Lawrence Dempsey (sometimes spelt Laurence Dempsey) was an Irish soldier of the seventeenth century. Born to an Irish Catholic family, Dempsey took up a military career. As the

Penal Laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...

in existence in Restoration Ireland made it very difficult for Catholics to serve in the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

he instead joined the British Brigade serving in the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

between 1662 and 1668. He then transferred into the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, serving with

Thomas Dongan Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715) was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province o ...

's Irish Regiment which had been formed by Charles II to fight for his ally

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the reign of James II, he was one of a group of experienced Irish Catholic officers given commands when the Irish Army was purged of its Protestant members by the new

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

the

Earl of Tyrconnell Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1 ...

. Dempsey was appointed to command a cavalry regiment. He and his colleagues were given the task of professionalising the large number of new Catholic recruits, particularly during the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Japanese Gardens. Pollardstown Fen, the larges ...

camps of 1686 and 1687. Dempsey served on the Jacobite side during the

War of the Two Kings The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobite supporters of James II and those of his successor, William III, it resulted in a Williamite victory. It is generally viewed as a related conflic ...

. He was fatally wounded during an engagement at the

Moyry Pass The Moyry Pass is a geographical feature on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is a mountain pass running along Slieve Gullion between Newry and Dundalk. It is also known as the Gap of the North.Spring p.105 The pa ...

on 22 June 1690 during the run-up to the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

campaign. He was taken to

Oldbridge Oldbridge () is a townland near Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland. The area is home to the Boyne Navigation, the Battle of the Boyne Interpretive Centre and the southern half of the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge (which carries the M1 motor ...

where he died three days later. Although the fight had resulted in a victory for the Jacobites, it has been described as a

pyrrhic victory A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from ...

because of the loss of the experienced Dempsey.McNally p.35

References

Bibliography

* Childs, John. ''The Army, James II and the Glorious Revolution''. Manchester University Press, 1980. * Childs, John. ''The Williamite Wars in Ireland''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007. * McNally, Michael. ''Battle of the Boyne 1690: The Irish Campaign for the English Crown''. Osprey Publishing, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Lawrence 17th-century Irish military personnel Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers Year of birth unknown 1690 deaths Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England