Fermanagh/Enniskillen
The
uprising was planned several weeks in advance by O'Neill, Rory
O'Moore, and Conor Maguire, the second Lord of Enniskillen. Each
leader would attack the local garrisons on October 23rd, and a
selected group including Conor Maguire would capture Dublin Castle
and its armoury. Conor used his position as Lord Enniskillen to
provide reconnaissance of the castle prior to the rebellion. News
of the plan to take Dublin Castle was leaked to the authorities,
and Lord Conor and his men were captured and imprisoned in Dublin.
In 1642, he was taken to London and held in the Tower. The second
Lord of Enniskillen was tried for treason and found guilty. He
was hanged and beheaded at Tyburn in February 1644.
The
rebellion in Fermanagh was more successful. One of the principal
leaders was Rory Maguire, brother of Conor, Lord of Enniskillen.
Rory Maguire’s forces in Fermanagh continued with the campaign
as the second phase of the bloody rebellion saw large numbers
of ordinary Fermanagh people engaged in all-out war with the Protestant
settlers.
Rumours
of atrocities in Fermanagh circulated as did those of Portadown;
"The
Last True Intelligence from Ireland; Being A true Relation of
the great Victory lately obtained against the Rebels by Sir William
Stewart, Colonell Sanderson, Colonell Mervyn, and Sergeant Major
Galbraith, against the great Oneales and MacGwires Forces, wherein
they slew great numbers of the Rebels, tooke 900 Cowes, 500 Sheep,
and 300 Horses from the Rebels in the County of Fermanagh…
That the present troubles, dangers, and calamities which at this
perilous time we are in are so great, that this whole Kingdome
is much distorted, distracted, and disturbed. That the rebels
are so many in number that we alone are not able to resist them.
That the Rebels tyranny is so great that they put both man woman
and child to the sword, not sparing either age, degree, or sex
or their reputation. …"
On
November 13th 1648, Rory Maguire was killed leading an attack
on a fortress near Carrick-on-Shannon. Bishop McMahon was captured
and hanged in Enniskillen, while Sir Phelim O’Neill was also
captured and hanged. By August all resistance in Ulster had finally
come to an end when their last stronghold at Charlemont Fort surrendered.
The following year Oliver Cromwell and his army landed in Ireland
and was greeted by the roar of cannons from the walls and a great,
enthusiastic crowd.
The
war in Ireland continued after Cromwell's return to England with
sporadic guerrilla fighting for another six months, finally ending
with the surrender of Galway to Sir Charles Coote on 5 April 1652,
and later with Philip O’Reilly surrendering in April 1653.
By then the Cromwelliam Settlement was well under way.
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Sources:
The
King's War 1641-1647; M. Ashley
Charles I and Cromwell; L. J. Reeve
Desmond's Concise History of Ireland - Jerry Desmond
Encyclopedia Britanica
Britiannia
The Plantation of Ireland - Brian Orr
The Scotch-Irish: The Scot in North Britain, North Ireland,
and North America - Charles Hanna
The History of Galway; James Hardiman
Catholic Encylopedia
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Council of Churches