Chronology of the Irish Confederate Wars
Encyclopedia
Presented below is a chronology of the major events of the Irish Confederate Wars
from 1641-1653. This conflict is also known as the Eleven years war.
The conflict began with the Irish Rebellion of 1641
and ended with the English Parliamentarian Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
(1649-53).
Myles "the Slasher" O'Reilly.
Irish Confederate Wars
This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
from 1641-1653. This conflict is also known as the Eleven years war.
The conflict began with the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
and ended with the English Parliamentarian Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
(1649-53).
1641
- October 23: Outbreak of the Rebellion. Catholic rebels make an attempt to seize Dublin but their plan is discovered at the last minute and abandoned. In UlsterUlsterUlster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
in the north, Phelim O'Neill takes CharlemontCharlemontCharlemont is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 150 people in the 2001 Census. It is situated within the Armagh City and District Council area...
.
- October 26, Rebels under Phelim O'Neill capture ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
.
- November 11, James Butler, 1st Duke of OrmondeJames Butler, 1st Duke of OrmondeJames Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
is made Lieutenant general of Ireland and head of the English troops there.
- November 21, The rebels besiege Drogheda.
- November 28, A rebel attask on LurganLurganLurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
, in east Ulster, is beaten off by Protestant settler forces.
- November 29:Battle of JulianstownBattle of JulianstownThe Battle of Julianstown was fought during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, at Julianstown near Drogheda in eastern Ireland, in November 1641.- Battle :...
, an English government force is defeated by Irish Catholic insurgents after it was sent to relieve DroghedaDroghedaDrogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
.
- November: Portadown MassacrePortadown MassacreThe Portadown Massacre took place in November 1641 at what is now Portadown, County Armagh. Up to 100 mostly English Protestants were killed in the River Bann by a group of armed Irishmen...
, The English Protestants in PortadownPortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
are driven onto a bridge over the river Bann and then shot, piked or drowned.
- December 30, the first English reinforments, a force of 1,100 men under Simon Harcourt arrives in Dublin.
- December, the lords of the PaleThe PaleThe Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk...
enter the rebellion, as do the Catholic landowners in counties Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary and Kilkenny.
1642
Rebellion breaks out in Clare and Limerick in the west and Antrim in the north.- Charles Coote routs a rebel force at SwordsSwords, DublinSwords is the county town of Fingal in Ireland. It is about 13 km north of Dublin city centre and is part of its commuter belt.- History :...
in Dublin.
- March: Drogheda is relieved by English troops.
- 19 March: the English Parliament passes the Adventurers ActAdventurers ActThe Adventurers' Act is an Act of the Parliament of England, with the long title "An Act for the speedy and effectual reducing of the rebels in His Majesty's Kingdom of Ireland".-The main Act:...
, allowing for the mass consication of Catholic land in Ireland.
- March the Irish Catholic Bishops convene a meeting at Armagh about how to bring the rebellion under control and channell it into the pursuit of Catholic political aims.
- April 3, 10,000 Scottish troops land in Ulster, sent by the Scottish Parliament to put down the rebellion. English reinforcements land at Dublin and Cork from February to May.
- 15 April: Battle of KilrushBattle of KilrushThe Battle of Kilrush was a minor engagement at the start of the Eleven years war.It was fought in April 1642 between an English army under the Earl of Ormonde, and Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret, who led an untrained horde of Irish troops raised during the Irish Rebellion of 1641...
. A rebel force is defeated by English troops near AthyAthyThe town developed from a 12th century Anglo-Norman settlement to an important British military outpost on the border of the Pale.The first town charter dates from the 16th century and the town hall was constructed in the early 18th century...
, county Kildare.
- Scottish troops under the Earl of Argyle massacre several hundred Catholic civilians at Rathlin IslandRathlin IslandRathlin Island is an island off the coast of County Antrim, and is the northernmost point of Northern Ireland. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, with a rising population of now just over 100 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the Irish coast...
. Another massacre is reported at Newry.
- Siege of Limerick (1642)Siege of Limerick (1642)The city of Limerick was besieged a total of five times in the 17th century. Two of these sieges took place during the Eleven years war...
- King John's Castle in LimerickLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
is taken by Confederate Catholic troops under Garret BarryGarret BarryGarret Barry was an Irish soldier of the 17th century who served in the Eighty Years' War and the Irish Confederate Wars.He came from an old landed Hiberno-Norman family, the De Barry family, in County Cork in southern Ireland. Like many Irish Catholic gentlemen of his generation, particularly...
.
- July, Irish Catholic Clergy and nobles draft an Oath binding the rebels together in common cause of upholding the Catholic religion, the liberty of Ireland and the King's rights.
- July, Irish general Owen Roe O'NeillOwen Roe O'NeillEoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...
returns to Ireland, landing at RaphoeRaphoeRaphoe is a town in County Donegal, part of the province of Ulster in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe and the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.-Name:Raphoe,...
, Donegal to help the Catholic cause. Thomas Preston, another veteran of the Spanish army, lands at Wexford.
- August 22, the English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
breaks out between the King and Parliament. English forces in Ireland split along these lines.
- August 25, Battle of LiscarrollBattle of LiscarrollThe Battle of Liscarroll was fought in County Cork in July 1642, at the start of the Eleven years war. An Irish Confederate army around 6000 strong and commanded by Garret Barry – a professional soldier - was defeated by an English force commanded by a Protestant Irishman, Murrough O'Brien, Baron...
. A Catholic army led by Garret Barry is defeated by English Protestant forces near Liscarroll, Cork.
- October 24, the Confederate Catholic Association of IrelandConfederate IrelandConfederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
is established, with its own constitution and capital at Kilkenny. In November it strikes its own coinageCurrencyIn economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
It will govern most of Ireland as a de facto sovereign state until 1648.
1643
- English Royalist forces take TimolinTimolinTimolin is a hamlet in the south of County Kildare, Ireland. It is on the former N9 road about south of Dublin. It is a small village, with less than a hundred inhabitants, one shop and a two pubs. It is located close to the Moone High Cross Inn.During the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s...
, 200 Catholic civilians were killed by Ormonde's army.
- March 18, Battle of New RossBattle of New Ross (1643)The Battle of Ballinvegga or Battle of New Ross was a battle of the Irish Confederate Wars fought on 18 March 1643.In the battle, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde defeated Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara, and an Irish Confederate army north of the town of New Ross in the nearby townland of...
, English Royalist forces defeat a Confederate Catholic army under Thomas Preston.
- May, O'Neill's Ulster Catholic forces are routed by the Scots at ClonesClonesClones is a small town in western County Monaghan, in the 'border area' of the Republic of Ireland. The area is part of the Border Region, earmarked for economic development by the Irish Government due to its currently below-average economic situation...
, losing many of its veteran soldiers. He abandons much of central Ulster to rebuild his army.
- June, a Confederate force under James Tuchet, Earl of CastlehavenJames Tuchet, 3rd Earl of CastlehavenJames Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven was the son of Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven and his first wife, Elizabeth Barnham...
ambushes the Cork army of Inchiquin at Funcheon Ford. This would prove to be the only significant defeat of the Cork Protestant army in the 1640s.
- September: The Ulster army led by Owen Roe O'Neill defeats an Irish Protestant force at the Battle of Portlester.
- September: A ceasefire is arranged between the Confederates and English Royalists under Ormonde, negotiations get underway to create a more formal alliance. Many Royalist troops are withdrawn to fight in England. The Scots in Ulster remain hostile to the Confederates.
- November, 4,000 of the English troops in Dublin are sent back to England.
1644
- The Confederates launch an offensive of 6,000 men, led by Castlehaven, against the Scots in Ulster, but it proves inconclusive.
- A foray by the Scots into Confederate territory in County LongfordCounty LongfordCounty Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
is turned back at the bridge at FinneaFinneaFinnea , which in English means 'wood of the ford' is a small village in County Westmeath on the border with County Cavan. It straddles the R394 road.-History:...
by a force under
Myles "the Slasher" O'Reilly.
- The Confederates send 1,500 troops to Scotland under Alasdair MacCollaAlasdair MacCollaAlasdair Mac Colla was a Scottish soldier. His full name in Scottish Gaelic was Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich Mac Domhnuill . He is sometimes mistakenly referred to in English as "Collkitto", a nickname that properly belongs to his father. He fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, most notably...
to fight on the Royalist side there.
- The English Royalist troops in Cork defect to the Parliament.
- The Confederates take BandonBandon, County CorkBandon is a town in County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 5,822 as of census 2006, Bandon lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means "Bridge of the Bandon", a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing-point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its...
1645
- 20 January, the Siege of DuncannonSiege of DuncannonThe Siege of Duncannon took place in 1645, during the Irish Confederate Wars. An Irish Catholic Confederate army under Thomas Preston besieged and successfully took the town of Duncannon in south eastern Ireland from its English Parliamentarian garrison...
begins.
- 18 March, Duncannonn surrenders to the Confederate force under Thomas Preston.
- Confederate generals Preston and Castlehaven besiege Youghal but fail to take it.
- Catholic Bishop Malachy O'Queally is killed leading a Confederate attempt to take Sligo.
- Papal Nuncio, Giovanni Battista RinucciniGiovanni Battista RinucciniGiovanni Battista Rinuccini was a Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar who became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV, who made him the Archbishop of Fermo in Italy...
lands in Kerry with arms and money to aid the Confederates.
1646
- 28 March, The Ormonde Peace is signed, committing the Confederates to an alliance with the English Royalists in return for concessions to Catholics. It is condemned by Rinuccini and the Catholic Bishops.
- An English Parliamentarian naval force lands at DingleDingleDingle is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 49 kilometres southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres northwest of Killarney....
and sacks the town.
- The parliamentarians occupy Bunratty CastleBunratty CastleBunratty Castle is a large tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It lies in the centre of Bunratty village , by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The name Bunratty, Bun Raite in Irish, means the 'bottom' or end of the 'Ratty' river. This river, alongside...
but are then besieged by Confederate troops and forced to surrender.
- June, Battle of BenburbBattle of BenburbThe Battle of Benburb took place in 1646 during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought between the forces of Confederate Ireland under Owen Roe O'Neill and a Scottish Covenanter and Anglo-Irish army under Robert Monro...
, a Scottish Covenanter army is smashed by the Confederate Ulster Army under Owen Roe O'NeillOwen Roe O'NeillEoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...
.
- Confederate troops take RoscommonRoscommonRoscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...
.
- Confederate Armies under Preston and O'Neill march on Kilkenny to reject the Ormonde peace. Those who signed it are arrested.
- O'Neill and Preston besiege Dublin, held by the Royalist Earl of Ormonde. However they lift the siege due to bad weather and a failure to agree on strategy.
1647
- Spring: Inchiquin launches a major offensive in Munster, quickly capturing Dromana, Cappoquin and Dungarvan.
- June 1647: Ormonde surrenders Dublin to the English Parliamentarians, preferring them to the Catholic Confederates.
- August: The Confederate Leinster Army is destroyed by an English Parliamentarian force at the battle of Dungan's HillBattle of Dungan's HillThe Battle of Dungan's Hill took place in County Meath, in eastern Ireland in August 1647. It was fought between the armies of Confederate Ireland and the English Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Irish army was intercepted on a march towards Dublin and destroyed...
, in county Meath.
- Owen Roe ONeills Ulster Army lays waste to the area around Dublin, burning food supplies to prevent the Parliamentarian army under from advancing into Confederate territory.
- September: Sack of CashelSack of CashelThe Sack of Cashel was a notorious atrocity which occurred in the Irish County of Tipperary in the year 1647, during the Irish Confederate Wars, part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, Parliamentarian forces under Inchiquin sack Cashel, County TipperaryCashel, County TipperaryCashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
and massacre its garrison.
- November 1647: Battle of Knocknanauss. The Confederate Munster Army is routed by the Parliamentarians in county Cork.
1648
- Inchiquin, Protestant commander in Cork, changes sides, from the English Parliament to the King and signs a truce with the Confederates.
- The Confederates sign the Second Ormonde Peace - a revised deal with the Royalists. The Confederation splits over the Treaty and a civil war breaks out between the pro-Royalist Confederates and the hardline Catholics, led by Rinnucini and most powerful in the Ulster Army of Owen Roe O'Neill.
- The English Parliamentarian garrison at Derry is besieged by the Scots, who have also signed an alliance with the Royalists.
- Owen Roe O'Neill relieves the Parliamentarians besieged at Derry in return for supplies and offers to make a separate peace with them.
1649
- February- Ormonde returns to Ireland, and after arriving at Kilkenny, dissolves the Catholic Confederation.
- 23 February, Papal nuncio Rinuccini leaves Ireland.
- 2 August 1649: battle of RathminesBattle of RathminesThe Battle of Rathmines was fought in and around what is now the Dublin suburb of Rathmines in August 1649, during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, a combined Royalist/Confederate force is defeated by the English Parliamentarians outside Dublin.
- 15 August, Oliver CromwellOliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
lands in Dublin with the New Model ArmyNew Model ArmyThe New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
to re-conquer Ireland.
- 17 August: Henry IretonHenry IretonHenry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
lands with the remainder of the Parliamentarian force.
- 11 September: English Parliamentarian troops storm Drogheda and massacre its garrison Siege of DroghedaSiege of DroghedaThe siege of Drogheda at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town of Drogheda in eastern Ireland was held by a combined English Royalist and Irish Catholic garrison when it was besieged and stormed by English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell...
.
- Owen Roe O'Neill re-joins the Confederate/Royalist coalition.
- 2 October, Parliamentarian forces lay siege to WexfordWexfordWexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
.
- 11 October: Sack of WexfordSack of WexfordThe Sack of Wexford took place in October 1649, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, when the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell took Wexford town in south-eastern Ireland. The English Parliamentarian troops broke into the town while the commander of the garrison was trying to negotiate a...
, Cromwell's troops take Wexford, put its garrison to the sword and burn much of the town.
- 15 October: English Parliamentarian troops under Henry Ireton lay siege to Duncannon.
- 19 October: New Ross surrenders on terms to Cromwell.
- 5 November, the siege of Duncannon is raised due to bad weather and a stubborn defence by the town's garrison.
- 6 November, Owen Roe O'Neill dies of disease.
- 19 November: English Parliamentarians take Carrick on Suir in a surprise attack.
- 24 November: Ulster Irish troops attack Carrick but are beaten off with heavy casualties.
- Parliamentarian forces arrive before WaterfordWaterfordWaterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, beginning the Siege of WaterfordSiege of WaterfordThe city of Waterford in south eastern Ireland was besieged from 1649–50 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town was held by Irish Confederate Catholic and English Royalist troops under general Thomas Preston...
- November, Battle of Arklow (1649)Battle of Arklow (1649)The Battle of Arklow took place at Glascarrig on the coast road through Arklow in County Wicklow during November 1649. It was fought between the armies of Confederate Ireland , and the English Parliamentarians during the Irish Confederate Wars.-Background:By late October 1649, the Irish had...
. An army led by Inchiquin fails to destroy a force of English Parliamentarian soldiers.
- 6 December: Battle of LisnagarveyBattle of LisnagarveyThe Battle of Lisnagarvey took place near Lisburn, 20 miles south of Carrickfergus, in south county Antrim, Ireland in December 1649. It was fought between the Royalists army and the Parliamentarians during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Background:When the army of Oliver Cromwell landed in...
. The Parliamentarians defeat a Scottish pro-Royalist force in county Down.
- 10 December: The Siege of Waterford is abandoned. The Parliamentarians go into winter quarters at Dungarven.
1650
- April: Cromwell besieges Clonmel (Siege of ClonmelSiege of ClonmelThe Siege of Clonmel took place in April – May 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland when the town of Clonmel in County Tipperary was besieged by Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army. Cromwell's 8,000 men eventually took the town from its 2,000 Irish defenders, but not before they...
).
- May: New Model Army troops assault Clonmel but are beaten off with heavy casualties. The garrison slips away and the town surrneders on terms the next day.
- Cromwell leaves Ireland
- Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
repudiates the Second Ormonde Peace and his alliance with Irish Catholics. Cromwell publishes lenient surrender terms for Protestant Royalists.
- The Protestant Royalist garrisons in Munster defect to the Parliamentarian side.
- 10 May, Battle of MacroomBattle of MacroomThe Battle of Macroom was fought in 1650, near Macroom, County Cork, in southern Ireland, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. An English Parliamentarian force under Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery defeated an Irish Confederate force under David Roche....
, Irish Confederate force defeated near MacroomMacroomMacroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...
, Cork.
- 19 June, Siege and Battle of TecroghanBattle of TecroghanThe Battle of Tecroghan took place near Trim, in west Leinster, Ireland in June 1650. It was fought between the armies of Confederate Ireland and the English Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An English force under Hewson and Reynolds had surrounded the formidable castle of Tecroghan...
, near TrimTrim, County MeathTrim is the traditional county town of County Meath in Ireland, although the county town is now Navan. The town was recorded in the 2006 census to have a population of 6,870....
. tactical Irish victory.
- 21 June: Battle of ScarrifholisBattle of ScarrifholisThe Battle of Scarrifholis was fought in Donegal North-West Ireland, on the 21st of June 1650, during the Irish Confederate Wars – part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms Cogadh ná Trí Ríocht...
, near LetterkennyLetterkennyLetterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
. The Irish Ulster army is defeated and destroyed by English Parliamentarian forces.
- July: CarlowCarlowCarlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
falls to Parliamentarian troops. Waterford is besieged again.
- July: The Siege of CharlemontSiege of CharlemontThe Siege of Charlemont took place in July - August 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland when the fortress of Charlemont in County Armagh, Ireland was besieged by Charles Coote's Parliamentarian army, which was largely composed of soldiers of the New Model Army...
begins.
- 8 August, Parliamentarian attacks on Charlemont are repulsed with heavy losses.
- 14 August, Charlemont surrenders.
- 10 August, Waterford surrenders to Parliamentarian troops.
- 12 August, Duncannon surrenders.
- 25 October, Battle of Meelick IslandBattle of Meelick IslandThe Battle of Meelick Island took place on the river Shannon, on the border between Connaught and Leinster, in Ireland in October 1650. It was fought between the armies of Confederate Ireland and the English Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The battle occurred when an English force...
, the Irish Connaught Army is routed and the Parliamentarians cross the Shannon into the west of Ireland.
- October, Henry Ireton arrives before Limerick but has to lift the siege and retire to winter quarters.
- December, Ormonde, erstwhile Royalist commander, flees for France.
1651
- April, due to persistent guerrilla warfare by Irish Catholic bands, reprisals on civilians in several areas including county Wicklow and much of the south are proclaimed by the Parliamentarians.
- June: Ireton arrives again before Limerick and constructs fortifications for a long siege Siege of Limerick (1650–1651).
- July 1651: Battle of KnocknaclashyBattle of KnocknaclashyThe battle of Knocknaclashy, took place in county Cork in southern Ireland in 1651. In it, an Irish Confederate force led by Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry was defeated by an English Parliamentarian force under Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery...
, an Irish force trying to relieved Limerick is defeated and scattered near BanteerBanteerBanteer is a village in north County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. It is near the town of Mallow, County Cork. Located in the district of northern Cork known as Duhallow.-History:...
, Cork.
- August: Siege of GalwaySiege of GalwayThe Siege of Galway took place from August 1651 to May 1652 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Galway was the last city held by Irish Catholic forces in Ireland and its fall signalled the end to most organised resistance to the Parliamentarian conquest of the country.The English...
begins, Parliamentarian forces under Charles Coote besiege Galway.
- 27 October: Limerick surrenders.
1652
- 12 May: Galway surrenders.
- May, most the bigger Irish guerrilla bands surrender under terms published at Kilkenny, allowing them to go abroad to serve in Catholic armies.
- 12 August: Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest.-Background:...
is passed by the English Rump ParliamentRump ParliamentThe Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
, allowing for the mass confiscation of Catholic owned land and the execution of those held responsible for the rebellion 1641.
1653
- 27 April, The last organised Irish Catholic force, Phillip O'Reilly, surrenders at Cloughoughter, county Cavan.