The Battle of Ardnaree, was a battle in the

Tudor conquest of Ireland The Tudor conquest (or reconquest) of Ireland took place under the Tudor dynasty, which held the Kingdom of England during the 16th century. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas, the Earl of Kildare, in the 1530s, ...

fought at Ardnaree (now a suburb of

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Range, Nephin ...

In 1586, Ardnaree was in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

. The

River Moy The River Moy () is a river in the northwest of Ireland. Name Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (''Libniu'', perhaps from *''lei''- "flow") which probably referred to the River Moy. The Moy is fi ...

was the county boundary from the shiring of Connacht in 1585 until the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

, under which the area around Ardnaree was transferred to Mayo as part of the hinterland of Ballina.) on 23 September 1586. The result was a victory for the English over the Mac Philbins and

Burkes Burkes is a surname. Notable people with the names include: * Ida Burkes or Ida Dorsey (c. 1866–1988), American madam * Wayne Burkes (1929–2020), American politician See also *Burks, surname *Berkes, surname * Birks (surname) *Burke Burk ...

. The conflict was a part of the political and military struggle, involving the English and occasionally the Scots, for control of northern Ireland. Ardnaree the anglicised version of the name can be translated to Árd na ríogh meaning the hill of the kings. The Mac Philbins and Mayo Burkes had risen in revolt against English rule in Ireland. An Irish-Scottish mercenary army, led by Donnell Gorm MacDonnell of Carey and Alexander Carragh MacDonnell of Glenarm, sons of the deceased

James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg James MacDonald (Scottish Gaelic: ''Séamus Mac Dhòmhnaill''), alias McDonnell, 6th Chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Scottish-Gaelic lord, died 1565. Biography MacDonald was the son of Alexander MacDonald, lord of Islay and Kintyre (''Can ...

, were invited into Connacht by the Burkes to attack English settlements and forces. The mercenary army was fronted at

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

, Coolony and Ballingafad by English forces for over fourteen days. Sir Richard Bingham, the governor of Connacht, followed the mercenary force to Ardnaree, where the mercenary force had camped on the east (right) bank of the River Moy. Bingham's forces surrounded the camp at night and attacked the occupants. During the battle 1,000 mercenaries were killed, including Donnell Gorm MacDonnell of Carey and Alexander Carragh MacDonnell of Glenarm. Also slaughtered were some 1000 men, women and children in the camp. Richard Bingham went on to hang the leaders of the Burkes, with the former lands of Mac Philbins and Mayo Burkes given to English settlers.

Notes

Sources

* The Oxford Companion to Irish History *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardnaree, Battle Of 1586 in Ireland Conflicts in 1586 Clan Donald Military history of County Antrim 16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England Elizabethan era England–Ireland relations Ireland–Scotland relations