Desmond Rebellions

The Desmond Rebellions occurred in the 1560s, 1570s and 1580s in Munster in southern Ireland. They were rebellions of the Earl of Desmond dynasty—the Fitzgerald family or Geraldines—and their allies against the efforts of the Elizabethan English government to extend their control over the province of Munster. The rebellions were primarily about the independence of feudal lords from their monarch but also had an element of religious conflict (Roman Catholic against Protestant). The result of the rebellions was the destruction of the Desmond dynasty and the subsequent plantation or colonisation of Munster with English settlers. See also Tudor re-conquest of Ireland

Causes

The south of Ireland (the provinces of Munster and southern Leinster) was dominated by the Old English Butlers of Ormonde and Fitzgeralds of Desmond, who formed what were essentially miniature feudal principates. However, Henry Sidney, as Lord Deputy of Ireland, was charged with establishing the authority of the English government over the independent lordships there. His solution was the formation of "lord presidencies"—provincial military governors who would replace the local lords as military powers and keepers of the peace.

Related Topics:
Old English - Ormonde - Henry Sidney - Lord Deputy of Ireland

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The local dynasties saw the presidencies as intrusions into their sphere of influence, and into their traditional violent competition over the balance of power. This had seen the Butlers and Fitzgeralds fight a pitched battle against each other at Affane in Waterford in 1565. This was a blatant defiance of the Elizabethan state's law. Elizabeth I summoned the heads of both houses to London to explain their actions. However, the treatment of the dynasties was not even handed. Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde —who was the Queen's cousin, was pardoned, while both Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond —and his brothers, John and James, were arrested and detained in the Tower of London.

Related Topics:
Affane - Waterford - 1565 - Elizabeth I - London - Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde - Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond - Tower of London

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This decapitated the natural leadership of the Munster Geraldines and left the Desmond Earldom in the hands of a soldier, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald, the "captain general" of the Desmond military. Fitzmaurice had little stake in a new de-militarised order in Munster. He was also a devout Catholic, influenced by the counter-reformation, which made him see the Protestant Elizabethan governors as his enemies. To discourage these interlopers and re-establish Desmond primacy, he planned a rebellion, to show that the powers-that-be in Munster were not to be lightly tangled with. A factor that drew wider support for Fitzmaurice was the prospect of land confiscations, which had been mooted by Sidney and Peter Carew, an English colonist. This ensured Fitzmaurice the support of important clans, notably MacCarthy Mor, O'Sullivan Beare and O'Keefe.

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