Siege of Dublin (1649)
| Siege of Dublin | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of War of the Three Kingdoms | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Irish Royalists Irish Confederates |
English Parliamentarians | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Duke of Ormonde | Michael Jones | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12,000+ | 5,000+ | ||||||
The Siege of Dublin took place in 1649 during the War of the Three Kingdoms. It was a failed attempt by combined Irish Royalist and Confederate forces to capture the capital of Dublin which was held by English Republican forces under Michael Jones. It was part of a strategy by Duke of Ormonde, head of an alliance loyal to Charles II, to seize the remaining foothold of Ireland still under control of the London Parliament.
The siege was abandoned following a decisive defeat at the Battle of Rathmines, followed soon afterwards by the arrival of Oliver Cromwell and fresh reinforcements.
Michael Jones had controlled Dublin since 1647, which had functioned as the base of operations for his forces and their Irish Protestant allies. The execution of Charles I and the declaration of England as a Republic in early 1649 rapidly changed the situation in Ireland. Groups of former enemies now joined forces, pledging allegiance to the Prince of Wales as Charles II. Amongst the factions who joined this coalition were the Catholic Irish Confederates and the Protestant Scottish Covenanters as well as the remnants of the traditional Royal Irish Army
The Lord Lieutenant Ormonde returned from exile in France to lead the Royalist alliance, and much of Ireland was rapidly brought under his control. Before long the Republicans were pushed back to the strongholds of Derry, Dundalk and Dublin. Only the assistance of the Ulster Army of the Irish Confederates, led by the renegade Owen Roe O'Neill who had refused to agree terms with Ormonde, prevented Derry falling when it was besieged.
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