Battle of Monasternenagh

On this day - 3rd October 1579 - was fought the Battle of Monasternenagh in Co Limerick between the English forces of Sir Nicholas Malby and an Irish/Anglo-Irish host under John of Desmond - half of the latter whose numbers were composed of the MacSheehy Galloglass sept. Despite the tenacity of the galloglasses making up to three frontal charges on the English lines and breaking through the English pike formations in more places than one - the impact of English small arms fire-power was to be telling and the Irish forces were hurled back in retreat after failing to make the decisive breakthrough. The Irish only began to give ground when pressed by English cavalry on their flanks and rear - 'a great number of constables of the Clan Sheehy' were cut down 'probably from gunfire rather than in close combat...' It was to be the only large set piece engagement of the Second Desmond Rebellion.

Claíomh at NMI Collins Barracks for Culture Night this Friday 23rd September!

http://www.museum.ie/en/info/culture-night-2011-CB.aspx

Article in today's Irish Independent featuring Claíomh - for the pictorial version get the 'Weekend' section pp 18-19!

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/living-history-2879657.html

Battle of the Red Sagums 1561

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=219343811442172&set=a.199832170060003.47229.146967882013099&type=1&theater

Tall Ships 2011 pix here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.213455782030975.51718.146967882013099

Claíomh YouTube page here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ClaiomhProductions

For more pix and articles check out our regularly updated page in Zuckerberg's fiefdom.................

Upcoming events for this fine Irish 'Summer'...........

https://sites.google.com/site/claimhte/events/upcoming-events

New short film: 'The Flag'

New in-house short film called 'The Flag' relating to the Siege of Drogheda in 1649 has just been uploaded to the Claíomh FB page - please click this link to check it out:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150204399176460

Claymore c.1550

For a time there was a claidheamh mór very similar to the one pictured below which was preserved and kept here in Dublin at Clontarf Castle. Likely it's original owner was a Redshank mercenary on seasonal service from the Isles - or perhaps he was one of those who was massacred on Rathlin in 1575 by Crown Forces and the sword a trophy of that grisly affair - maybe both, maybe none of the above... Thankfully, that stalwart of Irish military history - Gerald Hayes-McCoy - made a record of the sword some time prior to the late 1970s shortly before it passed into an unknown private collection presumed to be outside the state. Traditionally the preserve of the Scots of the Western Isles, this 'twahondit' sword was the only known example of its kind with a provenance in Ireland. The old sword bore several marks on the blade of which, most prominent of these, was the motif of the running wolf. This latter was originally associated with the bladesmiths of the southern German town of Passau and was subsequently 'adopted' in later centuries by the famed bladesmiths of Solingen at which time surely that blade was made prior to export to the Western Isles...
Claymore c.1550-1600

New and interesting site narrating practical explorations into the authentic reconstruction of women's clothing from the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods: http://historicalrecreations.blogspot.com/ Highly recommended!!

Great day's shooting today - two roughly two-minute short-films on HD in the bag: the first a mid 1580's kern and galloglass theme, the second set during the Irish Confederate Wars in the late 1640's - with dialogue in Irish and English respectively. We are hoping to get the edits sorted within the next week or thereabouts so watch this space!

Lost for almost 100 years John Mulvany's 'The Battle of Aughrim' painting resurfaces...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/1002/1224280192787.html

Updates from Claíomh can be found on Twitter at this link...

http://twitter.com/claiomh_ireland

https://sites.google.com/site/claimhte/home

At long last - a new 'google' site for Claíomh at https://sites.google.com/site/claimhte/home - this site will be updated on a regular basis with an extensive gallery to be added over the next month or so. Many thanks to everyone who supported the blog over the last couple of years - I got some great feedback and hope to continue raising the bar in the coming seasons - watch this space!! Beir bua//DS