Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691

The fifty years from 1641 to 1691 saw two catastrophic periods of civil war in Ireland 1641-53 and 1689-91, which killed hundreds of thousands of people and left others in permanent exile. The wars, which pitted Irish Catholics against British forces and Protestant settlers, ended in the almost complete dispossesion of the Catholic landed elite. Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - The Confederate War and Cromwellian conquest. In the mid-seventeenth century, Ireland was convulsed by eleven years of warfare, be ...

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Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - Re-conquest and rebellion 1536-1607, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - The Religious Question and Colonisation, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - A New Order? 1607-1641, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - Civil Wars Land Confiscations and Penal Laws 1641-1691, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - The Confederate War and Cromwellian conquest, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - Restoration, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - The War of the Two Kings, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - A Protestant Ascendancy, Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - Sources

Read more here: » Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691: Encyclopedia II - Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691 - Civil Wars Land Confiscations and Penal Laws 1641-1691

this is a political history, for a military history of this time, see Irish Confederate Wars The Catholic Confederation was formed in the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion, both to control the popular uprising and to organise an Irish Catholic war effort against the remaining British armies in Ireland. It was hoped that by doing this, the Irish Catholics could hold off an English or Scottish re-conquest of the country. The initiative for the Confederation came from a Catholic bishop, Nicholas French and a lawyer named Nich ...

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Confederate Ireland, Confederate Ireland - Rebellion and the formation of the Confederation, Confederate Ireland - Cessation with the royalists the Nuncio's arrival and the first Ormonde peace, Confederate Ireland - Military defeat and a new Ormonde peace, Confederate Ireland - Civil War within the Confederation, Confederate Ireland - Cromwell’s invasion, Confederate Ireland - Significance, Confederate Ireland - Sources, Confederate Ireland - External link

Read more here: » Confederate Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Confederate Ireland - Rebellion and the formation of the Confederation

Confederate Ireland refers to a brief period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the 'Confederation of Kilkenny' (based in the city of Kilkenny). The remaining Protestant enclaves in Ulster, Munster and Leinster were held by armies loyal to the royalists, parliamentarians or Scottish Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Confede ...

Including:

• Confederate Ireland - Rebellion and the formation of the Confederation
• Confederate Ireland - Cessation with the royalists the Nuncio's arrival and the first Ormonde peace
• Confederate Ireland - Military defeat and a new Ormonde peace
• Confederate Ireland - Civil War within the Confederation
• Confederate Ireland - Cromwell’s invasion
• Confederate Ireland - Significance
• Confederate Ireland - Sources
• Confederate Ireland - External link

Read more here: » Confederate Ireland: Encyclopedia - Confederate Ireland

Oliver Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of the English Parliament in 1649. Since the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Ireland had been mainly under the control of the Irish Confederate Catholics, who in 1649, signed an alliance with the English Royalist party, which had been defeated in the English Civil War. Cromwell defeated the Confederate and Royalist coalition in Ireland and occupied the country - bringing to an end the Irish Confederate Wars. He passed a very harsh series of Penal laws against Catholics and confisca ...

Including:

• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Battle of Rathmines and Cromwell’s landing in Ireland
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Siege of Drogheda
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Wexford Waterford and Duncannon
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Clonmel and the conquest of Munster
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Scarrifholis and the destruction of the Ulster Army
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Sieges of Limerick and Galway
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Guerrilla warfare famine and plague
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Cromwellian Settlement
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Long term results
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Notes
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - External links
• Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Main Sources

Read more here: » Cromwellian conquest of Ireland: Encyclopedia - Cromwellian conquest of Ireland

The Williamite war in Ireland, which could also be described as the Jacobite war in Ireland and is known in Ireland as Cogadh an Dá Rí or The War of the Two Kings, was the opening conflict following the deposition of King James II in 1688 when he attempted to regain the throne of his Three Kingdoms from his daughter Mary II who replaced him jointly with her husband William of Orange. It influenced the Jacobite Rising in Scotland led by "Bonnie Dundee" which started at about the same time. While William successfu ...

Including:

• Williamite war in Ireland - The Glorious Revolution
• Williamite war in Ireland - War Breaks Out - Campaign in Ulster
• Williamite war in Ireland - William Arrives - Battle of the Boyne
• Williamite war in Ireland - Limerick Aughrim and the end of the War
• Williamite war in Ireland - Long-Term Effects
• Williamite war in Ireland - Sources

Read more here: » Williamite war in Ireland: Encyclopedia - Williamite war in Ireland

By the end of the period known as Confederate Ireland in 1649, the only remaining Parliamentarian outpost in Ireland was in Dublin, under the command of Colonel Michael Jones. A combined Royalist and Confederate force under James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde gathered at Rathmines, south of Dublin, in order to take the city and deprive the Parliamentarians of a port in which they could land. Jones however launched a surprise attack on the Royalists while they were deploying on August 2, putting them to flight. Around 3000 Royalist or Confedera ...

See also:

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Battle of Rathmines and Cromwell’s landing in Ireland, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Siege of Drogheda, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Wexford Waterford and Duncannon, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Clonmel and the conquest of Munster, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Scarrifholis and the destruction of the Ulster Army, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Sieges of Limerick and Galway, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Guerrilla warfare famine and plague, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Cromwellian Settlement, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Long term results, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Notes, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - External links, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - Main Sources

Read more here: » Cromwellian conquest of Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - The Battle of Rathmines and Cromwell’s landing in Ireland

The roots of the 1641 rebellion lie in the failure of the English State in Ireland to assimilate the native Irish elite in the wake of the Elizabethan conquest of the country. The pre-Elizabethan Irish population is usually divided into the "Old (or Gaelic) Irish", and the Old English (Ireland), or descendants of medieval Anglo-Norman settlers. These groups were historically antagonistic, with English settled areas such as the Pale around Dublin, south Wexford, and other walled towns being fortified against the rural Gaelic clans. However, b ...

See also:

Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Causes, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Plantations, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - The religious question, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Conspiracy, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Economic Factors, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - The Rebellion, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Massacres, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Civil war and Confederation, Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Sources

Read more here: » Irish Rebellion of 1641: Encyclopedia II - Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Causes

The War in Ireland began as a direct consequence of the Glorious Revolution in England. James, who was a Roman Catholic attempted to introduce freedom of religion for Catholics and to bypass the English Parliament in order to introduce unpopular laws. For many in England, this was an unpleasant reminder of the rule of Charles I, whose conflict with the Parliament had ended with the outbreak of the English Civil War. The breaking point in James' relationship with the English political class came when his wife gave birth to a son - which opene ...

See also:

Williamite war in Ireland, Williamite war in Ireland - The Glorious Revolution, Williamite war in Ireland - War Breaks Out - Campaign in Ulster, Williamite war in Ireland - William Arrives - Battle of the Boyne, Williamite war in Ireland - Limerick Aughrim and the end of the War, Williamite war in Ireland - Long-Term Effects, Williamite war in Ireland - Sources

Read more here: » Williamite war in Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Williamite war in Ireland - The Glorious Revolution

See also Confederate Ireland King Charles I sent a large army to Ireland in 1642 to put down the rebellion, as did the Scottish Covenanters. These armies quickly drove the Irish out Ulster and from around Dublin. In self-defence, Irish Catholics formed their own government, the Catholic Confederation, with its capital at Kilkenny and raised their own armies. The Confederates also held important port towns at Waterford and Wexford, through which they could recieve aid from Catholic powers in Europe. Almost all Irish Catholics jo ...

See also:

Irish Confederate Wars, Irish Confederate Wars - The Plot - October 1641, Irish Confederate Wars - The Rebellion - 1641-42, Irish Confederate Wars - The Confederate’s war - 1642-48, Irish Confederate Wars - The Cromwellian War 1649-1653, Irish Confederate Wars - The Cost, Irish Confederate Wars - Sources, Irish Confederate Wars - See Also, Irish Confederate Wars - External link

Read more here: » Irish Confederate Wars: Encyclopedia II - Irish Confederate Wars - The Confederate’s war - 1642-48

Ireland in 1500 was shaped by the unfinished Anglo-Norman conquest, initiated by Norman barons from Wales in the 12th century and carried on under the authority of Henry II of England. Many of the native Gaelic Irish had been expelled from various parts of the country, (mainly the east and south-east) and replaced with English peasants and labourers. The area on the east coast, extending from the Wicklow Mountains in the south to Dundalk in the north (covering parts of modern counties Dublin, Meath, Westmeath, Kildare, Offaly, Laois and Kilk ...

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Tudor re-conquest of Ireland, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Ireland in 1500, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Henry VIII, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Difficulties, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Solutions, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Crisis, Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Results

Read more here: » Tudor re-conquest of Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Tudor re-conquest of Ireland - Ireland in 1500

The second Desmond rebellion was sparked when James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald launched an invasion of Munster in 1579. During his exile in Europe, he had reinvented himself as a soldier of the counter-reformation, arguing that since the Pope's excommunication of Elizabeth I in 1570 Irish Catholics no longer owed loyalty to a heretic monarch. The Pope granted Fitzmaurice an "indulgence" and supplied him with troops and treasure. The Catholic King of Spain accepted Ireland into his possessions, pending the expulsion of the English. Fitzmaurice la ...

See also:

Desmond Rebellions, Desmond Rebellions - Causes, Desmond Rebellions - The First Desmond Rebellion, Desmond Rebellions - The Second Desmond Rebellion, Desmond Rebellions - The Aftermath, Desmond Rebellions - Sources

Read more here: » Desmond Rebellions: Encyclopedia II - Desmond Rebellions - The Second Desmond Rebellion

Lord Mountjoy's forces were incapable of surrounding the town of Kinsale, but they did seize some higher ground and subjected the Spanish forces to regular artillery fire. The English cavalry rode through the surrounding countryside destroying livestock and crops, while both sides called for allegiance from the population. O'Neill and O'Donnell were hesistant about leaving Ulster open to attack by marching south, especially given the lack of supplies for their troops. When they did set out they successfully cut English supply lines across th ...

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Siege of Kinsale, Siege of Kinsale - Background - The Tudor re-conquest of Ireland, Siege of Kinsale - Spanish landing, Siege of Kinsale - The Siege, Siege of Kinsale - Results

Read more here: » Siege of Kinsale: Encyclopedia II - Siege of Kinsale - The Siege

The Nine Years War was caused by the collision between the ambition of the Gaelic Irish chieftain Hugh O’Neill and the advance of the English state in Ireland, from control over the Pale to ruling the whole island. In resisting this advance, O’Neill managed to rally other Irish septs who were dissatisfied with English government and those Catholics who opposed the spread of Protestantism in Ireland. Nine Years ...

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Nine Years War Ireland, Nine Years War Ireland - Causes, Nine Years War Ireland - The rise of Hugh O’Neill, Nine Years War Ireland - Government advances into Ulster, Nine Years War Ireland - War Breaks Out, Nine Years War Ireland - Rebel victory at Yellow Ford, Nine Years War Ireland - The Earl of Essex’s command, Nine Years War Ireland - The end of the rebellion in Munster, Nine Years War Ireland - The Battle of Kinsale and the Collapse of the Rebellion, Nine Years War Ireland - The End of the War, Nine Years War Ireland - Aftermath, Nine Years War Ireland - Sources

Read more here: » Nine Years War Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Nine Years War Ireland - Causes

The first Irish troops to serve as a unit for a continental power formed an Irish regiment in the Spanish army of Flanders in the Eighty Years War in the 1580s. The regiment had been raised by an English Catholic, William Stanley in Ireland, from native Irish soldiers and mercenaries, whom the English authorities wanted out of the country (See also Tudor re-conquest of Ireland). Stanley was given a commission by Elizabeth I and was intended to lead his regiment on the English side, in support of the Dutch United Provinces. However, in 1585, ...

See also:

Flight of the Wild Geese, Flight of the Wild Geese - Spanish service, Flight of the Wild Geese - French service, Flight of the Wild Geese - Austrian service, Flight of the Wild Geese - The End of the Wild Geese

Read more here: » Flight of the Wild Geese: Encyclopedia II - Flight of the Wild Geese - Spanish service

The early Plantations of Ireland occurred in the context of the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland. This hoped to pacify and Anglicise Ireland under English rule, incorporating Ireland’s native ruling classes into the English aristocracy. By this means, it was hoped that Ireland would become a peaceful and reliable possession and would no longer be a source of rebellions and base for foreign invasions. "Plantations" or colonisation, played a major part in this policy. They took two forms in the first half of the 16th century. The first was "exem ...

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Plantations of Ireland, Plantations of Ireland - Early Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Munster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - The Ulster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Plantations under the Stuart Kings 1610–1641, Plantations of Ireland - The 1641 Rebellion and the Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Cromwellian Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Subsequent Settlement, Plantations of Ireland - Long-term results, Plantations of Ireland - Sources, Plantations of Ireland - See Also

Read more here: » Plantations of Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Plantations of Ireland - Early Plantations

Upon his return to Ulster, he gained the leadership of the Clan O'Donnell becoming Lord of Tyrconnel (modern Donegal) after his father abdicated in his favour later that year. Having driven the crown sheriff out of Tyrconnel, he successfully led two expeditions against Turlough Luineach O'Neill in 1593, in order to force Turlough O'Neill to abdicate his chieftainship in favour of Hugh O'Neill. At this point, O'Neill did not join O'Donnell in open rebellion, but secretly backed him in order to enhance his bargaining power with the English. O'Donnell by now was also ...

See also:

Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Hugh Roe O'Donnell - Early Life Imprisonment and Escape, Hugh Roe O'Donnell - The Nine Years War, Hugh Roe O'Donnell - Flight to Spain and Death, Hugh Roe O'Donnell - See Also

Read more here: » Hugh Roe O'Donnell: Encyclopedia II - Hugh Roe O'Donnell - The Nine Years War

The country the English troops had to march over was hilly and wooded and interspersed with bogs, making it ideal for an ambush. O'Neill had also lined their line of march with obstacles such as trenches and breastworks across the road. As soon as they left Armagh, the English were harassed with musket fire and thrown spears from Irish forces concealed in the woods. As a result the different English companies became separated from one another as they paused to deal with the hit and run attacks. This was accentuated when one of their artillery pieces became stuck in the mud an ...

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Battle of the Yellow Ford, Battle of the Yellow Ford - The opposing sides, Battle of the Yellow Ford - the battle, Battle of the Yellow Ford - Sources

Read more here: » Battle of the Yellow Ford: Encyclopedia II - Battle of the Yellow Ford - the battle

The Munster Plantation of the 1580s was the first mass plantation in Ireland . It was instituted as punishment for the Desmond Rebellions, when the Geraldine Earl of Desmond had rebelled against English interference in Munster. The Desmond dynasty was annihilated in the aftermath of the rebellions and their estates confiscated. This gave the English authorities the opportunity to settle the province with colonists from England and Wales, who, it was hoped, would be a bulwark against further rebellions. In 1584, a commission surveyed M ...

See also:

Plantations of Ireland, Plantations of Ireland - Early Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Munster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - The Ulster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Plantations under the Stuart Kings 1610–1641, Plantations of Ireland - The 1641 Rebellion and the Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Cromwellian Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Subsequent Settlement, Plantations of Ireland - Long-term results, Plantations of Ireland - Sources, Plantations of Ireland - See Also

Read more here: » Plantations of Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Plantations of Ireland - The Munster Plantation

On August 13th 1689 William's army under Marshal Frederic Schomberg landed at Ballyholme Bay in County Down and after capturing Carrickfergus marched unopposed to Dundalk where the soldiers were ravaged by fever. James's viceroy Tyrconnell raised an army to make a stand, but there was no battle and the two armies withdrew to winter quarters. The Williamites found themselves harassed throughout this winter and in the following two years by Irish Catholic guerrillas known as "rapparees". Schomberg's troops were decimated by disease in their wi ...

See also:

Williamite war in Ireland, Williamite war in Ireland - The Glorious Revolution, Williamite war in Ireland - War Breaks Out - Campaign in Ulster, Williamite war in Ireland - William Arrives - Battle of the Boyne, Williamite war in Ireland - Limerick Aughrim and the end of the War, Williamite war in Ireland - Long-Term Effects, Williamite war in Ireland - Sources

Read more here: » Williamite war in Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Williamite war in Ireland - William Arrives - Battle of the Boyne

In addition to the Ulster plantation, several other small plantations occurred under the reign of the Stuart kings — James I and Charles I — in the early 17th century. The first of these took placed in north county Wexford in 1610, where lands were confiscated from the MacMurrough-Kavanagh clan. Since most land-owning families in Ireland had taken their estates by force in the previous four hundred years, very few of them, with the exception of the New English arrivals, had proper legal titles for them. As a result, in order to obtain su ...

See also:

Plantations of Ireland, Plantations of Ireland - Early Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Munster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - The Ulster Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Plantations under the Stuart Kings 1610–1641, Plantations of Ireland - The 1641 Rebellion and the Plantations, Plantations of Ireland - The Cromwellian Plantation, Plantations of Ireland - Subsequent Settlement, Plantations of Ireland - Long-term results, Plantations of Ireland - Sources, Plantations of Ireland - See Also

Read more here: » Plantations of Ireland: Encyclopedia II - Plantations of Ireland - Plantations under the Stuart Kings 1610–1641