The siege of Drogheda took place from 21 November 1641 to February 1642 during the
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...
. A Catholic force under
Féilim Ó Néill laid siege to the town but failed to wrest the garrison from the Royalists. During the siege, the Irish rebels made three attempts to break into and capture the town. All three attempts failed and the town was ultimately relieved by English forces.
[Quaile.][Plant]
Background
After the Irish rebellion began on 22 October 1641, the rebels first attempted to move into
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
and capture Belfast. When they met stiff resistance from Protestant militias in Ulster, the rebels turned their focus southward with the goal of taking Dublin. En route to attack Dublin, the rebels came upon the town of
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, and laid siege to the Royalist stronghold.
[
]
Assaults during the siege
Early in November, Lord Moore of Mellifont had become concerned about the defense of Drogheda and had stepped in to make preliminary improvements. Among the actions that he took were to procure four guns and gunpowder from a merchant ship on the nearby River Boyne
The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...
. He transferred the guns to the town and placed them on Mill Mount. Lord Moore then put the people of Drogheda to work reinforcing weak points in the city walls. Through appeal to the Lord Justices in Dublin, he was then able to secure a commission to enroll and equip 120 citizens of Drogheda as a military troop at the expense of the State. Lord Moore's actions and concerns eventually convinced the Lord Justices to appoint Sir Henry Tichborne as the Governor of Drogheda. On 8 November, Sir Tichborne set out for Drogheda taking with him 1,000 reinforcements. After the arrival of the reinforcements, the military complement of the garrison at Drogheda had reached approximately 1,660.[
Because the rebel force had no ]artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
with which to breach the walls of Drogheda, they surrounded the town hoping to starve the Royalists into submission. As the garrison continued to hold out throughout the four month siege, the rebels attempted to attack the walls and break into the city in a conventional manner.[
The rebels attempted three assaults on the town. On the first occasion the rebels simply rushed the walls. In the second attempt, a small party of 500 men broke into the town at night through dilapidated sections of the walls, with the aim of opening the gates for a storming party of 700 men outside. However, the initial incursion was repulsed in confused fighting and, in the morning, the garrison opened the gates to rebels outside, only to take them prisoner once they entered the town. In early March 1642 when relief was imminent, the rebels tried a final assault attacking the walls with scaling ladders, but were again repulsed.][
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Aftermath
Shortly afterwards, English reinforcements arrived from Dublin, under Colonel Moore, who was later created the Earl of Drogheda. The English army broke the siege and drove the Irish forces back to Ulster.[Nicholas, p. 81.]
A second, more famous siege of Drogheda took place later during the war in 1649, when Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
's New Model Army
The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...
took the town and massacred its Royalist and Irish Confederate garrison. ''See Siege of Drogheda''.
References
Sources
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Further reading
*{{Citation , last=D'Alton , first=John , author-link=John D'Alton (historian) , year=1844 , title=The history of Drogheda with its environs (two volumes), volume=2 , location=Dublin , publisher=John D'Alton , pages=221–256 , url=http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/digital-book-collection/digital-books-by-county/louth/dalton-the-history-of-dro/
Drogheda 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
History of County Louth
Drogheda
Massacres of Catholics
Military history of Ireland
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...