Battlefield in Springfield

Battle of Gort na Tiobrad, 1579 The battle of Gort na Tiobrad (Gortnatubbrid/Springfield) was the first engagement of the Second Desmond Rebellion (1579-1583). The battlefield is unlocated and the sources for it are restricted to non-eyewitness contemporary, or near-contemporary, accounts in The Walsingham's letter book or register of Ireland (Hogan and O'Farrell McNeill 1959, 172-4), the Calendar of the State Papers of Ireland, 1574-1585 (Hamilton 1867, vol. 2, 185-7), the Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (Holinshed 1577, vol. 6, 413-14) and the Annals of the Four Masters (O'Donovan 1848-51, vol. 5, 1718-19). Following the end of the First Desmond Rebellion (1569-1573), the Crown administration directly ruled Munster through the office of lord president, to whom was granted ever-increasing powers over the province. Indeed, the lord president of Munster was given power to seize lands to further the Crown's influence and to do so by any force necessary. By the time the earl of Desmond Maurice FitzGerald was released from prison in England, these powers had extended to the use of regular and indiscriminate violence against the population. In an effect to shore up the position of the FitzGerald dynasty, the earl of Desmond began to co-operate with the lord president to put these new laws in place across Munster. However, shortly after the earl had returned home, his kinsman and commander of military forces, James Fitzmaurice FitzGerald escaped to the continent to seek martial aid from France and Spain. He arrived back on the Kerry coast on 17 July 1579 with a small force of troops and, in response, the earl of Desmond’s brothers, Sir John and Sir James FitzGerald, seized two Munster commissioners (Henry Davells and Arthur Carter) and beheaded them. They then mustered approximately 2,000 men and rose in revolt. These forces of Desmond (the Geraldines) also comprised hired gallowglass and perhaps a unit of Spanish musketeers (from the Smerwick garrison) although the presence of the latter remains doubtful. However, on 18 August, James Fitzmaurice was killed in a battle with the Burkes of Castleconnell in County Limerick, which forced Sir John into assuming practical military command. By now the Crown forces in Ireland were on alert, with Perrot appointed as admiral of the fleet and ordered to intercept any foreign ships that might assist the rebellion. By early September Lord Justice William Drury had marched his soldiers to Kilmallock in County Limerick, where he established camp. Holinshead (1577, 6, 413-4) states that this army was only 200 men strong (and all Irish) but other sources disagree. Drury’s advisory council stated that he had '400 English and 100 Irish' troops (Hogan and O'Farrell McNeill 1959, 172-4). It is known that the force included several captains. Having struck camp, Drury sent a small force of troops on a three-day patrol of the area around Kilmore Woods. According to Holinshed (1577, vol. 6, 414), the English came through Gort na Tiobrad on the final day of their patrol as part of their route back to the camp at Killmallock. Here Sir John and James Óg FitzGerald had planned their attack. Captains Herbert and Price led the English troops forward, as their allied Connacht kern light infantry fled before the Geraldine army's advance. As they did so, Sir John and James Óg's forces swarmed over their foe and inflicted severe losses. It was claimed that English casualties ranged from 30 (Hogan and O'Farrell McNeill 1959, 172-4) to 300 dead (Holinshed 1577, vol. 6, 413-14; O'Donovan 1848-51, vol. 5, 1718-19), including three captains (Herbert, Eustace and Price). It is thought that the most accurate figures were provided by Treasurer Wallop to Walsingham on 14 September (Hamilton 1867, 187) and stood at 100 Connaught kern and 40 English troops dead. Although the precise date and location of the battle is uncertain, it is thought that it was fought sometime in early September 1579. Regarding the battlefield site itself, O’Donovan (ibid.) noted that Gort na Tiobrad/Springfield was a townland (in the parish of Killagholehane) in southern County Limerick. It seems that, according to local tradition, the battle was fought in a field known locally as Páirc na Staille (Stallion Field), near the modern cemetery at Springfield, Dromcollogher. The outcome of the battle, namely the defeat of Drury's force and Sir John’s victory, prompted the earl of Desmond into slowly throwing his weight behind the Second Rebellion. After the battle, Drury succumbed to an illness whilst in Waterford and the military campaign passed to a new Crown commander, Sir Nicholas Malby, Lord President of Connacht. Summary by Dr Gavin Hughes. Uploaded 22/02/2021 by Olive Alcock