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The Battle of Skerries, also named the
Battle of Ardscull, was a battle in the Bruce campaign in Ireland –
part of the First War of Scottish
Independence – fought on 26 January 1316, resulting in a Scottish victory. It was part of
the Irish campaign of Edward Bruce, brother
of Robert Bruce,
king of Scotland. The site of the battle
was Skerries near Ardclough in County
Kildare.
The
battle
Edward Bruce, earl of Carrick, had landed in Ireland
in May the year before, and been proclaimed king of the island in
June, which the Irish population saw as a postitve thing since
Bruce's goal was to remove the English. Bruce continued on his
march south, before again encountering the government forces in
January.[1]
The Anglo-Irish
forces, summoned by the justiciar of
Ireland, consisted of men such as John and Maurice
FitzThomas, Thomas FitzJohn,
John and Arnold Poer, Maurice de Rocheford and Miles and David de
la Roche.[2]
Though these forces heavily outnumbered those of Bruce, internal
strife broke out in the Anglo-Irish ranks, a fact that Bruce could
take advantage of. Though suffering heavy losses, the Scots held
the battlefield, effectively winning the battle.[2]
Aftermath
The official English account of the battle blamed unfortunate
terrain and bad luck for the government forces' loss, not an
entirely convincing explanation. The same account also claims that
the Scots lost many of their greatest men, while their opponents
only lost one man.[2]
After the battle the Scots withdrew to Leix, while the Anglo-Irish forces kept
them under surveillance from nearby Castledermot, while their leader withdrew
to Dublin. Here John Hotham, the king's envoy to
Ireland, made a great effort to ensure the loyalty of the Irish
nobles.[3]
By May, however, Bruce had returned to his safe base in Ulster, while Hotham had returned
to his new position in England as Bishop of Ely.[1][3]
References
- ^ a
b
Duncan, A.A.M (2004),
"Bruce, Edward, earl of
Carrick (c.1280–1318)", Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3728, retrieved
2008-07-19
- ^ a
b
c
Haines, Roy Martin (2003). King Edward II: Edward of
Caernarfon, His Life, His Reign, and Its Aftermath.
McGill-Queen's Press. pp. pp. 290–3. ISBN 0773524320. http://books.google.com/books?id=29IPHAaX_HAC&pg=PA293&vq=skerries&source=gbs_search_r&cad=0_1&sig=ACfU3U0CQ-OwHb1koVgIOi6u3SBDsMTxnQ.
- ^ a
b
Buck, M.C (2004), "Hotham, John (d. 1337)",
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13851, retrieved
2008-07-19
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