The First Gaelic Victory? The Battle of Callan, 1261

In August 1261 a Norman force marched into South Kerry. Led by under John FitzThomas, 1st Baron Desmond, the Normans intended to punish and defeat Finghín MacCarthy, Gaelic king of Desmond. MacCarthy had been raiding Norman castles and settlers for many years and FitzThomas decided to teach him a lesson. He may also have meant to increase Norman control over MacCarthy’s land. Finghín MacCarthy had other ideas. He was preparing to resist and had chosen his ground carefully. In Callan, now near Kilgarven in Kerry, he waited for FitzThomas. In the century of so since the Norman invasion, Norman forces had achieved many great victories at considerable odds. However, this time the result would be different... The Battle of Callan. was one of the first major defeats imposed by Gaelic forces on the Normans. It is seen by many as being a critical turning point in the history of Munster, bringing to an end the wave of Norman expansion in the province.
References
Frame, Robin, Colonial Ireland, 1169-1369
MacCotter Paul. "Lordship and Colony in Anglo-Norman Kerry, 1177-1400," Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society vol. 4 (2004)
Ó Murchadha, Diarmuid, "Battle of Callan, AD 1261", Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society, 204, 1961
Otway-Ruthven, A History of Medieval Ireland. 1968.
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