The Battle of Spancel Hill took place in 1559 in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

close to modern

Kilraghtis Kilraghtis ( ga, Cill Reachtais) is a civil parish of County Clare, Ireland. It covers an area northeast of the town of Ennis, and includes the Ennis suburb of Roslevan. Location The parish of Kilraghtis is in the barony of Bunratty Upper. ...

when a force led by Sir Donnell O'Brien defeated his rival for leadership of the O'Briens

Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond also spelt Conor and called Groibleach, or the "long-nailed", ( ga, Conchobhar Groibleach Ó Briain; 1535–1581) fought his uncle Donnell over his father's succession during thirty years from 1535 to 1565. ...

and his ally

Richard Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde Richard Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde (; ; died 24 July 1582) was an Irish noble who succeeded his father Ulick na gCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde as chief of a Gaelicised Norman family with authority over much of what is now County ...

. Although primarily a battle for local power amongst rival

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

factions it had wider ramifications. The defeat was a blow to the current Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex Thomas Radclyffe (or Ratclyffe), 3rd Earl of Sussex KG (c. 15259 June 1583), was Lord Deputy of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I. Family He was the eldest son of Hen ...

who had strongly supported Thomond and had led Crown troops into the area the previous year to install the Earl in power. By contrast the Irish opponents of Sussex were known to be sympathetic to Sir Donnell and used his victory as evidence of Sussex's incompetence. In turn these two factions were allied with rival power groups at the English Court. Sussex was forced to dispatch a fresh expedition of Royal forces into the area in 1560 to protect Thomond. Eventually a compromise was reached in which Sir Donnell was granted a status independent of Thomond's overlordship which brought peace to the area.Brady p.99

References

Bibliography

* Brady, Ciaran. ''The Chief Governors: The Rise and Fall of Reform Government in Tudor Ireland, 1536-1588''. Cambridge University Press, 1994. 1559 in Ireland Spancel Hill Battles involving the Dál gCais {{battle-stub