Flight of the Earls - Overview Early seventeenth century depiction of Rathmullan On the 14th September
1607 (New Style, 4th September Old Style), the earls of Tyrone
and Tyrconnell, along with a close circle of family
and associates, boarded a ship at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly, bound for Spain.
(At great personal risk the vessel had been procured by their ally, Cú
Chonnacht Maguire). This event was known both at the time and ever since as
‘The Flight of the Earls’ and is widely regarded as one of the most
enigmatic events in Irish history, virtually defying explanation. Even the
designation of the earls’ departure as a ‘flight’ has been contested,
though the fact that the earls left in such a hurry that the earl of Tyrone’s
young son, Con, was left behind, while the earl of Tyrconnell departed without
his pregnant young wife, should dispel lingering doubts in this regard.
Symptomatic once again of the intrigue that swirled around the flight both at
the time and over succeeding generations is the continuing fascination with the
identities of the ‘noble shipload’ of ninety nine people that departed Lough
Swilly, the so-called cream of Gaelic Society. Many attempts have been made to
resolve this ‘mystery’, though they have all been in vain, not least, as it
turns out, because the ship was not so jam-packed with the Gaelic nobility of
Ulster after all. Some sixty people on board may be accounted for as the crew
who had travelled from the continent.
Why the northern earls took flight has also been a matter of
considerable debate, leading to accusations by hostile commentators that the
earls were up to their necks in treason while their apologists portray them as
offended innocents, badgered into departing their homeland in fear of their
lives. As often happens in such circumstances, it emerges that the earls were as
much sinned against as sinning. Crown officials in Ireland in the wake of the Nine
Years War (1594-1603), led by the lord deputy, Sir
Arthur Chichester, and ably assisted by the new Irish Attorney General, Sir
John Davies, maintained a vendetta against the northern earls after the
conflict ended with the so-called Treaty of Mellifont,
1603. During the prolonged period of hostilities, Irish forces led by Tyrone and
Red Hugh O’Donnell brought English rule in Ireland
to the brink of extinction following their spectacular victory at the battle
of the Yellow Ford, 1598. It was only with much good fortune that the
English, led by Mountjoy, managed finally to subdue
the Irish revolt, inflicting what turned out to be a decisive defeat on the
rebel forces at the battle of Kinsale, 1601.
Lingering bitterness from the war was to play a key role in the events
which eventually culminated in the Flight of the Earls. Having lost his brother
during the hostilities, Chichester had additional personal reasons for despising
the northern earls. Not surprisingly, as a result, there is evidence that the
crown authorities in Ireland resorted to provocative tactics, not the least of
which turned out to be a campaign of religious persecution aimed initially at
the Old English. As the self-proclaimed champion
of Catholicism in Ireland, the earl of Tyrone became involved in renewed
conspiratorial machinations with a view to overthrowing the protestant
administration in Dublin. Their anger fuelled by resentment at the manner in
which the royal authorities in Ireland were mounting legal challenges to their
territories, the northern earls became ever more embroiled in treason, seeking
and ultimately obtaining a Spanish pension in return for treasonable promises.
Fearing that they had been compromised by the information of an informer (who
turned out to be Lord Howth), the earls were advised by influential contacts on
the continent that their lives were in danger and that a ship would be sent to
convey them to safety. Thus the earls departed Rathmullan, though they never
reached Spain. Stormy weather resulted in landfall being made in France. The
diplomatic furore which followed instigated a major international crisis
involving the English, French and Spanish governments. The French government
rejected calls for their extradition, whereas the earls’ allies during the
Nine Years War, the Spanish, were anxious to avoid causing offence to England in
the wake of the Anglo-Spanish peace treaty of 1604. As a compromise the earls
ended up dwelling in Rome where they ended their days, Tyrconnell dying
prematurely in 1609 while the older earl of Tyrone lived until 1616.
The departure of the earls to the continent, far from calming the
conspiratorial mania sweeping Ireland, accentuated it. For Chichester, the
Flight vindicated his concerns that the Irish could not be trusted. It was in
these circumstances that even Sir Cahir O’Doherty,
an erstwhile ally of the crown, was provoked into resorting to rebellion by
distrustful English officials. No longer protected by the former governor of
Derry, Sir Henry Docwra, who had recommended him for
his knighthood, O’Doherty launched a desperate rebellion in April 1608,
sacking the ‘infant’ city of Derry. Thus, the Flight of the Earls, followed
so soon afterwards by O’Doherty’s revolt, propelled the English government,
led by James I, into launching the plantation
of Ulster. (Listen
to audio clips from BBC Plantation of Ulster website): (BBC
Plantation of Ulster webchat). The punitive nature of the settlement played no
small part in the events which culminated with the 1641
rebellion. And it was the O’Neill family who were to play a decisive role
then too. The revolt having been launched by Sir Phelim
O’Neill, it was to be his illustrious expatriate kinsman, Owen
Roe O’Neill who was to become the figurehead of the confederate Irish
forces. Like his uncle (the earl of Tyrone) before him, Owen Roe, won a major
battle on the banks of the river Blackwater, at Benburb,
1646. In an act of symbolism, the earl of Tyrone’s sword, having been
transported from Rome, was presented to Owen Roe. The sword had passed on.
Reputed portrait of an
elderly earl of Tyrone – note the Red Hand of Ulster on the top right (by
permission of Benedict Fearon) See Historical
Documents for transcripts of documents illustrating key aspects of the
Flight of the Earls |
