The Battle of Kilrush was a fought during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

. It was fought on 15 April 1642 between an Irish Royalist army under the Earl of Ormonde and

Irish Confederate The Irish Confederation was an Irish nationalist independence movement, established on 13 January 1847 by members of the Young Ireland movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association. Historian T. W. Moody described it as "th ...

troops commanded by Lord Mountgarret.

Background

On 2 April 1642, the Earl of Ormonde, serving as the commander of the Royalist army in Ireland, led his second expedition into the counties of Kildare and Laois, reinforcing Royalist garrisons and wreaking havoc upon the landowners who had joined the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

. After a ten day period in which his forces traveled from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to Maryborough (now

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050 ...

), Ormonde returned part way back to Athy and became aware of the nearby presence of a large rebel militia attempting to intercept his force as they returned to Dublin.Bagwell, pp. 17-18.

Before the battle

Although Ormonde had left Dublin with 3,000 foot and 500 horse, his reinforcement activities had significantly reduced the size of his detachment and he desired to avoid a direct confrontation with the rebels if possible. The rebel militia, estimated to be as large as 8,000 foot with several hundred horse, was reported to have crossed the River Barrow at Mageny-ford 10 kilometers to the south. The rebel militia was commanded by Lord Mountgarret and attended by other rebel leaders including

Rory O'Moore Sir Rory O'Moore ( ga, Ruaidhrí Ó Mórdha) (c. 1600 – 16 February 1655), also known Sir Roger O'Moore or O'More or Sir Roger Moore, was an Irish landowner of ancient lineage, and is most notable for being one of the four principal organizer ...

and Hugh O'Byrne.Rawson, pp. xiv-xv. As it happened, Ormonde and Mountgarret were cousins within the

Butler dynasty Butler ( ga, de Buitléir) is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. ...

. Given his predicament, Ormonde moved out of Athy early on the morning of 15 April traveling northeast along the high ground through the towns of Ardscull and Funtstown. The rebel militia moved concurrently in the same direction along the high ground southeast of Ormonde's army through the towns of Ballyndrum and Narraghmore. The rebels were attempting to reach the Ballyshannon pass before the Royalists. Slowed by his wagons and baggage, Ormonde decided to send his cavalry on ahead. The rebels arrived first and took positions in Kilrush and Bullhill intercepting Ormonde's force.

The Battle

Although he was outnumbered, Ormonde managed to defeat the rebels. Mountgarret's militia was poorly organized and the Royalist cavalry led the way breaking the left wing of the rebel militia with their first charge. The right wing of the rebel militia held for some time but later retreated and broke. Many of the fleeing rebels were overtaken and killed. Other rebels sought the safety of a nearby bog, where the Royalist horse could not follow. Rebel sources claimed their casualties were very light while Ormonde claimed that over 500 rebels had been killed. The actual number of rebel casualties is unknown although a number of ranked individuals were reported to be lost and the rebel militia participating in this battle ceased to exist. Royalist losses were reported to be 20 killed and 40 wounded.Carte, p. 252.Bagwell, p. 18.

Aftermath

The Royalists considered the battle such a great victory that the Irish government presented Ormonde with a jewel valued at £500. The rebel leaders including Mountgarret, O'Moore, and O'Byrne all survived the battle and continued to play prominent roles in the Irish Confederate Wars.Rawson, p. xv. At the time the Royalist forces had many garrisons around Ireland, but only one field army, which, if it had been surrounded and destroyed at Kilrush, would have had enormous strategic effect across the whole island. This was the longer-term outcome of the battle.

References

Sources