#OTD in 1641 – Rory O’More, Lord Maguire and Sir Pheilim O’Neill initiate a major revolt in Armagh.

The Irish Uprising of 1641 was a long-term result of the “plantation” policy of Tudor and Stuart monarchs under which Ireland was aggressively colonised by Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. From the mid-16th century, Irish landowners were dispossessed to make way for the settlers and a vicious cycle developed whereby rebellion against the English […]

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#OTD in 1607 – 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.

This event has become known as ‘The Flight of the Earls’ and is widely regarded as one of the most enigmatic events in Irish history, virtually defying explanation. A French ship sailed from the northern harbour of Rathmullan in Lough Swilly. On board were Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, […]

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#OTD in 1616 – Death in Rome of Aodh Mór Ó Néill (anglicised as Hugh The Great O’Neill), 3rd Baron Dungannon and 2nd Earl of Tyrone.

Born in 1550, Hugh O’Neill (Aodh Mór Ó Neill) was the second son of Mathew Ceallaigh the illegitimate son of Conn Bacach O’Neill who had submitted to Henry VIII in 1542 and was regranted his lands with the English title 1st Earl of Tyrone. Mathew Ceallaigh had been murdered by his half-brother Shane the Proud […]

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#OTD in 1595 – Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeats the English forces of his brother-in-law, Sir Henry Bagenal, at the Battle of Clontibret, Co Monaghan; he is proclaimed a traitor at Newry in June.

Hugh O’Neill (Aodh Mór Ó Néill), was a Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created The Ó Néill. O’Neill’s career was played out against the background of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, and he is best known for leading the resistance during the Nine Years’ War, the strongest […]

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#OTD in 1597 – Death of Fiach MacHugh O’Byrne (Fiach Mac Aodh Ó Broin), Lord of Glenmalure.

Fiach MacHugh O’Bryne (Fiach Mac Aodh ÓBroin) was the son of the chief of the O’Byrnes of the Gabhail Raghnaill. His sept, a minor one, claimed descent from the 11th century King of Leinster, Bran Mac Maolmordha, and was centred at Ballinacor in Glenmalure, a steep valley in the fastness of the Wicklow mountains. Their […]

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#OTD in 1601 – The Battle of Kinsale | Hugh O’Neill and Red Hugh O’Donnell are heavily defeated by Mountjoy.

If any one single battle of Ireland’s Nine Years War was pivotal in nature, it is the Battle of Kinsale. Kinsale is a sleepy little port town in the southeastern portion of the country. Through tactical blunder, it became the focus of a battle that would permanently destroy Ireland’s hopes for independence during this time […]

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#OTD in 1641 – Rory O’More, Lord Maguire and Sir Pheilim O’Neill initiate a major revolt in Armagh.

The Irish Uprising of 1641 was a long-term result of the “plantation” policy of Tudor and Stuart monarchs under which Ireland was aggressively colonised by Protestant settlers from England and Scotland. From the mid-16th century, Irish landowners were dispossessed to make way for the settlers and a vicious cycle developed whereby rebellion against the English […]

Read More

#OTD in 1607 – 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.

This event has become known as ‘The Flight of the Earls’ and is widely regarded as one of the most enigmatic events in Irish history, virtually defying explanation. A French ship sailed from the northern harbour of Rathmullan in Lough Swilly. On board were Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, […]

Read More

#OTD in 1616 – Death in Rome of Aodh Mór Ó Néill (anglicised as Hugh The Great O’Neill), 3rd Baron Dungannon and 2nd Earl of Tyrone.

Born in 1550, Hugh O’Neill (Aodh Mór Ó Neill) was the second son of Mathew Ceallaigh the illegitimate son of Conn Bacach O’Neill who had submitted to Henry VIII in 1542 and was regranted his lands with the English title 1st Earl of Tyrone. Mathew Ceallaigh had been murdered by his half-brother Shane the Proud […]

Read More

#OTD in 1595 – Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeats the English forces of his brother-in-law, Sir Henry Bagenal, at the Battle of Clontibret, Co Monaghan; he is proclaimed a traitor at Newry in June.

Hugh O’Neill (Aodh Mór Ó Néill), was a Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created The Ó Néill. O’Neill’s career was played out against the background of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, and he is best known for leading the resistance during the Nine Years’ War, the strongest […]

Read More