Battle of Magh Slecht
| Battle of Magh Slécht | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Breifne Connacht
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 Muintir Mhaolmordha House of Burke
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Conchobar O'Rourke Aedh O'Conor Feidlim O'Conor |
Cathal O'Reilly † Cúchonnacht O'Reilly † |
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The Battle of Magh Slécht took place at Magh Slécht in Ireland in 1256. The battle was part of a wider conflict between the O'Rourke rulers of Breifne and their O'Reilly vassals, who sought independence from the kingdom. Both sides were assisted by their respective allies and the battle marks the point at which the Kingdom of Breifne was left permanently divided, creating West Breifne (O'Rourke) and East Breifne (O'Reilly).
Ally of the O'Reillys, Walter de Burgh, raided deep into Connacht and devastated the O'Conors. According to the Annals of Connacht, de Burgh had an army of 20,000 men, but this is most definitely exaggerated. This was followed by an O'Reilly attack in western Breifne (modern County Leitrim), the home territory of the O'Rourkes. The two armies were meant to rendezvous at Lough Allen but the O'Reillys came under heavy attack and retreated. They were pursued by Aedh O'Conor and his cavalry to Magh Slecht, where the battle ensued.
The main combatants in the battle, the O'Reillys and the O'Rourkes, suffered heavy losses. The O'Reillys in particular lost their king, their top military commander, and many of their nobility. The clan had usurped control of Breifne from the O'Rourkes for a time from the 1230s until the early 1250s, but their crushing defeat at Magh Slecht ended any hopes they had of controlling the entire kingdom again.
De Burgh and the O'Reilly were successfully repelled, but his bold excursion into Connacht alarmed the Gaels. Following the battle, the kings of Connacht, Tír Chonaill and Tír Eoghain met at Caoluisce Castle to agree to form a united front against the Normans in the future. At these talks, which the O'Rourke lords of Breifne were excluded from, it was agreed that the king of Connacht was the rightful ruler of all of Breifne "from Kells to Drumcliff". This claim put Aedh O'Conor in direct confrontation with Conchobar O'Ruairc, king of West Breifne, who rebelled against him, sparking a Breifne-Connacht War.
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