Clontibret

History

In 1595 the adjacent countryside was the site of the Battle of Clontibret. The territory of Monaghan had been wrested from the control of the MacMahon clan in 1591 when the clan leader was executed by English authority. Subsequent encroachments by the English into the province of Ulster led to the Nine Years War (1595–1603). The battle was the earliest clash between the two sides, with the Irish led by Hugh O'Neill and the English by Sir Henry Bagenal. Although O'Neill won the battle, the war ended with the completion of the English conquest of Ireland. In 1610 the Plantation of Ulster was established, an event that still defines certain political allegiances in Northern Ireland. On 7 August 1986, in protest at the Anglo-Irish Agreement, Northern Irish unionist politician Peter Robinson led a mob of 500 unionist militants and crossed the Irish border into Clontibret. During what is sometimes called the "Clontibret invasion", the group held a military parade with drills in the square, before being forced by the Gardaí to retreat across the border. Irish authorities claimed that there were no more than 150 militants. Two Gardaí were beaten by the mob, while Robinson and others were arrested, tried, and eventually fined for the incident. Riots took place at Dundalk during the trial of Robinson, where Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was attacked with stones and petrol bombs.