Keep Your Powder Dry

Somehow, despite the best efforts of real life trying to hinder my painting of little men, I've managed to make some more progress on my Catholic Confederation army. Here's the second of two units of cavalry. Philip MacHugh O'Reilly was the son of Hugh O'Reilly of Ballynacargy, County Cavan, and Katherine MacMahon. The family were deemed to be one of the ‘deserving’ native Irish families whose land was not taken during the Ulster plantation. Not to be confused with Hugh O'Reilly, the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh. Contemporary sources refer to him as a lawyer, but there's no existing evidence of him having attended Inns of Court in England. He may well have received legal training on the Continent, prior to accepting a command in the French army.  Philip inherited the family estate on his return to Ireland. He would play an active role in local politics, holding a number of important roles, before being elected as MP for County Cavan in the 1640 parliament. As M...

Who? You might be more familiar if I write Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill as Owen Roe O'Neill. But I won't because he was Irish, not English. Although there is some confusion if he was Eoghan Rua or Eoghan Ruadh. I'll stick with Eoghan Ruadh. Now please bear with me, as there's rather a lot of Ó Néills running around Ireland in the 1640s. Eoghan Ruadh had at least eight brothers and four sisters; and was connected through marriage to many of the leading native Irish families of Ulster. His nephews included Daniel  Ó Néill and Hugh Dubh  Ó Néill  both of whom were important figures in 1640s Ireland, as well as Conor, Lord Maguire, one of the original plotters of the 1641 rebellion, and his brother Ruari , who commanded a regiment in the Ulster army during the 1640s. In Spanish service, 1605–41 Eoghan Ruadh was accompanied by three of his brothers: Phelim, Art Óg, and Cormac. He secured himself a position as captain in the regiment of Henry Ó Néill , son of the Ea...

Just when you think that things can't get any more complicated, along comes James Dillon and his regiment. Only there are two James Dillons; well, that's not strictly true, there's load of them. Initial research brings back lots of information, and a flag design, but then you realise that it is Dillon's Regiment serving the exiled James II in France, and the French in the Williamite wars (which has its roots in this Regiment). Oh, and just to confuse matters, 'our' James Dillon had two regiments, one of horse and one of foot, and it isn't always clear which is which. With that caveat, I hope I have this right... James  was born in 1600, the eighth son of Theobald, 1st Viscount Dillon, and Eleanor, the daughter of Sir Edward Tuite of Tuitestown, Co. Westmeath, and widow of William Tuite of Monilea.  His father, Theobald, was appointed chief sergeant, and general collector and receiver, for Connacht and Thomond in May 1582. In 1585 he acquired ownership of the...

I started this blog many moons ago as a repository for all the little bits of paper I wrote to myself... coat and flag colours, base sizes, paint colours, basing routine and so on. As I think I have finally worked out a way of drilling Irish hands that doesn't result in having to remake hands from Milliput, here's a note to myself, and anyone else who orders Peter Pig's Irish pike, when they meant to order Irish pike open hand:- Pikemen legs wide apart: trim away pike, including between the hands.  Then gently cut a notch in the back of both hands, smooth and widen 'hole' for pike with round file. Place pike in position then push foot of pike into a 'better' position. Pikemen legs apart (the slightly more difficult one): cut away pike (including between the hands), careful of sword guard, make sure that the cut below the bottom hand is square; start drilling upwards from the cuff. Top hand cut and file a groove. Pikemen legs together: trim away pike, leave p...

 The seventeenth-century siege was 'an affair of artillery', but the Irish had no proper artillery Raw Generals and Green Soldiers, Catholic Armies in Ireland 1641-1643 Padraig Lenihan The above quote sums up the state of the Irish Confederate artillery train  rather succinctly; plus, it also explains why they didn't fare particularly well in a war of sieges.  Demi-culverin Clearly the Irish had some guns, but what did they have and how many? Details are scant. The Irish did not have expertise in gun-founding, just two gun foundries existed in Ireland and they were in the Anglo Scottish settler communities: Boyle's foundry at Cappoquin and Blacknall's at Ballinakill.  Irish attempts at artillery manufacturing did not go well: Viscount Clanmalier had a tin cannon made that simply did not work; the leather cannon used at Ballyalla was even worse as it effectively blew up. They fared much better making fake cannons: a wooden cannon helped Daniel O'Dunne capture Cas...

After the trauma (!) of researching Turlough MacHenry Ó Néill, I'm giving the  Ó Néill s a wide berth for a wee while, and researching a not-Ó Néill regiment. The monumental job of cutting and drilling away cast on pikes that are much too short The Farrells were rulers of Annaly, roughly the modern County Longford. They lost about a quarter of their lands in the plantation of Longford in 1618 but were still in control of the county at the outbreak of the 1641 rebellion. So it comes as no surprise that they joined the rebellion in 1641, setting out their grievances in a letter to Lord Dillon, who presented it to the Dublin government on their behalf: The Papists in the neighbouring counties are severely punished and their miseries might serve as beacons unto us to look unto our own, when our neighbours houses are on fire.  They expressed their support for the king and enclosed an oath of loyalty to him. However, they also voiced their disappointment that as Catholics ...

The first of the Irish Confederate fighting men to roll off the production line here at Château  KeepYourPowderDry. And there I was, thinking that fathoming out the history of the Scots gentry was complicated... Colonel Turlough MacHenry Ó Néill was the son of Sir Turlough MacHenry  Ó Néill, who was the son of Sir Turlough MacHenry Ó Néill; neither are to be confused with Sir Turlough MacHenry Ó Néill who was the father of Sir Phelim Roe Ó Néill of Kinard, who 'started' the 1641 rebellion. Or any of the other Turlough MacHenry Ó Néills... Dissection of the name might help us understand who was who. The Ó Néills were a large extended family who effectively ruled Ulster, the different branches of the family being chieftains/lords of smaller areas within Ulster, they are usually (but not always) differentiated by having the name of their lands in their title. The Fews was rough wild land, mostly upland, the name coming from the Irish  na Feá/Fea...