrees of separation. Frequently, when Irish people meet for the first time, they engage unknowingly in this game as they try…
Dec. 28, 2020
Ireland's Bloodiest Battle
Battle of Aughgrim Attributed to Jan Wyck- Details
Most Irish people can name a number of significant battles fought in Ireland. Clontarf in 1014, Kinsale in 1602 and the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, to name a few. Less commonly mention…
Dec. 23, 2020
The Many Vinegar Hills
Vinegar Hill illustration by William Sadler (1782-1839)
During our recent episode with Damien Shiels we got to talking about his two track career which is split between battlefield archaeology and historical research focused on the Irish in the Ame…