The Siege of Smerwick took place at Ard na Caithne (known in English as Smerwick, a Norse-derived name meaning 'Butter-bay') in 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A force of anywhere from 400 to 700 (accounts vary) Papal freelance soldiers, mostly of Spanish and Italian origin, captured the village but were forced to retreat to nearby Dún an Óir ('Fort of Gold'), where they were besieged by the Irish Royal Army. The Papal commander parleyed and was bribed, and the defenders surrendered within a few days. The officers were spared and the other ranks were then summarily executed on the orders of the English commander, Arthur Grey (Baron Grey de Wilton), the Lord Deputy of Ireland.