Battle of Curlew Pass

Timeline

1. 1599Curlew Pass · ConnachtThe new Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Earl of Essex, ordered Henry Bagnal to lead some 1,500–2,000 men south to reinforce Sligo; the O'Rourke and O'Donnell clans set ambushes along both sides of the narrow pass at Curlew, and once the English entered the kill zone they attacked with a volley of musket fire.
2. 1599Curlew battlefield · ConnachtThe English were attacked from three sides in the pass and their line collapsed; Sir Bagnal was shot and killed, large numbers of soldiers were killed or captured, and the remnant fled north in disorder, forcing the expedition plan to be abandoned.
3. 1599Ireland · IrelandThe great victory at Curlew boosted the morale of the Irish alliance and left England on the defensive in Connacht and the western front; though it did not change the war's final outcome, it became a symbolic victory of Gaelic Irish military resistance and intensified debate over Irish policy at the English court.