Siege of Smerwick

A memorial to the victims of the massacre at Dún an Óir

Date	7–10 November 1580
Location	Dún an Óir near Ard na Caithne, Ireland
Result	English victory Papal troops massacred after surrender

Belligerents

England

Papal States consisting of Spanish & Italian troops

Commanders and leaders

Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton

Sebastiano di San Giuseppe

Strength

~4,000

400–500

The Siege of Smerwick took place at Ard na Caithne (formerly known as Smerwick) in 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A 400–500 strong force of Papal soldiers (Spanish and Italian troops) captured the town but were forced to retreat to nearby Dún an Óir (The Fort of Gold, possibly a persistent mistranscription for Dún an Áir, The Fort of Slaughter), where they were besieged by the English Army. The defenders eventually surrendered and most of them were then massacred on the orders of the English commander, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Arthur Grey.

James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald landed a small Papal invasion force in July 1579, initiating the Second Desmond rebellion, but was killed only a month afterward. This unleashed a war that lasted three years.

On 10 September 1580, 600 Italian and Spanish Papal troops commanded by Sebastiano di San Giuseppe landed in Smerwick, near the point where Fitzgerald had landed the previous year, paid for and sent by Pope Gregory XIII. Desmond, Baltinglass and John of Desmond tried to link up with the expeditionary force but English forces under Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond and Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton blocked them, and Richard Bingham's ships blockaded their ships in the bay at Smerwick. San Giuseppe had no choice but to retreat to the fort at Dún an Óir.

From information obtained from prisoners, Ormonde ascertained the size of the defending forces to be around 700, but with military equipment that would serve a force of 5,000; the prisoners said the defences of the fort were being strengthened. Ormonde retreated, leaving a small party to keep Dún an Óir under surveillance.

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