Battle of Moyry Pass
| date | September 20 to October 9, 1600 |
|---|---|
| place | near the city of Newry (present-day Northern Ireland ) |
| output | After heavy losses, English troops set up a garrison in the rebel area |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish rebels |
English troops |
| Commander | |
|
James Galdie , George Carey |
Charles Blount (Lord Mountyjoy) |
| Troop strength | |
| 3,000-4,000 | 4,000-5,000 |
| losses | |
|
unknown (according to English information more than 1000 deaths) |
200 (according to Irish data, higher number of victims) |
Clontibret - Carrickfergus - Yellow Ford - Curlew Pass - Cahir Castle - Moyry Pass - Kinsale - Dunboy
The Battle of Moyry Pass ( Irish Cath Bhealach an Mhaighre ) took place in September and October 1600 during the Nine Years War in the northern Counties of Armagh and Louth in Ireland . This was the first major fighting after the armistice agreed in 1599 between the Irish rebel Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and the English troops under Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire .
prehistory
The strategy of Blount against O'Neill's rebellion was the limitation of O'Neill's territory in Ulster by fortified garrisons at the borders. To this end, Blount ordered naval forces to the cities of Derry and Carrickfergus . In September 1600 Blount went from Dublin to Dundalk , from there to rebuild a garrison at Armagh , which was abandoned after the Battle of Yellow Ford (1598).
On September 17, 1600, Blount and his troops left Dundalk for Armagh via Newry . The Moyry Pass (also: Gap of the North ) was the only way to get to Ulster, and this was fortified with trenches and barricades from O'Neill.
The battle
The English troops reached the pass on September 20 from the south and camped on Fughart Hill . On September 25th, under cover of a foggy day, officer Thomas Williams, who was already present at the Battle of Yellow Ford, undertook a reconnaissance ride to scout the Irish defense lines; 12 English soldiers died and 30 were injured. For the next six days, until October 2, heavy rain prevented action by either side. The weather was a decisive factor, because the matchlock - muskets that time would not work in wet weather.
On October 2, led Sir Samuel Bagnall his infantry - regiment as the vanguard in the pass. The English troops broke through the first barricades and Sir Thomas Bourke's regiment led them to the nearest lines of defense. After breaking through the second line of defense, the English realized too late that they had fallen into a trap and were now under fire from three sides. They tried unsuccessfully to lure the Irish rebels from their secured positions and withdrew after three hours, which they barely succeeded in as the Irish followed them. Although the actual number of casualties was probably higher, official (English) agencies gave only 46 dead and 120 wounded.
On October 5, Blount tried to bypass the heavily guarded pass by advancing two regiments to the left of the pass into hilly areas. As a distraction, he sent another regiment of horsemen straight into the pass, but all attempts to conquer territory failed. The official British casualty rate of this operation was 50 dead and 200 injured; these numbers were probably also higher.
On October 9, the English officer Geoffrey Fenton complained that no step had been taken. Blount finally gave up the plan to storm the pass and withdrew his army to Dundalk. But on October 14 the English camp reached a rumor that O'Neill left the pass and his troops to a crannóg on Lough Lurcan had retired. Blount did not understand why O'Neill should give up such a strong defensive position, but suspected a shortage of ammunition or food, or O'Neill's fear of a flank attack. The actual reason, however, was that O'Neill's troops consisted of various clans who pursued their own affairs and did not stay together for long periods of time.
Blount occupied the pass without resistance on October 17th and destroyed the Irish defenses. He marched on to Carrickban, just before Newry. After a short stop in Carrickban, he and his troops reached Mountnorris (halfway between Newry and Armagh) on November 2nd , where he had a fortification built. 400 men remained in this fortification under the leadership of Edward Blaney .
On the way back to Dundalk via Carlingford , the English troops came under fire from O'Neill's troops again near Fathom Pass on November 13th. Almost 20 English soldiers were killed and around 80 wounded.
The battle at Moyry Pass was actually a stalemate. Blount couldn't capture the pass, but O'Neill couldn't hold his troops together long enough to defend it.