| Battle of Skerries | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theBruce campaign in Ireland | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Scotland andGaelic allies |  Lordship of Ireland andGaelic allies | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Edward Bruce | .svg) Earl of Carrick Earl of Desmond | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| At least 6,000 | 10,000 approx | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Skerries, also named theBattle of Ardscull, took place during theBruce campaign in Ireland – part of theFirst War of Scottish Independence – fought on 26 January 1316, resulting in aScottish victory. It was part of theIrish campaign ofEdward Bruce, brother ofRobert Bruce,king of Scotland. The site of the battle was Skerries near Ardscull inCounty Kildare.
Edward Bruce,earl of Carrick, had landed in Ireland in May the year before, and been proclaimed king of the island in June. Bruce continued on his march south, when on 26 January 1316 the Scottish army was advancing from Castledermot it encountered the English.[1] TheHiberno-Norman forces, summoned by thejusticiar of Ireland, consisted of men such asJohn FitzThomas FitzGerald,Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald,Thomas FitzJohn, John and Arnold Poer, Maurice de Rocheford, and Miles and David de la Roche.[2] Though these forces heavily outnumbered those of Bruce, internal strife broke out in the Anglo-Irish ranks, a fact that Bruce could take advantage of. Though suffering heavy losses, the Scots held the battlefield, effectively winning the battle.[2]
The official English account of the battle blamed unfortunate terrain and bad luck for the government forces' loss, not an entirely convincing explanation. The same account also claims that the Scots lost many of their greatest men, while their opponents only lost one man.[2]
After the battle the Scots plundered the nearby town ofAthy[3] before withdrawing toLeix, while the Anglo-Irish forces kept them under surveillance from nearbyCastledermot, while their leader withdrew to Dublin. HereJohn Hotham, the king's envoy to Ireland, made a great effort to ensure the loyalty of the Irish nobles.[4] By May, however, Bruce had returned to his safe base inUlster, while Hotham had returned to his new position in England asBishop of Ely.[1][4]
