From Tourist Guide to Tyrrellspass
The Tyrrells, cousins of
William the Conqueror, came to Ireland in 1169, and were given the Barony of
Fartullagh in south Westmeath where they built many castles all of which, with
the exception of Tyrrellspass, were destroyed by the end of the Cromwellian
Wars. Tyrrellspass was saved from
destruction by being surrendered, after negotiations, to a Colonel Green who
had the defenders shot when he got them outside the walls. It passed into the ownership of the Rochfort
family, Earls of Belvedere, and was last occupied by a British regiment in
1844.
The castle occupied a
strategic position guarding a pass between two vast areas of bog, swamp, and
lake. The Castle was built circa 1410
and is situated at the edge of Tyrrellspass village.
A few miles from Paris
on the north bank of the Seine lies a small place now called Triel but which in
the tenth century was known as Tirel.
The Lord of the Manor then was Ralf, and it ws from this Ralf of Tirel
that the Tyrrells of Ireland are descended and from whom derives the name of
the village of Tyrrellspass.
A grandson of Ralf
called Walter took part in the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in
1066 with Strongbow’s invading force of Normans. Hugh, who was called the Grecian Knight, was the founder of the
Anglo-Norman-Irish family of Tyrrell and this family received possession of,
among other lands the Barony of Fertullagh after dispossessing the local Irish
clan—the O’Dooleys. They speedily
consolidated their hold on the territory by building strong castles, the most
important of which were Castlelost, Tyrrellspass, Kilbride, and Newcastle. For the next four hundered years they held
these lands which became known as “Tyrrell’s Country,” until they were finally
ousted by Cormwell’s army which destroyed their strongholds with great loss of
life in 1649. During this period
members of the family were frequently hereditary Sheriffs and sometimes Governors
of what is now Westmeath. The head of
the family was styled “Captain of his Nation.”
Their allegiance was to the English King but they frequently had to
tread a delicate balance between their duty to their king and the reality of
having powerful and warlike Irish clans such as the MacGeoghegans living in
close proximity to them. At the close
of the sixteenth century a bitter war was raging between the Irish under the
Great O’Neill and the forces of Mountjoy, the English Lord Lieutenant. One of O’Neill’s greatest allies was Richard
Tyrrell who fought in many of the battles of the war including the fateful
battle of Kinsale in 1601 where the Irish army went down in defeat. In this battle, which signalled the end of
the old Gaelic order forever, the vanguard was commanded by Tyrrell. Tyrrell was regarded by Mountjoy as the
ablest of O’Neill’s men and in 1597 he had what was probably his most notable
victory in the Battle of Tyrrellspass.
Of all the events that
happened in this area over the centuries, perhaps the most celebrated is the
Battle of Tyrrellspass which occurred just north of the village at a place
which is still called Ballybohan which in Irish means the Place of the Victory.
The hero of the battle
was Richard Tyrrell of whom Lord Mountjoy wrote “He is the most dangerous,
being the most efficient soldier and of the greatest reputation through all
Ireland and better able to perform anything in this country than any Captain
they have.” Tyrrell learned that the Anglo-Irish
of Meath were marching from Mullingar to make a surprise attack of his base
near Tyrrellspass and he resolved to thwart them. He positioned half his men under the command of his ally O’Connor
in ambush beside the road over which the enemy would have to advance. With the remainder of his men he advanced
towards the oncoming army from Mullingar.
When he sighted them, he pretended to flee and the opposing army gave
chase. Tyrrell and his men continued
their retreat until they had passed the spot where O’Connor lay in ambush. Then the pipers struck up Tyrrell’s March
which was the signal to attack.
O’Connor and his men attacked from the flanks while Tyrrell now turned
and faced his enemies head on. In the ensuing
battle, the Anglo-Irish army which consisted of about a thousand men, under the
command of the son of the Baron Trimblestown, was taken completely by surprise
and wiped out almost to the last man.
Only one soldier managed to escape the carnage apart from the commander
himself who was taken prisoner and later ransomed. O’Connor’s hand became so swollen in the battle that he was
unable to extricate it from his sword-guard until it had been cut through with
a file.
While this was Tyrrell’s
most complete victory, it was not the only battle he fought in this general
area. He had a secret base a few miles
from Tyrrellspass which was and is still called Tyrrells Island. It was located on the river Brosna and was
virtually impregnable because it was surrounded by swamps and bogs. Tyrrell fought several battles against the
English in defense of his island but eventually superior forces under Mountjoy
himself were brought to bear and he was forced to abandon his island forever in
February 1600.
Note: Anyone seeking further information should consult the excellent book
by Oliver Egan call “Tyrrellspass Past and Present.”
Source of the “History of Tyrrells” J.H. Tyrrell (1904); Irish Battles G.A.
Hayes McCoy.