Highly-regarded Kilkenny author's new novel inspired by Cromwell's attack

Oliver Cromwell’s name evokes loathing and horror in Ireland even today, more than three and a half centuries after he departed these shores after just nine months of campaigning.

John Fitzgerald's new novel, Invaders, will be officially launched at Keoghs pub in Callan at 8pm on Friday, October 6.

It tells the story of a tumultuous period in Irish history via an array of fictional characters, albeit ones inspired by real people and events.

Kilkenny City was a key objective of the invaders because it the de facto capital of Ireland’s rebel confederacy, while Callan becomes the stage for a David v Goliath military showdown.

Heroes and villains abound. Foremost among the fearless Irish defenders are Captain Mark Gegan, who takes up residence in Skerry’s Castle in Callan. The castle will play a key role in the drama that unfolds when the invading army arrives at the town walls.

The novel takes the reader back to Ireland of 1649. The drums of war beat loudly. A huge expeditionary force under the command of Oliver Cromwell crosses the Irish Sea. Its objective: to re-conquer a land that has, for the previous seven years, asserted independence and freedom of worship under a rebel Confederacy.

Cromwell is sworn to destroy the rebels and Ireland’s predominant religion, which the fanatical regime in London deems an affront to God.

Facing the massive invasion force, in the towns, hills, mountains and forests of Ireland, are soldiers of the disbanded Confederacy, backed by die-hard Royalists loyal to the deposed British monarchy.

The reader is taken on a nine moth journey - starting on the day in August 1649 when soldiers of the most powerful army on earth disembark at Ringsend ,Dublin, alighting from ships that stretch out to sea to the far horizon out to sea. Bigger than the Spanish Armada, an observer calls the invasion fleet.

On September 11, upwards of 3,000 soldiers and civilians are slaughtered at Drogheda, a massacre that scares a string of other towns into surrender without firing a shot.

The Roundhead army then turns to other towns, such as Wexford and Waterford, before attacking Kilkenny. Before moving on Ireland’s rebel capital they target Callan, and much of the story centres around what happens in this town.

The story told from multiple viewpoints, including a Cromwellian soldier, an Augustinian friar, a publican, a fearless captain and his equally brave 'warrior wife'.

Recalling a dark, oppressive time in Irish history, it dramatizes the struggles and heroism of people who wish only to be left in peace, but have war thrust upon them.

It could be the story of any country, at any time; that opts to say NO to tyranny...in the face of overwhelming odds. It’s available from Amazon and selected bookshops.

"The idea of writing a fictional work based on Cromwell’s unfriendly visit to Callan first occurred to me many years ago, when I was still in the CBS primary school," says John.

"I have only vague memories of a teacher once mentioning that in Callan there had been a ferocious battle. It occurred way back in 1650 when Oliver Cromwell arrived at the town walls, expecting a prompt surrender.

"The main garrison ran up the white flag, at the behest of the treacherous Town Governor, but a brave captain, the teacher told us, refused to yield to the most powerful army on earth, and so a siege commenced that cost hundreds of lives and left the town in ruins.

"Almost every trace of that episode had disappeared, yielding to progress and the relentless march of time, we learned. Every trace, that is, except one crumbling wall that remained of the castle where Callan’s defenders made their last stand.

"I was surprised and confused to learn of where the wall stood. Surprised, because I, and all the other pupils of both primary and secondary schools in West Street, passed by the historic site every day when walking to or from school.

"Something about that little classroom spiff caught my imagination. I’d read the illustrated classics versions of The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask, among other epic yarns, which I’d found enthralling, and I had the bright idea that I could write a similar big adventure story about the captain who defied Cromwell."

John didn’t give any more thought to Cromwell’s unfriendly visit to Callan until a few years after leaving school when he read that the Irish Folklore Commission back in the 1930s had received some vivid accounts from a local school of the battle for Skerry’s Castle. The reports and essays were full of derring-do and paid lavish tribute to the town’s valiant defenders.

"After reading these priceless little gems the thought struck me that someone could surely write a compelling adventure story, even a novel, based on those events of 1650. I didn’t seriously consider that I would take on such a gargantuan challenge...I thought of my embarrassing attempt at the age of ten, but I wondered if somebody might give it a go," he says.

"Instead, I wrote a few articles about what happened in Callan, availing of the pitifully few scraps of information I could gather on the subject. Apart from a well-researched article penned by Callan historian Joe Kennedy, for the Old Kilkenny Review of 1984, I could find little to shed light on the events that culminated in the attack on Skerry’s Castle.

"The idea of writing an adventure yarn, or a literary work, based on Callan’s historic face-off with Cromwell occurred to me again when Covid closed down the country and kept us all under virtual house arrest for several months. Many people availed of Covid to reconnect with nature or to catch up on chores or hobbies they’d neglected. I spent the long dreary months of lockdown and restriction scribbling out a very rough draft of a novel. That was after I’d done a lot of research into the Cromwellian era.

"I discovered, among other things, that Captain Mark McGeogegan, the man who defied Cromwell and died fighting in the battle for Callan, had been assigned to his post in the town from his native Westmeath, and that his wife, hailed as a “warrior”, accompanied him to take up residence in Skerry’s Castle.

"I learned that his wife led the women of Callan into battle. She survived the siege and lived to a great age. I was delighted to find a living direct descendent of the captain - Frank Geoghegan, who lives in Frevanagh in County Westmeath. Not only does Frank own the same stretch of land that his ancestor grew up on. He lives in the same house!"

John got some people's opinions on his rough draft of the book, and the reaction was encouraging enough to keep the idea alive, so he devoted a lot more time to the manuscript. It’s since gone through many more drafts.

It’s strictly fiction but inspired by what happened in Callan, and other parts of Ireland, in 1649-50, with a special focus on Captain McGeoghegan and his warrior wife. 

"Sadly, Mrs McGeoghegan’s first name is lost to us, like the names of so many of the outstanding women who served their country in times of war, persecution, and social upheaval. So I’ve given her a name in the stor - one associated with the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity," John says.

"Through the novel I might, if nothing else; bring to prominence a largely forgotten chapter of our past. The main players in the true-life drama have long since departed this world. But via the power of the written word I want them to live again."

Joe Kennedy of Callan Heritage Society will launch the book at Keogh’s pub, Callan at 8pm on Friday, October 6.