Irish Rebellion of 1798: Encyclopedia II - Irish Rebellion of 1798 - French Landing

Irish Rebellion of 1798 - French Landing

On 22 August, nearly two months after the main uprisings had been defeated, about 1,000 French soldiers under General Humbert landed in the north-west of the country, at Killala in County Mayo. Joined by up to 5,000 local rebels, they inflicted a humiliating defeat (known as the Castlebar races to commemorate the speed of the English retreat) on the British at Castlebar and set up a short-lived "Republic of Connaught", before final defeat at the Battle of Ballinamuck, in County Longford, on 8 September 1798. The French troops who surrendered were repatriated to France in exchange for British prisoners of war; the Irish rebels were massacred at the site of the battle.

On 12 October 1798, a larger French force consisting of 3,000 men, and including Wolfe Tone himself, attempted to land in County Donegal near Lough Swilly. They were intercepted by a larger Royal Navy squadron, and finally surrendered after a three hour battle without ever landing in Ireland. As a result of this French involvement, 1798 was often referred to as "The Year of the French".

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "French Landing", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki