The reign of Elizabeth I will always be remembered for the Armada. But it was the Irish, not the Spanish, who came closest to destroying the security of the Elizabethan state. Between 1560 and 1602, only superior military force -- allied with ruthless subjugation -- preserved England's throne against a succession of rebellions and uprisings throughout Ireland. This classic work by renowned military historian Cyril Falls is the crucial account of the half century that changed the course of Anglo-Irish history. The Elizabethan wars in Ireland involved the collision of two civilizations. Falls's critical work gives a vital perspective to the broad sweep of Anglo-Irish relations.

Danske hær, hjælpetropper; Spanske hær, hjælpetropper; Franske hær, hjælpetropper; Guerilla-krig

The riveting true story of how Ireland came to be, told through eyewitness accounts from a thousand years of struggle “A fascinating mixture of mythology and actual historical events. . . . Lovers of Irish and medieval literature will relish this book.”—Booklist For the first thousand years of its history, Ireland was shaped by its wars. Beginning with the legends of ancient battles and warriors, Wars of the Irish Kings moves through a time when history and storytelling were equally prized, into the age when history was as much propaganda as fact. This remarkable book tells of tribal battles, foreign invasions, Viking raids, family feuds, wars between rival Irish kingdoms, and wars of rebellion against the English. While the battles formed the legends of the land, it was the people fighting the battles—Cuchulain, Finn MacCool, Brian Boru, Robert the Bruce, Elizabeth I, and Hugh O’Donnell—who shaped the destiny and identity of the Irish nation. Brought together for the first time in one volume, Wars of the Irish Kings is a surprisingly immediate and stunning portrait of an all-but-forgotten time that forged the Ireland of today.

The Reformation in England further distanced the Irish, as the majority of Irishmen adhered stubbornly to their Catholicism. Eventually, in Elizabeth's reign, both sides resorted to the use of force on a large scale in a series of bloody wars and rebellions that were to culminate in the Earl of Tyrone's "Great Rebellion" of 1595-1603. This text by Ian Heath looks at the history, organization and tactics of the armies of the Irish Wars (1485-1603), armies which included such troops as the fearsome Irish Galloglasses, who bore a deadly axe six feet long with a blade that was one foot broad!

With numerous maps and illustrations, James Scott Wheeler connects the strategic and tactical levels of war with political actions and reactions, and discusses how Britain and Ireland became battlegrounds in the 'war of three kingdoms'. The various stages of this period of turmoil are clearly demonstrated, right through to the execution of Charles I, the conquest of Catholic Ireland, and the eventual death of the English Republic, and provide students of history with an excellent addition to their studies.