The Capture of Bandon occurred in 1689 when the town of
Bandon in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
,
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 ...
was forcibly seized from its rebellious
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
inhabitants by a force of
Irish Army
The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...
troops under
Justin McCarthy. The skirmishing at the town took place during the early stages of the
Williamite War in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...
. The Jacobite success at Bandon helped suppress any chance of a general
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
uprising against the rule of
James II similar to that which occurred in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
the same year. The slogan
"No Surrender!" is believed to have been first used at Bandon and subsequently taken up, more famously, by the defenders at the
Siege of Derry
The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...
the same year.
Background
In 1685 the Catholic James II had come to the throne. This led to sharp reversal of government policy in Ireland, which had previously favoured the Protestant inhabitants but now was quickly changed by James' representative
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell
Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (c. 1630 – 14 August 1691) was an Irish politician, courtier and soldier.
Talbot's early career was spent as a cavalryman in the Irish Confederate Wars. Following a period on the Continent, he joined ...
. Under Tyrconnell's administration, the army and civil government were mostly purged of Protestants, who were replaced by Catholics. In Bandon, the previous town
burgesses were replaced by Catholic nominees.
Tyrconnell's actions led to a growing hostility amongst the Protestant inhabitants across the island towards the King and his
Irish government
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
. Bandon was a historic centre of Protestants, dating back to the
Plantation of Munster
Plantation (settlement or colony), Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the Kingdom of England, English The Crown, Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Brita ...
in the
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
and was a natural focus of dissent against James's rule. In 1688 similar opposition in England led to the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
, in which
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
successfully invaded with a Dutch Army. Many Protestants now believed William to be their rightful King while Catholics, and some Protestants, remained loyal to James. During the growing turmoil, many rural County Cork Protestants came to shelter in Bandon.
Uprising
Fearing a potential outbreak of rebellion in Bandon, the government sent a detachment of the Irish Army under Captain Daniel O'Neill to take the town. They reportedly entered on a Sunday morning while the inhabitants were attending church services. The following day 24 February, sometimes referred to "
Black Monday
Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes.
Historic events
*1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
", the townspeople rose up and attacked the soldiers. Various sources say between three or eight of the redcoats were killed and the remainder driven out of the town. Using their captured weapons the Protestants then made an effort to prepare Bandon to withstand an assault.
Having received word about the growing rebellion in the county, Tyrconnell in Dublin had already despatched six companies of
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
under
Justin McCarthy, an experienced Irish Catholic soldier. Instead of immediately assaulting Bandon, McCarthy had first seized nearby
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, another major centre of Protestants in the south of the country and clamped down on other potential dissidents. He then proceeded to Bandon with his troops, plus some
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
and
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
. Although they had previously hung out a banner proclaiming "No Surrender", the defenders negotiated a surrender in exchange for generous conditions. Despite the usual punishment for rebellion being death, the town corporation was fined £1,000 and the walls ordered to be demolished.
The comparatively light terms imposed on the town were a part of a wider attempt by King James to convince Protestants of his goodwill towards them. It angered more hardline Catholics, including McCarthy's nephew
Lord Clancarty, who wanted a harsher punishment for the rebels.
[Wauchope p.49]
Aftermath
The fighting at Bandon was part of a succession of defeats of locally raised Protestant troops both across Munster (at
Castlemartyr
Castlemartyr (, formerly anglicised as ''Ballymarter'' or ''Ballymartyr'') is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located 25 minutes east of Cork city, 10 km (6 mi) east of Midleton, 16 km (10 mi) west of Youghal and 6&n ...
) and Ireland as a whole, with the Ulster-raised
Army of the North
The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
suffering heavy defeats at the
Break of Dromore
The Break of Dromore took place on 14 March 1689 near Dromore, County Down in the early stages of the Williamite War in Ireland. It featured Catholic Jacobite troops under Richard Hamilton and Protestant Williamite militia led by Hugh Mon ...
and the
Battle of Cladyford
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. The advance of the mainly Catholic Jacobite Army was halted by the successful Protestant
Defence of Enniskillen and
of Derry. The arrival of large-scale reinforcements under
Marshal Schomberg
Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...
and King William reversed the tide, and
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 ...
was captured following the
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...
in 1690. The same year Bandon was re-taken by Protestant forces following
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
's successful
Siege of Cork
The siege of Cork took place during the Williamite war in Ireland in the year of 1690 in Ireland, 1690, shortly after the Battle of the Boyne when James II of England, James II attempted to retake the English throne from William III of England ...
. The walls were not rebuilt, as they were becoming increasingly militarily
obsolete
Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...
.
References
Bibliography
* Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007.
* Wauchope, Piers. ''Patrick Sarsfield and the Williamite War''. Irish Academic Press, 1992.
{{coord missing, County Cork
1689 in Ireland
Conflicts in 1689
History of County Cork
Bandon