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                                                                                                                                1602 AD

 

1602 January 2nd: The Battle of Kinsale against the English in Ireland occurred that was to mean the end of the Irish Brehon Law, and therefore the totality of Gaelic Ireland, but despite this Daniel Mac Carthy, the son of "The Mac Carthy Mor" the previous English appointed first Earl of Clan Carty, along with O Connor Kerry, (who would stick it out to the end), the Anglo - Irish Earls of Fitz Gerald the Knight of Glin and Fitz Gerald the Knight of Kerry along with many others combined with Donnell Cam O Sullivan. the Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil Chieftain, They intended to carry on with their resistance against all the overwhelming odds to try and defend the Munster Province against the ongoing English onslaught, and Donnell Cam O Sullivan was also able to enlist William Burke and Richard Tyrell from the Connacht Province with their galloglasses / mercenaries, at three pence a day and their keep. This then gave Donnell Cam O Sullivan a force of 2,000 men, and he tried to convince Del Aguila the Spanish commander, who had an anti - Irish outlook, to hold the fort at Kinsale, but he ignored his advice and attacked the English forces head on and would eventually have to sue for peace, even down to making friends with both Mountjoy and Carew.  January 9th: Without first consulting with Donnell Cam O Sullivan and the other Irish Chiefs and leaders in the Munster Province, Del Aguila made an agreement with the English that the Spanish forces would hand over all of the Irish castles to Mountjoy, and in return was given liberal terms for his Spanish forces to surrender and because of these actions on returning with his men to Spain he was to be in disgrace and castigated by Philip 111 the King of Spain over his personal surrender and general attitude towards the Irish patriots.

January 12th: Donnell Cam O Sullivan was able to seize the Carriganass Castle, belonging to his cousin, Sir Owen Oge O Sullivan, and on hearing that the Spanish had already surrendered to Mountjoy, he decided to also retake his own castle of Dunboy back from the English forces that now occupied it and with 1,000 of his men he went to Dunboy and during the night he made a hole in the wall, and was able to retake the castle, while losing only 3 of his men in the skirmish, and then wrote another letter to Philip 111 the King of Spain justifying his actions in retaking his own castle.

      Sir George Carew, the English appointed President in the Munster Province, was of the belief that he was personally entitled to vast Estates in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, that were previously granted by Henry 11 the English Norman King to his ancestor, Robert Fitz Stephen nearly 4 Centuries before as many years before this his uncle, Sir Peter Carew also had originally stirred up the Fitz Gerald Desmond Rebellion in the first place, while trying to get his hands on their supposed Carew mythical possessions in Ireland, but he had died in 1575 AD, before he could fully pull it off and Sir George Carew, at this time, was as determined as his uncle had been, to get his hands on all of the Estates in Munster also, and to this end decided to make an example of Donnell Cam O Sullivan, as he now personally represented the main Irish resistance to any future plans in Munster that he had there to take over the territory there. Due to the fragility of the situation that the Irish were now in, in Munster, Donnell Cam O Sullivan, had previously petitioned the English commander, Mountjoy for a pardon, but he had refused to consider it, so he then decided to leave Richard Geoghegan from the Dal Cuinn "southern" Ui Niaill Sept who was in charge at Dunboy Castle to defend it, along with other members from the individual Septs from that region. It was inaccessible by land, but not by sea, so he kept back 3 of the Spanish gunners, who were still willing to fight for the Irish cause, to man the cannons, and sent the rest back to Spain, and an 18' high sod wall was then built to absorb the cannon fire from the English artillery and he sent his 5 year old son and Taniste / heir apparent, to the protection of the Spanish Governor of Galacia also, informing Philip 111 of this, and his intention to defend the castle, and criticised Del Aguila for surrendering to the English in the first place, while requesting Phillip 111 also to send a small ship to Ireland for the rest of his Family to be able to escape, if it became necessary.

March: Sir George Carew, the English appointed President in the Munster Province, had Donogh O Brien the fourth English appointed Earl of Thomond, take 3,500 of his men and a 500 English Military force, and reconnoitre the Beare Peninsula in Co. Cork, where he had him also carry out Elizabeth 1st's "Scorched Earth" policy, burning all of the corn at Carbery, Beare and Bantry and also had him seize all of their cattle, and then march down to Bantry Abbey, and put 700 men on Whiddy Island, which was directly opposite to the O Sullivan's Dunboy Castle, and then returned to Cork City to report back to Sir George Carew. March 23rd: Sir George Carew, then set out on his mission to personally take Dunboy Castle himself, but at Skibbereen and Bantry he came up against Irish resistance from the combined forces of the Heberian O Sullivan Sept, and the Gaelic Ithian O Driscoll Sept. March 31st: Sir George Carew and his English Military forces finally managed to reach Bantry Bay, were he set up in one of the captured castles of the O Sullivan Beare at Dunnamark, and renamed the castle after himself calling it Carew Castle, and this was where the "survivor" Sir Owen Oge O Sullivan came to meet him, and went over to the English side also, in anticipation of his just reward of becoming the future "The O Sullivan Beare," in his own right. There they waited for Sir Charles Wilmot the other English commander and his English Military forces, who was also at this time carrying out Elizabeth 1st's policy of "Slash and Burn" while devastating all of Co. Kerry in the south - west of the Munster Province.

May 11th: Elizabeth 1st was to send over further English Navel ships, that were carrying extra munitions to be used on the resisting Irish population, as did Sir Charles Wilmot her English commander in Ireland, and on May 12th: further English cannons were to arrive on more English ships, and on May 31st: Sir George Carew took his particular English Military forces to the south of Bantry Bay, so as to be also directly opposite to Dursey Island at Beare in Co. Cork.      

June 1st: Donogh O Brien, the English appointed fourth Earl of Thomond, now took his men over to Bear Island, followed by Sir Charles Wilmot and his English Military force, followed by Sir Richard Percy's forces and then Sir George Carew's forces, totalling 4,000 troops altogether, who were now directly opposite to Donnell Cam O Sullivan's Dunboy Castle and Captain Richard Mac Geoghegan, who had been left in charge at the Dunboy Castle by Donnell Cam O Sullivan rowed over from the castle to talk to Donogh O Brien, the appointed English fourth Earl of Thomond, who told him that he should surrender up the castle to the English. In the meantime, a small Spanish craft, the Santiguillo, had arrived at Ardea Castle on the River Kenmare, just across the Slieve Mish Mountains to the north, giving hope of further Spanish reinforcements, and Donnell Cam O Sullivan had gone across the Caha Mountains to meet up with it. Once there he was informed that further Spanish reinforcements would be arriving shortly, and because of this Bishop Owen Mac Egan, the Catholic Bishop of Ross in the Munster Province, wrote to Richard Mac Geoghegan, advising him that he believed that reinforcements were on their way from Spain, amounting to a great army of 14,000 men, but unbeknown to them all, was the fact that Philip 111 the King of Spain had decided instead to cut his losses, and the reinforcements were never to arrive. Sir George Carew, disliked Bishop Owen Mac Egan intensely, as he had been responsible for Phillip 111 sending his force to Kinsale in the first place after he had been appointed by Pope Clement V111, who had also made him responsible for the defence of the Munster Province.  June 6th: Sir George Carew, landed two cannons and two regiments onto the Dinish Islet, which was situated between Bear Island and Dunboy Castle, intending to hammer the sandy beach with shot, and he also sent another two English Military regiments with further reinforcements to the eastern side, where they were able to establish a beach head, driving the Irish Septs who were there back to Dunboy Castle. Richard Tyrell and his mercenaries were able to escape the trap, and informed Donnell Cam O Sullivan, who was then at the Ardea Castle, of the situation at Dunboy Castle, which was now totally surrounded by English warships and English Militia forces. Castle Dermod, another of the the O Sullivan's castles, on the mainland of Co. Cork, had also been previously secured by the English Military forces, and by now, Sir Owen Oge O Sullivan along with his two brothers, who had all gone over to the English side, due to their own personal ambitions to gain further points, had set out to capture the Heberian Eoghanacht Raithlind O Mahony's castle also at Dunmanus in the next bay.

June 12th: The English Military Forces, which now also included the survivor, Sir Owen Oge O Sullivan, set out to take over Dursey Island, and the castle of his uncle, Dermot O Sullivan, who was also the uncle of Donnell Cam O Sullivan, in which there were many refugees, along with 40 fighting men under the leadership of Connor O Driscoll, the son of Sir Fineen O Driscoll of Baltimore, who only had three small Spanish cannons to protect them and unfortunately, they were to be taken by surprise, and everyone there in the castle was then massacred by the English forces, including all of the women and children who they threw over the cliffs onto the jagged rocks below and into the sea.

June 16th: Sir George Carew set up his cannons, to begin the siege on Dunboy Castle, drawing them up to within 140 yards of the walls, and then began firing, and soon a messenger came out from those who were still alive in the castle, offering to surrender, but with typical English mentality Sir George Carew only had him taken away and hung and by now 40 of the surviving defenders, who were now naturally in a panic, tried to escape the onslaught by diving into the sea where they were all shot and drowned by the English Military forces who were now based on the ships surrounding them. Despite this 77 people were also still managing to survive in the castle cellars, and they also offered to surrender, but were once again refused any chance of any humanity, so 26 of them somehow managed to get out of the castle and gave themselves up, while Sir George Carew kept up the cannon barrage on the others hoping to bury them alive. He then had Donogh O Brien the appointed English fourth Earl of Thomond, hang another 58 of the survivors in pairs, while Thomas Taylor an Englishman and a mercenary, who had taken over command, along with 15 others, were to be reprieved, but they too were to be eventually executed also. Thomas Taylor, was taken to Cork City, where he was to be executed, and Brother Collins, the lay Jesuit teacher, was executed in Youghal from were he had originally came from, while Morty Og - the Younger O Sullivan's body was dragged behind an English Navel ship from Bantry Bay to Cork Harbour and Sir George Carew was heard to comment, "That so obstinate and resolved defence had not been seen." 

June 22nd: The English Military forces siege on Dunboy Castle, finally came to an end, with over 80 of the English Military forces also being killed during the fighting, and the Dunboy Castle was then blown to pieces by the English using dynamite and the ruins are still there to be seen on the southern shore of the Beare Peninsula in the west of Co. Cork, at the narrow entrance to Beare Haven Harbour, opposite Bear Island and beneath the shadow of the Caha Mountains, which includes the one nown as Hungry Hill.  

June 30th: Sir George Carew, went on to Cork City in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, leaving behind 6 English Military garrisons in Carbery, to finish cleaning the Irish Families out the area, and the O Mahony castle at Leamcon, was also taken near Carbery, but despite this Donnell Cam O Sullivan's remaining Irish forces carried on with their guerrilla warfare in Muskerry retaking both the Carrignacurra and the Dunareerke Castles from the Mac Carthys, the Macroom Castle from the O Donoghues of the Glens, and the Carrigaphooca Castle, which was the Mac Carthys main stronghold, and many more of the Irish Septs from the surrounding area also joined in with them.

      Blount / Mountjoy the English appointed Lord Deputy in Ireland, then began to create divisions among the forces of the Irish Chiefs, by creating ill - feeling, using forged letters, and also forced the Irish Chiefs in Co. Wicklow in the south - east of Southern Leinster and Co. Monaghan in Southern Ulster to submit personally to him, and was to also attack the Ulster Province generally, leaving the regions totally devestated and desolate under Elizabeth 1st "Slash and Burn" policy and the populations in Co. Monaghan, the Munster Province, and Ulster were now also dying from hunger due to the desolation that the English had created previously during their on going "Scorched Earth"" policies.

June:  Blount / Mountjoy, the appointed English Lord Deputy in Ireland for Elizabeth 1st, constructed Charlemont Fort on the River Blackwater in Co. Armagh in the south - east of the Ulster Province, to further control the Irish forces there of 126.Aodh Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall, and then broke the Dal Cuinn Ui Niaill Cenel nEogain Tullahogue Coronation Stone / Leac na Ri situated on a high hill near Stewartstown in Ulster, to stop any further Inaugurations of the Ui Niaill Chieftains. The Tullahogue Stone was in the shape of a chair, and it was the responsibility of the O Hagans, who were the third Sept of the Heremonian Dal Cuinn "northern" Ui Niaill Cenel nEogain, who during the Crowning Ceremony, would cast a shoe over the head of "The O Niall" who had been elected from within 4 generations to lead the Tuath / Family region. The Dal Cuinn "northern" Ui Niaill O Nialls held their Aonachs / Fairs, sporting events, laws and trading there, attended by their Aos Dana / Learned Class, which included the judges, Brehon lawyers, medical men, craftsmen, file / poets, seers and visionaries, many of whom had taken over their roles previously from the Druids in much earlier times. (The other main Cenel nEogain Sept of the "northern" Ui Niaill, the O Nialls of Clandeboye / Clann na Buidhe who had their territory in the north - east of Ulster, were to be interred for Centuries at Ballymena in Co. Antrim.) 

July 18th: Father Archer / Airseir, who was of Anglo - Norman origins, whose original family had arrived in Ireland in the 13th Century AD, and settled in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster, also went to Spain to try and get further assistance from Philip 111, but was also not successful, as Phillip 111 was by now knee deep in the Dutch Wars. September 10th: Aodh Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell, was also still waiting at Corunna in Spain, for Phillip 111 to supply him with a fleet to try and free the Ulster Province, and after deciding that he could wait no longer, he approached him again, but received the same negative result.  September 16th: Aedh Radh / Red Hugh O Donnell "The O Donnell," who was still only 29 years of age, was poisoned at Simancas in Spain, a month before his 30th birthday, by James Blake, an English secret agent acting on behalf of Sir George Carew, and he was interred there in Spain, at Valladolid, with great ceremony. Rory O Donnell, his younger brother, then became "The O Donnell" the leader of the Dal Cuinn "northern" Ui Niaill Cenel Conaill in Tyrconnell / Co. Donegal in their kingdom and territory in the north - west of the Ulster Province.

      At this time also, Richard Boyle, an English Church of England Episcopalian, who was anti - Catholic in his outlook, who had also arrived into Ireland previously, with very limited financial support, was eventually to become the biggest Estate holder in Ireland, and the first appointed English Earl of Cork. (Despite his personal outlook he never let his anti - Catholic sentiment effect him in his commercial considerations). He always told the English officials, that he had no Irish tenants on his Estates in the Munster Province, when in fact they all were, and he even fostered out his many children to the Mere Irish to rear. Sir Walter Raleigh, one of Elizabeth1st's favourites, was to also sell him Lismore Castle in Co. Tipperary in the north - east of Munster). The Collegiate of Fitz Gerald, the Earl of Desmond, at Youghal in eastern Co. Cork in Southern Munster, that had also been taken over by Sir George Carew, was to come into his hands eventually also. 12,000 English Episcopalian planters were to eventually be brought into the Munster Province up to 1622 AD as the Irish Families there were removed from their territories.

     Realising all was now lost Rory O Donnell, who was now the Dal Cuinn "northern" Ui Niaill Cenel Conaill's "The O Donnell" in their kingdom of Tir Conaill  (The Land of 91.Conaill Gulban) Tyrconnell / Co. Donegal in the north - west of the Ulster Province, surrendered himself up personally at Athlone in Co. Westmeath in the north - east of Northern Leinster to the English Military commander there.

October: Richard Tyrell, was defeated with his mercenaries in Muskerry in the south - west of the Munster Province, by Sir Samuel Bagenal the English Military commander, and Sir Charles Wilmot was now appointed the English Governor at Beare in Southern Munster to carry out further attacks on the Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil O Sullivans, and he brought his men down from Dunkerron Castle near Kenmare in Co. Kerry to Glengarriff  within two miles of Donnell Cam O Sullivan who was still being supported by William Burke and his mercenaries). December: The Irish and the English forces came into conflict in a a dragged out battle that was to last for nearly 6 hours, and all of Donnell Cam O Sullivan's cattle, including 2,000 cows and 4,000 sheep, were  taken by the English, so William Burke seeing which way the wind was blowing gathered together his remaining 200 mercenaries in Munster and returned to the north - west to the Connacht Province and with Dunboy Castle now gone, Aodh Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell dead, and no sign of any more Spanish reinforcements, the remaining Mac Carthy Septs now also abandoned Donnell Cam O Sullivan, as they also had lost all their gains in Muskerry, while Richard Tyrell too had also left Munster with his mercenaries to return north to Connacht.

December 31st: Donnell Cam O Sullivan of Beare Haven and Bantry, decided that it would be best now to take his surviving people away from the ongoing English turmoil and head north from Glengarriff, to try and join up with 126. Aodh Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall, and Aodh / Hugh Maguire at Glenconkeine near Loch Neagh in Co. Fermanagh in the south - west of the Ulster Province as it was his intention to reach the fortress of Brian Oge - the Younger O Rourke in his kingdom of West Breifne in Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht with 1,000 of his followers, that included 13 horsemen and 400 of his Irish warriors. He set out from the woods at Dereenafalla / Doire na Fola (The Oak Wood of Blood) hoping eventually to join in with the Dal Cuinn "northern" Heremonian Septs in Ulster, who were now under great pressure also in the north, from the English Military forces there, but to do this they would have to travel over 300 miles while under constant attack. His territory in the Munster Province had by now, not only been invaded, but had been totally devastated by Sir George Carew the English appointed President in Munster, and his main castle at Dunboy had also been totally destroyed, and all the defenders there massacred, and there was a reward of 300 pounds out for his capture. Despite his best intentions, within 15 days of their departure from Munster there was to be only 35 members of his original party, at first, to arrive in his intended destination in the north of the Connacht Province, from the original 1,000 who were to set off initially with him, which would include his "aged" uncle, the 70 year old, Dermot O Sullivan of Dursy Island, along with "The O Connor Kerry" and Thomas Burke. It was to turn out to be a journey of absolute devastating terror, while attempting to cross over the River Shannon along the way, until they were to finally reach the safety of Co. Leitrim, where they would meet up with Brian Oge - the Younger O Rourke. (The English Military commanders were to put out an order against all of them, and also against any of the other Irish Septs, who did not physically try to stop them along the way). On the first day of their journey, they were to reach Augeris in Muskerry / Muscrai to the west of Cork, after travelling 26 miles, where they rested, and where he was to leave his wife, and his aunt the previous Johanna Mac Sweeney the wife of his "aged" uncle Dermot O Sullivan, at a spot above Glengarriff, near Nead - an - Fhiolair (The Eagle's Nest) with his young two year old son, Dermot O Sullivan, along with some others members of the group, to continue on to Spain for safety and later on they would all be taken there by Cornelius O Driscoll, about the same time as the remaining survivors of the O Sullivan group were to eventually make it up to Co. Leitrim.   

      The Heremonian Dal Cuinn Ui Briuin Ai Mac Dermots, O Connor Roe, and the O Flahertys in the Connacht Province, along with other Irish Chiefs, were now also forced to submit to Blount / Mountjoy the English appointed Deputy for Elizabeth 1st, in Galway in Co. Galway in Southern Connacht, but Brian Oge - the Younger O Rourke, 126.Aodh Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall, the Dal Cuinn Colla Da Crioch Maguires, and Richard Tyrell were to still keep up the resistance.

   Maolin Oge - the Younger Mac Brody the Historian and Poet from the Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil Sept compiled the Book of the Mac Bruodins / Mac Brodys containing historical information from 1588 AD to 1602 AD and died and had been the son of Maolin Mac Brody the son of Conor Mac Brody the son of John Mac Brody, and he had previously made an Irish translation of the New Testament that was published by Ussher in Dublin this year.

     Ossory in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster, the previous kingdom of the Heremonian Cu Corb Ui Connla Mac Giolla Patraics / Fitz Patricks from this date was to have no Catholic Bishop until 1618 AD.

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