The Confederate Wars of the
1640s
The Founding of the Confederation
The Confederation was founded in June 1642
after the outbreak of violence in Ulster:
• First meeting held in October 1642
• Aim: To secure religious freedom and reverse
the decline of Catholic influence in Irish
politics.
• Where: Kilkenny Town
The Course of the Confederate Wars
• The Confederates acted like an independent
government eg. Collecting taxes
But: They always professed loyalty to Charles I.
• For most of the 1640s the Confederates
controlled vast areas of land in Ireland, apart
from Dublin, Cork and East Ulster.
Key Figures in Ireland during the 1640s
•
James Tuchet, Earl of
Castlehaven, member of
Confederate Supreme
Council
James Butler, first Duke of
Ormond, leading Irish
Royalist.
Rinuccini, papal nuncio, sent to
Kilkenny by the Pope. Ordered
to secure full Catholic
toleration.
Fighting the Confederate Wars
The leading Confederate Commanders
• Owen Roe O’Neill, a commander in
the Spanish army, returns to Ireland
in July 1642. Thomas Preston arrives
in September of the same year.
However the Confederates are torn by
division throughout the 1640s.
Three parties form in the Confederate
Assembly.
1.
A radical party who want full
Catholic toleration.
2. A moderate party who want some
religious and political concessions.
3. Finally, as the war raged, a party
who simply wanted peace.
Thomas
Preston
Owen Roe O’Neill
Negotiating with Charles I
A main theme during the war was
negotiation:
• Because Charles was desperate
for military aid from the
Confederates.
• And the Confederate hoped from
concessions from this Catholic
sympathizer.
BUT:
• Charles pre-occupied with events
in Scotland and England.
• So he appointed two people to
negotiate with them. The earl of
Glamorgan and the earl of
Ormond.
Problems with Negotiation
Glamorgan and Ormond had
different ideas about what to
offer the Confederation.
• Ormond refused full Catholic
toleration.
However, the king later secretly
sent Glamorgan over to
negotiate further when he
needed more troops.
• Glamorgan promised full Catholic
toleration and Irish parliamentary
independence from England
• So Ormond had him arrested.
The earl of Glamorgan, Edward
Somerset
The End of the Confederation
• The Confederates could not raise enough money
to continue the war effort. By the end of 1648
they were bankrupt
• They could not agree on a political strategy that
would end the war.
• They were divided by the promises of Catholic
toleration given by Charles I through Glamorgan
and then taken away by Ormond.
• By 1649, The English Civil War was over and
Cromwell arrived to defeat all Royalists left in
Ireland.
Key Events in the Confederate
Wars
• The first Confederate Assembly met in the Autumn of 1642.
Charles I was keen to use Irish Catholics in his Royalist armies
and therefore an agreement (the Cessation of Arms) was
made in September 1643.
• The Confederate control over areas of land in Ireland
continued. For example in March 1645, Preston seized
Dungannon Fort.
• There was a lot negotiation and re-negotiation during these
years as the King sent advisers (Ormond first then Glamorgan)
to talk with the Confederation. These advisors had different
ideas about what terms should be agreed with the
Confederate. However, after the Confederates defeated the
Scots at the Battle of Benburb on 5th June 1646 they were in a
much stronger bargaining position.
Key Events in the Confederate
Wars
• However, negotiations did not go as planned as one of the
king’s advisors, Ormond refused to offer open toleration for
Catholics.
• Soon however, the military situation got a lot worse. A
parliamentary commander, Jones defeated Thomas Preston at
Dungan’s Hill. In November 1647, Confederates at Cork where
routed out and practically expelled from Munster.
• On 11th September 1649, Drogheda was captured by Oliver
Cromwell. He had arrived to crush any remaining Royalist
support in Ireland. The Civil War in England was over by this
stage and the King had lost.
• By June 1651, the last Royalist Stronghold in Ireland, Limerick
fell to the Cromwellians.