The sack of Cashel, also known as the massacre of Cashel, took place on 15 September 1647 during the
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...
, when
Cashel Castle in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
was taken by a Protestant
Parliamentarian army commanded by the
Baron of Inchiquin. In what is considered one of the most brutal incidents of the war, survivors of the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
garrison were executed along with a number of civilians and the castle was sacked.
The Munster mutiny
The sack of Cashel occurred against the background of a complex conflict in the south of Ireland. In 1642, most of the province of
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
had fallen to Irish Catholic rebels with the exception of
Cork city
Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
and a few towns along the south coast, which remained in the hands of Protestant settlers. For five years, the province had been fought over by the Irish Confederation and Protestants, led by the Baron of Inchiquin.
The political and military situation was further fragmented by the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...
in which the Catholics gave their support to
Charles I, and the Protestants after 1643 to the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
. What was more, the Irish Confederates were themselves split over the terms on which they should sign a peace deal with the King. A deep rift developed within their ranks in 1647 between those who were prepared to accept a mere toleration of Catholicism in return for an alliance with the English Royalists and those who in effect wanted Ireland to be a Catholic kingdom, albeit under the sovereignty of the Stuart monarchy. This infighting was to fatally hamper the war effort of the Confederates in Munster and make possible the Protestant sack of Cashel.
On 12 June 1647,
Donough MacCarthy, the Viscount of Muskerry entered the camp of the Irish Confederate Munster army. The Viscount Muskerry was probably the most powerful Confederate leader in Munster and was known to be sympathetic to the powerful Irish Royalist
Ormonde Ormonde is a surname originated in Ireland (Ormonde) and Scotland (Ormond (surname), Ormond), but also occurring in England, United States, Portugal (mainly in Azores, as a variation of the scottish surname Drummond_(surname), Drummond) and Brazil.
...
. At that time, the Munster army was commanded by
the Earl of Glamorgan, an English Catholic nobleman who had been granted command of the army by the Confederate Supreme council for reasons of political expediency, being aligned neither to the Royalist nor clerical faction.
Glamorgan was not popular, partly because he was English but also because he lacked money to regularly pay the soldiers. Muskerry was unsatisfied with the direction the Irish Confederate Supreme Council was headed under the influence of
Rinuccinni and realised that he was in a position to influence the army of Munster and thereby strengthen his hand.
He won the army over within an hour. A ceremony was afterwards arranged in which Glamorgan handed over command to Muskerry but this was merely to save face. Muskerry desired to turn his full attention to the politics of the Irish Confederations supreme council, and so immediately after the ceremony, Muskerry resigned in favour of
Theobald Taaffe, a nobleman who had joined the Irish Confederates but who was known to be sympathetic to Royalism. Unfortunately for the Confederates, Lord Taaffe was one of the most incompetent leaders to command an Irish army during the 1640s.
Even worse, while the Munster Army was paralysed by the intrigues of its commanders, Inchiquin's Protestant forces had embarked on a highly destructive campaign in Confederate-held territory.
Inchiquin's offensive
In the summer of 1647, the
Baron of Inchiquin, commander of the Protestant army in Munster, commenced a campaign against Catholic strongholds in
County Limerick
County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
and
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, then in early September captured
Cahir Castle in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
. This provided him a secure base for raiding the surrounding countryside, largely unopposed by Lord Taaffe, probably the result of the political scheming of Muskerry and other powerful
Irish clan chief who hoped to keep the Munster army intact for their own ends. As a result, Inchiquin was able to advance on
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Cathol ...
, a significant economic and ecclesiastical centre.
The attack
Inchiquin had already launched two minor raids against Cashel, and he now had the opportunity to launch a major assault. The Parliamentarian forces first stormed nearby Roche Castle, putting fifty warders to the sword. This attack terrified the local inhabitants of the region, some of whom fled to hiding places, while hundreds of others fled promptly to the
Rock of Cashel
The Rock of Cashel ( ), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historical site located dramatically above a plain at Cashel, County Tipperary, Cashel, County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
History
According t ...
, a stronger place than the town itself. Lord Taaffe had placed six companies in the fortified churchyard that sat upon the rock, and considered the place defensible, though he himself did not stay to put it to the test, leaving command to the Governor Lieutenant-Colonel Butler.
Arriving with his army at the Rock, Inchiquin called for surrender within an hour. The defenders of the churchyard offered to negotiate, but that was refused, and on the afternoon of 15 September the assault commenced. The Parliamentarians were first reminded of earlier atrocities against Protestants and then began to deploy. The attack was led by around 150 dismounted horse officers (who wore more armour than the foot) with the remainder of the infantry following; troops of horse rode along the flanks of the advancing force to encourage the infantry. The Irish soldiers attempted to drive off the attackers with pikes while the civilians inside hurled rocks down from the walls: in turn, the attackers hurled firebrands into the compound, setting some of the buildings inside on fire. Although many were wounded, the Parliamentarians gradually fought their way over the walls, pushing the garrison into the church.
Initially, the Irish defenders managed to protect the Church, holding off the attackers trying to get through the doors, but the Parliamentarians then placed numerous ladders against the many windows in the church and swarmed the building. For another half an hour, fighting raged inside the church, until the depleted defenders retreated up the bell tower. Only sixty soldiers of the garrison remained at this point, and they thus accepted a call to surrender. However, after they had descended the tower and thrown their swords away, all were killed.
The sack
In the end, all the soldiers (save a single major) and most of the civilians on the Rock were killed by the attackers. The Bishop and Mayor of Cashel along with a few others survived by taking shelter in a secret hiding place. Apart from these a few women were spared, after being stripped of their clothes, and a small number of wealthy civilians were taken prisoner, but these were the exceptions. Overall, close to 1,000 were killed, amongst them Lieutenant-Colonel Butler and
Roman Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
and
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
orthography
An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis.
Most national ...
pioneer
Teabóid Gálldubh, who was
Beatified
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...
as one of the
Irish Catholic Martyrs by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
in 1992.
Blessed Thomas Stapleton
CatholicSaints.info The bodies in the churchyard were described by a witness as being five or six deep.
The slaughter was followed by extensive plunder and sacrilege
Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...
. There was much of value inside, for apart from pictures, chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
s and vestment
Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...
s of the church, many of the slain civilians had also brought their valuables with them. The sword and mace of the mayor of Cashel, as well as the coach of the bishop, were captured. The plunder was accompanied by acts of iconoclasm
Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...
against Christian art
Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media.
Images of Jesus and narrative ...
, with statues smashed and pictures defaced. The deserted town of Cashel was also torched. Lord Inchiquin was even alleged to have put on the Archbishop's vestments and mitre in mockery of Roman Catholicism.
Aftermath
The atrocity at Cashel caused a deep impact in Ireland, as it was the worst single atrocity committed in Ireland since the start of fighting in 1641. Previously, the most infamous massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
amongst the Catholic population was that at Timolin in 1643, when 200 civilians were killed by Ormonde's English Royalist army, but many more than this were killed at Cashel, and the Rock of Cashel was one of the chief holy places of the Catholic Church in Ireland
The Catholic Church in Ireland, or Irish Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. With 3.5 million members (in the Republic of Ireland), it is the largest Christian church in Ireland. In ...
. The slaughter of the garrison at Cashel and the subsequent devastation of Catholic-held Munster earned Inchiquin the Irish nickname, ''Murchadh na Dóiteáin'' or "Murrough of the Burnings".
The political ramifications in the Irish confederation were also profound, serving to exacerbate the split between the Catholic party headed by Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653) was an Italian Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid-seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar and became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV. In 1625 Pope Urban VIII made him the Archbishop of Fer ...
and those sympathetic to the Royalist lord Ormonde. The former were enraged by the attack and desired retribution against Inchiquin and his army, but the Ormondist faction saw the Sack of Cashel and a subsequent raid by Inchiquin's men into County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
as evidence of the futility of defending Ireland without Royalist support. In the short term, Lord Taffe came under intense pressure from the Confederate leadership to engage Inchiquin. When he did so in November, the politically divided and badly led Munster army was routed and destroyed at the Battle of Knocknanuss. This was the second Confederate army to be destroyed in less than six months, the Leinster Army having been annihilated at the battle of Dungans Hill in August.
In consequence, the Confederates had no option but to sign a truce with Inchiquin, an act which deeply alienated many Confederates and Catholic clergy, who had been appalled at Inchiquin's brutal tactics in Munster. These divisions would lead to the brief but bloody Irish Confederate Civil War in 1648. Inchiquin withdrew his support for the English Parliament in the same year and entered into a Royalist alliance with the Confederates.
Despite the massacre, Inchiquin converted to Roman Catholicism while in exile in France in 1656.
See also
* List of massacres in Ireland
Citations
References
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General references
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cashel, Sack of
Conflicts in 1647
Cashel
Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to:
Places in Ireland
*Cashel, County Tipperary
**The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named
** Archbishop ...
1647 in Ireland
Anti-Catholicism in Ireland
History of County Tipperary
Attacks on churches in Europe
Looting in Ireland
Massacres committed by England
Massacres during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Cashel, County Tipperary
Anti-Christian sentiment in Ireland
Massacres of Catholics