Cath Áth an Chip, meaning the Battle of Ath an Chip, alias the "Battle of Connacht", was fought in 1270 between the

Hiberno-Normans Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans (; ) is a modern term for the descendants of Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. Most came from England and Wales. They are distinguished from the nativ ...

and the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The result was a decisive Gaelic victory. "Athanchip", then a ford marked by a tree-stump", is today the place called "Battle Bridge". The battle site is probably Drumhierney townland and

Leitrim village Leitrim ( ; ) is a village in County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Shannon near the border with County Roscommon. It is at the junction of the R280 road (Ireland), R280 and R284 road (Ireland), R284 regional roads. Loca ...

Background

Sixty years after the

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 in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

Fedlimid Ó Conchobair became

King of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

with the assistance of the De Burgh Norman family. At first Fedlimid attempted to arrest the expansion of Norman settlements in Connacht as they set about occupying the kingdom but eventually capitulated to King Henry III and was left a rump kingdom in present-day

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

known as ''The King's Candreds''. His son Aedh did not favour the diplomatic approach or appeasement. Even during his father's reign, Aedh attacked the Normans at every opportunity. In 1249 he ambushed Piers de Bermingham, who at the time held the wardship of the de Burgh lands. This

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

led to all-out war and resulted in Fedlimid being deposed. He regained his throne in 1250 but was much weaker as a result.

Battle

Aedh became king after his father's death in 1265. He continued to

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

settled lands in his kingdom. In 1269 Robert d'Ufford, the new justiciar in Ireland, began building a royal castle in

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

. D'Ufford sent his deputy across the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

to join his ally, Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster. The combined forces met with Aedh to negotiate but to no avail. The forces under de Burgh retreated and attempted to ford the Shannon at Áth-an-Chip. Aedh routed the army and destroyed the castle at Roscommon. Leaving Leitrim Village

The battle occurred at Maigh Nissi (Moynissy, "plain of Nissi"), in the barony of Leitrim, County Leitrim. Connellan states "". Moynissy was the Gaelic place name for the flat, unforested part, of the barony of Leitrim, bordering the Shannon. The

Irish Annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...

describe the

Anglo-Normans The Anglo-Normans (, ) were the medieval ruling class in the Kingdom of England following the Norman Conquest. They were primarily a combination of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, French people, Frenchmen, Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons. Afte ...

crossing ''Ath-Cara-Conaill'' ("Carrick-on-Shannon") before marching onward to Ath-an-cip. Places corrupted as "Ath an Chip" and all variants were a ford marked by a large tree stump. Ath an Chip was clearly a ford on the River Shannon. MacNamee states "". At

the R284 road crosses the Shannon at "Battle-bridge" (, "the ford/mouth of the battle"). The townland at this bridge is Drumhierney (, meaning the ridge of the "master", "lord", or "the domination"). Without certainty the battle-site was Drumhierney townland in

county Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

Aftermath

The death in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

of de Burgh in 1271 ended all effective resistance to Aedh's rule in Connacht. Aedh continued to raid as far east as Granard and even burnt

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

, destroying the bridge there. The raiding came to an end with Aedh's sudden death on 3 May 1274. The Kingdom of Connacht became embroiled in a civil war with thirteen kings during the period between 1274 and 1315. This instability left Connacht vulnerable to Norman settlement.

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References and notes

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading