







Slash and Burn Conquest – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 46
I have written before of Britain’s scorched earth tactics to conquer Ireland in the Desmond Rebellions of the 1580s, resulting in the deaths of one third of the population of Munster from either starvation or...
The Flight of the Earls – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 45
As described in the historical background section of The Irish Clans: Book Three: Rising, Red Hugh and Rory O’Donnell survived the battle of Kinsale. They held council with The O’Neill the next evening where Red...
The Fateful Battle of Kinsale – Irish to the Core – Weekly Blog 44
After the Spanish forces under Don Juan Aguila had been under siege for three months by Lord Mountjoy’s troops, they continued to hunker down in Kinsale in December 1601, waiting for relief from their Irish...
Convergence for the Fateful Battle of Kinsale – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 43
Last week I described the efforts by the brutal, conquering English in Munster in the late 1500s, and of the brave, defending Irish Chieftains leading up to the fateful Battle of Kinsale in the Nine Years War....
The Third Desmond Rebellion – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 42
During and after the Second Desmond Rebellion the British lay waste to Munster and started planting Protestant Englishmen on the lands they had seized. For example, Sir Walter Raleigh, in part for his efforts to...
The Second Desmond Rebellion – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 41
Last week I discussed the First Desmond Rebellion (1569 -73) led by Desmond Captain General James Fitzmaurice while his Earl, Gerald Fitzgerald and his brother John were imprisoned by the British. When the war...
The First Desmond Rebellion – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 40
In previous blogs I have discussed the McCarthy and O’Donnell Clans history leading up to the pivotal Battle of Kinsale in 1602 where the English finally conquered the Irish Clans. Now let’s take a step back in...
St. Patrick’s Day is Here! – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 39
St. Patrick’s Day, with all its hoopla rolls around in two days. Many families will be celebrating with Guinness and corned beef and cabbage. Undoubtedly the river in Chicago will be turned green again and there...
Peadar O’Donnell, Part 4 – Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 38
In weekly blog 36 I discussed the O’Donnell Clan exploits in the 1590s leading to the defeat of the Clans in 1602 at the pivotal Battle of Kinsale. Five years later the Flight of the Earls led by Rory...
Ireland and Ukraine- Irish to the Core Weekly Blog 37
Sorry for the delay of a day in my weekly blog. I was just returning home from open heart surgery. Given the horrendous invasion currently underway of Ukraine by the Russians, which has raised worldwide ire and...