The Late 16th Century Irish Military Revolution

Confronted with an increasingly aggressive England the Irish lords were forced to rethink their military system.  The traditional forces of Horse, Galloglaich and Kern had up to this point proved effective in over-aweing and absorbing the Anglo Irish and deflecting any Crown aggression.  On occasion native military resources were supplemented with Scots mercenaries mainly from the Isles and Highlands.  In the main though native troops had been sufficient but at a cost.   

Soldiering in Ireland had once been the lot of every free man as and when required.  The Lords demand for permanently embodied forces effectively de-militarised large sections of the population.  This was a major policy failing when the comparatively limitless military manpower of England was considered.  Accordingly, Shane O’Neill, when faced with a determined Crown assault reversed the trend and recruited troops from the de-militarised classes.  The idea was to catch on.

There were other shortcomings in the system too.  The Irish Horse, comprised of nobles and gentry, may have attracted the praise of an English Commander as “The finest light scourrers on Christian Ground”.  But they remained light cavalry unable in any equality to tackle the English Heavy Cavalry head on.

The Galloglaich for all their strength, skill and ferocity could be held up by English pike and shot down by English Muskets.  No longer could it be said that they quickly slew or were slain.

The swift Kern excelling with dart and sword were outranged by the missilery of better protected English soldiers.  As Mountjoy noted "If it comes to hand strokes the Irish usually prevail".  The English pike and shot now mostly prevented the Kern from doing so.

The system was creaking and with the defeat of the Desmonds it became clear that something new was needed.  It came in the form of the pike and the caliver and the mass recruitment of waged soldiers from the previously de-militarised classes.  These new soldiers were volunteers and if the wages improved their economic situation then participation in war considerably enhanced their social status in the native order.  They were accordingly well motivated.

There were limits to their abilities.  They were not trained swordsmen and any armour they obtained was got on the field of battle.  However, the Lords who recruited them provided them with training, caliver, powder and shot. They were encouraged to use aimed fire and those with no aptitude were turned away.  The English Commander Mountjoy noted their surpassing his own shot.

The new Irish pike men were of the light 'Pica Sica' Spanish model.  We have Richard Tyrrell’s word for it that they could be trained in 6 weeks.  They couldn’t be expected to readily beat their heavily armoured English equivalents in push of pike but they could see off the English cavalry and protect the Irish caliver men.  They could also move faster than their armoured opponents.

Some of the professional Kern became Targeteers equipped with target, sword and morion their job was to get among disrupted English formations and destroy them.  The rest of them learned to fire a caliver or trail a pike. Likewise, some Galloglaich like the McDonnells of Tyrone became pike men presenting a more formidable version of the light pike men.  Others though stuck to their axes.

The Horse remained light but in addition to their traditional repertoire of tactics would now closely second the caliver men in their assaults.

The orientation of Irish forces now revolved around protecting their shot while they shot down their better armoured opponents.