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

The First Desmond Rebellion

Fitzmaurice launched his rebellion by attacking the English colony at Kerrycurihy in north Cork in June 1569. In response, Sidney mobilised large forces of English troops, Gaelic clans antagonistic to the Geraldines, and Ormonde's men, and began devastating the lands of Fitzmaurice's allies. Fitzmaurice's forces broke up, as individual lords had to retire to defend their own territories.

Related Topics:
Cork - 1569

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Sidney forced Fitzmaurice into the mountains of Kerry, from where he launched hit and run attacks on the English and their allies. By 1570, most of Fitzmaurice's allies had submitted to Sidney. Nevertheless, the guerrilla campaign dragged on for three more years until Fitzmaurice finally submitted in February 1573, after which he fled to the continent to seek help from the Catholic powers. Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, and his brother John were released from prison to stabilise the situation and to reconstruct their shattered territory. Although all of the local chiefs had submitted by the end of the rebellion, the methods used to suppress it provoked lingering resentment, especially among the Irish mercenaries; gall oglaigh or "gallowglass" as the English termed them, who had rallied to Fitzmaurice. Drury, the new Lord President of Munster, executed around 700 of them in the aftermath of the rebellion. Furthermore, Gaelic customs such as Brehon Laws, Irish dress, bardic poetry and the maintaining of private armies were outlawed. Fitzmaurice, by contrast, had deliberately emphasised the Gaelic character of the rebellion, wearing the Irish dress, speaking only Irish and referring to himself as the captain (taoiseach) of the Geraldines.

Related Topics:
Kerry - 1570 - 1573 - Gallowglass - Gaelic - Brehon Laws

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