Tudor Conquest of Ireland: Massacre at Mullaghmast

Massacre at MullaghmastNews from Ireland Worksheets 1578

Exterminating opponents of English settlementsin King’s and Queen’s counties, formerly Leix and Offaly

The massacreIn March this year, 1578, Sir Francis Cosby called a truce andinvited the leading families of the two counties to a banquet in afort in nearby County Kildare. His soldiers then attacked the ‘guests’ and only one or twoescaped alive. The dead included Rory Óg O’More’s closest supporters thoughnot Rory himself. Cosby’s boss, Sir Henry Sidney, followed this up by burning thedead chieftains’ homes and killing women and children.

The backgroundThe settlements under attack are on land which hadpreviously been occupied by two ancient Gaelic families,the O’Connors and the O’Mores. They had long resisted the Tudor advance. However, in the 1570s, under Rory Óg O’More, attackson the English had become more bold and violent. The attacks not merely threatened the settlements butalso humiliated Tudor officials who wanted revenge.

Irish outrage‘A horrible and abominable act of treachery’, typical of the English. They take what they want and don’t carehow they do it. They have no respect for our customs ortraditions or even international conventions. The Mores and O’Connors went to thedinner in good faith to try to come toagreement with the English officials. It is just not right.‘Greatest murderers’ According to one Irish writer, the English

‘are the greatest murderers andthe proudest people in all Europeand I am surprised that Godtolerates them so long in power’.

Tudors reject Irish claims The Irish have only themselves to blame for such stern measures. If they accepted our offer to bring civilisation to Ireland, then there would be noviolence. Many Irish people have accepted our generous ‘surrender and regrant policy,why can’t these rebels? All they have to do is to pledge allegiance to the Queen and accept English law.‘Zero tolerance’ Sir Henry Sydney, Elizabeth I’s representative in Ireland, had previously madeclear his determination to stamp out all opposition with a policy of ‘zerotolerance’:

‘I ... hope, on all sides, so to hedge theim .... And although I have todeal with a flyenge foe ... I dayle cut of, and pare his winges by littleand little as I can: for I will neither spare travell nor chardgies tomake some good ende of this service ... I meane, by the totallextirpacion of those rebells. I waste hym [Rory Óg O’More] andKyll of his men daylie [and] will follow [him] to the last.’

Is Irish outrage justified?by our diplomatic correspondentThe Irish outrage is understandable.Inviting your enemies to a meal andslaughtering them goes against standards ofwarfare and morality. By breaking the rules of protection - bynot ‘keeping faith’ and going back on theirword - the English are showing they cannotbe trusted.

What is going on in Ireland?by our political correspondentThe massacre is just one event in a long struggle to answer the question: Whoshould control Ireland - Tudor monarchs or Irish lords? What makes the conflict even more intense is that it is also a clash of cultures -different languages, laws, religions and customs. It is a costly war for both sides and the outcome remains uncertain. Muchdepends on whether the Tudors can keep their nerve and are willing to foot amounting bill for the army in Ireland. However, victory will have consequencesthat will be felt by later generations.

Learn more about this struggle to control Ireland at http://iisresource.org/massacre.aspxThe IiS Year 8 study unit uses the massacre of Mullaghamast as a probe to examine the Tudors’ eventually successful attempt to extend their control over thewhole of Ireland and overcome Irish resistance by a combination of ‘discreet handling’ and ‘force and shedding of blood’.