The Irish Wars 1485-1603 (Men-at-Arms) [Paperback]

Ian Heath (Author), David Sque (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Men-at-Arms | Publication Date: March 25, 1993

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!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Packed with specially commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams, the Men-at-Arms series is an unrivalled illustrated reference on the history, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the world's military forces, past and present.

About the Author

Ian Heath is a highly respected author, and has written a number of Osprey titles, including MAA 89 Byzantine Armies 886-1118, MAA 287 Byzantine Armies 1118-1461 and MAA 275 The Taiping Rebellion 1851-66. Ian lives and works in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (March 25, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855322803
• ISBN-13: 978-1855322806
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.1 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Resource for Historians and Reenactors alike, June 22, 2004

By 

"saintcolumcilles" (El Dorado Hills, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Irish Wars 1485-1603 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

The Irish Wars provides a great overall accounting for the composition of Irish and English forces in Ireland from the late 1400's to the early 1600's. Of special interest is the timeline, which has been referenced and replicated by many who regard it as the best overall timeline to date. This makes the purchase of this book 'worth it' on this merit alone.
Many of the passages are partisan, which is fairly common considering that the only Irish who kept any sort of written history at this time, were monks. So, most of the notable references are English. Therefore, a partisan view tends to predominate the text.
The description of Irish guerilla warfare is fairly well covered but could have been elaborated upon substantially as in G.A.Hayes-McCoy's "Irish Battle's". Otherwise, the descriptions of Ceathearn, Galloglaich, and Buannacht are fairly accurate. A telling omission is that Lord Mountjoy disarmed some of his green recruits and gave the pieces (musket) to his Irish recruits, knowing that they were much better shots. Furthermore, the artwork is attrocious. It is loosely based off of woodcuts (Which are represented in the plates) and drawings done by Lucas DeHerre, which were misproportioned to begin with. A copy of a bad original just makes a bad copy. It's unfortunate that Angus McBride, who did the artwork in "The Border Rievers" book of the same Men at Arms series, had not done this one. In "The Border Rievers" he has an excellent watercolor of an Irish Kern and Galloglas attacking a horsed Englishman or Low-Scot Riever.
Minus the artwork and some omissions, this is a great source for historians and reenactors. I highly recommend applying it with other source material, such as "Tyrone's Rebellion", "Elizabeth's Irish Wars", and "Irish Battles".

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick overview of Irish Wars, January 20, 2000

By 

Grannytilla "tilla2" (Waverly, KS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Irish Wars 1485-1603 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

This well-illustrated book gives a good overview of the Anglo-Irish wars of 1485-1603. It presents an overview of the relationships between the two countries, defines the warring armies and identifies specific types of soldiers, including gallowglas and kern. The illustrations are its strong suit. Many period drawings are included as well as full color reproductions done by present-day artists. For people wanting to see how the soldiers dressed, this is a very good source.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent on 16th Century Gaelic Warfare, December 5, 2007

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Irish Wars 1485-1603 (Men-at-Arms) (Paperback)

This book details the appearance and organization of the Irish Armies of the Anglo-Irish wars, starting with John de la Pole's invasion in May of 1487 and closing with the submission of Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, to the English six days after Queen Elizabeth's 1603 death.

Though uniforms, fashions, and weapons, like warlords and conquerors, came and went in Ireland, the basic nature of warfare had not changed overmuch-minor clans provoking each other to arms by cattle raids (tain) and settling the conflict in the old 'heroic' fashion. Against the more military-minded English, however, the Gaels adopted guerilla tactics, which were well suited to the terrain in which they fought. The last time the Brits had invaded, they had simply gotten caught up in the never-ending story of raid and counter-raid. This time however, they were bent on adding Ireland to their Empire.

The book gives, for its size, a rather detailed account of Irish organization and military potential in this period, and also giving the topic of tactics some attention. Outside of the plates and their commentary, the weapons and uniforms do not receive overmuch attention.

The plates, done by David Sque, excellently illustrate Irish warriors that fought on both sides of this conflict, including the infamous galloglaich and kern warriors that were hideously demonized by the contemporary Brits.

Overall, this book is a good source on Irish armies at the close of the medieval period. The extensive chronological chart spanning pages 3-7 is highly useful as is the rest of the book, especially the plates and their detailed commentary.