Battle of Liscarroll
| date | July 1642 |
|---|---|
| place | Liscarroll , County Cork |
| output | English victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Irish Confederate Militia |
English troops and Protestant militia |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 6000 | |
| losses | |
|
approx. 700-800 |
low |
The Battle of Liscarroll took place near the town of Liscarroll, County Cork , during the Irish Confederation Wars in July 1642 . A Confederate army (militia of the resident Lords) under Garret Barry met an English army (soldiers and Protestant settlers) under Murrough O'Brien . Barry besieged Liscarroll Castle on Munster Blackwater to isolate the English siege of Cork . But O'Brien came to the rescue with his nearby troops, so that finally it came to battle.
The Confederate cavalry was led by Oliver Stephenson, a descendant of Protestant settlers who had joined Irish forces because of his Catholic faith. The approximately 500 horsemen managed to disperse O'Brien's troops and were able to capture O'Brien himself. However, in that skirmish, Stephenson was shot by O'Brien's brother through the slit in his helmet's eye, causing the Irish force to panic without a leader and withdraw. The Irish foot soldiers could not withstand the counterattack of the English cavalry and also fled. More than 700 Irish soldiers died in the battle and the escape that followed. The local nobility was also decimated by this battle - for example, the Fitzgerald family lost 18 family members. In addition to these casualties, O'Brien also hanged 50 captured soldiers. By winning this battle, the city of Cork remained a Protestant stronghold in southern Ireland for the remainder of the war.