Lieutenant Tyrrell was totally unapprised of the intention, or motions of the enemy:—his guard were extremely vigilant during each night, but not apprehending any danger in the day time they frequently dispersed through the village for the purpose of recreation and refreshment. This happened to be the case with many of his men upon Wednesday morning the 11th of July, on which day, about eleven o'Clock Mr.Richard Allen galloped into the Court, and brought intelligence that he was pursued by a piquet guard of the Rebels, whom he narrowly escaped as they were well mounted; and he was confident a considerable force was approaching. The alarm was instantly given—every exertion was made to collect the scattered men, and parties were stationed in the most advantageous positions. As the enemy were expected from the Dublin side, six of the Corps (including Mr.Allen and Thomas Tyrrell junr. the Lieutenant's son, and only fifteen years of age) took possession of an old Turret at the extremity of the garden; and which commanded the road. Such was the rapidity with which the Rebels advanced, that the firing actually commenced from this quarter upon their Cavalry before the entire guard could be collected, and the gate leading into the Court yard was under such necessity closed to the exclusion of several, so that when Lieutenant Tyrrell came to ascertain his strength, he found he had only Twenty-seven men, including his own three sons, the eldest of whom was only seventeen years old! Such a critical situation required the coolness of a man innured to military danger, and all the exertion, firmness and skill of a veteran soldier. But although Lieutenant Tyrrell never had served in the Army, his own good sense supplied the want of experience, and his native courage furnished resources adequate to the magnitude of the occasion. He found his men as zealous as himself, determined to maintain their post and to discharge their duty to their King and Country, or fall in such a glorious cause. After sending a supply of ammunition to the advanced post at the Turret, and stationing other out-posts, he retired into the house with the main body, from which he selected the best marksmen, and placing them at particular windows gave directions that they should not fire without having their object covered, he had the rest of the men secured behind the walls and incessantly employed in loading musquets and carabines for the marksmen at the windows.

The firing as we have observed commenced from the Turret at the extremity of the garden. About 300 of the Rebel Cavalry lead on by one Farrell formed their advanced guard, and approached the Turret in a smart trot, without appearing to apprehend any danger. The first shot was fired by young Mr.Tyrrell, which mortally wounded Farrell, and being followed by a general discharge from the rest among the body of the Cavalry, threw them into great confusion, in which state they fled out of the reach of the firing. The Infantry however coming up, many of them contrived to pass the Turret under cover of the wall, and numbers were posted behind a thick hedge on the opposite side of the road, from which they kept up a smart fire against the Turret, but without doing any material mischief.

The Infantry who had passed the Turret being joined by a party who came by a cross road (for it seems their plan was to surround the house by advancing in different directions) they stationed a guard upon the Bridge to prevent any reinforcement arriving in that direction. About ten or a dozen of this guard were in a very few minutes shot by the marksmen from the windows, upon which the rest fled; not one of the Rebels ventured afterwards to appear upon the Bridge, so that the communication with the Western road was in a great measure preserved, the importance of which to the little garrison in Clonard will appear in the event of the day.

The enemy being thus defeated in their first onset in both points of attack, became exasperated to an extravagant pitch of fury, and determined upon the most savage revenge. A large party contrived to penetrate into the garden, by the rere, and some of them immediately rushed into the Turret. The Yeomen stationed there were upon an upper floor—they had the precaution to drag up the ladder by which they ascended;—the Rebels endeavoured to climb upon each other, so as to reach the upper story, but they were killed as fast as they appeared; others then ran their pikes through the cieling, and fired shots but without effect—the conflict was obstinate—twenty seven of the Rebels lay dead on the ground floor, when at length, a quantity of straw was brought and set on fire. The building was soon in flames; two of the yeomen, Mr.Michael Cusack and Mr.George Tyrrell, endeavouring to force their way through the smoke were immediately put to death; the rest of the party viz. Mr.Allen, young Mr.T.Tyrrell, and two others escaped by leaping from a window twenty foot high into an hay-yard, from whence under cover of a wall which divided it from the garden they escaped into the house.

Having succeeded so well by the effect of conflagration, the enemy set fire to the Toll house and some other cabbins on the left near the Bridge, for the purpose of embarassing and confusing the garrison; during this operation, they were seen throwing their dead into the flames, for the purpose, it was thought of evading discovery.

The Battle had now lasted near six hours: about five in the evening the approach of succour was descried from the house—the hopes of all were elevated and they fought with renovated vigour.

One of the guard who had been excluded by the sudden shutting of the gates in the morning, finding he could be of no other use, repaired to Kinnegad, represented the situation of his friends at Clonard, upon which fourteen of the Kinnegad Infantry, under Lieutenant Houghton, and eleven Northumberland Fencibles, under the command of a Serjeant, immediately collected and with great gallantry marched for Clonard. The communication by the Bridge having been kept open in the manner before related, Lieutenant Tyrrell sallied from the house, and soon effected a junction with this reinforcement. A few vollies completely cleared the roads, and having then placed the Northumberland and Kinnegad men in such situations as most effectually to gall the enemy in their retreat from the garden, the Lieutenant undertook in person, the hazardous enterprise of dislodging them from thence.

At this time, it is supposed there were 400 Rebels in the garden; numbers of them were posted upon a mount planted with old fir trees, which afforded considerable protection, and many lay concealed behind a privet hedge, from whence they could distinctly see every person who entered the garden, tho' they could not be seen themselves—Lieutenant Tyrrell at the head of a few picked men, rushed into the garden; and was received by a general discharge from both parties of the enemy: no time was lost in attacking the party behind the hedge, who being defeated, retired to the mount;—here the action again became warm, the Rebels appeared determined to maintain the advantage of their situation, and the Yeomen, tho' fatigued with the labour of the day, could not think of retiring. Six of them were badly wounded, among whom was Mr.Richard Allen, who had so gallantly defended the Turrett—a ball passed thro' his left arm, and entered his side; his comrades still persevered with the most undaunted courage, and supporting a steady and well directed fire against the mount, the enemy were at length dispersed, and in their flight were met by the Northumberland and Kinnegad Corps who made great havoc among them.

The victory was now complete—as glorious an achievement, we will venture to say, as occurred during the whole rebellion, and for which the gallant officers and men can never be too much applauded, whether we consider it as an unexampled display of genuine loyalty and true courage, or estimate its value from its immence importance to that part of the country and the kingdom at large. It was the first check which the United Army of Wexford and Kildare experienced and proved the fore-runner of those multiplied defeats which terminated in its total dispersion.