Sir Timothy Garagchan o’Leitrim
“Sir Garrahan” Tim Moran
Legendary individuals crowd Pennsic this year, but only one can lay claim to having fought in heavy combat at every Pennsic War. Baron Foscadh O’Dubhda, OP, of the Middle Kingdom, reminisced about his long experience during a sunny day of Peace Week from his camp overlooking the northwest corner of the battlefield.
“I’m not sure there’s any one ‘best’ memory of fighting at Pennsic,” he said. “They all tend to merge together, but I have many memories of fighting one-on-one at some of the earliest Pennsics,” including a sprint at PW3 to catch and cut down the last Eastern survivor of the bridge battle at that war.
Foscadh’s record as the sole fighter to have been in combat at all Pennsic Wars was verified by historian and author Duke Finvarr de Taahe, himself the only King to have led both the Middle and the East in combat at Pennsic. “There were so few fighters at early Pennsic Wars that I was able to keep track. For a long time, it was only the two of us who had fought at each war,” he said.
Foscadh remembers Pennsic One as an epochal event that had a big impact on recruiting more armored fighters for the growing SCA. The first war was on hilly undeveloped terrain, mostly wooded. About 25 fighters came from the East Kingdom, and 35 to 50 from the Middle, and for most it was the first experience of melee combat with more than 10 fighters on a side.
“All of us had a lot of fun; on the East, I think they came in thinking they would win, and they were quite surprised not to. We noticed a huge growth in the Eastern numbers between the first and second wars. The Middle came to Pennsic 2 with about 100 fighters, and the East about 200, which was good recruiting and good for both the Society and the kingdoms,” he said.
The second Pennsic was also the only war to permit ten-foot-long halberds, subsequently banned for control issues. “I saw Duke Dagan get fifteen kills using one, but it was eight on their side and seven on ours,” Foscadh remembered with a laugh.
Surprisingly, the best battle memories Foscadh has are not about conflict but instead about the huge sense of community that developed due to the pressures and growth of the Wars. Pennsic 4 helped foster that feeling—drenched with rain, the event required cooperation just for people to make it on and off site. “The battles were still fun and I remember looking at all the fighters soaked in the rain getting ready for the field battle, and it had a sense of realism I hadn’t quite approached before. There were obviously some people not getting along, but for the most part, everybody was there for the fun and helping one another.”
While Foscadh has been a resident of the Middle, Meridies, and the then-Principality of Atlantia during his SCA career, he has always fought for the Middle Kingdom at Pennsic. He remembers early Pennsics at Cooper’s Lake with fondness because pickup fighting was both informal and could be done close to camp. Battles occurred near the lake, and then on what would become the Runestone field, and the Woods Battle was held where the Bog and the Causeway camping exist today.
“We’re too big now for that sort of thing to work well. When you get big you need some formality in the rules. But the fighting has remained the same; I have always enjoyed the fighting, though I have to be a bit more careful now,” he said.