Essex Ford (Site of) — Garlegobban

On the seventh of September, 1599, Richard Deveroux, the second Earl of Essex and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, met and parleyed with Hugh O’Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, then in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I. Essex had arrived in Ireland in April with over 17,000 troops, the largest army ever dispatched to Ireland by a Tudor monarch. Once in Ireland Essex dissipated and dispersed his forces on forays into the midlands and south. Finally, and by his own account (Shirley 1845, 108-11; 1879, 103-06), as he approached Ulster he had only 2700 foot and 300 horse and was being shadowed by a force twice that size under O’Neill, who asked to parley. This occurred at the ford of Bellaclinthe, and afterwards at the nearby castle of Garret Fleming at Lagan (LH013-001001-), which is c. 7.5km S of Garlegobban but only 2.5 km from Aclint. Nothing significant emerged from the talks, but a peace was arranged, which could be extended. Essex required a respite from campaigning and used the peace as an opportunity to return to England, while O’Neill was negotiating for Spanish aid and would welcome a delay. The precise location Bellaclinthe ford is not known but it is likely to be in the vicinity of Aclint Bridge on the main N2 Ardee to Carrickmacross road between Annagh and Aclint townlands in Co. Louth, and Drumgreeny and Annahean on the Monaghan side of the River Lagan or Glyde (Shirley 1845, 109fn). The Ordnance Survey placed the location between Garlegobban, Co. Monaghan and Essex Ford, Co. Louth where there is no river of any substance, and described it as ‘Essex Ford (Site of)’, only on the 1907 edition of the OS 6-inch map. However, Shirley (ibid.) records that a bronze axe and a silver spur were discovered here when the bridge was built in 1842, and it may have been an ancient ford. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of revised upload: 14 September, 2017