Draft:Battle of Carrigmoclear

Battle of Carrigmoclear
Part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Date 23 July 1798 Location near Grangemockler, County Tipperary, Ireland Result British victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain Loyalists	United Irishmen
Commanders and leaders
William Despard	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	~ 600
Casualties and losses
Low	High

The Battle of Carrigmoclear, also known as the uprising on Slievenamon, was a military engagement part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between a force of United Irishmen rebels and a column of British army troops. It was fought on the 23 July 1798 on Carrigmoclear a low hill attached to the mountain of Slievenamon 3 km north-west of the village of Grangemockler in County Tipperary near the border with County Kilkenny.

The battle

In July 1798 insurgents from the Tipperary/Kilkenny border attempted to raise forces around the mountain of Slievenamon. Largely rural recruits from in and around the nearby villages of Grangemockler, Mullinahone, Windgap, Killamery and Callan assembled at Carrigmoclear. The lighting of a fire on the hill was supposed to signal the start of the rebellion in Tipperary. However, the rebels were betrayed by a local named Maher or O'Neill from Ninemilehouse who heard of their plans and informed William Despard, head of the local yeomanry militia about them. Despard lit a fire on the hill to create a false signal and lure the rebels into an ambush. When the rebel leadership found out, they hurried to inform their men that they were running into an enemy trap, but it was too late as almost 600 walked right into Despard hands. Awaiting them was a large loyalist force, of which the deceived men initially managed to fight off, inflicting numerous casualties upon the British, but eventually as the battle went on the rebel force was overwhelmed and in the end they were easily defeated. What remained of the rebels fled higher up the mountain. For days afterwards, British forces searched the mountainside looking for them. Those caught were hanged, flogged, or forcefully transported away for life. The defeat at Carrigmoclear halted the rebellions progression into Tipperary with the county seeing no more action in 1798. The rebels who died in the fighting were buried in Killamery, County Kilkenny.