One of the largest battles in late medieval Ireland, fought between two powerful Anglo-Norman lords and their Gaelic Irish allies in 1504.
Key Facts
- Date
- 19 August 1504
- Location
- Knockdoe, Parish of Lackagh, County Galway
- Side A commander
- Gearóid Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
- Side B commander
- Ulick Fionn Burke, 6th Clanricarde
- Primary sources
- Gaelic Irish annals and the Book of Howth
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A territorial or political dispute arose between Maelsechlainn mac Tadhg Ó Cellaigh, King of Uí Maine, and the Clanricarde lordship under Ulick Fionn Burke. This conflict drew in Gearóid Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Lord Deputy of Ireland, who aligned against Burke and marshalled his own Irish allies.
On 19 August 1504, the two factions met at Knockdoe in County Galway. The Lord Deputy Gearóid Mór FitzGerald led his forces against Ulick Fionn Burke of Clanricarde. Both sides were composed of Hiberno-Norman lords supported by Gaelic Irish allies, making the engagement one of the largest of its era in Ireland.
The battle is recorded in the Gaelic Irish annals and the sixteenth-century Book of Howth, indicating its perceived importance to contemporaries. Ulick Fionn Burke died in 1509, and the confrontation highlighted the ongoing fragmentation of power in late medieval Ireland between competing Anglo-Norman and Gaelic lords.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Gearóid Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare.
Side B
1 belligerent
Ulick Fionn Burke, 6th Clanricarde.