Battle of Bantry Bay

Battle of Bantry Bay
Part of the Nine Years' War and Williamite War
Battle of Bantry Bay by Adriaen van Diest.
Date 11 May 1689[1] Location Bantry Bay, Ireland 51°39′N 9°43′W / 51.650°N 9.717°W / 51.650; -9.717 Result French victory[2]
Belligerents
England	France
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Torrington	Châteaurenault
Strength
19[3]-22[4] ships	24 ships[5]
Casualties and losses
94 killed c. 300 wounded No ships lost	40 killed 93 wounded No ships lost

The Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on 11 May 1689, a week before the declaration of the Nine Years' War. The English fleet was commanded by Admiral Arthur Herbert, created Earl of Torrington after the Battle; the French fleet by François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault. Apart from the inshore operations at La Rochelle in 1627–28, the Battle of Bantry Bay was the first time English and French navies had met in fleet action since 1545.^[6]

The battle near the southern Irish coast was somewhat inconclusive but the French, endeavouring to supply King James II in his attempt to re-establish his throne, had managed to unload their supplies for James's Irish campaign. But although the French failed to follow up their tactical success with strategic gain, Châteaurenault had inflicted considerable damage on the English fleet.