Battle of Carrickfergus (1597)

Battle of Carrickfergus

Date	November 1597
Location	near Carrickfergus, northeastern Ireland
Result	MacDonnell clan victory

Belligerents

MacDonnell clan of Antrim

English Army

Commanders and leaders

Sorley Boy MacDonnell

John Chichester †

Strength

1,800

Casualties and losses

low

180 killed, 30-40 wounded

Coordinates: 54°42′47″N 5°48′22″W / 54.713°N 5.806°W / 54.713; -5.806

The Battle of Carrickfergus took place in November 1597, in the province of Ulster in what is now County Antrim, Northern Ireland, during the Nine Years War. It was fought between the crown forces of Queen Elizabeth I and the Gaelic clan of MacDonnell, and resulted in a defeat for the English.

The north-east of Ulster was much fought over during the 16th century. Carrickfergus itself had been the base for a failed English attempt to colonise that corner of the province in the 1570s, but in the following decades the English influence gave way to the MacDonnells under the leadership of Sorley Boy.

In 1595 the central part of the province rose out in rebellion under Hugh O'Neill, and the crown's only foothold was at Carrickfergus. The MacDonnells controlled the surrounding territory and adopted a wait-and-see policy, without committing themselves fully to the crown in its campaign to break the rebellion.

In 1597, the recently appointed English governor of Carrickfergus Castle, John Chichester, had enjoyed successes against the strongholds of the Clandeboye O'Neills, and was negotiating with Sorley Boy's nephew, James MacSorley MacDonnell, over a series of raids and counter-raids in the locality. The Scots were aggrieved over certain cavalry operations that had lately been carried out in the governor's absence, and a parley was arranged for the 4th of November 1597 to hear their demand for reparations.

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