Signing of First Ormond Peace

Date: March 28, 1646 • Location: Kilkenny, Ireland

Irish Confederate Wars: Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty, signed the First Ormond Peace for the Confederates in exchange for greater freedom of religion.

The Irish Confederate Wars took place from 1641 to 1653. The conflict began with the Irish rising of 1641 and evolved into a prolonged struggle over Ireland's future, as Irish forces sought to defend their land, political rights and autonomy against foreign control, plantation policies and continued encroachment on Irish self-government. Although linked to the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the war in Ireland had its own distinct causes and objectives rooted in resistance to English rule, the recovery of confiscated lands and the defence of Irish interests. The conflict caused an estimated 200,000 deaths from fighting, as well as war-related famine and disease.