Battle of Glenmalure

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The Battle of Glenmalure was in 1580 during the second Desmond rebellion in County Wicklow ( Ireland ) instead. An Irish (Catholic) force consisting of members of various Gaelic clans from the Wicklow Mountains defeated an English army under Arthur Gray , 14th Baron Gray de Wilton , under Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne and James Eustace, 3rd Viscount Baltinglass . The battle took place at the fortifications of the O'Byrne clan in Tal Glenmalure .

Gray had only arrived in Ireland shortly before the battle from England to put down the rebellion. He decided to take action against O'Byrne first, as this threatened the English stronghold around Dublin. His plan was - against the advice of veterans and advisers - to invade the Wicklow Mountains directly and capture O'Byrne's fortification in the Glenmalure valley. Gray marched with his 3,000-strong army across the plains of Kildare before crossing the Lungnaquilla Mountains and attempting to storm Glenmalure.

While climbing the steep slopes of the valley, the inexperienced English soldiers were ambushed by Irish rebels who had hidden in the undergrowth. The English were first ambush edited . After a while they panicked and fled into the valley. The Irish now left their protection and fought the English with swords, spears and axes. Hundreds of English soldiers, some of whom panicked and fled, were killed by the persecuting Irish. The remaining English had to fight a retreat over several kilometers before they reached the town of Rathdrum and from there returned to Dublin.

Around 800 English soldiers were killed during the battle - including Peter Carey, cousin of the English settler of the same name, who had received large swaths of land in southern Ireland. Despite this victory, most of the Irish rebels surrendered when their conditions were met. Baltinglass, who fled to France , was an exception .

The battle is also part of the Irish folk song Follow Me Up to Carlow . There it says among other things:

Gray said, victory was sure

Soon the firebrand he'd secure

Until he met at Glenmalure

With Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne.

Translated roughly:

Gray said victory was certain

soon he would have caught the troublemaker.

Until he at Glenmalure

met Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne.

literature

• John Patrick Montaño: The Roots of English Colonialism in Ireland. Cambridge University, Cambridge 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-19828-8 , pp. 195-197.