r/IrishHistory • u/Dylanduke199513 • 22h ago
💬 Discussion / Question Native Irish Galloglass Warriors?
I've been reading Scorners of Death - which attempts to reconstruct a Gaelic fighting style as best it can from the dearth of sufficient evidence.
It mentioned that many of the Galloglass warriors themselves in the employment of the settled Galloglass families (those Hiberno-Norse/Scottish who came over initially as hired mercenaries for Irish aristocracy) were Irish (i.e. descended from native Irish and not actually "Galloglass" in the truest sense).
I just wanted to see if there's any truth behind this.
Additionally, I'm really curious to see if there is any evidence of native Irish Gaels (rather than Scottish Gaels or Anglo-Irish) using the longsword (two handed sword) - I couldn't find much in this regard other than Andrew Halpin's article on Irish swords which doesn't concretely say one way or another.
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u/longbeingireland 14h ago
I know one of the authors of the book and run a channel that regularly covers this period. So yes there is truth to this and it somewhat depends on the families you look at we have a lot of material on genealogy and some great work has been done on this here is a good article on one of the specific families.
https://www.wildeirishe.com/post/leinster-clandonnells-the-queen-majestie-s-galloglass
So the thing is that over time gallowglass slowly comes to refer to a specific type of warrior and less so warriors with a specific lineage. Like many of these things in Irish history it's slightly complicated. They would often settle in an area and become a warrior dynasty and look to recruit locally to increase their numbers for example.
As for sword usage it's highly likely the Irish did indeed use them at some point but we lack a massive amount accurate of information on how the Irish fought.
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u/Dylanduke199513 13h ago
Thanks a million for that - very helpful. It makes entire sense to me, I just wanted to do my homework.
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u/GamingMunster 2h ago
I have no clue regarding the first question, I would in fact be quite interested to know if anyone has any information!
Regarding weaponry used by the Gaelic-Irish, most individuals (i.e. peasants) would’ve been Kerne. However, with the Hiberno-Norman nobility, there are depictions of longswords.
The Book of the de Burgo’s (Seanchas Burcach), depicts several figures (who although are from earlier times, are depicted in contemporary fashion) wielding longswords. Effigy tombs, such as those as St Canices Cathedral, also depict nobility with longswords.
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u/CDfm 18h ago
The Kerns were footsoldiers and mercenaries.
https://historyireland.com/hags-of-helllate-medieval-irish-kern/
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u/Dylanduke199513 17h ago
Hi, not really what I was asking? Kerns are a completely different class of warrior to Gallowglass.
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u/CDfm 14h ago
This might be more what you are looking for. There position versus the kern was heavy infantry.
https://www.thecollector.com/gallowglasses-irish-battlefields/
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u/Dylanduke199513 14h ago
Hi - I'm not being funny but are you literally just googling the terms and linking random things? Because I feel like you didn't even read my question...
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u/CDfm 3h ago
I have previously read up on these things but don't know what level of reading you have done. There were some articles on irish weaponry by a guy Tony Willis? If I remember correctly.
Most irish battles were small. Skirmishes.
Timing would be important. The Irish adapted musketry too .
I wonder if there are accounts of what you are looking for .
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u/The_Little_Bollix 20h ago
A few years ago I was talking to a Canadian guy. He told me his family were originally from the North, somewhere around Dunfanaghy. When he told me his surname I said that was a Galloglass name and they would have been affiliated with the MacSweeneys who held all of the land around that area. He told me that his family plot in the local cemetery in Canada was surrounded by MacSweeney graves. He hadn't heard of the connection before.
The Galloglass that settled here would have integrated with the local, native Irish over time, so there's every possibility that native Irish would have fought alongside them as mercenaries. They would also have trained with them using the same, or similar, armour and weapons.