Sack of Youghal

The Sack of Youghal took place on 13 November 1579 as part of the Desmond Rebellions. Youghal, a town in the province of Munster, Ireland was controlled by the English when it was targeted by Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, leader of the Irish forces fighting the English army at the time.

Background

Following defeat in the First Desmond Rebellion, James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald, leader of the rebellion, left the country in search of aid from Catholic powers on the continent. With support from the Papacy, he planned to invade Ireland.

Fitzmaurice's fleet landed near Dingle in July 1579, after capturing English ships in the English Channel. His forces set up camp at Dún an Óir, a fortress in Ard na Caithne (known by the English as Smerwick), beginning the Second Desmond Rebellion. Afterwards however, his ships were captured by the English.

Meanwhile, Gerald Fitzgerald, the Earl of Desmond (Desmond) was reluctant to join the rebellion. However, the Crown authorities in Dublin Castle declared him a traitor and, with limited choices, he chose to join the rebellion.

Later, Fitzmaurice was killed in a skirmish in County Tipperary and command of the rebellion passed to the Earl.

Sacking
Youghal's 13th-century "water gate" is reputedly where the garrison made its last stand against the Desmond attack

As the one of the main bases of English power in southern Munster, Youghal was selected by Desmond for attack. And he opened his command of the rebellion by sacking the town.[1] He massacred the English garrison stationed there and hanged the English authorities and officials. His forces also abused the local population, and looted and burned many of the townspeople's homes. The last of the soldiers and townspeople made their final stand at Youghal's "water gate" but were ultimately slaughtered.[2]

One of Desmond's allies, MacCarthy Mór, launched a similar attack on English-held Kinsale.[3] Much of the land around the English held areas of Munster were ravaged by the Irish, and a blockade was put on the city of Cork, where many fled to relative safety inside the walls to avoid the destruction throughout the province.

Aftermath

The English authorities in Ireland were horrified by these attacks. Many English commanders carried out brutal reprisals throughout the country.

Later, after the 3-day Siege of Smerwick, the Spanish and Papal garrison at Ard na Caithne were massacred by English forces after surrendering.[4]

See also

References
  1. Palmer, William (1994). The Problem of Ireland in Tudor Foreign Policy, 1485–1603. Boydell & Brewer. Malby [..] had Desmond proclaimed a traitor in October 1579. Desmond responded with a brutal sack of the city of Youghal in which he killed all those who resisted his entry and then sacked the city
  2. "The Water Gate Youghal". ringofcork.ie. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. Hull, Eleanor (1926). A History of Ireland and Her People. Phoenix Publishing Company. Desmond's first act after his proclamation as a traitor had been to sack and burn the town of Youghal [..] The Earl of Clancar, at first his adversary but now his confederate, committed a similar outrage at Kinsale
  4. Lister, David (13 April 2004). "Massacre victims from Raleigh's time return to haunt Irish shore". timesonline.co.uk. The Times (London). Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
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