Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth (Author: Philip O'Sullivan Beare)
Chapter 7
The Baron of Inchiquin being drowned, the Governor of Connaught besieges the Fort of Ballyshannon; O'Donnell raises the siege and invades Clanrickarde.
WHILE these events were, going on in Ireland, Dermot O'Connor was litigating before an unjust tribunal in England his claim against the Queen to the chieftaincy of Sligo and neither obtaining his entire country nor getting leave to return to Ireland lest in these troubled times when many were in rebellion he should try to recover by arms the property which was withheld from him.
The Queen was conceding to him Ballymote castle but not Sligo; but when Sligo was captured by O'Donnell, then he was offered it instead of Ballymote. When both were lost by the Queen, she granted both to Dermot and allowed him to return to Ireland and to recover and hold for ever whatever of his chieftaincy he was able. O'Connor reached Conyers Clifford, an English knight, at the time he was preparing an expedition against O'Donnell with 4000 men amongst whom were Irish auxiliaries of no mean rank:—the Earls of Thomond and Clanrickarde and Murrough O'Brien, Baron Inchiquin. With this army he marched to besiege Ballyshannon, a castle of O'Donnell's. Proposing to cross Ballyshannon ford which was held by O'Donnell, he attacked Ath-Culuain. In the very ford, as elsewhere, O'Connor and Baron Maurice disputed the palm of valour and while each endeavoured to get before
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the other Maurice's horse stumbled in the bed of the stream and threw him, and on account of the weight of his armour he sunk to the bottom of the river and rose no more. In spite of a few men placed there by O'Donnell, Clifford crossed the ford and assailed the castle with four cannons. The castle was held by Hugh Craphurt Crawford? a Scotchman with 80 soldiers of whom six were Spaniards and the rest Irishmen. On the first day of the assault a royalist foot soldier distinguished by his gilded coat of mail ventured too near the castle and was shot down and a comrade of his coveting his coat of mail was also shot with a leaden bullet when he incautiously came near the castle. A third making the same venture was also shot and the besieged thereupon stripped the three of their arms and clothes. O'Donnell, few of whose men had yet come up, attempted to relieve the castle. A cavalry fight ensued, in which O'Connor was wounded fighting valiantly. When O'Donnell abandoned the attempt the royalists more freely battered the castle with cannon, fired into it, and destroyed its defences. Moreover, advancing mantlets, they undermined the walls and closed with the defenders in the breach, but were repulsed. Changing their tactics they made a tunnel into the castle, through which some armed men entered but were destroyed by beams and stones rooted up and hurled on them by the besieged. Meantime O'Donnell attacked the royalist camp night and day, hindering them from the assault and depriving them of sleep. He was now joined by nearly all his mercenaries and followers, by O'Rourke and other allies and O'Neill coming to his aid was not far off. The royalists, fearing the increased Catholic forces, and every day more severely assailed by O'Donnell, and now tired out, raised the siege, leaving three cannon and shipping the fourth and at early dawn crossed the river over which they had come at a ford called Casan-na-gcuradh. They fled in such disorder that some perished. O'Donnell pursuing the fugitives slew some of them. On this day 300 royalists perished either in the river or by the sword. After this O'Donnell invaded Clanrickarde's country where a few horse of Clanrickarde's meeting the wings of O'Donnell's cavalry, turned tail, dreading their numbers. Manus, brother of O'Donnell, who just for the first time donned the soldiers' coat, followed one of the Clanrickardes too hotly. The latter dismounted and fled into a deep bog impassable to horse. Manus also dismounted and followed him and they joined in single combat with sword and shield, Manus eventually killing
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his enemy. A great part of this country was laid waste. The town of Athenry was scaled and stormed and an English company which garrisoned it was slain. Not long after this O'Donnell ravaged the countries of Baron Inchiquin, of Turlough O'Brien, a knight, and of O'Shaughnessy.