Battle of Piltown

The Battle of Piltown took place near Piltown, County Kilkenny in 1462 as part of the Wars of the Roses. It was fought between the supporters of the two leading Irish magnates Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, head of the government in Dublin and a committed Yorkist, and John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond who backed the Lancastrian cause. It ended in decisive victory for Desmond and his Yorkists, with Ormond's army suffering more than a thousand casualties. This effectively ended Lancastrian hopes in Ireland and bolstered FitzGerald control for a further half-century. The Ormonds departed into exile, although they were later pardoned by Edward IV.

Battle of Piltown
Part of Wars of the Roses
Date Summer 1462 Location Piltown, Ireland Result Yorkist (FitzGerald) victory
Belligerents
House of York	House of Lancaster
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Desmond	Earl of Ormond
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties and losses
unknown	1,000+

It was the only major battle to be fought in the Lordship of Ireland during the Wars of the Roses. It is also part of the long-running feud between the FitzGerald dynasty and the Butler dynasty.

Bibliography

• Jeffrey James. Edward IV: Glorious Son of York. Amberley Publishing, 2015.
• Anthony M. McCormack. The Earldom of Desmond 1463-1583: The Decline and Crisis of a Feudal Lordship. Four Courts Press, 2005.