53°21′00″N6°16′00″W / 53.35°N 6.266667°W /53.35; -6.266667
| Siege of Dublin | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofIrish Confederate Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Parliamentarians |  Royalists Confederates | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Michael Jones | James Butler | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000+ | 5,800 | ||||||
Thesiege of Dublin took place in 1649 during theIrish Confederate Wars. It was a failed attempt by combined IrishRoyalist andConfederate forces to capture the capital of Dublin which was held by EnglishRepublican forces underMichael Jones. It was part of a strategy byDuke of Ormonde, head of an alliance loyal to Charles II, to seize the remaining foothold of Ireland still under the control of theLondon Parliament.
The siege was abandoned following a decisive defeat at theBattle of Rathmines, followed soon afterwards by the arrival ofOliver Cromwell and fresh reinforcements.[2]
Michael Jones had controlled Dublin since 1647, which had functioned as the base of operations for his forces and their Irish Protestant allies. The execution ofCharles I and the declaration of England as a Republic in early 1649 rapidly changed the situation in Ireland. Groups of former enemies now joined forces, pledging allegiance to thePrince of Wales as Charles II. Amongst the factions who joined this coalition were the Catholic Irish Confederates and the Protestant ScottishCovenanters as well as the remnants of the traditional Royal Irish Army
TheLord Lieutenant Ormonde returned from exile in France to lead the Royalist alliance, and much of Ireland was rapidly brought under his control. Before long the Republicans were pushed back to the strongholds of Derry, Dundalk and Dublin. Only the assistance of theUlster Army of the Irish Confederates, led by the renegadeOwen Roe O'Neill who had refused to agree to terms with Ormonde, prevented Derry from falling when it was besieged.
On 1 June, Ormonde gathered a substantial force close toCarlow. Once he was joined on 14 June byLord Inchiquin with troops fromCork he began his march north. Ormonde remained concerned about the threat posed by Owen O'Neill's Ulster Army. He orderedLord Castlehaven to seize severalLeinster towns garrisoned by the Ulster forces, forcing O'Neill to retreat some distance from Dublin.[3]
Ormonde established hisstaging post for the siege atFinglas, having come viaNaas. He accepted a proposal from Inchiquin that he lead a detachment north to take out some of the remaining Republican garrisons to prevent them from offering any assistance to Jones in Dublin. Inchiquin, who had a reputation for boldness, moved northwards and capturedDrogheda on 11 July. His next target was the port ofDundalk, which was held byGeorge Monck.[4] Inchiquin routed a relief column of the Ulster Army underRichard O'Farrell coming to the aid of Monck. After barely two days of siege, the garrison mutinied and switched sides, handing the town over to the Royalist cause. Before returning to rejoin Ormonde, Inchiquin took several other towns includingTrim,Newry andCarlingford.[5]
Ormonde moved to try and blockade Dublin Harbour, to prevent any further supplies or reinforcements from reaching Jones and his garrison. Proceeding cautiously, he did not attempt an immediate all-out assault in Dublin. He was increasingly short of money with which to pay his troops.[6] Inchiquin had pressed for a direct attack, but Ormonde hoped that members of the garrison might defect to him.[7]
Ormonde was concerned about reports of a major expedition under Oliver Cromwell that was being readied to sail for Ireland. Worried that their first target would be to land at Cork, Ormonde dispatched Inchiquin with reinforcements to strengthen the southern coast. In his absence, Ormonde relied on his deputies Castlehaven,Thomas Preston andLord Taaffe for advice.[8]
The blockade of Dublin was constantly disrupted by Jones, who launched raids against the besiegers' lines. Meanwhile a planned Royalist naval blockade underPrince Rupert never materialized because his fleet was itself blockaded inKinsale by the Republican navy.
On 25 July Ormonde shifted his forces, the bulk of which marched toRathmines to the south of the city whileLord Dillon with 2,500 men remained poised to the north of Dublin.[9] On 28 July Ormonde's troops stormedRathfarnham Castle, located on the southern approach to the city. Ormonde also seized the remains ofBaggotrath Castle which had recently been partially destroyed by the city's defenders. He planned to use the site for a large artillery battery.
On the morning of 2 August Jones sallied out of Dublin with a combined force of infantry and cavalry. Having initially defeated the Royalist advance guard at Baggotrath he then marched on the main Royalist camp atRathgar. A surprised Ormonde tried to rally his troops, but the battle quickly turned into a rout. Ormonde's artillery train and supplies were captured.
After his disastrous defeat at Rathmines, Ormonde abandoned the siege entirely and hastily withdrew to Kilkenny. On 15 August, Oliver Cromwell landed close to Dublin with a large force ofNew Model Army troops, launching amajor campaign to subdue the royalist resistance in Ireland. Jones was acclaimed in London for his victory, but died the same year from fever.[10]
Dublin remained a garrison town in Republican hands until 1660 when it returned to royal control following theIrish Restoration. The events of 1649 were often revived in the following years as various figures sought to prove that they had been loyal to Charles during the siege operations when seeking to have lands restored by theCourt of Claims.
