Background
The Siege or Battle of Kinsale (Irish: Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile) was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland. It took place at the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, at the climax of the Nine Years War - a campaign by Aodh Mór Ó Néill, Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill and other Irish clan leaders against English rule. Owing to Spanish involvement, and the strategic advantages to be gained, the battle also formed part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585 -1604), the wider conflict of Protestant England against Catholic Spain.
The Irish had been claimed under English rule essentially since 1169, but for a long time after this date, Ireland was still effectively ruled by the mini-lordships of clan and feudal leaders who lived there.
King Henry VIII tried to reintegrate the territory of the country by recognizing the titles of the Irish nobility. The English throne initiated an official policy of surrender and re-grant. The aim of this policy was an attempt to assimilate and anglicize the Irish or turn Ireland English. Irish nobles were given English titles and legal charter to their lands under English law in return for submission to the Crown. This policy also included lands and titles being inherited by primogeniture, meaning the eldest child inherited all titles and power, ultimately becoming chieftain. This stood in stark contrast to the Irish or Brehon Law of Tanistry in which the most qualified was elected as chieftain by the clan. He also created the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541, with himself as monarch. But whenever English officials tried to control the actions of Irish lords, they were invariably met with resistance. The English spent the next 50 years trying to exert their control over the Irish population, often by exceptionally brutal means.
The first major conflict this caused was the Desmond Rebellions between 1569 and 1583. In the 1590s they experienced the most significant resistance, from forces in Ulster under Aodh Mór Ó Néill (Hugh the Great O'Neill) and Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill (Red Hugh O'Donnell). This war is known as the Nine Years War. It was a war of fort and forest. The English sought to establish frontier strongholds that would disrupt Gaelic rule. The Irish rebels used guerrilla tactics of ambush and constant missile harassment followed by withdrawal into the widespread forests.
While the Irish were good at this tactic they struggled. Since 1591, the Irish rebels had been seeking military help from Spain, and on September 21, 1601, in spite of bad weather, a Spanish landing finally materialized. The arrival was timely. The outcome of the war was in the balance and this Spanish force under General Don Juan Del Aquila had the potential to tip the fortunes of war in favor of the rebels. Further Spanish troops were promised.
The location of their landing however was not so advantageous. Had they landed somewhere further north such as Donegall they would have had a much better chance of defeating the English, however in Kinsale, they were surrounded by strong English garrisons, and Kinsale effectively became a town under siege.
on 24 December 1601, the armies moved into position. In three columns - led by Richard Tyrell, Hugh O'Neill, and O'Donnell - they marched toward a night attack, but owing to a lack of coordination and possible arguments between the commanders, they had failed to reach their destination by dawn. The English scouts were aware of the troop movements and, after leaving a number of regiments behind to guard the camp and cover Kinsale, the English commander Mountjoy led his forces to meet the enemy at a ridge northwest of the town.
O'Neill controlled the ridge, and intended to fight for it, with support from Aguila, O'Donnell, and Tyrell on multiple sides. Del Águila, the Spanish commander, was an experienced soldier and put up a fierce defense.[citation needed] His instructions were, however, to hold the town until the Irish army came down from Ulster to combine with them. When neither of his allies showed signs of movement, O'Neill ordered a retreat into the marshes, hoping to mire the English cavalry in the soft land. In the end, the Irish were overpowered by the English cavalry, who charged through O'Neill's men, and prevented a flanking maneuver by O'Donnell.
The result of the Battle of Kinsale was devastating to the existing Irish culture and way of life, as the old Gaelic system was finally broken. The Nine Year War was over as aresult of this single battle and as the Gaelic aristocracy fled to continental Europe, they left behind a power vacuum that the English eagerly filled.
The cache location
This location is not specific to any individual happening during the battle. It is a good place to view the terrain of the land on which the battle took place and makes certain events and decisions made easier to understand.
The cache
Conventional micro cache - seek and ye shall find! Be careful around nettles and brambles at cache.