The Battle of Scarrifholis, also spelt Scariffhollis was fought on 21 June 1650, near Letterkenny in County Donegal during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. A force loyal to the Commonwealth of England commanded by Charles Coote defeated the Catholic Ulster Army, commanded by Heber MacMahon, Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher. Although slightly fewer than their opponents, Coote's troops consisted largely of veterans from the New Model Army and had three times the number of cavalry. After an hour of fighting, the Ulster army collapsed and fled, losing most of its men, officers, weapons, and supplies. The battle secured the north of Ireland for the Commonwealth and cleared the way to complete the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Background The Irish Confederate Wars, sparked by the 1641 Rebellion, were initially fought between the predominantly Catholic Confederation, and a largely Protestant Irish Royal Army, led by Ormond. Both claimed to be loyal to Charles I, while there was a three sided war in Ulster. The latter involved Royalists, Gaelic Catholic leader Eoghan Ó Néill, and Presbyterian militia, known as the Laggan Army, supported by Scots Covenanters under Robert Munro. In September 1643, Ormond agreed a truce, or 'Cessation', with the Confederation, freeing his troops for use in England against Parliament in the First English Civil War. Some Irish Protestants objected, and switched sides, including Sir Charles Coote, who became Parliamentarian commander in Connacht. Charles surrendered in 1646, while a Covenanter/Royalist uprising was quickly suppressed in the 1648 Second English Civil War. On 17 January 1649, the Confederation allied with Ormond's Royalists; following the execution of Charles on 30 January, they were joined by the Laggan Army, and remaining Scots troops in Ulster. There were various reasons for this. The Covenanter government, who provided support for Scottish settlers in Ulster, considered Cromwell and other leaders of the new Commonwealth of England dangerous political and religious radicals. As Scots, they objected to the execution of their king by the English; as Presbyterians, they viewed monarchy as divinely ordained, making regicide also sacrilegious, and they transferred their allegiance to his son, Charles II of England. However, this was offset by a split within the Confederation, between Catholic landowners who wanted to preserve the position prevailing in 1641, and those like Ó Néill, whose estates had been confiscated in 1607. As a result, he agreed a truce with Coote, and refused to join the Alliance, depriving them