North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

The Battle of Aughrim

On the 313th anniversary of the most decisive and bloody battle between the forces of William of Orange and James II, representatives from Sinn Fein and Unionist parties will come together this weekend to analyse the history and impact of the battle as well as explore more contemporary issues. No, it's not happening in Northern Ireland but in a sleepy little village in east Galway

St. Ruth in his stirrups stood up and cried,

I have seen no deed like that in France,

With a toss of his head, Sarsfield replied,

They had luck the dogs! Twas a merry chance

So wrote Aubrey DeVere of the battle of Athlone , a minor skirmish between the armies of William of Orange (William III) and James II in June 1691. Notwithstanding the bravery of a small number of Jacobite volunteers who dismantled the wooden bridge across the Shannon under fire to halt the Williamite army, Athlone fell to General Ginkel who lead William’s army once the king had returned to England (the Sergeant who led the platoon onto the bridge has the Army barracks named after him, whereas Ginkel’s name has adorned a nightclub in the town for years). Though the outcome of the Athlone action was neglible (unless you lived there), the failure rattled St. Ruth and he decided to choose his next battle to the west of Ballinasloe (about thirty miles east of Galway) where he hoped to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

Today, as you approach Ballinasloe from the Galway side, you'll pass a crossroads called Cappataggle Cross - it's marked by a headstone commemorating the death of a couple in an auto accident some years back. After the cross is a series of S-bends, and you'll notice a series of memorials within sight of each other. The frequency of fatalities on this small stretch of road became so big that the locals, in despair, hammered dozens of white crosses on each side of the road in the hope of slowing motorists down. As the road straightens, you'll find yourself in the village of Aughrim, and it seems a grim coincidence that one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the county leads to the site of the most bloody battle in this island's history.

On July 1st of 1690 (this date became July 11 after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar), at the Battle of the Boyne, William's army had forced the retreat south of the Jacobites but still the island was divided into two strongholds. The battle was more significent for the presence of both kings and that the defeat caused James to flee back to France. In fact, by the end of the year, both kings would have left Ireland, never to return - William returned to England after Sarsfield repulsed his attack of Limerick .

The reason that two kings were fighting in Ireland at all was due to the struggle for the English throne and a wider struggle for influence between the monarchies across Europe. Charles II had assumed the throne in 1660 and attempted to promote religious equality by restoring the property and status of Catholic disposed during Cromwell’s reign. This effort was not welcomed by the English Parliament, who feared the emergence of a Catholic dynasty. It didn’t help that Charles had produced no legitimate heirs which meant that the throne would revert to his Catholic brother, James upon his death.

In order to allay some of these fears, Charles had married one of James daughters to the Protestant Dutch king, William of Orange. James was married twice, first to a Protestant and then to a Catholic. Thus, Mary, a daughter from his first marriage, was also Protestant. (It also helped to mend fences with the Dutch after the Anglo-Dutch war of 1665-1667). But when Charles died in 1685, James II assumed the throne. Relations with parliament deteriorated, and the fear of Roman Catholic domination was heightened when Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes – this had guaranteed the rights of the French Protestant minority (Huguenots) - particularly since Charles had served in Louis’s army during his exile. When James’ second (and Catholic) wife gave birth to a son, seemingly assuring the continuation of the Catholic line, William of Orange invaded and was proclaimed king in 1689.

James fled to France. Louise XIV, wishing to prevent William from engaging his armies as they expanded across Europe, felt it expedient to despatch an army to Ireland, led by James, to occupy the Williamite forces. So what was in it for the Irish?

Cromwell’s reign had been particularly brutal for Catholics in Ireland. Apart from the ferocity of the military campaign (in particular, the wholesale slaughter in Dundalk on September 11th, 1649), many Catholic noblemen were dispossessed – since their followers worked their estates, they too were forced to move. But where to? To Hell or to Connacht, was the answer. There was mass hardship as the land was handed over to Cromwell’s Protestant followers. It was the end of the line for many monasteries too. With the restoration of the monarchy, many Irish noblemen had their lands and their influence restored to some degree. So when William was crowned king, they had a natural incentive to back James.

Alas for the Catholic Irish, though they were expected to do most of the fighting and dying, the war was directed first by James II and later by the French general, Charles de Claremont, Marquis de St. Ruth. Irish generals, particularly Patrick Sarsfield, found themselves in subsidiary roles. Sarsfield own opinion of James II was best summed up when he told the Williamites ”Change kings and we will fight you again”. James had been quick to abandon the battlefield at the Boyne (not that he was too close to it, unlike William who was wounded during the battle). When he arrived back in Dublin, he complained to his hostess that

Your countrymen can run well, Madam.

To which she replied

Not so well as your Majesty, I see, for you have won the race.

Similarly, Sarsfield was not keen to meet the Williamites in battle so soon after the Athlone defeat, and advised St. Ruth so. But St. Ruth, who had waged a Cromwellian campaign of suppression against the Huguenots after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, was determined to inflict a decisive blow against the Williamites. On the Sunday morning of July 12th, he rallied his troops thus

Gentlemen and soldiers, I suppose that it is not unknown to you, what glory I have acquired and how successful and fortunate I have been in suppressing heresy in France, and in propagating the Holy Catholic Faith. I can without vanity boast of being the happy instrument of bringing over thousands of poor, deluded souls from their errors assisted by some members of our holy and unspotted church…You are not mercenary soldiers, you do not fight for your pay, but for your lives, your wives, your children, your liberties and your country and to restore the most pious of kings to his throne...

Then they waited.

In 1691, the land east of Aughrim village was waterlogged bogland. To the south, the land rises about 60 metres to a hill called Kilcommaddon, or Aughrim Hill. In front of that hill was a smaller slope of dry ground, called the Pass of Urraghry. To the north, behind where the village church is located today was the ruins of Aughrim Castle, and beside it was a narrow causeway that led across the bog towards Ballinasloe.

St. Ruth placed his majority of his forces (infantry) along Kilcommaddon Hill, overlooking the bog. Guarding the causeway was a few hundred men commanded by a Col. Burke, along with some cavalry. On Urraghry, St. Ruth had placed his artillery and guarded it with a large force of cavalry.

The Melehan river today - all of this land was marsh three centuries ago and formed a natural defence against the Williamite advance.

Today, the bog is gone and only the summer bloom of yellow irises hint at the marshland that formed the battle field of yore. The Melehen river is little more than a trickling stream in the summer, with hardly enough water to quench the thrist of the cattle in the neighbouring fields. But even today, on wet or cold mornings, a heavy fog often hangs over the fields. And so it was on the morning of the 12th, when Ginkel’s Danish dragoons emerged from the mist to attack the Jacobite artillery position on Urraghry. They were driven back, as were the English troops sent in after them. Under constant pressure from the Williamites, St. Ruth ordered some of his cavalry from the castle to reinforce the Urraghry position, as well as some of his infantry lining Kilcommadden. Sensing an opportunity, three thousand Orange troops were ordered to attack the Kilcommaddan line. They couldn’t exactly charge – they had to wade across the bog, lugging pikes and muskets and then attack uphill in sodden, mud-caked uniforms. First, they slowly pushed the Jacobites back, but once the cavalry intervened, the Williamites were pushed back into the bog and slaughtered.

The ruins of Aughrim Castle, Co. Galway.

However, a large force of Williamite cavalry made an attempt to attack Aughrim castle via the causeway. Burke’s infantry prepared to repel them but discovered that the spare ammunition wouldn’t fit their muskets. Their guns were French and the ammunition was English. No Irish story would be complete without a turncoat/traitor/informer or Lundy and this one was no different. Henry Luttrell commanded a force of dragoons that could have reinforced Burke’s position. Instead, he retreated. [Luttrell would be awarded a large pension by William after the fall of Limerick but was assassinated in Dublin nearly 20 years later].St. Ruth decided to lead a force of cavalry himself across the battlefield to reinforce Burke. Though the cavalry were all part of Sarsfield’s command, St. Ruth would not let the Irishman lead the charge himself, ordering him to wait in reserve. As the French general galloped across the hill, shouting “La jour est à nous, mes enfants (the day is ours, my boys)”, a cannonball took his head clean off. The shot decapitated the attack just as surely it had the Marquis. In the confusion, Ginkel’s English cavalry crossed the causeway, overran the castle and attacked the Jacobite infantry. Now it was the turn of the Williamites to inflict slaughter on the enemy.

Luttrell's Pass today - the place where the Williamite English cavalry were able to wheel around the Irish infantary and turn the battle.

Around seven thousand Jacobites died – the Williamites lost about a tenth of that number. It remains the bloodiest battle in Irish history. The Williamites only buried their own dead before moving on, and it is said that the bodies of many of the Jacobites lay exposed, preyed upon by wild dogs and the elements (actually, many were interred in the grounds around Clontuskert Abbey).

The victory was decisive – the Jacobite army was destroyed, and along with it, the future of the Catholic aristocracy. Sarsfield retreated to Limerick, and despite heroic resistance, he was forced to sign the Treaty of Limerick with Ginkel that forced into exile most of the Catholic noblemen and their followers (roughly fourteen thousand in all). Their lands would be distributed to the victors – Ginkel, the newly titled Earl of Athlone, would be awarded fourteen thousand acres in Leinster and Munster. The Treaty also guaranteed religious tolerance, a clause that was swiftly reneged upon. By the end of the decade, the Penal Laws were introduced, heralding nearly two centuries of religious oppression for Catholics.

It was a battle that pitted Irishman against Irishman, Englishman against Englishman and Frenchman against Frenchman. Danes (on the Williamite side) fought for the first time since the turn of the millennium on Irish soil. And though in Ireland (particularly north of the border), the battle is seen purely in terms of Catholic versus Protestant, the battle was viewed in Europe as a welcome setback to the expansionary ambitions of Louis XIV who was threatening to overwhelm his neighbouring countries, Catholic and Protestant alike.

Interior of Battle of Aughrim Interpretive Centre, co. Galway.

Today, the battlefield is marked by a series of signs, showing the various points of the battle as well as a memorial cross in the village. There is also an interpretive centre that has displays of weapons from the battle, a short video presentation on the battle as well as a diorama of the battlefield. (Alas, the video wasn’t working when I visited last week, but among the displays is a set of vestments presented to the village church by Napoleon III). That the battle is commemorated at all in the village is due to the tireless work of Martin Joyce, a local teacher whose research led him to create a small museum in his school and later to campaign for a more formal memorial on the battle field. Sadly, he passed away in 1991 just as his campaign was bearing fruit.

This year, the Aughrim summer school (held in the village and also in Ballinasloe) will hear contributions from Alex Maskey, Roy Garland and Oliver Gibson, (Republican and Unionist politicians respectively). On the Sunday (the day that I will attend), there will be a church service followed a walk around the battlefield. To add a bit of colour, the local hunt are going to ride around the battlefield – they are also going to recreate the charges by the cavalry (I think it’s just an excuse to go hell for leather through the meadows) – as long as they don’t mistake the rest of us for infantry…If you want to attend the whole thing, it’ll cost you 130 euro (if I was going to spend that sort of money in Ballinasloe, I’d expect to come home with a horse) but a one-day ticket is only 30 euro.

It’s a pity that the commemoration doesn’t receive more prominence in this country; not just to acknowledge the huge number of deaths but also to underline the dramatic impact of the battle on subsequent Irish history. It’s also a pity that, when the Irish government were dragging their European colleagues all around the country during the European presidency, that they didn’t pause briefly in Aughrim on their way down to Galway. In a field where the question of European integration was settled with pike, sword and bayonet, it might have focused some minds for the negotiation ahead. It might also have reminded them how far we’ve come.

Sources for this post include Kevin Haddick-Flynn’s “Orangeism: The Making of a Tradition”, a fine and colourful history of the Orange order, Seán Spellissey’s History of Galway, the Encyclopaedia of Ireland, plus my own visit to the battlefield. I’ll post a follow-up post next week after the Summer School finishes.

Posted by Monasette at July 7, 2004 11:59 PM