Timeline of The Irish Confederate Wars - 1642

1642

Rebellion breaks out in Clare and Limerick in the west and Antrim in the north.

• Charles Coote routs a rebel force at Swords in Dublin.

• March: Drogheda is relieved by English troops.

• 19 March: the English Parliament passes the Adventurers Act, allowing for the mass consication of Catholic land in Ireland.

• March the Irish Catholic Bishops convene a meeting at Armagh about how to bring the rebellion under control and channell it into the pursuit of Catholic political aims.

• April 3, 10,000 Scottish troops land in Ulster, sent by the Scottish Parliament to put down the rebellion. English reinforcements land at Dublin and Cork from February to May.

• 15 April: Battle of Kilrush. A rebel force is defeated by English troops near Athy, county Kildare.

• Scottish troops under the Earl of Argyle massacre several hundred Catholic civilians at Rathlin Island. Another massacre is reported at Newry.

• Siege of Limerick (1642) - King John's Castle in Limerick is taken by Confederate Catholic troops under Garret Barry.

• July, Irish Catholic Clergy and nobles draft an Oath binding the rebels together in common cause of upholding the Catholic religion, the liberty of Ireland and the King's rights.

• July, Irish general Owen Roe O'Neill returns to Ireland, landing at Raphoe, Donegal to help the Catholic cause. Thomas Preston, another veteran of the Spanish army, lands at Wexford.

• August 22, the English Civil War breaks out between the King and Parliament. English forces in Ireland split along these lines.

• August 25, Battle of Liscarroll. A Catholic army led by Garret Barry is defeated by English Protestant forces near Liscarroll, Cork.

• October 24, the Confederate Catholic Association of Ireland is established, with its own constitution and capital at Kilkenny. In November it strikes its own coinage It will govern most of Ireland as a de facto sovereign state until 1648.