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495:. The Moyry Pass (or "Gap of the North") was the sole point of entry to Ulster (much of the terrain being wooded and mountainous), and it had been well fortified by O'Neill with trenches and barricades. There were three lines of trenches, barricaded with earth and stone, and on the flanks the Irish had made further earth and stone works and 'plashed' (twisted) the branches of low-growing trees in order to provide cover for themselves and prevent the English occupying the heights on either side of the Pass.
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fighting from 20 September to 13 November, though this may be a considerable underestimate. More, he said, died of disease. The Irish casualties were given by the
English as an incredible 900–1200 killed and wounded, but this is questionable given that the Irish were in a strong defensive position of their own choosing, behind the protection of fieldworks. These figures probably say more about what Mountjoy wanted the Queen to hear than about the actual casualty figures. The following year Mountjoy built
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English took the second line only to find themselves in a trap, with gunfire concentrated from three sides. They tried to dislodge the Irish from their remaining positions for three more hours before retreating, with the Irish in close pursuit. The
English admitted 46 killed and 120 wounded, but it is thought that they understated their losses throughout the campaign.
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muskets of the day would not work in wet conditions. On 2 October, Sir Samuel
Bagnall led his regiment of infantry into the Pass at the head of four other regiments. The English breached the first barricade, and Thomas Bourke's regiment led the way to the second and third lines of defence. The
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The battle of Moyry Pass was a stalemate: Mountjoy could not take the Pass, O'Neill could not keep it. Mountjoy did establish a garrison at
Mountnorris, but had to retire to Dundalk after taking substantial casualties. Mountjoy claimed his force lost only 200 men killed and 400 wounded in the
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On 5 October
Mountjoy sent two regiments on a flanking march over the hill to the west, with one further regiment supported by horsemen advancing up the centre of the Pass. No significant gains were made and the regiments turned back, reporting casualties of 50 dead and 200 wounded.
527:) made a sortie into the pass. After heavy fighting he identified the Irish defence works and returned to the English camp with 12 dead and 30 wounded. For six days heavy rain held up the fighting, until the weather cleared on 2 October. The weather was important because the
578:, but was attacked on 13 November by O'Neill, close to the Fathom Pass. Mountjoys men forced their way through and the Lord Deputy claimed the army lost 15–20 killed and 60–80 wounded, but a later report suggested the losses were much heavier, with 80 killed
476:, in order to mount an expedition further into Ulster and re-establish a garrison at Armagh, which position had been evacuated by the English Crown forces after O'Neill's victory at the
555:. The most likely explanation for O'Neill's withdrawal from his position of strength is that he was short of ammunition and food and feared a flanking attack on his rear from Newry.
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James O'Neill, 'Breaking the heart of Tyrone's rebellion? A reassessment of
Mountjoy's first campaigns un Ulster, May–November 1600', in
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Hill. Taking advantage of a misty day on the 25th, an officer named Thomas
Williams (who had commanded the Blackwater Fort during the
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570:(halfway between Newry and Armagh). There he built an earthwork fort and left a garrison of 400 men under the command of Captain
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James O'Neill, The Nine Years War, 1593-1603: O'Neill, Mountjoy and the military revolution, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2017.
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658:"Breaking the heart of Tyrone's rebellion? A reassessment of Mountjoy's first campaigns in Ulster, May-November 1600"
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646:"When you absolutely positively gotta kill almost half of Mountjoy's army ... the Moyry Pass, accept no substitute"
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Mountjoy occupied the Moyry Pass on 17 October and dismantled O'Neill's earthworks. He marched on to
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Mountjoy's strategy for putting down O'Neill's rebellion was gradually to constrict his territory in
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with a ring of fortified garrisons on the borders. To this end, he had landed seaborne forces at
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in the east of Ulster. In
September 1600, Mountjoy moved north from Dublin and concentrated at
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The
English reached the pass on 20 September and set up camp just outside, to the south on
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Site of O'Neill's defences in the Moyry Pass, running between
Slievenabolea to Claret Rock
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complained, "we are now but where we were in the beginning". Mountjoy retired to
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On 17 September 1600, Mountjoy set out from Dundalk, intending to march to
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John McCavitt, The Flight of the Earls, Gill & MacMillan, Dublin 2002.
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View of the entrance to the Moyry Pass looking north from Faghart Hill
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Duiche Neill: The Journal of the O'Neill Country Historical Society
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G.A. HAyes McCoy, Irish Battles, Appletree Press, Belfast 1990.
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4-500 killed, 400 wounded, several hundred dead from disease
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O'Neill, 'Breaking the heart of Tyrone's Rebellion', p. 36
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was fought during September and October 1600 in counties
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436:The battle was fought by the armies of O'Neill and
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71:Learn how and when to remove this message
679:Battles of the Nine Years' War (Ireland)
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34:This article includes a list of general
16:Battle during the Nine Years' War (1600)
161:English forces establish a garrison at
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574:. He then marched back to Dundalk via
429:and the English Crown commander, the
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616:Calendar State Papers Ireland, 1600.
468:in the north of the province and at
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138:20 September – 9 October 1600
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539:By 9 October the privy councillor
165:but Mountjoy retreated in November
40:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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233:Casualties and losses
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209:Hugh O'Neill
174:Belligerents
123:Part of the
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568:Mountnorris
370:Castlehaven
345:Curlew Pass
330:Yellow Ford
163:Mountnorris
104: /
53:introducing
673:Categories
621:References
560:Carrickban
499:The battle
446:Moyry Pass
350:Moyry Pass
315:Clontibret
159:Indecisive
89:54°03′50″N
36:references
582:Aftermath
529:matchlock
385:Dungannon
284:(Ireland)
92:6°23′06″W
521:Faughart
456:Campaign
220:Strength
143:Location
595:Sources
549:crannog
545:Dundalk
474:Dundalk
444:by the
419:Ireland
365:Kinsale
360:Donegal
355:Lifford
295:Belleek
197:England
49:improve
493:Armagh
462:Ulster
450:Armagh
442:Ulster
411:Armagh
380:Dursey
375:Dunboy
156:Result
38:, but
564:Newry
489:Newry
466:Derry
415:Louth
147:near
482:1598
413:and
405:The
135:Date
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