A great ‘what if’ of Irish history

Irish history is full of “what if” stories. One of the great questions concerns Eoin Roe O Neill. What would have happened if he had lived to meet Cromwell in battle after he landed in Ireland?

 

Eoin Roe was born in Armagh, a nephew of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone. He fought with the Earls during the Nine Years War and, after the Flight of the Earls, he joined the army of Spain. He spent most of the next 30 years fighting in the Low Countries and he had an illustrious career ending as colonel of an Irish regiment.

One of his great achievements was the defence of the city of Arras for over two months when he had only 1,500 men against an overwhelming French army.

Like many of those early Irish soldiers in continental armies, he was aware of events in Ireland and, when the rebellion of 1641 started, he resigned from the Spanish army and returned to Ireland.

In 1642 he landed in Donegal with a supply of arms and ammunition and accompanied by over 200 Irish soldiers who, like himself, were vastly experienced in the European wars. He was the best equipped and best trained and most experienced of the Irish military leaders but was only appointed as commander in Ulster. He was a victim of the different factions within the Confederation of Kilkenny.

The Confederation of Kilkenny spent much of its time at cross-purposes and in disarray. In spite of their widespread support in the country, they failed to defend the interests of Irish Catholics. They insisted that a central part of their strategy was support for the King but he had just approved the Adventurers Act that proposed confiscating all the lands of the rebels in Ireland. Some wanted to openly support the King in his war against the Parliament, while more favoured an alliance with France or Spain.

That none of the factions fully trusted each other resulted in each province having its own army commander rather than one supreme commander.

There were some battles with English forces and, in 1643, the Confederation agreed a truce with Ormond, the King’s representative in Ireland. The Parliamentary forces ignored the truce. O’Neill had to fight Parliamentary General Munroe in Ulster. They met at the Battle of Benburb in 1646. For the first time ever an Irish Army was victorious in a formal pitched battle. Munroe was routed. He lost over 3,000 men and O’Neill captured great supplies of arms, stores and provisions.

The chances of following up on this success were wasted. O’Neill wanted to fight both Parliamentarians and Royalists but the Confederation continued negotiating with Ormond. They confined O’Neill to Ulster and some even wanted to declare him a rebel.

Eventually, when the King was defeated in England and Cromwell and his Parliamentarians turned their attention to Ireland, only then did Ormond and the Old English Catholics turn to O’Neill. Before their forces could join up and march against Cromwell, O’Neill suddenly took ill and died. For years there was a widespread belief that he was poisoned.

Eoin Roe O’Neill, leader of the Confederate Army in Ulster, died in Cloughoughter Castle in Cavan on November 6, 1649 – 363 years ago this week.