Dr John Jeremiah Cronin - The Irish Battlefields Project survey of battle sites of Confederate Wars by History Hub

Recording of a paper by Dr John Jeremiah Cronin at the 2014 Tudor and Stuart Ireland Conference.

About the paper: The Irish Battlefields Project survey of the battle sites of the Confederate Wars - an illustrative analysis of four battlefields.

The Irish Battlefields Project was instigated by the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government in 2007 to examine the history and archaeology of all major battlefield sites in Ireland between the 8th and 18th centuries, with a view to locating them on the ground and preserving them. The project, using a mixture of on-sight archaeological survey, and in-depth historical analysis of primary and secondary source material, produced the most comprehensive analysis of Irish battlefields ever undertaken in the State. This paper will examine the results of the project on battlefields from the wars of 1641-52. While some 31 battles from the Confederate wars were examined as part of the project, in this particular paper we propose to focus in on four specific battlefields: Liscarroll (1642), Kilrush (1642), Knocknanuss (1647) and Knockbrack (1651). We will, by means of our presentation on these particular battlefields, highlight some of the major archaeological and historical findings made by the project, as well as exploring how the sites are preserved and commemorated today.

The 2014 Tudor and Stuart Ireland conference was generously supported by UCD School of History and Archives, UCD Research, Marsh's Library, Graduate Studies at NUI Maynooth, and the Department of History at NUI Maynooth.

Recorded for podcasting by Real Smart Media (@real-smart-media) for History Hub.