 According to this account, Captain Ryves, a yeomanry commander at Dunlavin, received word that a large number of rebels were set to attack Dunlavin and he observed that many Protestant houses had been set on fire in the surrounding countryside.Under the circumstances, he expected that the rebels' intention was a pogrom of Protestants and loyalists in the town and its environs.A foray by the troops into the countryside failed and the garrison's officers were aware that they were outnumbered by the prisoners held in the Market House.