Title : Hugh O'Neill - The First Irish Nationalist, Part II
link : Hugh O'Neill - The First Irish Nationalist, Part II
Hugh O'Neill - The First Irish Nationalist, Part II
by Arthur Russell
Continued from yesterday's post: Hugh O'Neill - The First Irish Nationalist, Part I
The Nine Years War
O’Neill played a double game until 1595, but found he had to constantly answer to accusations from his enemies in Dublin. These were led by his brother-in-law Bagenal. The final straw coming when Bagenal intercepted letters addressed to the Queen proclaiming yet again, his loyalty. When he was declared a traitor by Dublin, an army was sent north to confront him. O’Neill finally allied with O’Donnell and the joint Tyrone and Tyr Connell armies defeated the English at Clontibret at a place which became known as the “Ford of the Biscuits” due to the amount of rations the English abandoned there. In that year he was finally confirmed with full traditional rites with the Gaelic title of “The O’Neill” at the ancient crowning stone at Tullyhogue. It was a Rubicon moment. There was now no going back, despite several overtures over the next 2 years to restore the status quo. From now on, neither side could trust the other.
The early years of the ensuing war demonstrated the value of O’Neill’s preparations. The Gaelic alliance defeated every English force sent against them. Their biggest success was the battle of the Yellow Ford in August 1598, where the Gaelic alliance defeated a large army under the leadership of O’Neill’s nemesis, Sir Harvey Bagenal who was determined to relieve the besieged English held fort at Portmore. O’Neill’s tactics were perfect while unfortunately the English, Bagenal was killed when he was hit in the forehead by a stray bullet as he surveyed what was already turning into a disaster for his army.
The Yellow Ford defeat was almost (but not quite) a fatal blow to the conquest project, and prompted a countrywide Gaelic revolt. The Munster plantation was overturned in a matter of days as the beneficiaries were forced to fly to Dublin and other walled towns, with many returning to England where they swore to have nothing more to do with Ireland and its “barbarous ways”. The victory “shaked the English Government in this kingdom, till it tottered and wanted little of fatal ruin”. The aging Queen Elizabeth was apoplectic with anger not only that she was continuously receiving “naught else but news of fresh losses and calamities”, but also at the ruinous cost of the campaign in terms of soldier lives and military materiel.
Elizabeth dispatched her current court favourite, Robert Devereaux, second Earl of Essex to Ireland with a clear mandate to engage and defeat the Ulster rebels. Essex left a cheering London with a huge well equipped army of 12,000 foot and 5,000 cavalry. On arrival in Dublin, instead of marching north to engage the Ulster rebels as directed, he marched South to try to save what was left of the failed plantation. His progress was beset with endless difficulties; the weather, terrain and most of all from harrying attacks of local Gaelic rulers who refused to engage in open battle but were content to make life miserable for the army passing through. Having achieved little or nothing and with much reduced numbers, he and his dispirited army arrived back in Dublin and set out northwards to meet O’Neill. His purpose was not to fight but to parley with O’Neill. The two met at a ford on the River Lurgan called Ballaclinth (now called Aclint) where a peace of sorts was concluded which neither saw as anything more than respite in the terminal struggle for the future of Ireland.
Essex returned to England to face the wrath of his Queen and immediately fomented a failed rebellion which saw him captured, convicted of treason and executed. One of the charges against him was conversing at length with the “arch traitor Tyrone”.
If ever there was a “right time” for strong unified action to end English domination in Ireland, the final years of the 16th century was surely that time. After all his victories, O’Neill launched a campaign for island wide support in his war for Ireland and the Catholic religion. He formed a Catholic Confederation to which he felt emboldened to invite even the Catholic Anglo Irish Lords of the Pale. To the embarrassment of the Queen, the Irish war was attracting much attention and support from Continental Europe. O’Neill and O’Donnell made urgent appeals to the Catholic monarchs for military support and was promised this would be forthcoming.
O’Neill had no illusions about the inherent weakness of the support he was getting from his Irish allies much of which was of the “fair weather” kind. Nor did he underestimate the resources that the English could muster in spite of all the reverses they had sustained in the war. Well he knew that Protestant England could hardly allow an independent Catholic nation to develop to the west. It worried him that King Philip while offering moral encouragement and little else to the Irish, his Catholic Majesty was infuriatingly slow to commit Spanish resources to the prosecution of the war. The loss of the Armada, both militarily and economically was a much too recent and painful memory; prompting Philip to exercise extreme caution in embarking on further adventures. Spanish procrastination had become one of the biggest problems facing the Irish Alliance.
Continued from yesterday's post: Hugh O'Neill - The First Irish Nationalist, Part I
The Nine Years War
O’Neill played a double game until 1595, but found he had to constantly answer to accusations from his enemies in Dublin. These were led by his brother-in-law Bagenal. The final straw coming when Bagenal intercepted letters addressed to the Queen proclaiming yet again, his loyalty. When he was declared a traitor by Dublin, an army was sent north to confront him. O’Neill finally allied with O’Donnell and the joint Tyrone and Tyr Connell armies defeated the English at Clontibret at a place which became known as the “Ford of the Biscuits” due to the amount of rations the English abandoned there. In that year he was finally confirmed with full traditional rites with the Gaelic title of “The O’Neill” at the ancient crowning stone at Tullyhogue. It was a Rubicon moment. There was now no going back, despite several overtures over the next 2 years to restore the status quo. From now on, neither side could trust the other.
The early years of the ensuing war demonstrated the value of O’Neill’s preparations. The Gaelic alliance defeated every English force sent against them. Their biggest success was the battle of the Yellow Ford in August 1598, where the Gaelic alliance defeated a large army under the leadership of O’Neill’s nemesis, Sir Harvey Bagenal who was determined to relieve the besieged English held fort at Portmore. O’Neill’s tactics were perfect while unfortunately the English, Bagenal was killed when he was hit in the forehead by a stray bullet as he surveyed what was already turning into a disaster for his army.
The Yellow Ford defeat was almost (but not quite) a fatal blow to the conquest project, and prompted a countrywide Gaelic revolt. The Munster plantation was overturned in a matter of days as the beneficiaries were forced to fly to Dublin and other walled towns, with many returning to England where they swore to have nothing more to do with Ireland and its “barbarous ways”. The victory “shaked the English Government in this kingdom, till it tottered and wanted little of fatal ruin”. The aging Queen Elizabeth was apoplectic with anger not only that she was continuously receiving “naught else but news of fresh losses and calamities”, but also at the ruinous cost of the campaign in terms of soldier lives and military materiel.
Elizabeth dispatched her current court favourite, Robert Devereaux, second Earl of Essex to Ireland with a clear mandate to engage and defeat the Ulster rebels. Essex left a cheering London with a huge well equipped army of 12,000 foot and 5,000 cavalry. On arrival in Dublin, instead of marching north to engage the Ulster rebels as directed, he marched South to try to save what was left of the failed plantation. His progress was beset with endless difficulties; the weather, terrain and most of all from harrying attacks of local Gaelic rulers who refused to engage in open battle but were content to make life miserable for the army passing through. Having achieved little or nothing and with much reduced numbers, he and his dispirited army arrived back in Dublin and set out northwards to meet O’Neill. His purpose was not to fight but to parley with O’Neill. The two met at a ford on the River Lurgan called Ballaclinth (now called Aclint) where a peace of sorts was concluded which neither saw as anything more than respite in the terminal struggle for the future of Ireland.
Essex returned to England to face the wrath of his Queen and immediately fomented a failed rebellion which saw him captured, convicted of treason and executed. One of the charges against him was conversing at length with the “arch traitor Tyrone”.
If ever there was a “right time” for strong unified action to end English domination in Ireland, the final years of the 16th century was surely that time. After all his victories, O’Neill launched a campaign for island wide support in his war for Ireland and the Catholic religion. He formed a Catholic Confederation to which he felt emboldened to invite even the Catholic Anglo Irish Lords of the Pale. To the embarrassment of the Queen, the Irish war was attracting much attention and support from Continental Europe. O’Neill and O’Donnell made urgent appeals to the Catholic monarchs for military support and was promised this would be forthcoming.
O’Neill had no illusions about the inherent weakness of the support he was getting from his Irish allies much of which was of the “fair weather” kind. Nor did he underestimate the resources that the English could muster in spite of all the reverses they had sustained in the war. Well he knew that Protestant England could hardly allow an independent Catholic nation to develop to the west. It worried him that King Philip while offering moral encouragement and little else to the Irish, his Catholic Majesty was infuriatingly slow to commit Spanish resources to the prosecution of the war. The loss of the Armada, both militarily and economically was a much too recent and painful memory; prompting Philip to exercise extreme caution in embarking on further adventures. Spanish procrastination had become one of the biggest problems facing the Irish Alliance.
 |
| Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy |
The new century began with the Alliance at the height of its power. During 1600 and 1601 a different strategy was employed by the English. After the failures of Essex, the Queen handed responsibility for the prosecution of the Irish war to the resourceful and much less flamboyant Charles Blount Lord Mountjoy who had seen enough of O’Neill’s military prowess to engage in conventional military engagement. He determined to wear him down through a scorched earth policy. In tandem, he managed to establish forts behind enemy lines which seriously impacted on the ability of O’Neill’s people to sow and harvest.
The Kinsale Disaster
Spanish aid finally arrived in the form of ships, men and arms under the leadership of Don Juan Del’Aquila which sailed into and invested the southern port of Kinsale in the Autumn of 1601. Mountjoy immediately marched south to surround them. This necessitated O’Neill and O’Donnell to march all the way from Ulster in the dead of Winter to assist the long awaited Spanish aid. Kinsale was set to be the key battle which would finally decide the future of Ireland. If the English lost, it would arguably put an end to English power; so much was at stake.
O’Neill’s instinct was to tighten the siege on the English and to starve them into submission. O’Donnell and De’Aquila both wanted a quick conclusion and succeeded in persuading O’Neill to attack Mountjoy. Unfortunately for the Irish, the plans for the attack was made known to Mountjoy who was well prepared when the joint Irish and Spanish attack came. The attack failed and the English were able to break out from the stranglehold. The dispirited Irish retreated back to Ulster to plan the next phase of the war. Del’Aquila made his own peace with Mountjoy and was allowed to return to Spain with his ships and arms intact.
In the months after the Kinsale disaster, O’Donnell travelled to Spain to try to persuade King Philip to mobilise another expedition. Within months he was dead, reputedly having been poisoned by an English agent named Blake.
The Kinsale Disaster
Spanish aid finally arrived in the form of ships, men and arms under the leadership of Don Juan Del’Aquila which sailed into and invested the southern port of Kinsale in the Autumn of 1601. Mountjoy immediately marched south to surround them. This necessitated O’Neill and O’Donnell to march all the way from Ulster in the dead of Winter to assist the long awaited Spanish aid. Kinsale was set to be the key battle which would finally decide the future of Ireland. If the English lost, it would arguably put an end to English power; so much was at stake.
O’Neill’s instinct was to tighten the siege on the English and to starve them into submission. O’Donnell and De’Aquila both wanted a quick conclusion and succeeded in persuading O’Neill to attack Mountjoy. Unfortunately for the Irish, the plans for the attack was made known to Mountjoy who was well prepared when the joint Irish and Spanish attack came. The attack failed and the English were able to break out from the stranglehold. The dispirited Irish retreated back to Ulster to plan the next phase of the war. Del’Aquila made his own peace with Mountjoy and was allowed to return to Spain with his ships and arms intact.
In the months after the Kinsale disaster, O’Donnell travelled to Spain to try to persuade King Philip to mobilise another expedition. Within months he was dead, reputedly having been poisoned by an English agent named Blake.
Treaty of Mellifont
O’Neill carried on the campaign for another 2 years, but with many of his allies deserting him to make their own peace with the English, and without credible prospect of foreign aid; the outcome of the war was never in doubt. Finally in 1603, Mountjoy was instructed by the Queen to initiate peace talks to end the costly war in return for a full pardon and restoration of O’Neill’s title. It was the best terms that O’Neill could hope for, but it was not the victory hoped for just 2 years before. The Treaty of Mellifont was signed at the Cistercian monastery at Mellifont, County Louth. As he signed the Treaty document, O’Neill was totally unaware that Queen Elizabeth had died 6 days earlier and that he was submitting to a new monarch, James Stuart of Scotland who was on his way to London to succeed to the crown.
Under the terms of the treaty, O’Neill resumed the earldom of Tyrone. Life should have continued with a now compliant Gaelic aristocracy who would henceforth acknowledge the primacy of the English Crown. It was not to be, as the same enemies who had helped to force O’Neill into insurgency in 1595, were still determined to destroy him.
Under the terms of the treaty, O’Neill resumed the earldom of Tyrone. Life should have continued with a now compliant Gaelic aristocracy who would henceforth acknowledge the primacy of the English Crown. It was not to be, as the same enemies who had helped to force O’Neill into insurgency in 1595, were still determined to destroy him.
Flight of the Earls - the end of Gaelic Ireland
 |
| Hugh O'Neill's grave in Monteiro, Rome |
Plantation of Ulster
Meanwhile back in Ireland, the fugitive earls were declared traitors and their lands confiscated to be reassigned at the pleasure of King James I, who ordered what was once the most enduring of Gaelic provinces to be planted by people from southern Scotland and Northern England.
The rest (as is often said) is history.
Quoting the Ulster historian Jonathan Bardon: "The flight (of the Earls) in 1607 sent shock waves reverberating down the centuries, stoking the fires of a conflict which convulsed Northern Ireland for more than 300 years."
It still does, but hopefully not with the same deadly intensity as before the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement.
To give a final word to Sean O’Faolain from his masterly book The Great O’Neill: “He (O’Neill) was the first step that his people (the Irish) made towards some sort of intellectual self criticism as to their place and their responsibilities in the European system”.
Further Reading:
The Great O’Neill by Sean O’Faolain
A History of Ireland (Volume 1) by Eleanor Hull
~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur Russell is the author of Morgallion, a novel set in medieval Ireland during the Invasion of Ireland in 1314 by the Scottish army led by Edward deBruce, the last crowned King of Ireland (an earlier “what if moment” in Irish history). It tells the story of Cormac MacLochlainn, a young man from the Gaelic crannóg community of Moynagh and how he and his family endured and survived that turbulent period of history. Morgallion has been awarded the indieBRAG Medallion.
The rest (as is often said) is history.
Quoting the Ulster historian Jonathan Bardon: "The flight (of the Earls) in 1607 sent shock waves reverberating down the centuries, stoking the fires of a conflict which convulsed Northern Ireland for more than 300 years."
It still does, but hopefully not with the same deadly intensity as before the conclusion of the Good Friday Agreement.
To give a final word to Sean O’Faolain from his masterly book The Great O’Neill: “He (O’Neill) was the first step that his people (the Irish) made towards some sort of intellectual self criticism as to their place and their responsibilities in the European system”.
Further Reading:
The Great O’Neill by Sean O’Faolain
A History of Ireland (Volume 1) by Eleanor Hull
~~~~~~~~~~
Arthur Russell is the author of Morgallion, a novel set in medieval Ireland during the Invasion of Ireland in 1314 by the Scottish army led by Edward deBruce, the last crowned King of Ireland (an earlier “what if moment” in Irish history). It tells the story of Cormac MacLochlainn, a young man from the Gaelic crannóg community of Moynagh and how he and his family endured and survived that turbulent period of history. Morgallion has been awarded the indieBRAG Medallion.
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