, partof=

Norman Invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...

, image=IMG The Curragh.jpg , image_size=350px , caption=The Curragh plains , date=1 April 1234 , place=The

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

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 ...

, coordinates= , result=Royalist victory , combatant1= Royal Standard of England (2) at 3^5 ratio

English Royalists , combatant2= English Rebels , commander1= Lord Offaly
Lord Meath

Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's eld ...

, commander2=

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

, strength1=140 Knights , strength2=15 Knights , casualties1= , casualties2= The Battle of the Curragh ( ga, Cath an Churraigh) was a battle fought on 1 April 1234 on the

plain in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. The adversaries were men loyal to King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

on one side, and on the other side Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Leinster, who lost the battle and later died from the wounds he suffered. The battle was a small affair in the number of knights involved, but was still significant because it ended the career of the popular Richard Marshal. The conflict between Richard Marshal and Henry III went back several years, and centred particularly on the earl's discontent with the influence that certain foreigners held over the king. Most prominent among these was the Poitevin

Peter des Roches Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

. In March 1234, a truce was reached between the king and Marshal, the condition of which was the removal of Peter des Roches from court.Power (2004). In the meanwhile, however, conflict had broken out in Ireland between Marshal's brothers and some of the king's supporters. These included Maurice FitzGerald,

justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch) ...

Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath Walter de Lacy (c. 1172 – 1241) was lord of Meath in Ireland. He was also a substantial land owner in Weobley, Herefordshire, in Ludlow, Shropshire, in Ewyas Lacy in the Welsh Marches, and several lands in Normandy. He was the eldest son ...

and Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster. Richard Marshal crossed to Ireland to assist his brothers, where he met with the enemies at the Curragh on 1 April. Here he was defeated and captured. He was taken to his castle at Kilkenny, where he died from his injuries on 16 April.Powicke (1962), pp. 57–59. Richard Marshal had become highly popular in England because of his fight against foreign influence at court, and for this reason the accounts of the battle were idealised and not necessarily reliable. According to contemporary accounts, he was tricked into meeting his enemies at the Curragh, and then deserted by his own forces. Rather than flee, he remained to fight against the odds, allegedly with only fifteen knights against 140. Marshal's popularity also meant that his death was mourned in England, while the Poitevins—who were rumoured to have instigated the Irish war—fell further into disregard. Henry III nevertheless rewarded Marshal's Irish opponents richly. The Curragh plains were later used as a location to recreate the

Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blàr Drochaid Shruighlea) was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

's 1995 film ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

''.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curragh, Battle of the 1234 in Ireland Battles involving England Battles involving Ireland History of County Kildare Conflicts in 1234