On December 21st the entire Irish army marched up and settled themselves to blockade the English. The besiegers were now in their turn besieged, and were cut off from the interior of the country, whence their supplies of fresh food had been drawn. Under these circumstances, it could not be long till men and horses- began to suffer from starvation and disease.

The Irish had, therefore, only to remain quiet and allow the army of their enemies to melt away of its own accord. This was the course which O’Neill advised, but, unfortunately, some of the younger and more impetuous spirits allowed themselves to be moved by the urgent message which D’Aquila had sent, begging for a speedy attack, which he promised to support by a sally from the town. When a Council of War was held, the majority of the chiefs, including O’Donnell, voted for immediate action. It was decided to attempt a surprise attack on the English during the night of December 23rd.