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West
Cork > Towns >
Kinsale - present |
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Kinsale -
Past
Part 1 : Kinsale - Past |
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The name Kinsale conjures up two
contrasting images: Historic Kinsale, scene of Ireland's most damaging
defeat in battle and modern, glamorous Kinsale, of yachting and
gourmet fame. We will briefly deal with the history bit first. On a
stormy, wet Christmas Day 1601 Kinsale was the location of a battle
that did more than anything to bring an end to the old Gaelic way of
life. Two Ulster clan chieftains O'Neil and O'Donnell had rebelled
against the Crown forces with outstanding success. In September help
arrived from Spain, 4,800 men under the command of Don Juan del Aquita,
but they landed in Kinsale, three hundred miles away from the
rebellion. |
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The Spaniards were then promptly
surrounded and besieged by the forces of Lord Mountjoy. Eventually Don
Juan got word to O'Neill and O'Donnell that, although he had come to
help in the rebellion, he was now badly in need on some assistance
himself. The rebels felt they had no choice but to go on a three
hundred mile winter march to rescue the Spaniards. In football terms
it
could be described as a "home banker" being turned into "an unwanted
away fixture" in unfamiliar territory, with the added disadvantage
that the substitutes were locked in the dressing-room and the
opponents had the key. On arriving at Kinsale, the Ulstermen
surrounded the English who had already encircled the Spaniards and
were now packed in between the Spanish visitors and the natives, like
jam in a swiss roll.
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The plan agreed on was simple: crush
the English in a joint action on a day when they would not expect an
attack, namely Christmas Day. However on the Irish side, informers
gave advance notice to the enemy who were ready when the assault
began. To make matters worse, Don Juan, who by now had had a bellyful
of Irish winter weather and had lost his macho appetite, decided to
celebrate Christmas by quietly surrendering without striking a blow.
Free to concentrate on the outer
circle, the English routed the Chieftains' army killing some 1,200 of
them and pursued the remnants as far as Innishannon, some 15 miles
(24km) away.
O'Neill and O'Donnell went into exile. Their clan territories were
confiscated and handed over to settlers. The consequences of that
action are still being grappled with by politicians. With the defeat
and departure of O'Neill and O'Donnell, the old Gaelic system of rule
by Clan Chieftains ended. As for Don Juan, he was allowed to go home
with his men. I doubt if he became a good-will ambassador for
"Holidays in Kinsale".
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