1689 - 1690 AD

1689 AD James 11 the Catholic Stuart fourth English King had previously had the "Toleration Act" passed  for the Toleration of non - Conformists to the Ascendancy Church of England, and Ireland was by now under the administration of Richard Talbot, a Catholic, who was now his Lord Deputy in Ireland and his authority was extensive throughout Ireland, except for the Ulster Province, which was basically mainly under the control of the Lowland Scottish Presbyterian planters and other foreign emigrants there. In endeavouring to carry out his official duties in Ireland he was now also up against the English Ascendancy Parliament under the control of the merchants there, who were always pushing their own agendas on to Ireland to suite, assisted by those also in the Ascendancy with English authority in Ireland. There was also the precarious situation of the introduced foreign planters rights to retain their previously confiscated Irish land, and there were also those in Ulster who were against any type of reform for the Catholic Irish, which was also associated with their rights to land holdings there. Richard Talbot was also now involved in trying to assist James 11 to regain his throne against the Ascendancy English Conservative Ascendancy Whig Parliament who were at this time also wary of his kinsman, Louis X1V the Catholic King of France who was supporting him. The King of France at this time was not only at odds with the Pope and the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, but also the Catholic King of Spain who because of this were now all supporting William of Orange, and once again Ireland and the Irish people were to be the ham in the sandwich.            

      By this period in Irish History, the foreign families of the introduced non - Catholic planters who Oliver Cromwell had previously transplanted into Ireland had also begun to adopt the Irish culture, the Irish language, and the Irish Catholic faith by intermarriage with the various members of the Irish Families, just as those non - Catholic planters who had been introduced under Elizabeth 1st had also done previously.

January: The Ascendancy Church of England / Ireland gentry who were basically the English Earls in Ireland still considered themselves to be English gentlemen, while those in the Ulster Province formed there own garrisons, from their own men, and sent off word to William of Orange in London proclaiming that as far as they were concerned he and his wife Mary were now the King and Queen of England but Richard Talbot acting as the English Lord Deputy in Ireland for James 11 the Stuart English Catholic King was still in control of Charlemont and Carrickfergus there in Ulster, and he offered all of those who were opposed in Ulster favourable terms to surrender, but on receiving no reply he then sent a Royalist force up to that Province.

March 12th: Meanwhile, James 11 the Catholic Stuart English King arrived personally into Kinsale in Co. Cork in Southern Munster  from France with French officers, and immediately created Richard Talbot, the Duke of Tyrconnell, who in the meantime had been able to raise 50,000 men in Ireland to support him and he was personally well received by the people of the City of Cork and at Clonmel in Co. Tipperary in the north - east of the Munster Province he was also received by James Butler the young Royalist, who was the new thirteenth English Earl of Ormonde. By now the only really important areas still held by the opposing forces in the Ulster Province were the towns of Enniskillen and Derry, while those of the same point of view in the Leinster Province and the Munster Province kept out of sight, hid out, or went off back to England. James 11 then addressed the Anglo - Irish Parliament now known as the Patriot Parliament / Jacobites who began to restore any Irish property that had been previously confiscated since 1641 AD back to the Irish and Anglo - Irish / Old English owners, together with some authoritative power. Charles Mac Coghlan  the Vicar - General of Leighlin along with John Mac Coghlan and Terence Mac Coghlan of Garrycastle and Teague Mac Coghlan of Kilcolgan Castle were the representatives for Banagher in the new Irish Parliament. Colonel Roger Mac Elligott / O Sullivan and his cousin, Colonel Cornelius Mac Gillicuddy / O Sullivan of the Reeks who was the Governor of Kinsale were also in the Irish Parliament as M.P.s for Ardfert while Ensign Mac Gillicuddy and Lieutenant Mac Gillicuddy were in Lord Kenmare's Regiment.

March 14th: The opposing forces in the Ulster Province suffered a defeat at Dromore and they then headed north with some going on also to Derry there, and others went to Enniskillen, and by the end of the month these were the only fortified towns still in opposition hands but James 11's Royalist and Irish forces also came up against some haphazard resistance at Mallow Castle in Co. Cork in Southern Munster. which was still garrisoned by opposing forces also, and they set it on fire and the defenders there also retreated north to Newtown Butler in Co. Fermanagh in the south - west of Ulster. They also met similar resistance at Crom Castle, which was only 5 mile west of Newtown Butler, and also at the castle in Newtown Stewart there, which they destroyed and then set fire to the town. Raids of retaliation were then carried out in the south, by the remaining opposing forces to James 11 who were still in the north in Ulster, where they were to get to within 30 miles of Dublin against the Royalist and Irish forces led by Richard Talbot. This this then brought about a siege also being made in retaliation on Enniskillen at Jamestown / Sheamais Baile in Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht just across the Ulster border. (One of the gates on the main road, belonging to the walls that once surrounded the town to keep the Irish Families out is still there to be seen.) It was there that the Royalist garrison was also refused entry to the town after the Ascendancy leader Gustavus Hamilton had raised an opposing defence force to keep them out. (He had previously fought for the Austrian King against the Catholic Countries in Europe and was a grandson of the original English Planter Undertaker in the area under James 1st.)

April 17th: James 11 the Catholic English Stuart King proceeded to the City of Derry in Co. Derry in the north - east of the Ulster Province, which was where his original regiment a few months earlier, after being taken out of the City to be replaced by another, was stopped from entering, as the Apprentice Boys there had locked the Ferry Quay Gate in their face. (They had also since received Williamite reinforcements from England). He began personal negotiations with Robert Lundy the Mayor of the City, who was willing to accept his demands, but whose authority there was then overthrown by some new hard - line arrivals who had also fled there for protection, and the offers made to him by James 11 were then rejected by those who were opposed to him, and who were now the ones really in control there. This stand - off was not only a threat to the authority of James 11 in the Ulster Province, but also in Ireland, and the City, which was surrounded by 25' high walls, with 30,000 people still trapped in there, was now under the command of Major Henry Baker and a new arrival George Walker, a non - Catholic minister of religion, and it was now put under siege. Further relief ships sent by William of Orange arrived into the River Foyle, to reinforce the Williamite garrison holding out there, but their commander then withdrew feeling that those in the City would not be able to hold out for long, and James 11's Royalist and Irish forces then built a log jam across the river to stop any further attempts by those ships to break the deadlock.   

May: Another attempt was made to bring reinforcements to the City of Derry by sea, by William of Orange's forces, but the wooden log jam across the River was considered too much of an obstacle to penetrate, so it too was called off.

May 11th: As James 11's forces had no artillery they had to rely on starvation as the only way to bring about a surrender in Derry City, so James 11 gave permission for anyone who wanted to leave Derry City to come on out, and 10,000 of those 30,000 who had found themselves trapped in the City left, while the rest held to their no surrender option. (William of Orange was up to his neck at this time, fighting a Catholic Uprising against his subversive appointment in England, and also in Scotland.)  

May - July: The Irish Parliament met in Dublin and it was now basically composed of nearly all Catholic Irish, the majority of which were Anglo - Irish / Old English and they declared there that only the Irish Parliament could legislate any legislation for Ireland and in the future there were plans to implement reforms, such as no appeal from Ireland to any of the English courts, all civil disabilities on account of religion were to be repealed, and all the clergy of "whatever denomination" were to receive the Tithes from "their own followers" only, and they also repealed the Acts of Plantation pertaining to any land in Ireland, which was held by the 2,400 non - Catholic planters, and the Trinity College in Dublin was to be used as a barracks and also as a prison during the sieges.

June 4th: The main attack that was carried out on the City of Derry was to secure St. Columba's Wells, which were required for their drinking water, while Donagh Mac Carthy the third Lord of Clan Carty, who was in charge of a troop of cavalry, was nearly successful in an attack on the Butchers Gate there while the Williamite supply ships had also arrived into Loch Foyle were they lay idle for 3 days due to the river still being barricaded with the logs against them, and after this still for another 7 weeks, although the residents who had remained in the City were starving and the Duke of Schomberg  the Dutch General sent a command for them to go in, no matter what.

July 28th: The logs on the River Foyle were rammed by the 2 supply ships and Captain Browning, who was on the Mountjoy, broke through to reach the Ship Quay Gate, and supplies and reinforcements were delivered into the City.

August 12th: James 11's siege of the City of Derry was bought to an end after 105 days / 15 weeks and the Royalist Irish forces were to leave the area and go down south.  

     Meanwhile John Churchill, who was to become the first 1st Duke of Marlborough, had changed sides, and was now William of Orange's Commander - in - Chief in the south of Ireland, and he captured the town of Kinsale and the City of Cork in Co. Cork in Southern Munster were he destroyed their fortifications and then burnt the City (He would become the ancestor of Winston Churchill.) and Colonel Mac Gillicuddy / O Sullivan who was the Governor of Cork was taken prisoner by Churchill.

      William of Orange carried out negotiations with the towns of Derry and Enniskillen, as the Royalist Irish forces under Patrick Sarsfield the Earl of Lucan, the Royalist Anglo - Irish commander, were also defeated by the Williamite forces from Enniskillen under Colonel Wolsley at Newtown Butler, with many losses, which also forced them to pull back to the south. James 11 the Stuart Catholic King of England was now naturally worried as to his own personal situation, as it was only 4 months prior to this that Ireland was well under Royalist control, but now that there was severe losses in the Ulster Province this would give William of Orange not only a base to land, but also a greater opportunity to invade Ireland. During this time, James 11 had held his Royal court in Ulster at Montgalvin / Montgevlin Castle at St. John's Town in Co. Donegal near the River Foyle in the north - west of Ulster. (The ruins are still there to be seen.)

     Rory O More the Gaelic Milesian Irian Chieftain, from Co. Laois in the mid - west of Southern Leinster returned with his Irish troops from England and drove the opposing Williamite forces out of the Connacht Province, and the Heremonian Ui Laoghaire Ui Lughaidh Cu Corb Clann Maellugra Clanmalier O Dempseys now seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, sided with James 11 also. (During the Elizabethan Wars the O Dempseys had sided with Elizabeth 1st due to their proximity to The English Pale as they had their territory at Geashill in Co. Offaly on both sides of the River Barrow, but because of this renewed commitment finally to Ireland instead of to personal survival they were to lose their territory there altogether to Lord Digby, who was also to take over their castle there, and rename it Digby Castle.

August 26: The Duke of Schomberg, the Dutch General / Marshall landed in Ireland also with 10,000 Williamite soldiers in the north at Groomsport in Co. Down in the south - east of the Ulster Province, and the town of Carrickfergus there also surrendered to him, and he then pushed on further down the east coast to Dundalk in Co. Louth in the north - east of Northern Leinster were he waited for further reinforcements.

September: James 11 the English Stuart Catholic King with the Royalist Irish forces attacked the Duke of Schomberg near Dundalk in Co. Louth who then retreated back to the north to Lisburn in Co. Antrim in the north - east of Ulster where he was able to retake the fort at Charlemont situated in an important spot on the River Blackwater in Co. Armagh. (From now on this fort would be continually garrisoned by English Military forces until 1858 AD against the Irish Families there.) James 11 by now was also feeling the financial strain of it all and Louis the XIV the King of France offered to exchange French troops for Irish troops, and 5 regiments of Irish men to be known as the "Irish Brigade" were to be pulled out of Ireland and sent over to France. 

1690 AD The 5 Regiments of Irish men were to set sail for France and strengthen the numbers of the Irish Brigade there against English Imperialism.          

March - April: Louis X1V the King of France sent over 7,000 of his men to Ireland to assist James 11's Royalist Irish forces under his French General Lauzun who was put in control of the infantry, and Patrick Sarsfield, the Earl of Lucan, who had his Castle at Lucan near Dublin, was put in charge of the Irish artillery and infantry, while Colonel Charles O Kelly the Irish commander and the M.P. for Co. Roscommon in the east of the Connacht Province was placed under his command.  

June 14th: William of Orange personally landed in Ireland at Carrickfergus together with another 36,000 men comprised of Brandenburgers, English, Dutch, Germans, Danes, Huguenots and men from Ulster, and among these troops were many Catholics who were to fight in the Battle of the Boyne against James 11's Royalist Irish forces.

 June 16th: James 11 travelled north to Dundalk in Co. Louth in the north - east of Northern Leinster were he was informed that William of Orange had arrived in Ireland with his large army, and he retreated to the boundary of The English Pale, south of the River Boyne, as he knew that his Irish army was both inferior in size and quality, let alone in weapons, and the two armies met at the double loop in the river between Drogheda and Slane. 

June 30th: William of Orange's forces appeared on the north bank of the River Boyne where he had his troops cross over along its full front into the territory one mile north of Drogheda at Old Bridge in Co. Meath in territory still held by James 11's forces under the control of Richard Talbot the Earl of Tyrconnell who had an army composed of 25,000 men made up of Irish, French, Germans and Walloons but unfortunately the other half of James 11's forces was still in England, and the Royalist Irish infantry forces were now overwhelmed by the Williamite invaders and forced to retreat from the immediate onslaught that then occurred, but the Irish cavalry on the other hand under Berwick, Richard Hamilton and Richard Talbot valiantly began to charge William of Orange's army again and again. Lauzan the French General and his men, who had been held in reserve, now had to enter into the battle near the end of the day and the Irish forces were then able to hold their line.            

July 1st: James 11 was well aware that his Royalist Irish forces had basically been defeated on Donore Hill at the River Boyne and he left the area and headed south towards Dublin and took Patrick Sarsfield with him to command his bodyguard, while Richard Talbot the Earl Of Tyrconnell was left to carry on the fight with the aid of the French, but he too had already sent most of his artillery back to Dublin also. The Duke of Schomberg, William of Orange's General, was killed during the ensuing battle and he was buried near the bridge and his grave is still there to be seen, but there is also a chance that he was reburied later on in St. Patrick's Church in Dublin. During the Battle of the Boyne over 1,000 men were either killed or wounded on both sides, but despite this the defence of Ireland was to still to be carried on by the Irish forces themselves for another 15 months.  

July 4th: With the eastern side of the River Shannon now penetrated, James 11 the English Catholic Stuart King also ordered the evacuation of Dublin and he personally left Ireland from Duncannon in Co. Wexford in the south - east of Southern Leinster to return to France leaving Richard Talbot the Earl of Tyrconnell in charge, to either continue to fight on, or to make peace, or whatever he considered was prudent under the circumstances and Richard Talbot decided to order all his Royalist Irish troops back to the town of Limerick in Co. Limerick in the mid - north - west of the Munster Province on the eastern bank of the River Shannon estuary. He considered that if the Irish forces could hold onto Limerick and Athlone in Co. Westmeath in the south - west of Northern Leinster, which were both situated on the crossings over the River Shannon, they might still control the country to the west of the River Shannon until France could send further assistance. William of Orange now marched his "foreign" army south into Dublin, but was to leave there himself within a few days, deciding instead to take the City of Limerick from the Irish forces, while sending another of his Williamite force northwards to try and take the town of Athlone.

    Donagh Mac Carthy the Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil third Lord of Clan Carty was captured by the Williamite forces while defending the City of Cork in Co. Cork in Southern Munster in his home territory, and he was sent off to the Tower of London and the Mac Carthy's Blarney Castle together with all of their remaining Irish territory was to be confiscated by the English Ascendancy Parliament.

July 16th: The town of Kilkenny in Co. Kilkenny in the south - west of Southern Leinster was occupied by the forces of William of Orange and William Chater restored the Charter of James 1st to Kilkenny City.

November 30th: Maximilian O Dempsey / Lord Viscount Clan Malier, died at Killeigh near Tullamore, and he was to be the last of the hereditary O Dempseys from the Heremonian Ui Laoghaire Cu Corb Clann Maellugra Clanmalier Sept who had their territory in Co. Offaly in the mid - north - west of Southern Leinster.

December: de Ginkel, another of the Dutch Generals, was now put in charge of the forces of William of Orange, who was to return to England where he was to appoint English Lord Justices and an English Ascendancy Privy Council to be set up in Ireland.    

                  Home Page                                                                                  Return to Celtic Heritage                                                    On to 1691 - 1692 AD