Siege of Smerwick 1580

About the battle

The siege of Smerwick took place at Ard na Caithne (the Hill of the Arbutus Tree, known in English as Smerwick) in November 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A force of between 400 and 700 Papal freelance soldiers, mostly of Spanish and Italian origin, landed at Smerwick to support the Catholic rebels. They were forced to retreat to the nearby promontory fort of Dún an Óir, where they were besieged by the English. The Papal commander parleyed and was bribed, and the defenders surrendered within a few days. The officers were spared, but the other ranks were then summarily executed on the orders of the English commander, Arthur Grey (Baron Grey de Wilton), the Lord Deputy of Ireland.

Visiting the battlefield

A monument to commemorate the victims of the massacre was erected at Smerwick in 1980. The sculpture (see illustration) is by Irish sculptor Cliodhna Cussen.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Smerwick (revision 1370745350), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Monument”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.

Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby battlefields

• Siege of Tralee 1920 · 49 km
• Siege of Dunboy 1602 · 71 km
• Battle of Callann 1261 · 75 km
• Siege of Carrigafoyle Castle 1580 · 75 km

Other battles of the Second Desmond Rebellion

• Siege of Carrigafoyle Castle 1580

All battles of the Second Desmond Rebellion →

Browse more: battles in County Kerry · battles in Ireland · Tudor & early Stuart · 16th century battles

Further reading

• Siege of Smerwick on Battlefields of the World (the battle in world context, with others of its war worldwide)
• Wikipedia: Siege of Smerwick
• Wikidata Q7510412