Battle of Moyry Pass

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54°03′50″N 6°23′06″W / 54.064°N 6.385°W / 54.064; -6.385

Battle of Moyry Pass
Part of the Nine Years' War
Date 20 September – 9 October 1600 Location near Jonesborough, County Armagh Result Indecisive English forces establish a garrison at Mountnorris but Mountjoy retreated in November
Belligerents
Irish Alliance	England
Commanders and leaders
Hugh O'Neill	Lord Mountjoy
Strength
3,000–4,000	4,000–5,000
Casualties and losses
1-200 killed	4-500 killed, 400 wounded, several hundred dead from disease

The Battle of Moyry Pass was fought during September and October 1600 in counties Armagh and Louth, in the north of Ireland, during the Nine Years' War. It was the first significant engagement of forces following the cessation of arms agreed in the previous year between the Irish leader Hugh O'Neill and the English Crown commander, the Earl of Essex.

The battle was fought by the armies of O'Neill and Lord Mountjoy, a follower of the late Earl of Essex. Mountjoy was determined to pierce O'Neill's heartland in central and western Ulster by the Moyry Pass. In the course of a two-week assault the English troops established a garrison near Armagh, taking heavy casualties, and Mountjoy retired with difficulty to Dundalk.