Battle of Knocknaclashy Boyle had inspired a mutiny among the English Royalist garrison in Cork, causing them to defect to the Parliamentarians. This had outflanked the defences of Irish Confederates and English Royalists, causing them to retreat behind the river Shannon into Connacht, where they held the fortified cities of Limerick and Galway. Henry Ireton went on to besiege Limerick. The only organised Irish forces remaining in south Munster were those of Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry, who held out in the mountainous area of west Cork and county Kerry – which was his clan’s native territory. In July 1651, Muskerry set out from
Fallout of the 2009 Irish government budget Brendan Smith face questions on their various roles in the budget. Over 7,000 farmers from Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Offaly, Roscommon and Wexford were involved in a mass demonstration in Ennis on 30 November 2008. Padraig Walshe, the President of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), claimed budget cutbacks would affect his union's members and would lead to a €20 million loss to farmers in the region each year. In the build-up to the budget, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea suggested that some army barracks in Ireland would be sold. Four barracks and a military hospital located along the