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Dysert O'Dea, 1318In 1318, the year after his victory over his rivals at Corcomroe, Murtough O'Brien faced Richard de Clare in a contest that was to decide which of them would control Thomond. Richard marched against Murtough, who had been raiding his cattle. He came up from the Bunratty area, the centre of his lordship, to Quin. Unfortunately, it is not possible to say what force either Richard or Murtough O'Brien had, or how the forces were composed. De Clare had his knights, who cannot have been numerous, and whatever strength the tenants on his lands in Thomond could muster - bowmen and spearmen on foot, and light horsemen; since they were frontiersmen they must have been good fighters. He had also some of the O'Briens, of the faction of Brian O'Brien, Murtough's rivals. The Irish on both sides must almost all have been footmen. There might perhaps have been a thousand, all told, in either host.De Clare moved westward from Ruan, which is north of Quin and north of Ennis, on the morning of 10 May. He entered the O'Deas' country. Although he knew that there was a hostile force under Conor O'Dea somewhere in front of him, he was confident enough of his ability to deal with it to divide his men. They marched in three companies, spread out north and south so that they might plunder the country. One body moved to the right towards Tully, another to the left towards Magowna. De Clare himself advanced in the centre with the main force towards Dysert, where O'Dea's chief house was, bent on its destruction. Near Lough Ballycullinan, north-east of Dysert, de Clare's advance came on a party of Conor O'Dea's men-the Irish account describes it as 'a well ordered detachment of horse and foot'-driving a herd of cattle across a stream. The Normans pressed on by Dromcavan, hoping to seize such promising spoil. At first the Irish seemed full of fight. They faced round and began skirmishing, assailing the Normans with the usual showers of darts, slingstones and handstones. Soon, however, they began to retire slowly, hurrying off their cattle behind them. In this way pursuers and pursued reached a place where a second stream was fordable, probably in marshy land near the present Macken bridge. Here the Irish made a more stubborn stand. The O'Deas counted on the assistance of two other forces, one under O'Connor of Corcomroe and Loughlin O'Hehir, which was close by, and the other Murtough O'Briens main force, which had been chasing some rival O'Briens and was further off. Conor O'Dea hoped to delay de Clare sufficiently to give time for these to come up to help him. He also hoped to lead de Clare into an ambush. The skirmishers were only a small part of his strength. His main body was concealed on the margin of a wood a little further back, somewhere south of the lake. The Normans won the ford and crossed over. The Irish fell back. The head of the Norman column reached the wood and out streamed the ambushers, splitting at once into two parties. One party reinforced the skirmishers and attacked de Clare in front; the other rushed towards the ford and fell upon the tail of the column, which was still crossing and was badly placed to defend itself. So far the contest had followed the familiar, time-honoured pattern of Irish warfare, the pattern of which Barbour, Bruce's chronicler, thought when he made the Irishmen say: For our maner is, of this land,The O'Deas were using their knowledge of the terrain to practise a stratagem and to lure the Normans into danger. They were willing to 'ficht fleand' -to make a running fight-but would they stand 'in plane melle', that is, in open combat? They soon showed that they would. Presently the character of the fighting changed. O'Dea scored one immediate advantage. Richard de Clare, fighting with a small party in advance of his column, was killed; 'the O'Deas killed both himself and every man that he had with him'. Otherwise the ambush was scarcely successful. The rear of the Norman column was not held up for very long and the Irish, pressed now by the full Norman force acting together, soon found themselves in difficulties. They retired into the wood, were pursued, were surrounded, and were closely beset by the 'battle-hedge' of the Normans. The history of the Battle of Dysert O'Dea, 1318 continues here Taken from Irish Battles by G.A. Hayes-McCoy, published by Appletree Press. Further reading: A Little History of Ireland by Martin Wallace with illustrations by Ian McCullough. Click here for more information on the book. Previous instalments of 'the Battle of Dysert O'Dea': Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Further instalments of 'the Battle of Dysert O'Dea': Part 5 | Part 6 |
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