The Irish Confederate Wars

[d_Guy]

Not only do our Pendraken hosts provide a multitude of 10mm figures and accessories with unparalleled customer service, they provide this forum. It's worth to me personally can not be understated.

I live in a remote area particularly in relation to wargaming. This forum allowed me to met other members (sometimes in person) and form what only can be called friendships. For a time I would make a monthly trip to game night at Army Group York (the Little Wars TV folks) and an annual trek to Historicon. That all ended with Covid. I now find it very difficult to travel the distances I once did.

Happily, the connections made on this forum lead to working with Pierre-the-Shy and PaulR on a couple of projects centered around our joint admiration of the "For King and Parliament" rules set. In fact this connection really began with Mollinary contacting me on this forum prior to his and Simon Miller's final development of FK&P. I am sure others on this forum can share similar experiences. This is a special place.

During Covid we worked together on our FK&P projects, with other forum members joining in on occasion, notably Ithoriel and fsn, with useful and often pithy commentary. Leon has even made an appearance. We are now more than three years in and began work several months ago on another FK&P project, The Irish Confederate Wars. This thread is setup to share some of our work as it goes forward.

More posts here should follow and we may produce some freestanding AAR's.

[Leon]

Looking forward to more updates and thanks for inviting me onto your chat.  It's great to hear that the forum has helped connect some folks too, I've spoken to quite a few people over the years who've made new friends or played some games with people they've met in our weird little corner of the internet.

[d_Guy]

Thanks Leon!

Much of the Confederate Wars are taken up with ambushes, skirmishes, and sieges but there are a few field battles of note. Because of the scope, I am concentrating on those of the insurgency and early Confederation and Pierre-the-Shy on those of the later Confederacy up to the arrival of Cromwell in Ireland.

While a scenario or two are planned to capture a sense of the initial uprising in the late fall of 1641, I am first concentrating of the battle of Kilrush (15 April, 1642). We have a contemporary map of the disposition of both armies, including an order of battle for the Royalist Anglo/Irish. The native Irish army is a trifle harder to determine but we hope to show its evolution (our take anyway) up to the Cessation in the Fall of 1643. There is not a lot of hard detail but we'll give it a try.

With the Insurrection spreading throughout Ireland, the Earl of Ormonde, the king's lieutenant general in Ireland, has lead an expedition from Dublin deep into Kildare to relieve the beleaguered garrisons on the edge of the Pale. Successful in this endeavor, he now finds his line of communication severed. He is being shadowed by an Irish army, increasing by the hour, and interposed between him and home. All-in-all, the situation is rather reminiscent of Tyrone's Rebellion forty years before. As he begins the march East, he finds that the Irish have taking up a strong position on two low hills near the village of Kilrush. Worse, he will completely expose his right flank and wagon train if he tries to move past them. He has little choice but to pivot and fight.

Rough deployments are shown below:

Lord Mountgarret and the boys from Wexford and Wicklow, along with Kilkenny and Carlow, occupy Bull Hill comprising the right flank of the Irish Insurgent Army:


Rory O'Moore commands the Irish left on the low rise of Kilrush Hill. His troops from Laois,Tipperary,Westmeath and Kildare line the earthwork and are flanked by their meager cavalry:


Lord Ormonde's Royalist army is in battle array in the foreground. They have deployed into a conventional formation and now survey the Irish hoping they will move forward. With limited firepower and even less gunpowder, the Irish are content to wait.


The road to Dublin moves through the woods on the left and bends up toward the right flank of the Irish on Bull Hill. The Irish positions are backed by bogs with their left flank covered by same. These bogs are friendly to the Irish and treacherous to enemy pursuit.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Looks fun!

[Steve J]

Sounds an interesting project and period for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this as it develops. Do you still have your Blog D-Guy?

[fsn]

Looking good. 

[T13A]

Hi d Guy

Always enjoy and appreciate your posts (and those of Pierre-the-Shy and PaulR of course). FK&P is one of my favourite rulesets and looking forward to hearing more about the project, I'm currently in the process of painting up the 'Irish Brigade' for Montrose's army in Scotland.

I have always been interested in wargames in Ireland ever since John Tunstall used it as a basis for an ACW campaign back in the late 1960's (I think) and published in the old Miniature Warfare magazine that he used to publish, it certainly helped me to get used to the geography of Ireland!

Incidentally, what size 'grids' do you use for your 10mm FK&P games?

And thanks again.

Cheers Paul

[d_Guy]

Thanks Gentlemen. I haven't been very active here of late but hope to get back to it.

Sounds an interesting project and period for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this as it develops. Do you still have your Blog D-Guy?

Thanks for asking Steve. I deleted my blog in 2020. Someone in Southeast Asia immediately aquired the domain. As far as I could tell a tropical fish fancier. I thought it might have been Fierce Kitty but unlikely.

I found this out when I thought to reacquire it to act as an archive. I did setup something similar:

https://in-red-coat-rags-attired.com/
This has an archive of most of the old posts and an occasional new post. I regret deleting the original. Glad your blog is still going strong.

Always enjoy and appreciate your posts (and those of Pierre-the-Shy and PaulR of course). FK&P is one of my favourite rulesets and looking forward to hearing more about the project, I'm currently in the process of painting up the 'Irish Brigade' for Montrose's army in Scotland.

You make me blush, thanks! I hope you'll put up more pics of your Irish Brigade when the are complete.

I have always been interested in wargames in Ireland ever since John Tunstall used it as a basis for an ACW campaign back in the late 1960's (I think) and published in the old Miniature Warfare magazine that he used to publish, it certainly helped me to get used to the geography of Ireland!

You brought back memories with that one. It is possible that the gyronny pattern that Pierre and I both use for Anglo/Irish flags originated with Miniature Warfare.

Incidentally, what size 'grids' do you use for your 10mm FK&P games?

I use 100mm boxes. This allows me to easily put a 9x12 grid on the dinning room table.

By the way Paul, you live in one of my favorite areas on England! I have always found the Mendips fascinating for both lore and vistas over the Levels. Which reminds me, at some point I need to get back to 1685 and Monmouth.