Charles Moore, 2nd Viscount Moore of Drogheda (1603-1643) was an Irish aristocrat noted for his leadership of Irish Royalist forces in northern

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

during the early stages of 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 ...

Background

He was the third but eldest surviving son of

Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore Garret Moore, 1st Viscount Moore PC (I) (1564 – 9 November 1627) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Birth and origins Garret was a son of Sir Edward Moore of Mellifont and his wife Elizabeth Clifford. His father was a knight and owner of ...

, a landowner in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

with connections with many prominent old English families of

The Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

. Moore was a

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 ...

, unlike many of his relatives who remained

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Moore had helped broker the

Treaty of Mellifont The Treaty of Mellifont ( ga, Conradh na Mainistreach Móire), also known as the Articles of Mellifont, was signed in 1603 and ended the Nine Years' War which took place in the Kingdom of Ireland from 1594 to 1603. End of war Following the Engl ...

in 1603, which brought an end to Tyrone's Rebellion. When Garret died in 1627, his Viscountcy and estates including

Mellifont Abbey Mellifont Abbey ( ga, An Mhainistir Mhór, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod of Ke ...

passed to his eldest son Charles. Charles's mother was Mary Colley, daughter of Sir Henry Colley of Castle Carbury and Catherine Cusack: her brother, Henry Colley, Jr., was the direct ancestor of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

. Charles married Alice Loftus (died 1649), younger daughter of

Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus (c. 1568–1643), was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1619 and from 1622 raised to the peerage of Ireland as Viscount Loftus of Ely, King's County. His uncle, another Adam Loftus, was both Lord Chancellor of Irela ...

and Sarah Bathow Meredith, by whom he had at least four surviving children, including Henry, Sarah and Mary. Sarah married

William Caulfeild, 1st Viscount Charlemont William Caulfeild, 1st Viscount Charlemont PC (Ire) (1624 – April 1671) was an Irish politician and peer. Background Born in Donamon Castle in County Roscommon, he was the third son of William Caulfeild, 2nd Baron Caulfeild and his wife Mary ...

; Mary married

Hugh Montgomery, 1st Earl of Mount Alexander Hugh Montgomery, 1st Earl of Mount Alexander (c. 1623 – 15 September 1663), known as The Viscount Montgomery from 1642 to 1661, was an Irish peer. He was appointed to command his father's regiment in 1642. He was commander-in-chief of the Royalis ...

. His adult life before 1641 was uneventful. He took his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

in the Parliament of 1634-5, and sat on at least one House committee. Otherwise, he lived quietly with his wife and children at Mellifont. His wife visited Court in 1639 to plead for her father, who was in deep political disgrace: it is unclear if her husband accompanied her.

Irish Rebellion

Following the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion, Moore's house at Mellifont was captured on 21 November 1641 as a prelude to the rebels'

Siege of Drogheda The siege of Drogheda or the Drogheda massacre took place 3–11 September 1649, at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The coastal town of Drogheda was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists und ...

. Moore was one of the leaders of a relief force from

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 ...

that lifted the siege in March 1642. He and

Sir Henry Tichborne Sir Henry Tichborne PC (Ire) (1581–1667) was an English soldier and politician. He excelled at the Siege of Drogheda during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He governed Ireland as one of the two Lord Justices from 1642 to 1644. In 1647, he fou ...

then marched on

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

and took the town. Tichborne became Governor of Dundalk and Moore returned to Drogheda. In 1643 Moore commanded troops from Dublin sent to resist an advance into Leinster by the

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 ...

Army of the Irish Confederates commanded by

Owen Roe O'Neill Owen Roe O'Neill (Irish: ''Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill;'' – 1649) was a Gaelic Irish soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster. O'Neill left Ireland at a young age and spent most of his life as a mercenary in the Spanish ...

. On 7 August Moore confronted O'Neill at the Battle of Portlester in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. During the fighting, he was killed by an

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 ...

shot, said by some accounts to have been personally aimed and fired by his opponent O'Neill. Following Moore's death, the Protestant forces retreated with his body. O'Neill was unable to follow up his success by advancing towards Dublin. His unusual death was the inspiration for a similar scene in the 1645 play, ''Cola's Furie, or Lirenda's Misery'' by Henry Burkhead, printed in Kilkenny.Randall p.92 Moore was succeeded by his son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

who was made

Earl of Drogheda Earl of Drogheda is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1661 for The 3rd Viscount Moore. History The Moore family descends from Sir Garrett Moore, a staunch friend of Hugh O'Neill, the Great Earl of Tyrone, whose submission ...

by Charles II following the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

. His widow was arrested soon after his death on suspicion of involvement in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

to betray Drogheda to the Scots General

Robert Monro Robert Monro (died 1680), was a famous Scottish General, from the Clan Munro of Ross-shire, Scotland. He held command in the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus during Thirty Years' War. He also fought for the Scottish Covenanters during the ...

, to prevent the Irish rebels from regaining control of the town; in this, she claimed to be following her husband's policy of denying the Irish victory. She was confined to

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

but soon released. She died in June 1649, reportedly of

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

, following a broken leg caused by a fall brought on by the shock of seeing St. Peter's Church of Ireland, Drogheda, which held her husband's

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

, for the first time.

References

Sources

* Casway, Jerrold I. ''Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. * * Perceval-Maxwell, Michael. ''Outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641''. McGill-Queen's Press, 1994. * Randall, Dale. ''Winter Fruit: English Drama, 1642-1660''. University Press of Kentucky. 1995. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Charles 1603 births 1643 deaths Irish soldiers 17th-century Irish politicians People of the Irish Confederate Wars Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland