Irish soldiers and peasants Albrecht Durer Original Title: Irische Kriegsleute und Bauern Date: 1521

 Albrecht Dürer's birthday. 

Garret Barry (soldier)

 An interesting Irish soldier who was also a writer. He had an interesting career ranging from the Spanish to the Royalists in the Civil War.Garret Barry (soldier) - Wikipedia

J S Tower Minis Ireland/Nine Years War 15mm

See more figures on the Facebook page.

Janek says: 'Well, for some time I’ve been sculpting Irish infantry for my own needs, intended for a Confederate Ireland army. However, I try to make them universal enough so they can also be used for O’Neill uprising (nine years war). Recently, I’ve been able to get in touch with casters who have produced some resin and metal versions'

The Nine Years war (RTÉ Cork Project and UCC)

 The Nine Years' War, sometimes called Tyrone's Rebellion, took place in Ireland from 1593 to 1603. It was fought between an Irish confederation—led mainly by Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tyrconnell—against English rule in Ireland, and was a response to the ongoing Tudor conquest of Ireland. The war began in Ulster and northern Connacht, but eventually engulfed the entire island. The Irish alliance won numerous victories against the English forces in Ireland, such as the Battle of Clontibret (1595) and the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1598), but the English won a pivotal victory against the alliance and their Spanish allies in the siege of Kinsale (1601–02). The war ended with the Treaty of Mellifont (1603). Many of the defeated northern lords left Ireland to seek support for a new uprising in the Flight of the Earls (1607), never to return. This marked the end of Gaelic Ireland and led to the Plantation of Ulster.

The war against O'Neill and his allies was the largest conflict fought by England in the Elizabethan era. At the height of the conflict (1600–1601) more than 18,000 soldiers were fighting in the English army in Ireland.[3] By contrast, the English army assisting the Dutch during the Eighty Years' War was never more than 12,000 strong at any one time.

Kinsale

 Siege of Kinsale - Wikipedia

My wife's family are from Cork and I visited the museum a while ago.

Elizabeth's Irish Wars (Freikorps)

 Elizabeth's Irish Wars (Freikorps) | Scale Creep Miniatures

If you wanted to wrgame this period then thse 15mms might be suitable. No photos sadly.

The Nine Years War 1593-1603 Part 2 The turning point at Kinsale 1598-1603

 The Nine Years War (1593-1603), sometimes known as Tyrone’s Rebellion, was one of the most devastating and brutal conflicts to sweep the island. Never would the English Crown come so close to losing its grip on Ireland. It was brought on by a combination of English misrule, Irish ambition and the fortuitous creation of political ties with Spain. A confederation of Irish lords led by the charismatic and exceptionally gifted Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, swept from one victory to another. Part 2 of this series examines how the English recovered from the brink of defeat.

The victory of Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, over the English at the Battle of the Yellow Ford sparked a fire that consumed the English plantation in Munster and significantly weakened the English position in Ireland. Queen Elizabeth’s favourite, the Earl of Essex, was sent to restore control, but his blundering left Crown authority on the island near to collapse. However, the arrival of Charle Blount, Lord Mountjoy, at the start of 1600, transformed English fortunes. After seven years of near-continuous setbacks, Mountjoy turned the tide against Tyrone’s confederation.

Unlike his predecessors, Mountjoy did not underestimate his enemies, developing an island-wide strategy to break up Tyrone’s network of alliances. Moreover, he restored order and confidence in the Crown’s army by replicating many of the military reforms of the Irish. Supported by able men such as Sir George Carew, Mountjoy pushed back on Irish gains and brought the war to Tyrone’s Ulster heartlands. Mountjoy’s strategy was costly in English lives, but his success was undeniable as his unrelenting campaigns gained ground from Tyrone. The fate of all sides converged when a Spanish landing of 4,000 troops at Kinsale led to a ferocious winter siege and the pivotal Battle of Kinsale. Mountjoy triumphed on Christmas Eve 1601, breaking Tyrone’s military power forever, but the war was not done. Its bloodiest phase was still ahead, as English armies brought scorched earth and massacres to the Irish as never before. Only after Ulster was wasted and Ireland wracked by famine did Tyrone finally submit in 1603, ending the war and completing the Tudor conquest.

The Nine Years War

 Belfast-based curator James O’Neill’s The Nine Years War: Part One, 1593–1603 re-examines a conflict long mislabelled as “Tyrone’s Rebellion.” Drawing on archaeology and military history, O’Neill shows how disciplined Irish armies met England on equal terms in one of the Tudor era’s bloodiest wars.

Read the blog post here: https://helionbooks.wordpress.com/.../the-nine-years-war.../

You can buy The Nine Years War 1593-1603 Part 1 here: https://www.helion.co.uk/.../the-nine-years-war-1593-1603...

New book on the Nine Years War.

 Details here

Charles Fort, Kinsale Ireland

Apologies for the image overload but I thought wargamers might appreciate the various plans as this would make a great model star fort but I digress....

This fort on the coast of County Cork is a bit of a neglected jewel of military fortifications. Built in the 1670s by William Robinson and named in honour of Charles II to protect against a possible French invasion. It's been modified since it fell in 1690 with the usual improvements. Whenever I visited it I was reminded of the Lakeside forts of America and how popular they were and how much interpretation there was going on but at Charles Fort there's simply a room with some pictures in it. It's not a neglected site and it is being interpreted well enough it's just it could be much more - it is such a great Fort. Being a keen reenactor at the time I visited I talked to the staff about putting on a reenactment of the siege of 1690 when the Duke of Marlborough reduced the Jacobite garrison in 13 days after having discovered the fort was overlooked by hills on the land side and placed his guns there. But of course Ireland isn't America as far as politics go, but that was then and now they have a successful Boyne visitors centre and a high profile reenactment behind their belts there so anything is possible. A Living History siege is something that interests me as the static element can allow for interaction between combatants and the public. Image search Charles Fort Kinsale