On 16 February 1595, a
Gaelic Irish
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
force assaulted and captured the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-held Blackwater Fort at
Blackwatertown
Blackwatertown is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It sits on the River Blackwater, in the townland of Lisbofin, at the border with County Tyrone. The village is around north of Armagh city, and the villages of Benburb and ...
in
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...
. The Irish were led by
Art MacBaron O'Neill
Art MacBaron O'Neill (Irish: ''Art mac Baron Ó Néill'') (died 1618) was an Irish landowner and soldier of the Elizabethan and early Stuart eras. He is sometimes referred to as Arthur O'Neill.
Biography
O'Neill was part of the O'Neill dynasty o ...
, brother of
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Hugh O'Neill (Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Neil ...
, and marked Tyrone's break with the English Crown as he openly waged war against the English forces in Ireland.
The Blackwater Fort
The assault focused on the English fort which sat at a bridge on the Blackwater River, marking the border between Counties Tyrone and Armagh. It was built by
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG (16 September 1541 – 22 September 1576), was an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantations of Ireland, most notably the Rathlin Isl ...
, in 1575 as an outpost of English military strength in the heart of Gaelic Ulster, but also to secure the power of the main Irish ally in the region
Hugh O'Neill, Baron of Dungannon. The fort was composed of a square earthwork
bawn
A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional spe ...
"twelve score yards in circuit" reinforced by two
bulwarks and punctuated with
gun loops
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...
in its ramparts. In one corner stood a wooden tower, four storeys tall, topped with a wooden walkway and a slate-covered building. It was accessed by two doors, one led out onto the ramparts, another led to a cellar. Each storey had defensive firing loops, also known as spike holes. This tower overlooked a road and bridge across the river. At the other side of the river, on the Tyrone side, was a stone tower. The stone tower controlled access to the bridge, as the road ran through it via large wooden doors.
Background
Hugh O'Neill, lord of
Tyrone, was thought an ally of the English Crown and he was supported by the
English authorities in Dublin as a counterweight to the power of other native lords in Ulster such as
Turlough Luineach O'Neill
Sir Turlough Lynagh O'Neill (Irish: ''Sir Toirdhealbhach Luineach mac Néill Chonnalaigh Ó Néill''; 1532 – September, 1595) was an Irish Gaelic lord of Tír Eoghain in early modern Ireland. He was inaugurated upon Shane O’Neill’s death, ...
. However, encroachment by English authorities on the liberties of the native Irish lords in Ulster during the 1580s and early 1590s caused O'Neil to create an alliance of Irish lords, which looked to throw off English rule with the help of
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
. From April 1593 O'Neill orchestrated a proxy war against the English using
Hugh Maguire, Lord of
Fermanagh
Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...
and
Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donne ...
, Lord or
Tyrconnell
Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...
. They engaged the English in the west of Ulster while O'Neill, outwardly still loyal to the Crown, strengthened his power base in Ulster and subdued the Crown's Irish allies in the north. The Irish
laid siege to Enniskillen Castle and
defeated an English force sent to relieve it.
O'Neill's alliance was not limited to Ulster as he was allied to
Fiach McHugh O'Byrne
Fiach Mac Aodha Ó Broin (anglicised as Feagh or Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) (1534 – 8 May, 1597) was Chief of the Name of Clann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) and Lord of Ranelagh during the Elizabethan wars against the Irish clans.
Arms
Backg ...
in Leinster. He had come under increasing pressure from
Lord Deputy William Russell's military expeditions into the
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...
. In desperation, Fiach McHugh asked that Tyrone offer help or at least raid the northern
Pale to draw Russell out of Wicklow. O'Neill requested a meeting with Russell to discuss how to proceed but this was dismissed by the Lord Deputy as a ploy to draw him out of O'Byrne's lands. Therefore, to help O'Byrne, O'Neill made his first open move against the Crown.
The Assault
On the morning of Sunday 16 February 1595, Art MacBaron O'Neill approached the fort from the direction of
Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
with 40 men, escorting what appeared to be two prisoners. As they crossed the bridge one of the English warders noticed the matchcords of the Irishmen's
matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
calivers were lit, a sign that they were ready to fire. The English opened fire and MacBaron's men forced their way into the stone tower, but the English withdrew to the upper storeys and prevented the Irish from taking the tower. Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, 200 Irish soldiers swept over the earth ramparts and took the bawn. The English soldiers and their families retreated to the wooden tower. Defensive fire from within kept the Irish back and twice the warders thwarted MacBaron's attempts to burn the position. Fifteen of MacBaron's men were killed attempting to storm the towers, and eight more would later die of their wounds. The stalemate lasted until five o' clock in the evening when MacBaron called for a ceasefire. He offered the garrison terms for their surrender. The English, led by Edward Cornwall, were critically low on ammunition but still prevaricated until MacBaron threatened to burn the fort to the ground with all in it. The ward's surrender was agreed and MacBaron guaranteed their safe passage to Newry.
[ Advertisements sent to Sir Henry Duke by several espials, 20 Feb. 1595 (T.N.A., SP 63/178, f. 122).]
Results
The loss of the fort was doubtless a military setback for the Crown, but of more significance was the presence of the Earl of Tyrone in person. According to the English commander, O'Neill arrived after the surrender and was outraged at the losses suffered in taking the fort, and was angry that the defenders had not been executed. After the English soldiers and their families left, O'Neill looked on as the bridge was demolished and the fort's defence slighted. Up until this point there was no concrete proof that O'Neill active in the attacks by Maguire and O'Donnell in the west of Ireland. Now there was indisputable proof that the crown was at war with O'Neill.{{fact, date=November 2020
Bibliography
*John J Marshall 'To rule the North: Being a history of the Fort of Blackwater, sometimes called Portmore', ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'', no 3 (1902), pp 107-118.
*Hiram Morgan, ''Tyrone's Rebellion: The outbreak of the Nine Years war in Tudor Ireland'' (Dublin, 1993).
*James O'Neill, 'The cockpit of Ulster: war along the River Blackwater 593-1603, ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'', vol. 72 (2013-14), pp 184-99.
*James O'Neill, 'The balloon goes up in Ulster: taking the Blackwater Fort, ''Ireland's Military Story'', no. 2 (2016), pp 53-6.
*James O'Neill, ''The Nine Years War, 1593-1603: O'Neill, Mountjoy and the Military Revolution'' (Dublin, 2017).
References
Blackwater Fort
1595 in Ireland
Blackwater Fort
Military history of County Armagh