Confederate Ireland
| Irish Catholic Confederation | ||||||||||
| Cónaidhm Chaitliceach na hÉireann | ||||||||||
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Motto Hiberni unanimes pro Deo Rege et Patria (Latin) Éireannaigh aontaithe le Dia, rí agus tír (Irish) "Irishmen united for God, king and country" |
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| Capital | Kilkenny | |||||||||
| Languages | Irish, Latin, English | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||||||||
| Government | Confederal monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 1641–1649 | Charles I | ||||||||
| • | 1649–1653 | Charles II | ||||||||
| Lord Lieutenant | ||||||||||
| • | 1641 | Robert Sidney (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1652–1653 | Charles Fleetwood (last) | ||||||||
| Legislature | General Assembly | |||||||||
| Historical era | the Confederate Wars | |||||||||
| • | Irish Confederate Wars | 1642 | ||||||||
| • | Cromwellian conquest | 1652 | ||||||||
| • | Restoration | 1 May 1660 | ||||||||
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Confederate Ireland or the Union of the Irish (Hiberni Unanimes) refers to the period of Irish self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the Confederation of Kilkenny because it was based in Kilkenny. It was formed by Irish Catholic nobles, clergy and military leaders after the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The Confederation had what were effectively a parliament (called the General Assembly), an executive (called the Supreme Council), and a military. It pledged allegiance to Charles I.
The remaining Protestant-controlled enclaves in Ulster, Munster and Leinster were held by armies loyal to the royalists, parliamentarians or Scottish Covenanters. Throughout its existence, the Confederation waged war against the parliamentarians. In 1648, it allied itself with the royalists. However, in 1649 a parliamentarian army under Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland. It defeated the Confederates and royalists and brought the Confederation to an end.
The Irish Catholic Confederation was formed in the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion, both to control the popular uprising and to organise an Irish Catholic war effort against the remaining English and Scottish armies in Ireland. It was hoped that by doing this, the Irish Catholics could hold off an English or Scottish re-conquest of the country.
The initiative for the Confederation came from a Catholic bishop, Nicholas French, and a lawyer named Nicholas Plunkett. They put forth their proposals for a government to Irish Catholic nobles such as Viscount Gormanston, Viscount Mountgarret and Viscount Muskerry. These men would commit their own armed forces to the Confederation and persuaded other rebels to join it. The declared aims of the Confederates were similar to those of Sir Phelim O'Neill, the leader of the early stages of the rebellion in Ulster, who issued the Proclamation of Dungannon in October 1641.
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Wikipedia