A  possible  explanation  of  the  poor  show  made  by  the
Coleraine  men  on  each  of  the  above  occasions  may  be
found  in  the  nerve-shattering  privations  to  which  they
had  been  subjected  since  the  commencement  of  the
rebellion.  Starved  and  sick  refugees  are  not  the  material
from  which  a  commander  would  willingly  select  his
army.  In  this  connection,  there  is  interest  in  the  fact
that  the  British  force  defeated  at  Julianstown  was  also
composed  of  nerve-shattered  refugees  suddenly  enlisted
as  soldiers.  The  behaviour  of  the  men  at  the  three  above-
named  fights  contrasts  remarkably  with  that  of  the  Lagan
and  Lisburn  forces,  and  such  others  as  were  recruited  from
local  colonists  who  had  gone  through  no  such  trying
experiences.
1  Warr  of  Ireland.
*  Ibid.      Clogy  places  the  date  on  February  10,  but  he  is  clearly  in
confusion  between  this  fight  and  that  at  Garvagh.
3  Ibid.     Clogy  gives  Laney  as  the  name  of  the  battle-field.
1642]    TIRLOUGH  OGE  REPULSED  FROM  ANTRIM   215

The  Bundooragh  fight  was  considerably  ahead,  in  point
of  date,  of  the  Garvagh  affair  and  the  events  that  followed
on  it,  and  in  order  to  keep  events  in  their  proper  sequence
it  becomes  necessary  to  return  to  the  beginning  of  February.
