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by the
Parliamentarian vice admiral, William Smith, who was anchored offshore with seven ships, but could not break through to relieve the town. In a letter that reached Esmonde on 11 March, Smith had warned him that, 'if the rebels take the fort by storming it, they will undoubtedly put you all to death...you should agree with thy adversary while thou art in the way'. Esmond had Smith's letter publicly read to his troops after the assaults of 16–17 March to discourage those who favoured holding out.
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763:, Preston tried again and this time his troops succeeded in taking the town's outer, more modern walls but were stopped at Duncannon's inner, medieval ramparts. They had succeeded in occupying one of the town's towers for an hour before being beaten back. Geoffrey Barron, a Confederate politician, who kept a diary of the siege, reported that 24 Irish soldiers were killed in the two assaults.
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661:, unhappy with the Royalist truce with the Irish Confederates, declared for the English Parliament, who were to remain hostile to Irish Catholic forces throughout the 1640s. Esmond, under pressure from elements of his garrison, also changed to the side of Parliament and effectively re-declared war on the Catholic Confederates. His motives are unclear: though he was a Protestant convert, the
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At this point, Preston summoned
Esmonde to surrender, before he had to, 'proceed to extremities'. This was a delicate threat, implying that if the town fell to an assault, its defenders would be put to the sword - as was customary in contemporary siege warfare. Esmonde was also advised to surrender
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Duncannon possessed formidable defences. For one thing, it was located on a peninsula and could only be approached from the north, the other three sides jutting out into the sea. Just off the town were docked four
Parliamentarian ships, which were supplying Duncannon with food and reinforcements.
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Preston arrived at
Duncannon on 20 January and proceeded to construct a ring of trenches which cut off Duncannon on its landward side. From the hill that overlooked the town to the north, his guns were able to fire on a squadron of four Parliamentarian ships that were docked off Duncannon and
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was highly experienced in siege warfare and his conduct of the siege drew widespread praise. Not only did he take the town, but he did so at a relatively low cost. Sixty-seven
Confederate soldiers died in the siege, of whom roughly 30 died of disease. Given that the campaign was conducted in
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On 16 March, by which time the Irish trenches were, 'within pistol shot of the walls', Preston ordered the mine to be exploded, opening a breach in
Duncannon's outer walls. The Irish infantry then assaulted the town, but were beaten off with some losses. The following day,
615:, most of south-eastern Ireland fell to the Catholic insurgents. Roughly 1,000 rebels blockaded Duncannon, which was heavily fortified and contained an English garrison of about 300 men. Around 150 of the English troops were killed in forays against the Irish at nearby
786:, which was in Protestant hands. However, they had to leave behind the town's 18 artillery pieces. Esmonde himself died a few days after the end of the siege. Preston would go on to briefly besiege Youghal, but bad weather, a lack of supplies and squabbling with
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despatched Thomas
Preston, general of their Leinster Army, to take Duncannon in January 1645. Preston had at his disposal 1,300 men, four cannons and a mortar. The mortar, the first of its kind to be used in Ireland had been donated by
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The siege was of importance in that it re-opened the sea route into
Waterford and eliminated a hostile English garrison in Confederate territory. Preston, who had for many years been the Spanish military governor of
720:. However, it had two grave weaknesses, first, it was overlooked by a hill to the north, from which an attacker could fire into the town and secondly the water supply was also located outside the walls.
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wrecked by cannon fire, and it took several more hits from the mortar as it tried to get away. The ship sunk in deep water, drowning its crew and 200 soldiers who had been on board.
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In light of these facts, Esmonde formally surrendered
Duncannon to Preston on 18 March. The Confederates took possession of the town but its garrison was allowed to march away to
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underneath one of the town's bastions. All the while, the town's defenders were kept under a bombardment by the mortar and, as the
Confederate troops got closer to the walls, by
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closer to the walls, the ultimate aim being to bring his cannon close enough to the walls in order to blast a breach and open the way for an assault. His engineers also dug a
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mid-winter, in an age when disease routinely killed many more soldiers than combat, this represented a considerable logistical achievement on the part of the Irish general.
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Duncannon was a strategically important town for two reasons. Firstly, it had formidable defences. Secondly and more importantly, its guns overlooked the sea route to
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Secondly, it possessed two lines of fortifications, the outer line being a more modern low deep rampart protected by a dry ditch and the inner wall being a medieval
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Needing to keep this channel open and also fearing the presence of an English garrison deep in their territory, the Confederates' Supreme Council in
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signed a ceasefire with the Irish Confederates. As a result hostilities between Duncannon and the Catholic-held surrounding area were suspended.
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Padraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, Cork University Press, Cork 2002 (pp. 178–187)
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and water. The town's only source of fresh water, a well, was behind the Confederate siege lines.
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raided the town's hinterland. As in much of Ireland, the conflict was bitter. In one incident,
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from an English Parliamentarian garrison. The siege was the first conflict in Ireland in which
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killed the fort's second in command, one Captain Lurcan, who was hit in the head by a bullet.
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Padraig Lenihan (ed.), Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth Century Ireland
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Alongside the risk of massacre, the English garrison was also very low on
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Hostilities continued throughout 1642, as the Irish, now organised as the
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Having cut off Duncannon's supply from the sea, Preston proceeded to dig
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the previous year and was commanded by a French military engineer named
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Newspaper article about the recovery of the Great Lewis
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by the forces of the English Parliament, as part of the
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In 1643, because of his need for troops to fight in the
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in 1649 but surrendered after a lengthy blockade by
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848:Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, p186
591:besieged and successfully took the town of
653:However, in 1644, the English garrison of
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66:Learn how and when to remove this message
816:Duncannon was besieged again during the
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29:This article includes a list of general
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724:providing the town with supplies. The
699:. La Loue had served with Preston in
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245:sunk, crew and 7034 soldiers drowned
893:Sieges of the Irish Confederate Wars
136:20 January - 18 March 1645 (58 days)
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872:TV programme about the Great Lewis
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35:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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818:Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
579:took place in 1645, during the
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110:Siege during the 11 Years' War
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225:200 men, 18 cannon, 4-7 ships
222:1,300 men, 1 mortar, 4 cannon
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486:1649–53 Cromwellian Conquest
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923:Battles involving Ireland
908:History of County Wexford
824:. It repelled a siege by
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903:Sieges involving Ireland
751:. On 12 March, one such
194:English Parliamentarians
732:was badly damaged, its
613:Irish Rebellion of 1641
611:At the outbreak of the
372:1641–42 Irish Rebellion
50:more precise citations.
716:, complete with three
581:Irish Confederate Wars
345:Irish Confederate Wars
239:27 killed in the town
200:Commanders and leaders
123:Irish Confederate Wars
96:52.220771°N 6.936627°W
812:The Cromwellian siege
649:Esmonde Changes sides
307:Ireland and Duncannon
230:Casualties and losses
583:. An Irish Catholic
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101:52.220771; -6.936627
160:Confederate victory
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822:Siege of Waterford
577:siege of Duncannon
182:Irish Confederates
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667:Anglo-Irish
587:army under
585:Confederate
514:Lisnagarvey
469:Knocknanuss
390:Julianstown
243:Great Lewis
99: /
48:introducing
887:Categories
836:References
632:Ramsgrange
607:Background
564:2nd Galway
544:Charlemont
444:Portlester
434:Cloghleagh
424:Liscarroll
419:1st Galway
414:Glenmaquin
84:52°13′15″N
31:references
832:in 1650.
777:gunpowder
707:The siege
677:Waterford
643:Charles I
593:Duncannon
534:Tecroghan
509:Waterford
479:Rathmines
449:Duncannon
380:Portadown
268:Duncannon
241:Flagship
146:Duncannon
87:6°56′12″W
726:Flagship
701:Flanders
688:Kilkenny
681:New Ross
657:, under
519:Kilkenny
429:New Ross
364:Timeline
217:Strength
141:Location
856:Sources
784:Youghal
601:mortars
529:Macroom
524:Clonmel
499:Wexford
454:Benburb
402:1642–49
395:Kilrush
282:Belfast
235:67 dead
44:improve
796:Leuven
753:sniper
728:, the
718:towers
504:Arklow
474:Dublin
464:Cashel
439:Clones
296:Dublin
157:Result
33:, but
693:Spain
665:were
802:The
745:mine
741:saps
734:mast
679:and
655:Cork
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133:Date
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