The Galloglass: Gaelic Mercenary Warriors

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For more than 400 years, Irish warfare was dominated by the Galloglass, elite Norse-Gael mercenary warriors who reshaped battles with their two-handed sparth axes and claymores. Why did Gaelic chieftains and Norman lords alike rely on these foreign fighters? And what drove the Galloglass to fight with such ferocity that English observers would later write, "When they strike they inflict a dreadful wound"?

To find out more, Matt Lewis is joined by Fergus Cannan-Braniff, a descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor and Robert the Bruce, and author of Galloglass 1250-1600: Gaelic Mercenary Warrior.

Castles and the Conquest of Ireland

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4mQSY11BBAru3Q3tDQgXWA

Medieval Ireland: Death & Politics

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sGKfux9jioLnvOUcydbov

Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis and edited by Amy Haddow. The producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including Matt's series Castles that Made Ireland, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, I'm Matt Lewis.
0:02.6	And I'm Dr. Eleanor Yonaga.
0:04.2	And we're just popping up here to tell you some insider info.
0:08.0	If you would like to listen to Gone Medieval ad-free and get early access and bonus episodes,
0:13.3	sign up to History Hit.
0:14.5	With the History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries.
0:20.6	Such as my new series on everyone's favorite
0:22.8	conquerors, the Normans, or my recent exploration of the castles that made Britain. There's a new
0:29.9	release to enjoy every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe, or find a link in the show notes for this episode.
0:45.1	Hello, I'm Matt Lewis. Welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, the podcast that delves into the greatest
0:55.5	millennium in human history. We've got the most intriguing mysteries, the gobsmacking details
1:02.0	and latest groundbreaking research from the Vikings to the printing press, from kings to popes to the crusades.
1:08.9	We cross centuries and continents to delve into rebellions,
1:13.2	plots and murders, to find the stories big and small that tell us how we got here. Find out who we
1:20.1	really were with Gone Medieval. The date is August 19, 2004.
1:39.5	The place is Nocto County Galway, Ireland.
1:43.8	Two armies face each other, their banners snapping fiercely in the wind.
1:48.7	Among their ranks on both sides are the legendary gallo-glass, elite Scottish mercenaries imposing in stature,
1:56.6	grim-faced and muscled, whose very name strikes fear into the hearts of their enemies.
2:03.3	As the battle cry goes up, the earth trembles underfoot as these warriors charge uphill into a
2:09.1	hail of arrows, their massive two-handed axes, the dreaded sparf, glint in the sunlight,
2:16.0	ready to cleave through armour and bone alike. By nightfall,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 7 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.