Irish Confederate Wars

The Irish Confederate Wars were fought in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. The Wars were the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms - a series of civil wars in Kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland (all ruled by Charles I of England) that also included the English Civil War and Scottish Civil War. The conflict in Ireland essentially pitted the native Irish Roman Catholics against the Protestant British settlers and their supporters in England and Scotland.

Related Topics:
Ireland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms - Charles I of England - English Civil War - Scottish Civil War - Roman Catholic

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The war in Ireland began with the rebellion of the Irish of Ulster in October 1641, during which they killed thousands of Scots and English Protestant settlers. The rebellion spread throughout the country and at Kilkenny in 1642 the association of The Confederate Catholics of Ireland was formed to organise the Irish Catholic war effort. The Confederation was essentially an independent state and was a coalition of all shades of Irish Catholic society, both Gaelic and Old English. The Irish Confederates professed to side with the English Royalists during the ensuing civil wars, but in reality fought their own war in defence of Irish Catholic interests.

Related Topics:
Rebellion - Irish - Ulster - 1641 - Scots - English - Protestant settlers - Kilkenny - Confederate Catholics of Ireland - Gaelic - Old English

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The Confederates ruled Ireland as a de facto sovereign state until 1649, outwardly remainingly loyal to King Charles I. It was the only such assembly to occur in Ireland until 1919 when the Irish Dáil first sat. From 1641to 1649, the Confederates fought with Scottish Covenanter and English Parliamentarian armies in Ireland. They were loosley allied with the English Royalists, but were divided over whether to send military help to them in the English Civil War. Ultimately, they never sent troops to England, but did send an expedition to help the Scottish Royalists, sparking the Scottish Civil War. The wars ended in the defeat of the Confederates. They and their Royalist allies were crushed during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland by the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell in 1649-53. The wars caused massive loss of life in Ireland, comparable in the country's history only with the Great Famine of the 1840s and also saw the mass confiscation of land owned by Irish Catholics.

Related Topics:
Ireland - 1649 - King Charles I - 1919 - Dáil - Royalists - English Civil War - Scottish Civil War - Cromwellian conquest of Ireland - New Model Army - Oliver Cromwell - Great Famine

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Military history

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For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland. This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53.

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