Murrough of the Burnings and the massacre at Cashel

Posted by Jim on August 16, 2016

The Sack of Cashel (also known as the Massacre of Cashel) was a
notorious atrocity which occurred in County Tipperary in the year 1647.

The town of Cashel was held by the Irish Catholic Confederate’s Munster
army and was besieged and taken by an English Protestant Parliamentarian
army under the Baron of Inchiquin, Murrough O’Brien. The attack and
subsequent sack of Cashel was one of the more brutal incidents of the
wars of the 1640s in Ireland.

In 1642, most of the province of Munster was under the control of Irish
Catholic forces with the exception of Cork city and a few towns along
the south coast, which were in the hands of Protestant, largely English
settlers. Since then, the province had been fought over by the
Catholics, organised in the Catholic Confederation, and the Protestants,
led by the Earl of Inchiquin.

The political and military situation was further fragmented by the
English Civil War, in which the Catholics gave their support to King
Charles I, and the Protestants, since 1643, to the English Parliament.
What was more, the Confederate Catholics were themselves split over the
terms on which they should sign a peace deal with the King. A deep rift
developed within their ranks in 1647 between those who were prepared to
accept a mere toleration of Catholicism in return for an alliance with
the English Royalists and those who in effect wanted Ireland to be
Catholic kingdom, albeit under sovereignty of the Stuart monarchy. This
infighting was to fatally hamper the war effort of the Confederates in
Munster and make possible the Protestant sack of Cashel.

In the summer of 1647 the Baron of Inchiquin, the Irish Protestant
commander of the Protestant army of Cork, commenced a campaign against
the Irish Catholic strongholds in Munster. The counties of Limerick and
Clare were raided and he soon turned his attention to the bountiful
eastern counties of Munster. In early September, his forces quickly took
the Castle of Cahir in Tipperary. This strong castle was well positioned
to become a base for the Cork Protestant army, and it was used to raid
and devastate the surrounding countryside.

Inchiquin had already launched two minor raids against Cashel, but the
Irish defenders were unprepared for a major assault. The Parliamentarian
forces first stormed nearby Roche Castle, putting fifty warders to the
sword. This attack terrified the local inhabitants of the region, some
of whom fled to hiding places, while hundreds of others fled promptly to
the Rock of Cashel, a stronger place than the town itself.

Arriving with his army at the Rock, Inchiquin called for surrender
within an hour. The defenders of the churchyard offered to negotiate,
but that was refused, and on the afternoon of the 15th of September the
assault commenced. The attack was led by around 150 dismounted horse
officers (who wore more armour than the foot) with the remainder of the
infantry following; troops of horse rode along the flanks of the
advancing force to encourage the infantry. The Irish soldiers attempted
to drive off the attackers with pikes while the civilians inside hurled
rocks down from the walls: in turn the attackers hurled firebrands into
the compound, setting some of the buildings inside on fire. Although
many were wounded, the Parliamentarians gradually fought their way over
the walls, pushing the garrison into the church.

Initially, the Irish defenders managed to protect the Church, holding
off the attackers trying to get through the doors, but the
Parliamentarians then placed numerous ladders against the many windows
in the church and swarmed the building. For another half an hour
fighting raged inside the church, until the depleted defenders retreated
up the bell tower. Only sixty soldiers of the garrison remained at this
point, and they thus accepted a call to surrender. However, after they
had descended the tower and thrown their swords away, all were killed.

In the end all the soldiers and most of the civilians on the Rock were
killed by the attackers. The Bishop and Mayor of Cashel along with a few
others survived by taking shelter in a secret hiding place. Apart from
these a few women were spared, after being stripped of their clothes,
and a small number of wealthy civilians were taken prisoner, but these
were the exceptions. Overall, close to 1,000 were killed, amongst them
catholic scholar Theobald Stapleton. The bodies in the churchyard were
described by a witness as being five or six deep.

The slaughter was followed by extensive plunder. There was much of value
inside, for apart from pictures, chalices and vestments of the church,
many of the slain civilians had also brought their valuables with them.
The sword and mace of the mayor of Cashel, as well as the coach of the
bishop were captured. The plunder was accompanied by acts of iconoclasm,
with statues smashed and pictures defaced. The deserted town of Cashel
was also torched.

The atrocity at Cashel caused a deep impact in Ireland, as it was the
worst single atrocity committed in Ireland since the start of fighting
in 1641 and took place at one of the chief holy places of Ireland. The
slaughter of the garrison at Cashel and the subsequent devastation of
Catholic held Munster earned Inchiquin the Irish nickname, Murchadh na
Dóiteáin or “Murrough of the Burnings”.