In honour of the 25th entry in this series, I figured I’d give it its own index page. Enjoy.
The earliest recorded wars on the island were probably myths, but even myths can have a kernal of truth.
Ireland’s “Return of the King”, but more interesting for the implication of Roman involvement.
The Gaelic Kingdom set up in Scotland, one of the only times such a foreign adventure occured.
The initial Norse incursions in Ireland, from 795 to 902 AD.
The period of settled Norse lands in Ireland, from 914 to 980 AD.
The life and times of one of Ireland’s most legendary figures.
The origins of one the country’s great cities and why it drew so much military attention.
The Norman Conquest
The initial Anglo-Norman incursions and why they happened.
The Normans cement their position, though war and marraige.
The Normans withstand numerous assaults.
The King comes to Ireland.
Agreements are disregarded.
The new Lord of Ireland arrives.
Ireland and the Holy Land.
Things in Ireland start falling apart.
The King pops in again.
Norman intrigue spreads to Ireland.
The Lordship Of Ireland
The natives and the invaders, unable to beat the other.
The wars of northern Britain spread to Ireland.
The Irish repulsed in Galway.
The Scots are defeated, though the price is high.
The Irish strike back, as the Normans retreat.
The Anglo-Norman lands in Ulster and the west are lost.
What could not be done in war, they tried to do with law.
The King of England comes to Ireland.
19. How Art MacMurragh Brought Down The English Monarchy
The King of Leinster shakes the foundations of England.
A new family and a new approach.
21. The Rise Of York
Ireland as a staging area for the White Rose.
The Wars of the Roses comes to Ireland.
The peasent pretender and the Irish noble behind him.
The provinces clash in Galway.
The Tudors start taking more of an interest.
The risky attack that saved Tyrconnell.
A final countdown to a bloody end.
The bloody end with a well dressed leader.
The decider for Silken Thomas.
The last gasp of the old way of things.
The failed settlement in Laois and Offaly.
Tyrone against the world.
One of the last private battles in Ireland.
Enemies on all sides does not tend to lead to good places.
James Fitzmaurice leads Desmond against Henry Sidney.
War in the Tudor frontier.
The return (and demise) of James Fitzmaurice.
The fall of one of the Desmond’s key defensive points.
The O’Byrne’s inflict a total defeat on the English.
A massacre in Kerry and a final defeat.
A war provoked and ended.
The end of the periods great fleet.
The Nine Years War
The beginning of the islands most destructive conflict.
Tyrone jumps in on the side of Tyrconnell.
The Nine Years War ebbs and flows for both sides.
England’s worst defeat thus far.
The Nine Years War spreads south.
Another English failure.
Conyers Clifford defeated.
The turning point for the English.
A bizarre battle.
The road to Kinsale.
Setting the stage.
The critical battle of the Nine Years War.
All onto the Beara.
A vicious crossing of Ireland.
The O’Donnell’s bow out.
Tightening the noose.
The Nine Years War finishes.
What it says on the tin.
One big success, then nothing but failure.
61. Mountjoy’s Peace
Thirty years of it.
Islam comes to Ireland.
The Eleven Year Wars – The Confederate War
The peace ends.
The storm breaks.
Success and failure outside Drogheda.
Things get worse for the Confederates.
The war in Munster.
Another Irish defeat.
69. The War In Galway
A stalemate in the City of the Tribes.
Barry goes from success to spectacular failure.
The rebels get commanders, and a system.
The Confederates take the west.
Preston takes the field.
Owen Roe’s first campaign.
Finally, a Confederate victory.
The Scots become dominant in the north.
Castlehaven’s failed offensive.
The Irish cross the sea.
Preston comes back.
The Irish advance in Scotland.
The Confederates assault Inchiquin.
Castlehaven’s meek ending to the Munster campaign.
MacColla and Montrose achieve their zenith.
The Papacy gets involved.
A prelude to decision.
The Confederate victories continue.
The Nuncio takes control.
The Nuncio loses his grip.
A shift in factions.
The end of the Leinster Army.
Changes in Munster.
The end of Taafe’s army.
Things get complicated.
Factions torn apart.
A few players leave the stage.
Parliamentarians hard pressed in the north.
Ormonde marches on Dublin.
A terrible blow outside Dublin.
The Eleven Year Wars – The Cromwellian Conquest
Cromwell marks his arrival.
Cromwell continues as he means to go on.
Things collapse in the north.
The Waterford campaign begins.
The Waterford campaign ends.
Both sides take stock.
The Parliamentarians role on.
The Confederate capital falls.
Cromwell suffers in Tipperary.
The Ulster Army destroyed.
Clanrickarde sallies out.
A few months on, no more mistakes.
The end in Ulster.
The Royalists in disarray.
The first attack on the Shannon.
The end of the Connacht Army.
1650 comes to a close.
The second attack on the Shannon.
The last line breached.
The effort to save Limerick.
The endgame in progress.
The end of the conventional war.
The guerilla war intensifies.
The end of the larger conflict.
The struggle continues.
The return of the King.
Finishing things up.
First stop off in the inter-war period.
Anti-Catholic hysteria hits Ireland
The War Of The Two Kings
130. The Glorious Revolution
The road to a new war.
Some hard truths and obvious myths.
The Catholics march north.
Traitor or incompetent?
The war comes to a head.
Kirke to the rescue, eventually.
The war heats up to the south.
French and English navies clash off Cork.
The Williamites take the advantage.
The Williamites try for a knock-out blow.
The war continues in the west.
The border war continues.
The road to the Boyne.
A day of days.
Jacobite failure and success.
William’s unstoppable march.
The Jacobites strike back.
A very important last stand.
John Churchill comes to Ireland.
Churchill keeps going.
Deep breaths before storms.
Things hang in the balance.
The balance shifts.
The decisive battle.
The last fight.
The end of Ireland’s bloody century.
Wild Geese And the 18th Century
The 1700’s begin.
The Irish fighting for Louis XIV.
The Irish fighting for Madrid.
The Stuarts try again.
The Irish Brigade saves the day.
The Stuarts try again again.
The invasion south goes wrong.
The end of the ’45.
France and Britain go at it again.
A very brief invasion.
Green in red coats.
The Irish in arms cross the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, back in Ireland…
Sectarian troubles escalate.
Militia groups get political.
“Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin”
Forty shillings on the drum, etc.
I was defeated, you won the war…
A new rebellion in the works.
The French try Bantry Bay again.
Things begin to fall apart.
The British bite back.
Going for broke, in the face of certain destruction.
The rebellion begins.
Like a wildfire.
From small beginnings…
The end in Meath.
The fire spreads.
Surrenders and slaughters.
The rebel zenith.
The North rises.
Disaster in the south-east.
Things turn against the rebels.
The North sits back down.
Pitt decides what to do next.
The Wexford Republic crushed.
The last gasp.
It was good while it lasted.
Humbert starts things up again.
“Run away! Run away!”
The end on land.
The end at sea.
Things stumble onward.
The last gasp.
Another end, far away.
The Long 19th Century – Beginnings
An interim begins.
Incompetence in the New World.
The wheel keeps turning.
More incompetence in the New World.
Catholic resistance intensifies.
Things get in the way.
Marching and massacres.
One man’s hero…
Their’s not to reason why, etc.
The Long 19th Century – 1867 And After
Here we go again.
Mine eyes have seen the glory…
I wish I was in Dixie…
I’m sure this will turn out flawlessly.
It continues to not turn out flawlessly.
The American’s turn.
A Fenian success story.
And a failure.
And a few more failures.
One last failure.
Enter Clan na Gael.
The Long 19th Century – Politics And Murder
Home Rule steps it up.
About time for more agrarian violence.
I like to be, under the sea…
The Land War trundles on.
Well, I find it fascinating anyway.
The Long 19th Century – The Boer War
It’ll be over by Christmas.
It won’t be over by Christmas.
It definitely won’t be over by Christmas.
Let’s try this again shall we?
Guerilla’s in the mist.
The Irish Hunt in South Africa.
Not terribly exciting.
It was Ireland’s war too.
Riots and elections.
The Long 19th Century – The Volunteer Crisis
League’s, the GAA and the “Organisation”.
Things heat up over self-government.
Workers rights and workers militias.
The Army isn’t interested in Home Rule.
Larne and Howth.
“All mine, muhahahaha”
It really wasn’t.
The First World War
“It’s a long way to Tipperary, it’s a long way to go…”
And we’re off.
And the band played Waltzing Matilda…
Not so sick.
Viable or no.
Where it all started.
The eastern front of the eastern front.
The big push.
That ghastly word.
And why not?
Expanding the gains.
Well, it had to.
The sideshow of the sideshow ends.
1917 and all that.
Taking the ridge.
Into the mud.
Out of the mud, kinda.
Tanks, tanks, tanks, tanks
The New Crusaders
The 10th keeps going.
The next great retreat.
One more front.
All washed up.
No, the other one.
Here come the Yanks.
Summing things up.
The Irish Revolutionary Period – The Easter Rising
And we’re off.
There was one. Kind of.
The original odd couple!
What, another one?
Pearse and MacNeill, getting closer to the end.
It goes real well.
3, 2, 1…
Irishmen and Irishwomen…
Insert Spartan reference here.
Not quite the western front.