Battle of Ballyshannon (1247)
| Battle of Ballyshannon (1247) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Tír Chonaill Tír Eoghain
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 Lordship of Ireland
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Melaghlin O'Donnell † Cammhuinealach O'Boyle † Ruaidhri mac Raghnaill † |
Maurice FitzGerald William de Brit † Cormac Ó Conchobhair |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ? | ? | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ? | ? | ||||||
The Battle of Ballyshannon (Irish: Béal Átha Seanaidh) was a battle fought in 1247 between Maurice FitzGerald, Justiciar of Ireland and Melaghlin Ó'Donnell, Lord of Tyrconnell, Kinel-Moen, Inishowen, and Fermanagh, near Ballyshannon, Ireland. Maurice FitzGerald defeated and killed Melaghlin O'Donnell.
The Annals of the Four Masters describes the battle as follows:
A great army was led by Maurice Fitzgerald, and the other English chiefs, first to Sligo, and thence to the cataract (Assaroe Falls) of Aedh Roe, the son of Badharn. Cormac, the son of Dermot, who was son of Roderic O'Conor, joined his muster. This was on the Wednesday after the festival of St Peter and St Paul. O'Donnell assembled the Kinel-Connell and Kinel-Owen against them, so that they did not allow a single man, either English or Irish, to cross the ford of Ath Seanaigh for a whole week. The English then bethought them of sending Cormac O'Conor with a large body of cavalry westwards along the plain, who was to turn southwards through the plain, and then eastwards along the borders of the bog, unperceived by any one, until he should arrive at Bel-atha-Culuain a ford on the Erne. This was accordingly done, and the Kinel-Connell knew nothing of the movement until they saw the body of cavalry advancing on their rear, on their side of the river; they then turned round to them.
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