Dysert O'Dea
In 1171, the battle of Dublin took place in which the Irish were wiped out by the Norman invaders. Following this battle, the Normans advanced into the heart of Ireland, gaining sizeable portions of Munster. The area of Kerry consisted of the type of terrain that the Irish were most suited for. Forests, bogs, and mountains limited the Norman fighting ability which was primarily dependent upon cavalry warfare by this time. The O'Carrolls survived a century of guerilla warfare and ambush.
King Edward I, one of the most ruthless English kings granted the DeClares the are of Thomond. This was the old area of Brian Boru. The DeClares quickly built Norman-type castles in the area to begin the operations of clearing and conquering the local Irish.
Then, in 1315 Edward Bruce, brother of the Scottish king landed at Antrim with a large army and began to attack the English held lands in Ireland. This acted as the second area of trouble for "Longshanks", (King Edward I) as he was already busy fighting the other Bruce in north England. For another three years, Ireland was to endure constant warfare between the Celts, Scots and English.
By 1318, the Englishman Richard DeClare went to war with Murtough O'Brien. DeClare and his English made the mistake of marching into the Dysert area to attack Conor O'Dea, an ally of O'Brien. Waiting for the English were the Irish armies of the O'Connor, O'Hehir, O'Carrolls, and the O'Briens.
A long and bloody battle took place in the woods, during which Richard DeClare and his son were killed. There were heavy losses on both sides, and the Irish soon became outnumbered. A surprise rear attack by the O'Brien army saved the day by wiping out the remaining English. After victory, the Irish marched back to the DeClare settlement, only to find that DeClare's wife had set fire to everything including Castle Bunratty.
The significance of Dysert O'Dea is that as a result of the victorious Irish, the English were not to return to south-west Munster. This aided in preserving the power of the O'Carrolls and other clans for another couple of hundred years.
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