Battle of Kilrush

Kilrush in County Kildare became the site of a decisive Crown victory on 15 April 1642 when the Earl of Ormonde defeated a larger Irish Confederate force under Viscount Mountgarret. The Royalist cavalry struck first, breaking the rebel left wing before the right wing collapsed and sent hundreds of men fleeing into a nearby bog where horsemen could not follow. It remains a sharp reminder that numbers alone do not decide a battle; organisation, momentum and the cruelty of open ground can overwhelm even a much larger army.