Later Anglo Irish

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Historical Overview Section

Following the 1261 Battle of Callann the Irish had started to claim back Ireland from the Normans. In the long periods when there was no large royal army in Ireland, the Norman lords in the provinces acted as effectively independent rulers in their own areas, as the local Gaelic chieftains continued to do, and alliances grew up between them.

The Black Death arrived in Ireland in 1348. Because most of the English and Norman inhabitants of Ireland lived in towns and villages, the plague hit them far harder than it did the native Irish, who lived in more dispersed rural settlements. After it had passed, Gaelic Irish language and customs came to dominate the country again and the English-controlled territory shrunk back to a fortified area around Dublin (the Pale), and had little real authority outside ("beyond the Pale").

The military power of the crown itself was greatly weakened by the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), and the Wars of the Roses (1455–85). By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared. The Lordship of Ireland lay in the hands of the powerful Fitzgerald Earl of Kildare, who dominated the country by means of military force and alliances with lords and clans around Ireland. The earls of Kildare took various titles, Justicar, Lieutenant, and ultimately Lords Deputy (from 1470).

Allied Contingents

• Irish, Medieval : Any Storm of Arrows 31 4-8 Hvy Foot Hvy Wp and 8-36 MF of LF with javelins to pad them out

Using the army in FoG

• Average Knights are the wrong choice in 99 out of 100 possible situations – even if they are the only ones you can get.
• Cavalry lancers may give you mobility that other armies in this period lack, and compared to 2we will lose to proper knights every time" average knights, they may be a cute option if you can work some flank attacks with the drilled cavalry
• The real core of the army is the proper longbowmen.
• Your aim with massed LB is to shoot as much as possible. Make sure you get your long range shot and 2 more at short range.
• Deploy LBw to the front in 8’s, with small units of average troops set 4-5" back from the LB line give rear support. Galloglaich and Men at Arms in this position can often use their Heavy Weapon to nail any victorious Kn who do break through.
• Adding a General when charged means for the Longbow men the rerolls on both shooting and melee dice will make the difference. If you are charged by knights and LBw can disrupt them by shooting you should win the impact with 12 dice vs 6. If not, you still have a decent chance to bounce knights even without stakes.
• Stakes are a beginners safety net, but they makes you immobile. Make sure the longbow men are drilled and have a commander with them when you want to emplace the stakes (Assuming you don't do so until the enemy mounted are in bow - and hence probably charge - range)! Lack of them can lead to some nervous moments if your LB are charged by mounted in the open, but a General with rear support should address that just as well. Stakes are expensive for what you get - remember foot ignore them as well. Stakes make you near invincible vs Knights & mounted - but everyone knows that and so only a knave or a varlet will attack you while on a horse when you are carrying them.
• The dismounted knights act as bastions of strength between the longbow units, spreading casualties over more units, and even if you lose at impact they can mean that you've got a better chance of winning in melee. It also improves their morale grade.
• If you are disrupted by charging knights after melee they won't bounce, so you'll have a chance to slog it out in a long combat, which is going to be tough.
• The best way to beat knights is to kill an element so they take (if they're run in 4's) -1 on CT’s for 25% losses, and this stands for every test. With 10-12 dice at Impact (including shooting) and a general in the front rank you'll likely get 3-4 hits, which means even if the knights win, hey lose a base a 1 or maybe a 2, which is a very bad thing for them.
• At 800 pts use three/4 generals IC/FC, +TCs. For 600 pts use two generals, TC/FC, TC
• Even though the LB are swordsmen, they don’t want to be in combat – they can win most shooting battles anyway, at far less risk to themselves.
• Try to get as much Uneven and Rough down as you can, as LB move through it normally but Knights and HF don't like it.
• The LF Kerns are cheap and if there is terrain to hide in, can massively increase the size of the army without risking themselves - 12 points a unit for Poor, 5 units for 60 points!!

Useful Links

User-contributed links about this army:

• Fanaticus the DBA page history summary

• English & Irish soldiers in Derricke's The Image of Irelande (1581) or mirror

Print 1 - An Irish noble and kern bonacht
Print 2 - Kern raiders
Print 3 - Irish feast
Print 4 - Church support for kern
Print 5 - English pusuers
Print 6 - The English set out
Print 7 - The English army - Sir Philip Sydney receives a message
Print 8 - The English army on the march
Print 9 - The English army defeats the Irish in battle
Print 10 - Sir Philip Sydney returns to Dublin in triumph
Print 11 - A woeful rebel
Print 12 - O'Neal prostrating before Sir Philip Sydney
or version with all plates on one page captions using Olde English spelling
or version with all plates on one page with captions using modern English spelling

• The Burke Galloglaich effigy at Glinsk in County Galway, late-14th century
  
• Islesmen or Gallóglaich, 12th-14th Centuries by Ian Heath
  
• A miniature of macmorogh, the Irish chieftain, coming to confer with the Earl of Gloucester, 1399
  
• Irish Kern, 14th-15th Centuries by Ian Heath
  
• Irish Horseman c1400 by Ian Heath
  
• Irish Chieftain, Art Oge Macmurrough Kavanagh,14th-15th Centuries, by Ian Heath
  
• Effigy at Oronsay Priory, 14th or 15th century
  
• Gallóglaich, 14th-15th Centuries by Ian Heath
  
• Drawing of the remains of mural decoration in Holycross Abbey, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, late 14th-early 15th Centuries.
  
• Drawings on the wall of Abbey Knockmoy, Co. Galway, Ireland, 15th Century
  

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15mm Manufacturers supplying figures for this army

Also see similar feudal era ranges from other manufacturers. A listing of who supplies what can be found in my 15mm Suppliers directory You can see some of the figures in the Ancients Photo Gallery also on this site

• Essex Miniatures
• Donnington - now have some New Era range Norse Irish
• Museum Miniatures
• Gladiator Miniatures by Fighting 15's (Previously Black Hat)
• Old Glory 15's,
• Magister Militum
• Minifigs
• Irregular Miniatures
• Lancashire Games
• Lo Hobbi.t.Studio - dedicated range
• QRF Models A dedicated Irish range can provide most of the infantry and bowmen. You would need to visit the WOTR figure codes for later cavalry types and longbowmen.
• Donnington have some "New Era" (ie brand new) Viking and Irish castings

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army 800AP Britcon 2012 Late Anglo Irish,4 wins a draw and a loss including big wins against Shauns Swiss and Mr Ruddock

• 4 X TC
• 5 X 6 Poor LF JLS
• 3 X 6 Superior HF HW
• 3 X 6 Average MF LB SW Prot
• 1 x 8 Poor MF LB SW Prot
• 1 x 6 Average LB SW Prot Drilled
• 2 x 4 Superior CV LS SW Arm
• 1 x 4 Superior CV L SW Arm
• All undrilled bar one

• 1 xIC, 2xTC
• 6 Irish Kerns LF Unprotected Average Undrilled Javelins Light spear
• 8Irish Kerns LF Unprotected Average Undrilled Javelins Light spear
• 6 Irish Kerns MF Protected Average Undrilled, Light spear
• 8 Galloglaich HF Protected Superior Undrilled, Heavy weapon
• 8 Galloglaich HF Protected Superior Undrilled, Heavy weapon
• 6 Justiciar's Longbowmen MF Protected Average Drilled Longbow, Swordsmen
• 4 Justiciar's Men-at-Arms Kn Heavily armoured Average Drilled, Lancers Swordsmen
• 6 Irish Horse LH Unprotected Average Undrilled Javelins Light spear
• 6 Colonish Longbowmen MF Protected Average Undrilled Longbow, Swordsmen
• 4 Anglo-Irish Spears Cv Armoured Superior Undrilled - Light spear Swordsmen
• 8 Colonish Longbowmen MF Protected Average Undrilled Longbow, Swordsmen
• 8 Colonish Longbowmen MF Protected Average Undrilled Longbow, Swordsmen

Name of Army / Date

• General TC - - - - - - CinC 1 35 35 - General
• Sub-Generals TC - - - - - - - 2 35 70 - General
• Medieval Irish General TC Ally general 1 25 25 General
• 1 Irish Kerns allies LF Unprotected Poor Undrilled Javelins Light spear - - 8 Medieval Irish Allies
• 2 Anglo-Irish spears Cv Armoured Superior Undrilled - Light spear Swordsmen - 4
• 3 Irish Kerns LF Unprotected Poor Undrilled Light spear 8
• 4 Irish Kerns LF Unprotected Poor Undrilled Javelins Light spear - - 8
• 5 Galloglaigh HF Protected Superior Undrilled - Heavy weapon Heavy weapon - 8
• 6 Galloglaigh HF Protected Superior Undrilled - Heavy weapon Heavy weapon - 8
• 7 Irish Kerns MF Protected Average Undrilled - Light spear - - 6
• 8 Justiclar's men at arms kn Heavily armoured Average Drilled - Lancers Swordsmen - 4
• 9 Irish Horse LH Unprotected Average Undrilled Javelins Light spear - - 6
• 10 Galloglaigh allies HF Protected Superior Undrilled - Heavy Weapon - 8 Medieval Irish Allies
• 11 Colonist longbowmen MF Protected Average Undrilled Longbow - Swordsmen - 8
• 12 Colonist longbowmen MF Protected Average Undrilled Longbow - Swordsmen - 8
• 13 Justiclar's longbowmen MF Protected Average Drilled Longbow - Swordsmen - 6

ASs used by Ricky Jones to place at the 2009 IWF, Washington DC Include any notes you want here, including comments on how to use - or play against - the army.

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