Irish History Synopsis: Rebellion of 1641

Irish History Synopsis--The Rebellion of 1641 page 1

In 1641 the Irish formed a Catholic Confederation to address the grevances against the newly emposed plantation system of James I to his son the than king Charles I, which had been festering since 1607 at the Flight of the Earls leaving Ulster entirely confiscated to the King.
Lord Castlehaven, an English Catholic Royalist expressed in favor of the Irish grevances which inbibed their restiveness:
That they were looked upon as a conquered nation and not treated like free born subjects;
the confiscation of the entire 6 counties of Ulster with no land restored to the original holder natives, but given over by James to his Scot countrymen;
that the Crown also laid claim to much of west Ireland and some of South Ireland counties;
severity againt roman catholics both in England and in Ireland;
that the Scot by force of arms were able to extract favored treatment and privileges as well as money.

These Confederates getting no satisfaction from the Crown finally rebelled under the leadership of Phelim O Neill of Kinard[Caledon], child of John, the younger brother of Con Bacach O Neill, first Earl of Tyrone.

Phelim at this time was permitted to own 23,000 acres in the barony of Dungannon.

During this time the descendants of Hugh O Neill the Great Earl in Spain, John being one of them, elicited a promise of arms and amunition and money from Cardinal Richelieu of France.
A message was sent by John O Neill to Phelim via his son Nial in May 1641.
John was shortly thereafter killed in Catalonia making Owen Roe O Neill son of Art M Baron ONeill and a nefew of Hugh the Great , Earl of Tyrone.

In October 1641 the Confederates struck capturing the forts at Charlemont,and Mountjoy, seizing Dungannon, Carrick Macross,Castle Blaney and Tangargee.
Phillip M Hugh O Reilly overran Cavan and Fermanagh with the Maguires. Newry was seized by Conor Maginnis.

In the south however, the Confedeerates were found out by a confession to the authorities of one Owen O Connelly, a prodistant servant of the puritan John Clotsworth. O Connelly was a distant relation of Hugh Og Mc Mahon the grandson of the Great Earl.
This person having been taken into the confidences of the Confederates went immediately under drink to Lord Justice Parsons who alerted Borlase who summoned the Privy Counsil at Chichester House on Collage Green.

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Eight Privy counsilors aided by Sir Francis Willowby of Galway, sat all night at the Castle.
A Proclaimation was issued for the arrest of the named perpetrators, Hugh Og m Mahon, Lord Maguire, Fox, Plunkett, O Byrne and Moore. thereby foiling the plot to capture the Castle and all its stores.
Some of the plotters got wind of the pending arrests and were able to flee but Maguire and macMahon were arrested sent to London and hung at Tyburn.

The Irish were able to hold their gains in Ulster.

In October of 1642 the Catholic Confederacy formed a Supreme Counsil at a general assemby at Kilkenny. Here they gave Owen roe Oneill recently arrived in Ireland at Donegal command of the Ulster forces.
Barry was given command of Munster and John Burke of Clanricard a lieutenant general ,commander of all forces.
Cardnal Richlieu discharged the Irish Brigade in France so that they might fight in Ireland, a body of 1500 men.
Sir Phelim O Neill had 30,000 men but undisaplined.The rebellions spread from Ulster to Connact, Munster and Leinster.

By than Lord Talbot a major player in giving power to the catholic natives of Ireland,

had been recalled as Lord Lieutenant and Robert Sydney,Earl of Leichester appointed.
This LL never went to Ireland but the Puritans of the Pale sent him a full report of the rebellion by Owen O Connelly who was given 500 pounds and a pension of 200 pounds pending an estate.

Charles turned over the management of the supression of the rebellion to his Parliament who borrowed money from the city of London to finance a force of 6000 foot and 2000 horse to be sent to Ireland with arms and ammunition.
The rebels meanwhile captured Dundalk and threatened Drogheda.
Sir Charles Coote a man known for sadistic cruelity was commissioned by the English Parliament against the insurgents after an English commander named Roper had been defeated by the rebles at Julianston Bridge where he lost 500 men to the forces of Hugh O Bryne, Rory O Moore and Phillip m Hugh O Reily. who had used the deep fog to attack these troops and annilate them not loosing a man on the Irish side.


Charles Coote was a cruel commander and enjoyed murder killing many men women and children who were innocent in Wicklow where his men killed to their hearts content impalling babies on their pikes
.Coote admitted he enjoyed watching these 'frolics'
Priests were shot on site.Coote for his attrocities was appointed govornor of Dublin.
The Lord Justices of Dublin sent out parties to kill and distroy the rebels but once these parties were in the countryside they killed indiscriminatly country people, men women and children as they found them in their clochans.
The rebels in turn did the same to the English settlers.

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General Monro arrived in Ireland bringing 2,500 Scot troops sweeping all before him, landing at CarrickFergus Castle on 15 April 1642.
On April 28 Monro marched south to Newry joining with forces of Lord Conway and Sir James Turner making a command of 4,000 men.
By the end of April there were 19,000 recruits and volunteers in Ulster.

In July of 1642 Owen Roe O Neill son of Art m Baron and nefew of Hugh the Great of Kinsale fame ,landed in Donnegal. He had been a colonel in Huge's son Henry's French brigade at Douai .
Before the end of 1642 the rebellion under Phelim, who was not trained in the profession of arms was almost defeated most of his disorganized bands seeking refuge in the woods.
Sir Phelim met Owen Roe with 1500 men and they preceeded via Ballyshannon to Charlemont Fort still held by the Irish.
Sir Phelim resigned the command at Clones and Owen Roe was elected general in chief of the Catholic forces.
Being a disaplined soldier he set about organizing an army of the Catholic rabble.

The dublin
English forces were given scythes ,reaping hooks and whetstones along with Bibles so they might cut the peasants crops to starve the propriotors into submission or force them to flee the country. The Bibles that they might study the sin and danger of sparing idolitors.

By August 1642 th combined Scot /English army in Ulster was 20,000 foot and 1000 horse, a force with which ONeill could not hope to contend.

In May 1643 Monro attacked O Neill near Charlemont.The fort held.

Charles meanwhile confiscated to the Crown 2 1/2 million acres in 1642 establishing a Royal Commission.
A truce was agreed to for a year and a day by Ormond [Butler] on behalf of Charles.
The signers for the confederation were Muskerry, Dillon, Plunkett,Talbot,Barnwell,Turlough O Neill, G Brown, Maginnes and Walsh.
The king was to recieve 3,000 pounds from the confederacy.
Charles had been financing the war by borrowing money from the London Companies giving as security the Irish lands to be conquered.
This borrowing on a promise of payment with land confiscations was continued through the Covanters Cromwellian Parliament when over 2/3's of Ireland were confiscated consisting of 100,000,000 Irish acres.

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By 1644 The Confederate forces in Ulster combined between O Neill and Castlehaven, who was an English catholic sympathetic to the cause of the Irish, were some 6,000 foot and 1000 horse with dragoons and creights who were nomadic Irish cattle herders.These were all gathered in the province of Ulster.
This army met the army of Monro at Benburb in Tyrone, the former home of Shane ONeill m Conn Bachach.
In this battle the confederates were financed by Cardinlal Rinuccini ,envoy of the Pope ,who had arrived in Ireland a year before with money and armaments supplied by the Holy See.
The battle was fought on 4 June 1646 in the evening. The Monro army advancing from the east and the setting sun was now in their eyesas well as dust stirring west wind.
O Neill having taken up his position west of the Albain Mor[blackwater river] with the river to his right, a bog to his left, a wood to his rear and a field of brush before him, decisively charged the Scots, broke their ranks and routed the army. Not persuing this victory in the style of the Irish he was subsequently ordered by the Confederate Counsil under Cardinal Rinuccini to return to the south where he was sent to Leinster.
This sparring and battle continued all over Ireland between the forces of England and their Parliament and the Irish Confederate forces.

Owen Roe developed a knee infection and could not walk. He was at Derry on August 9 and by November 6 1649 he died of this mysterious ailement. It was said that he was poisoned from his boots by Coote.
The Confederacy was disolved. Rinuccini ordered to leave the country by the Irish.The Articles of Peace had been ratified on 17 January 1649 before the beheading of Charles on January 30, 1649 by order of his Parliament.
The provisional government vested in laymen called the Commisssioners of Trust.

Chalemont remained as it had from the beginning of October 1641 in the hands of of Phelim O Neill and the Irish.

Venables and Coote attached this fort in July 1650 where even the women defended their fort by dumping red hot ash and boiling water on the besiegers.
When only 30 men were left O Neill approached the waiting Coote for terms. Terms were offered where the defenders were allowed to march out with their arms and baggage. Sir Philim himself to leave Ireland.

Thus on August 14 ,1650 Ulster and all Ireland passsed completely into the Hands of Parliament.
Charles , the king having ben beheaded on January 30, 1649 leaving England in the hands of Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan Covanters.


The 8 years of war in Ireland were over to be followed the the invasion of Cromwell. and his Parliament.


The History of Ulster, Volume III, Ramsey Colles, 1919
Published Gresham Publishing Coy. LTD


Judi Donnelly
Copyright August 1 2007