Duncannon and the Nuncio
The most securely dated Irish military event of the year was the Confederate capture of Duncannon Fort, at the entrance to Waterford Harbour. Thomas Preston’s Leinster army began its siege on 20 January. The fort was a formidable strategic position: whoever held it could threaten or protect shipping moving between Waterford, the Irish Sea and continental routes. It was also an English-held outpost embedded in a region otherwise strongly influenced by the Confederation. Its governor, Lord Esmonde, had to depend upon a comparatively small garrison, sea supply and the strength of the fortifications.