[End of June 1502]

In June following the arrival of the English Army at Kilkenny, the Earl of Ormond was asked to raise a host by the King. He agreed, though complained that his neighbor, the Earldom of Desmond currently governed by a regent appointed by His Majesty, was doing nothing to stop the threat of Cormac and in fact had actively allowed Cormac to pass through his lands without opposition.

In the eyes of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond, this regent had stood by and watched as his lands got sacked and did nothing to help. Thomas and His Majesty the King Henry VII were good friends, so the Earl was hoping to pull on his strings with the King to at least get some sort of reparation from Desmond, but was dismissed. When he brought it up again to the King, he was offered a sum that paled in comparison to what he felt he was owed.

Honoring the request of the King, Thomas Butler orders the raising of 1500 Kern and 100 Gallowglass. Dishonoring the request of the King, he writes a letter to his son Piers Ruadh instructing him to take the host and "inflict tenfold unto Desmond what Cormac inflicted unto us." With further reassurances from his father that he would deal with any criminal issues that may arise from these instructions, Piers Ruadh gathers his men and launches an attack against the Earldom of Desmond.

Ormond: 2, 10, 58

Desmond: 76, 21, 71

The raid goes terribly for Ormond and the host raised in Desmond fights off Ruadh's army well enough. Though some cattle are inevitably taken, the skirmishes go Desmond's way and the heavier fighting among the Gallowglass inflicts more casualties upon Ormond's retinue than Desmond's.

Ruadh pulls back to Ormond in early July to replenish what forces he lost and stow his meager ill-gotten gains, but relations between Ormond and Desmond have never been worse.