Battle of Julianstown
| date | November 1641 |
|---|---|
| place | Julianstown, County Louth |
| output | Irish victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish rebels |
English troops |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| approx. 6,000 | approx. 2,000 |
| losses | |
|
unknown (low) |
500 dead |
The Battle of Julianstown was a military conflict during the Irish Rebellion in November 1641 in the city of Julianstown (south of the city of Drogheda ).
The Irish rebels, led by Phelim O'Neill , came south from the province of Ulster towards Dublin to take the capital. Government troops from Dublin, hastily deployed and largely untrained, were sent out to meet them. Both sides met at Julianstown. While the Irish soldiers stormed the English troops with shouts of war, they tried to stop the rebels with volleys , but panic when they realized that they could not do so. Many English soldiers then threw away their rifles and ran away - the remaining soldiers were either captured or killed. A source of this struggle claims that the Irish troops spared the Irish in the English army, but killed the Scots or English all.
The consequences of this skirmish were far greater than the actual military significance. The rebel victory made them look far stronger than they actually were, and helped spread the rebellion to the rest of Ireland. This also indirectly led to the outbreak of the English Civil War and the formation of the Confederation of Ireland .