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and then began to deploy. The attack was led by around 150 dismounted horse officers (who wore more armour than the foot) with the remainder of the infantry following; troops of horse rode along the flanks of the advancing force to encourage the infantry. The Irish soldiers attempted to drive off the attackers with pikes while the civilians inside hurled rocks down from the walls: in turn, the attackers hurled firebrands into the compound, setting some of the buildings inside on fire. Although many were wounded, the
Parliamentarians gradually fought their way over the walls, pushing the garrison into the church.
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27:
662:. What was more, the Irish Confederates were themselves split over the terms on which they should sign a peace deal with the King. A deep rift developed within their ranks in 1647 between those who were prepared to accept a mere toleration of Catholicism in return for an alliance with the English Royalists and those who in effect wanted Ireland to be a Catholic kingdom, albeit under the sovereignty of the Stuart monarchy. This infighting was to fatally hamper the war effort of the Confederates in Munster and make possible the Protestant sack of Cashel.
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Arriving with his army at the Rock, Inchiquin called for surrender within an hour. The defenders of the churchyard offered to negotiate, but that was refused, and on the afternoon of 15 September the assault commenced. The
Parliamentarians were first reminded of earlier atrocities against Protestants
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He won the army over within an hour. A ceremony was afterwards arranged in which
Glamorgan handed over command to Muskerry but this was merely to save face. Muskerry desired to turn his full attention to the politics of the Irish Confederations supreme council, and so immediately after the ceremony,
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Initially, the Irish defenders managed to protect the Church, holding off the attackers trying to get through the doors, but the
Parliamentarians then placed numerous ladders against the many windows in the church and swarmed the building. For another half an hour, fighting raged inside the church,
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In the end, all the soldiers (save a single major) and most of the civilians on the Rock were killed by the attackers. The Bishop and Mayor of Cashel along with a few others survived by taking shelter in a secret hiding place. Apart from these a few women were spared, after being stripped of their
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Inchiquin had already launched two minor raids against Cashel, and he now had the opportunity to launch a major assault. The
Parliamentarian forces first stormed nearby Roche Castle, putting fifty warders to the sword. This attack terrified the local inhabitants of the region, some of whom fled to
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In consequence, the
Confederates had no option but to sign a truce with Inchiquin, an act which deeply alienated many Confederates and Catholic clergy, who had been appalled at Inchiquin's brutal tactics in Munster. These divisions would lead to the brief but bloody Irish Confederate Civil War in
864:
as evidence of the futility of defending
Ireland without Royalist support. In the short term, Lord Taffe came under intense pressure from the Confederate leadership to engage Inchiquin. When he did so in November, the politically divided and badly led Munster army was routed and destroyed at the
745:, a stronger place than the town itself. Lord Taaffe had placed six companies in the fortified churchyard that sat upon the rock, and considered the place defensible, though he himself did not stay to put it to the test, leaving command to the Governor Lieutenant-Colonel Butler.
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until the depleted defenders retreated up the bell tower. Only sixty soldiers of the garrison remained at this point, and they thus accepted a call to surrender. However, after they had descended the tower and thrown their swords away, all were killed.
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and those sympathetic to the
Royalist lord Ormonde. The former were enraged by the attack and desired retribution against Inchiquin and his army, but the Ormondist faction saw the Sack of Cashel and a subsequent raid by Inchiquin's men into
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Glamorgan was not popular, partly because he was
English but also because he lacked money to regularly pay the soldiers. Muskerry was unsatisfied with the direction the Irish Confederate Supreme Council was headed under the influence of
693:, a nobleman who had joined the Irish Confederates but who was known to be sympathetic to Royalism. Unfortunately for the Confederates, Lord Taaffe was one of the most incompetent leaders to command an Irish army during the 1640s.
669:, the Viscount of Muskerry entered the camp of the Irish Confederate Munster army. The Viscount Muskerry was probably the most powerful Confederate leader in Munster and was known to be sympathetic to the powerful Irish Royalist
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and a few towns along the south coast, which remained in the hands of
Protestant settlers. For five years, the province had been fought over by the Irish Confederation and Protestants, led by the Baron of Inchiquin.
816:, with statues smashed and pictures defaced. The deserted town of Cashel was also torched. Lord Inchiquin was even alleged to have put on the Archbishop's vestments and mitre in mockery of Roman Catholicism.
677:, an English Catholic nobleman who had been granted command of the army by the Confederate Supreme council for reasons of political expediency, being aligned neither to the Royalist nor clerical faction.
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Even worse, while the Munster Army was paralysed by the intrigues of its commanders, Inchiquin's Protestant forces had embarked on a highly destructive campaign in Confederate-held territory.
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in 1643, when 200 civilians were killed by Ormonde's English Royalist army, but many more than this were killed at Cashel, and the Rock of Cashel was one of the chief holy places of the
724:. This provided him a secure base for raiding the surrounding countryside, largely unopposed by Lord Taaffe, probably the result of the political scheming of Muskerry and other powerful
762:
clothes, and a small number of wealthy civilians were taken prisoner, but these were the exceptions. Overall, close to 1,000 were killed, amongst them Lieutenant-Colonel Butler and
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The atrocity at Cashel caused a deep impact in Ireland, as it was the worst single atrocity committed in Ireland since the start of fighting in 1641. Previously, the most infamous
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The political ramifications in the Irish confederation were also profound, serving to exacerbate the split between the Catholic party headed by
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1648. Inchiquin withdrew his support for the English Parliament in the same year and entered into a Royalist alliance with the Confederates.
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The sack of Cashel occurred against the background of a complex conflict in the south of Ireland. In 1642, most of the province of
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869:. This was the second Confederate army to be destroyed in less than six months, the Leinster Army having been annihilated at the
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of the mayor of Cashel, as well as the coach of the bishop, were captured. The plunder was accompanied by acts of
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who hoped to keep the Munster army intact for their own ends. As a result, Inchiquin was able to advance on
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and realised that he was in a position to influence the army of Munster and thereby strengthen his hand.
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of the church, many of the slain civilians had also brought their valuables with them. The sword and
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The Rock of Cashel, the citadel in which the defenders of Cashel attempted to hold off the assault
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Despite the massacre, Inchiquin converted to Roman Catholicism while in exile in France in 1656.
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in 1992. The bodies in the churchyard were described by a witness as being five or six deep.
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Seymour, St. John D (1917). "The Storming of the Rock of Cashel by Lord Inchiquin in 1647".
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English Parliamentarian sack and slaughter of the Confederate Ireland-held city of Cashel
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garrison were executed along with a number of civilians and the castle was sacked.
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Alasdair MacColla and the Highland problem in the seventeenth century
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An Apprenticeship in Arms: The Origin of the British Army 1585-1702
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The political and military situation was further fragmented by the
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hiding places, while hundreds of others fled promptly to the
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had fallen to Irish Catholic rebels with the exception of
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The slaughter was followed by extensive plunder and
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673:. At that time, the Munster army was commanded by
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1221:Massacres during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
654:in which the Catholics gave their support to
606:, took place on 15 September 1647 during the
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836:amongst the Catholic population was that at
1162:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
1139:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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71:Learn how and when to remove this message
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658:, and the Protestants after 1643 to the
34:This article includes a list of general
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1186:Battles of the Irish Confederate Wars
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1107:"The Sack of Cashel, September 1647"
20:
1231:Anti-Christian sentiment in Ireland
716:, then in early September captured
13:
40:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
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1035:
1021:An Illustrated History of Ireland
1011:"A Compendium of Irish Biography"
946:
1036:Doyle, Jim (15 September 2018).
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283:
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251:c.500-800 (including civilians)
219:
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995:A Compendium of Irish Biography
852:or "Murrough of the Burnings".
689:Muskerry resigned in favour of
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1216:Massacres committed by England
1018:Cusack, Margaret Anne (1868).
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298:
1:
1206:Attacks on churches in Europe
1003:
735:
1105:Inchiquin (9 October 2008).
1083:10.1093/ehr/XXXII.CXXVII.373
895:
890:List of massacres in Ireland
819:
509:1649–53 Cromwellian Conquest
312:
7:
1201:History of County Tipperary
1196:Anti-Catholicism in Ireland
883:
857:Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
756:
704:In the summer of 1647, the
238:c.300 (excluding civilians)
10:
1252:
842:Catholic Church in Ireland
618:was taken by a Protestant
330:Ireland and Rock of Cashel
1148:Stevenson, David (1980).
1062:Confederation of Kilkenny
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1226:Cashel, County Tipperary
983:Blessed Thomas Stapleton
730:Cashel, County Tipperary
218:Lt-Colonel Butler
207:English Parliamentarians
1125:Manning, Rober (2006).
652:First English Civil War
395:1641–42 Irish Rebellion
55:more precise citations.
1236:Massacres of Catholics
871:battle of Dungans Hill
829:
783:Irish Catholic Martyrs
622:army commanded by the
608:Irish Confederate Wars
368:Irish Confederate Wars
213:Commanders and leaders
125:Irish Confederate Wars
867:Battle of Knocknanuss
827:
764:Roman Catholic priest
700:Inchiquin's offensive
675:the Earl of Glamorgan
660:Parliament of England
246:Casualties and losses
1038:"The Sack of Cashel"
850:Murchadh na Dóiteáin
828:Murrough the Burner.
602:, also known as the
327:class=notpageimage|
985:CatholicSaints.info
97: /
1211:Looting in Ireland
1099:General references
830:
706:Baron of Inchiquin
634:The Munster mutiny
624:Baron of Inchiquin
604:massacre of Cashel
195:Irish Confederates
1181:Conflicts in 1647
1042:Seamus Dubhghaill
1013:. 2 January 2007.
787:Pope John Paul II
667:Donough MacCarthy
665:On 12 June 1647,
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1152:. Edinburgh.
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1114:. Retrieved
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908:Seymour 1917
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393:
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182:Belligerents
123:Part of the
106:52.52; -7.89
82:
67:
58:
39:
15:
1044:. Jim Doyle
873:in August.
771:orthography
537:Lisnagarvey
492:Knocknanuss
413:Julianstown
104: /
53:introducing
1175:Categories
1004:References
848:nickname,
810:iconoclasm
777:, who was
736:The attack
683:Rinuccinni
587:2nd Galway
567:Charlemont
467:Portlester
457:Cloghleagh
447:Liscarroll
442:1st Galway
437:Glenmaquin
36:references
1158:cite book
1135:cite book
1129:. Oxford.
1111:Inchiquin
896:Citations
820:Aftermath
802:vestments
794:sacrilege
779:Beatified
656:Charles I
644:Cork city
557:Tecroghan
532:Waterford
502:Rathmines
472:Duncannon
403:Portadown
1060:(1882).
884:See also
834:massacre
812:against
798:chalices
773:pioneer
757:The sack
628:Catholic
542:Kilkenny
452:New Ross
387:Timeline
241:c.2,500
233:Strength
154:Location
1116:22 June
1048:22 June
838:Timolin
671:Ormonde
640:Munster
610:, when
552:Macroom
547:Clonmel
522:Wexford
477:Benburb
425:1642–49
418:Kilrush
291:Belfast
89:52°31′N
49:improve
1091:551044
1089:
1027:11 May
527:Arklow
497:Dublin
487:Cashel
462:Clones
305:Dublin
254:c.300
170:Result
159:Cashel
92:7°53′W
38:, but
1087:JSTOR
947:Doyle
846:Irish
1164:link
1141:link
1118:2020
1050:2020
1029:2011
806:mace
800:and
766:and
712:and
598:The
319:Cork
146:Date
1079:doi
1071:EHR
785:by
720:in
614:in
1177::
1160:}}
1156:{{
1137:}}
1133:{{
1109:.
1085:.
1075:32
1073:.
1040:.
915:^
373:or
161:,
1166:)
1143:)
1120:.
1093:.
1081::
1064:.
1052:.
1031:.
997:.
949:.
358:e
351:t
344:v
74:)
68:(
63:)
59:(
45:.
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