THE ARMY OF OCCUPATION IN IRELAND 1603-42: Defending the Protestant Hegemony

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Established in 1603 and initially composed almost entirely of English officers and soldiers for the first 30 years of its existence, the army's strength waxed and wanes in accordance with the English government's assessment of the security situation in Ireland. However, during the governorship of Thomas Wentworth it was seen as a possible instrument for enforcing royal rule in all three of the Stuart kingdoms.

In 1640, some 8,000 strong, it was geared up for a campaign against Charles I's rebellious Scottish subjects, but it never left Ireland as by the time it was ready to do so the Scots had defeated the king. It was then reduced to only a third of its previous strength. Penny packet deployments across Ireland helped quell minor problems, but they largely focused on behavior of an army of occupation under control such as collecting fines levied by the law courts and unpaid taxes and requisitioning food when marching from one garrison to another and then failing to initiate the process by which farmers or shopkeepers were paid.

On October 23, 1641, surprise attacks during the Catholic uprising caused almost 25% casualties, but the remainder held onto the principal ports until reinforcements arrived in the following spring.