The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms in that members were liable for service anywhere in the country, rather than being limited to a single area or garrison. To establish a professional officer corps, the army's leaders were prohibited from having seats in either the House of Lords or House of Commons. This was to encourage their separation from the political or religious factions among the Parliamentarians.
Sir Hardress Waller, was an English Protestant who settled in Ireland and fought for Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A leading member of the radical element within the New Model Army, he signed the death warrant for the Execution of Charles I in 1649; after the Stuart Restoration in 1660, he was condemned to death as a regicide, a sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
Sir Ralph Sadler or Sadleir PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII as Privy Councillor, Secretary of State and ambassador to Scotland. Sadler went on to serve Edward VI. Having signed the device settling the crown on Jane Grey in 1553, he was obliged to retire to his estates during the reign of Mary I. Sadler was restored to royal favour during the reign of Elizabeth I, serving as a Privy Councillor and once again participating in Anglo-Scottish diplomacy. He was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in May 1568.
Colonel John Hewson, also spelt Hughson, was a shoemaker from London and religious Independent who fought for Parliament and the Commonwealth in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, reaching the rank of colonel. Considered one of Oliver Cromwell's most reliable supporters within the New Model Army, his unit played a prominent part in Pride's Purge of December 1648. Hewson signed the death warrant for the Execution of Charles I in January 1649, for which he reportedly sourced the headsman, while soldiers from his regiment provided security.
Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish soldier, and politician. He succeeded his father as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defending the rights of the Gaelic nobility in the Irish Catholic Confederation. Later, he supported the King against his Parliamentarian enemies during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
Charles MacCarty, Viscount Muskerry, called Cormac in Irish, commanded a royalist battalion at the Battle of the Dunes during the interregnum. He was heir apparent to Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty but was killed at the age of 31 at the Battle of Lowestoft, a sea-fight against the Dutch, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and thus never succeeded to the earldom. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
The Sack of Wexford took place from 2 to 11 October 1649, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, part of the 1641–1653 Irish Confederate Wars. English Commonwealth forces under Oliver Cromwell stormed the town after negotiations broke down, killing most of the Irish Confederate and Royalist garrison. Many civilians also died, either during the sack, or drowned attempting to escape across the River Slaney.
Sir George Hamilton, 1st Baronet of Donalong and Nenagh, born in Scotland into a Catholic family, inherited land in Ireland and served his brother-in-law, the 1st Duke of Ormond, a Protestant, in diplomatic missions during the Confederate Wars and as receiver-general of the royalists. He also defended Nenagh Castle against Henry Ireton during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Hamilton was father of Antoine Hamilton, author of the Mémoires du Comte de Grammont, of Richard Hamilton, Jacobite general, and of Elizabeth, Countess de Gramont, "la belle Hamilton".
Justin McCarthy, 1st Viscount Mountcashel, PC (Ire), was a Jacobite general in the Williamite War in Ireland and a personal friend of James II. He commanded Irish Army troops during the conflict, enjoying initial success when he seized Bandon in County Cork in 1689. However, he was defeated and captured at the Battle of Newtownbutler later in the same year. He escaped and was accused of having broken parole. After the end of the war, he led an Irish Brigade overseas for service in the French Army. He died in French exile.
Colonel Richard Grace was an Irish Royalist soldier who fought for Charles I, Charles II and James II. He served in the Royalist Army in Exile during the 1650s.
Sir Edward Butler, 1st Viscount Galmoye was an Irish peer, the eldest son of Piers FitzThomas Butler and the Honourable Katherine Fleming, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Fleming, 10th Baron Slane and his wife Catherine Preston. His father was the illegitimate son of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Edward Butler was invested as a Knight on 1 November 1619. He held the office of High Sheriff of County Kilkenny, Ireland in 1640. In 1646 he attended the Confederation of Kilkenny. He was created 1st Viscount Galmoye on 16 May 1646. He lived at Galmoy Castle, County Kilkenny. He died in 1653 and was succeeded by his grandson, Edward Butler.
Vincent Gookin (1616?–1659) was an English surveyor-general of Ireland. He represented Irish constituencies in the Protectorate parliaments. In 1655 he published two pamphlets deprecating the enforcement of orders for transplantation of Irish to Connaught. He was a man of strong religious convictions, and an ardent republican.
John King, 1st Baron Kingston was an Anglo-Irish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who served the Commonwealth government during the Interregnum and government of Charles II after the Restoration.
During the Protectorate period (1653–1659) of the Commonwealth of England, the Lord Protector reserved the power previously held by the monarch to confer knighthoods, baronetcies and peerages.
Roscrea Castle is a 13th-century motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Roscrea, Ireland. The Castle consists of a walled courtyard, gate block, and angled towers. Along with 18th century Damer House and gardens, the Castle forms part of Roscrea Heritage Centre.
Sir William Flower (c.1600-c.1682) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, politician and landowner of the seventeenth century. He fought for Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War but was imprisoned as a suspected Royalist, a suspicion later confirmed by the rewards he received after the Restoration of Charles II. His descendants still hold the titles Viscount Ashbrook and Baron Castle Durrow.
Sir James Shaen, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish politician. He was an influential official in the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland during the 1670s.
Sir Thomas Crosbie, also recorded as Crosby, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician.
