The Battle of Knocknanauss was fought in 1647, 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 ...

, part of the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...

, between

Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...

’s Munster army and an English Parliamentarian army under Murrough O’Brien. The battle resulted in a crushing defeat for the Irish Confederates.

Background

In the summer of 1647, Murrough O’Brien (later created the

Earl of Inchiquin Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

), commander of the English Parliamentarian forces in Cork, ravaged and burned the Confederate territory in Munster. This caused severe food shortages and earned O’Brien the Irish nickname, Murchadh an Dóiteáin, "Murrough the Burner" In addition, Inchiquinn took the

Rock of Cashel The Rock of Cashel ( ga, Carraig Phádraig ), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site located at Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. History According to local legends, the Rock of Cashel originated in th ...

, which was garrisoned by Confederate troops and rich in emotive religious symbolism. In the sack of the castle, O’Brien's troops massacred the garrison and all the clergy they found there. The Confederates' Munster army was incapable of stopping O’Brien because of political infighting between officers who supported a deal with the English Royalists and those who rejected such a deal. Eventually, in reaction to the sack of Cashel and famine conditions, the Confederate Supreme Council replaced

Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

, as commander of the Munster army with

Viscount Taaffe The title Viscount Taaffe, of Corren, was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1628, together with the subsidiary title Baron Ballymote. From 1661 to 1738, the Viscounts Taaffe were also the Earls of Carlingford. From the 18th century onwards, ...

and ordered him to bring O’Brien to battle. Taaffe was an English Catholic and not an experienced soldier. Although he had an excellent contingent of veteran troops under Alasdair MacColla, most of his men were similarly inexperienced. Furthermore, the Irish troops were demoralised by the internal factionalism in their ranks and most of them had little loyalty to Taafe. O’Brien, on the other hand, had been commanding his force since 1642 and was well experienced in battle. His troops were a mixture of well trained Parliamentarian soldiers from England and British settlers who had been driven from their homes in 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 plantat ...

. The two armies met at Knocknanuss near Mallow, approximately 29 kilometers north of Cork.

The battle

The battle that followed was essentially an uncoordinated rout of the Irish forces. Taaffe positioned his men on either side of a hill, so that they could not see one another. The result was that one wing of the Confederate army had no idea of what the other wing was doing. MacColla's men charged the Parliamentarians opposite them putting them to flight and killing a large number of them. Thinking the battle was over, they then took to looting the enemy's baggage train. However, on the other wing, O’Brien's cavalry had charged the raw Irish horsemen, causing them to run away. Despite Taaffe's desperate attempt to rally them, the Irish infantry followed suit, many of them being cut down by the pursuing roundheads. The pursuit continued for miles and not only resulted in heavy casualties among the Irish, but also in the loss of most of their equipment and supplies. Inchiquin lost several senior officers, including the Judge-Advocate, Sir Robert Travers. MacColla and his men surrendered when they realised what had happened but were subsequently killed by their captors. Around 3,000 Confederates died at Knocknanauss, and up to 1,000 English Parliamentarians. The carnage did not stop after the fighting was finished. The next day a couple of hundred Irish soldiers were found sheltering in a nearby wood. These were promptly put to the sword.

Outcome

When combined with the battle of Dungans Hill in County Meath, the defeat led to the collapse of the Confederate Catholic cause and forced them to make a deal with the English Royalists.

Citations

References

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Background

The battle

Outcome

See also

Citations

References

Further reading