When Ormonde left Ireland, Lord Taaffe, who had been and was to be his adherent, took the oath to the Confederacy. Muskerry, having got rid of Glamorgan, thought he could counteract Rinuccini most effectually by attending the Council regularly; and he handed over the command in Munster to Taaffe. The new general, who was perhaps not very sure of his troops, invaded the county of Cork, but avoided an encounter with Inchiquin, who disregarded him and made a dash into Tipperary, which had hitherto suffered little by the war, and where there were cows to be lifted and towns to be sacked. He reported the capture of twelve castles, of which Cahir was the most important. There were a hundred men in this strong place, which might have defied him if it had been bravely defended. One of his soldiers was wounded and taken in a plundering affray, and Colonel Hippesley, who had some skill in surgery, obtained access to him in the guise of a doctor. He used his opportunity to notice that there was a weak point in the courtyard wall, and that a timorous spirit prevailed among the garrison. The outer wall was carried by storm, and the castle surrendered on condition that the soldiers' lives should be spared. The moral effect of this success was great, for it was supposed then, and it has often been said since, that Cahir held out for two months against Essex. It is true that that ill-starred favourite wasted several weeks in Munster, but his siege of Cahir lasted only three days. On September 4 Inchiquin came before Cashel, where there was a garrison of four hundred men. A panic was caused by the fate of Cahir, and the soldiers with a large part of the inhabitants took refuge on the famous rock, which was well supplied with water and surrounded by strong walls. Others wisely distrusted the acropolis, and hid themselves in the woods and fields. Inchiquin offered to let the garrison march out with the honours of war, without any conditions for the clergy and citizens; but the officers bravely refused. The assailants had no cannon, but trusted to fire within the walls. One account says Inchiquin piled turf against the defences; another, that firebrands were thrown over the battlements. The fine September weather did the rest. The assailants swarmed in over the north wall, and a terrible carnage ensued. About a thousand of the besieged perished, some women being killed and others stripped. 'Three of the secular clergy, the prior of the Dominicans, and one of our society (the Jesuits) fell in the performance of their sacred duties.' A bishop who was present managed to hide himself, as did the mayor and some others; but no respect was paid to the church or even to the altar. According to the account most favourable to Inchiquin, he tried to stop the slaughter as soon as he reached the cathedral, but is said to have donned the archiepiscopal mitre, boasting that he was governor of Munster and archbishop of Cashel too. Ludlow says he 'put 3000 to the sword, taking the priests even from under the altar: of such force is ambition when it seizes upon the minds of men.' The soldiers sold the plunder, including the sacred vessels, to the people who flocked in from the neighbouring villages 'as if to a fair.' Pictures of saints were used as horse-cloths, and insults were offered to statues of the Virgin.[115]