What is recorded here

Callan Battlefield marks the site where McCarthy Mors defeated Anglo-Norman forces in 1261, securing three centuries of freedom for south Munster. The exact ground remains uncertain despite John O'Donovan's identification, leaving the true location hidden beneath time and change. What is clear is the battle's impact: it broke English momentum and shaped the region's destiny for generations.

The coordinates provided for this record refer to the area named 'Site of Callan Battlefield' recorded on the OS 1st ed. 6-inch map (surveyed 1841): it was named 'Callan Battlefield (Site of)' on subsequent surveys and revsions. The source of this location may be ascribed to John O'Donovan who identified the site as the English Callann, ‘about five miles eastward of Kenmare, in the parish of Kilgarvan, in the barony of Glenarough, and county of Kerry’ (AFM iii, 382, fn. u). All subsequent commentators have followed this interpretation. An assessment of the evidence does not confirm the OS position as the precise location where the battle was fought and elucidation of its true location must await further investigation. The battle was fought on 24 July 1261 when septs of the McCarthy Mors defeated John Fitz-Thomas of the Geraldines. This battle was the first real defeat of the Anglo-Normans and, as a consequence, south Munster effectively was free of invasion for the next three hundred years (Casey 2000, 20). Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 20 March 2014

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