James Dillon (officer)
Encyclopedia
Sir James Dillon was an officer in the armies of the Irish Confederate Catholic
during the Irish Confederate Wars
(1641-53) and a Member
of the Parliament of Ireland
. He was likely born at Kilfaughny, Athlone and lived in the vicinity.
's 'new army', which was recruited in Ireland to help put down a rebellion against King Charles I
in Scotland. This force was disbanded after an outcry against arming Irish Catholics in the Parliaments of England and Scotland. When it disbanded in 1641 Dillon was authorised, with his own £1,000 (2009: £), to raise a regiment of the demobbed soldiers for the Spanish Army
. However, this plan was interrupted by the outbreak of a Catholic rebellion in Ireland in October 1641. The brewing conflict lost him his investment and later that year he joined the revolt
of his fellow Catholic
gentry.
Dillon is alleged to have conspired with Lord Maguire
before the rebellion; he proposed seizing Dublin Castle
but according to some accounts, the Earl of Ormonde
, commander-in-chief, talked him out of it. However, the claim that Dillon and Ormonde (who was a Protestant) knew of the planned rebellion in adcance has never been proved.
After the outbreak of the rebellion in 1641 Dillon joined the rebels and participated in the alternative government the Catholics set up at Kilkenny
in March 1642, under the name, the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. He was appointed governor of Longford
and Westmeath by the Confederate regime.
Dillon is recorded as a dove within the confederacy - favouring a speedy reconciliation with Charles I of England
and Irish Catholic participation in the English Civil War
on the royalist
side. The question of whether to do this, or whether to achieve Catholic aims in Ireland by military force, against all the English factions, was a source of major division among the Confederates. Dillon was the dominant military leader in west Leinster
and, as an infantry colonel, recruited and equipped over 1,000 men.
Throughout 1642, Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh
held him off in Athlone. Ranelagh held the castle, west of the Shannon
. Ormonde, by this time commander of the English royalist forces in Ireland, relieved the town without difficulty. In January 1643, at Rathconnell near Mullingar
, Dillon attacked a second relief force as it returned to Dublin with the remnants of Ranelagh's garrison.
His regiment assisted Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara
in capturing Roscommon
and Jamestown
.
In 1647 his regiment was destroyed, along with much of the Confederate's Leinster army, at the Battle of Dungan's Hill
, when they were defeatd by an English Parliamentarian
army which by that time held Dublin.
Dillon fought against the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
from 1649-51, when the English Parliament, victorious in the English Civil War, launched a renewed invasion of Ireland. In 1651 Dillon surrendered Athlone to the parliamentarians.
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
during the Irish Confederate Wars
Irish Confederate Wars
This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
(1641-53) and a Member
Westmeath (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Westmeath was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1611 to 1800. Between 1725 and 1793 Catholics and those married to Catholics could not vote...
of the Parliament of Ireland
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
. He was likely born at Kilfaughny, Athlone and lived in the vicinity.
Biography
Dillon was a captain in WentworthThomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
's 'new army', which was recruited in Ireland to help put down a rebellion against King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in Scotland. This force was disbanded after an outcry against arming Irish Catholics in the Parliaments of England and Scotland. When it disbanded in 1641 Dillon was authorised, with his own £1,000 (2009: £), to raise a regiment of the demobbed soldiers for the Spanish Army
Spanish Army
The Spanish Army is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century.-Introduction:...
. However, this plan was interrupted by the outbreak of a Catholic rebellion in Ireland in October 1641. The brewing conflict lost him his investment and later that year he joined the revolt
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
of his fellow Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
gentry.
Dillon is alleged to have conspired with Lord Maguire
Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen
Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen was an Irish nobleman from Ulster who took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He was executed for high treason.-Life:...
before the rebellion; he proposed seizing Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
but according to some accounts, the Earl of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
, commander-in-chief, talked him out of it. However, the claim that Dillon and Ormonde (who was a Protestant) knew of the planned rebellion in adcance has never been proved.
After the outbreak of the rebellion in 1641 Dillon joined the rebels and participated in the alternative government the Catholics set up at Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
in March 1642, under the name, the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. He was appointed governor of Longford
Longford
Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 7,622 according to the 2006 census. Approximately one third of the county's population resides in the town. Longford town is also the biggest town in the county...
and Westmeath by the Confederate regime.
Dillon is recorded as a dove within the confederacy - favouring a speedy reconciliation with Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and Irish Catholic participation in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
on the royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
side. The question of whether to do this, or whether to achieve Catholic aims in Ireland by military force, against all the English factions, was a source of major division among the Confederates. Dillon was the dominant military leader in west Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
and, as an infantry colonel, recruited and equipped over 1,000 men.
Throughout 1642, Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh
Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh
Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh PC was a member of the Peerage of Ireland and lord president of Connaught. He was Chief Leader of the Army and Forces of Connaught during the early years of the Irish Confederate Wars...
held him off in Athlone. Ranelagh held the castle, west of the Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
. Ormonde, by this time commander of the English royalist forces in Ireland, relieved the town without difficulty. In January 1643, at Rathconnell near Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
, Dillon attacked a second relief force as it returned to Dublin with the remnants of Ranelagh's garrison.
His regiment assisted Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara
Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara was an Irish soldier of the 17th century. He was a descendant of Sir Robert de Preston, who in 1363 purchased the lands of Gormanston, County Meath, and who was keeper of the Great Seal in Ireland some years later....
in capturing Roscommon
Roscommon
Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...
and Jamestown
Jamestown, County Leitrim
Jamestown is a village on the banks of the River Shannon in County Leitrim, Ireland. It lies some 5 km east-south-east of the county town, Carrick-on-Shannon....
.
In 1647 his regiment was destroyed, along with much of the Confederate's Leinster army, at the Battle of Dungan's Hill
Battle of Dungan's Hill
The Battle of Dungan's Hill took place in County Meath, in eastern Ireland in August 1647. It was fought between the armies of Confederate Ireland and the English Parliament during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Irish army was intercepted on a march towards Dublin and destroyed...
, when they were defeatd by an English Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
army which by that time held Dublin.
Dillon fought against the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
from 1649-51, when the English Parliament, victorious in the English Civil War, launched a renewed invasion of Ireland. In 1651 Dillon surrendered Athlone to the parliamentarians.
Family
- 8th (and youngest) son of Theobald DillonTheobald Dillon, 1st Viscount DillonTheobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon , was an Irish military commander and adventurer, reputedly descended from the Anglo-Norman Henry le Dillon. He held extensive lands in Connaught and Westmeath. He was a loyal supporter of Elizabeth I of England in her Irish wars...
, 1st Viscount DillonViscount DillonViscount Dillon, of Costello-Gallen in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, Lord President of Connaught. The Dillons were an Hiberno-Norman landlord family from the 13th century in a part of County Westmeath was called 'Dillon's... - His estate was 2500 acres (10.1 km²) in Mayo and Roscommon.
- Married Elizabeth (died pre 1653) (Father: Thomas Plunkett of Rathmore, Meath)
- Sons Ulick and James predeceased him.
- Married Mary (died pre January 1665); widow of Major John Ridge.
- No issue
- 4th Viscount DillonViscount DillonViscount Dillon, of Costello-Gallen in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1622 for Theobald Dillon, Lord President of Connaught. The Dillons were an Hiberno-Norman landlord family from the 13th century in a part of County Westmeath was called 'Dillon's...
inherited his estate