The siege of Carrigafoyle Castle took place on Easter in 1580 near modern-day
Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland, on the southern bank of the
Shannon estuary. The engagement was part of the English crown's campaign against the forces of
Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond
Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond ( – 1583), also counted as 15th or 16th, owned large part of the Irish province of Munster. In 1565 he fought the private Battle of Affane against his neighbours, the Butlers. After this, he was for so ...
during the
Second Desmond Rebellion
The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions in Ireland launched by the FitzGerald Dynasty of Desmond in Munster against English rule. The second rebellion began in July 1579 whe ...
. The castle was held by rebel troops in the service of Desmond and some Catholic troops from continental Europe.
Background
![Carrigafoyle Castle Ireland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Carrigafoyle_Castle_Ireland.jpg)
Carrigafoyle Castle – built by
Conor Liath O'Connor-Kerry in the 1490s and considered one of the strongest of Irish fortresses – was a large tower house, of the type particularly common across the north of the province of
Munster. It stood on a rock in a small bay off the
Shannon estuary, and its name is an anglicisation of the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, ''Carraig an Phoill'' ("rock of the hole").
The castle was known as ''the guardian of the Shannon'' because of its strategic command of the shipping lanes that supplied the trading city of
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, some 20 miles (32 km) upriver. The bay at Carrigafoyle was shielded from the estuary on the northern side by a wooded island; within the bay the castle-rock was defended on the west and south sides by a double defensive wall; the inner wall enclosed a
bawn, and surrounding this was a
moat covered on three sides (the east lay open) by the outer wall, where a smaller tower stood. The tower-keep itself was 86 ft high, and the precipitous sides of the castle-rock were layered with bricks and mortar. At high tide the walled landing within the moat was capable of accommodating a ship of 100 tons displacement.
Siege
During the
rebellion the castle was held by 50 Irish, along with 16 Spanish soldiers who had landed at
Smerwick harbour the previous year in the
1579 Papal invasion; there were also women and children present. Months earlier an Italian engineer, Captain Julian, had set about perfecting the castle's defences under the direction of Desmond's countess, Eleanor. By the time of the siege she had retired to her husband's company - some forty miles (64 km) distant, at
Castleisland
Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2016 Census, Castleisland had a population of 2,486.
Castleisland was described by one of its ...
- while Julian was still at his task.
The English commander,
Sir William Pelham, marched through Munster in the company of Sir
George Carew and assumed command of an additional 600 troops. He was supported by a fleet of 3 three-masted ships under the command of
Sir William Winter. It was the largest army ever seen in the west of Ireland.
On arriving at Carrigafoyle the English camped to the south-west of the castle. The fleet anchored in the estuary beyond the bay and supplied Pelham with 3
demi-cannon
The demi-cannon was a medium-sized cannon, similar to but slightly larger than a culverin and smaller than a regular cannon, developed in the early 17th century. A full cannon fired a 42-pound shot, but these were discontinued in the 18th centur ...
and a
culverin
A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but later was used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The term is derived from the French "''couleuvrine''" (from ''couleuvre'' "grass snake", following the ...
(a huge naval gun with small projectiles) manned by naval gunners. The ordnance was ranged along a low wall running north, parallel to the outer wall at a distance of 100 yards, and at the northern point of this wall a company of foot with lances was stationed.
The
bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings.
Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...
of the castle was carried out over two days, six hours each day. The demi-cannon could be effective against stone, but only if allowed to fire unhindered - in the event no hindrance was given. In addition Winter's ships fired their stern cannon against the seaward wall of the castle.
On the first day (Palm Sunday) Pelham ordered a party of troops to cross to the sea-wall, where they were pinned down by gunfire and had boulders hurled at them from the battlements. The troops threw up assault ladders, which the Spanish
halberdiers pushed away. The Earl of
Ormond described seeing the sea-channel fill with wreckage as the sides of the castle-rock became slippery with blood. Pelham was hit by a ricochet and jeered at by the defenders, but there was no pause in the bombardment.
On the second day, Pelham was reinforced with troops from Winter's ships. The final assault, led by Captains Humfrey Mackworth and John Zouche, was concentrated on the part of the tower furthest from the cannon, where the defenders were holding out. The tower cracked under the impact of 2 or 3 shot, and the great west wall collapsed on its foundations, crushing many within. The survivors fled through the shallow waters, but most were shot or put to the sword; the rest (including one woman) were brought back to camp and hanged from trees. Captain Julian was hanged three days later.
Consequences
The strategic significance of the siege is shown in the swiftness with which other Desmond strongholds fell once news of the destruction had spread. The castle at
Askeaton was abandoned before the guns (its Spanish defenders blowing up the walls), and the garrisons at
Newcastle West
Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...
,
Balliloghan,
Rathkeale
Rathkeale () is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. Rathkeale has a significant Irish Traveller population, and ...
, and
Ballyduff slipped away soon after. The rebels then engaged in
guerrilla warfare, and the crown only prevailed against them in 1583, when the Earl of Desmond was killed at Glenageenty in the Slieve Mish mountains near
Tralee
Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...
.
Such was the damage to Carrigafoyle Castle that it was never repaired. Its ruins still stand, including the outer defences and moat, and the effect of the bombardment is clear to see.
References
*
*Richard Bagwell, ''Ireland under the Tudors'' 3 vols. (London, 1885–1890).
*John O'Donovan (ed.) ''Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters'' (1851).
*Cyril Falls ''Elizabeth's Irish Wars'' (1950; reprint London, 1996). {{ISBN, 0-09-477220-7.
1580 in Ireland
16th-century military history of the Kingdom of England
Carrigafoyle Castle
FitzGerald dynasty
History of County Kerry
Carrigafoyle Castle
Second Desmond Rebellion