|
|
For many years, the clans of O'Neill and O'Donnell waged
war for possession of the rich land of the Finn Valley, with
the results that it changed hands often. At the time of the
12th Century Church Reform, the area was in the possession
of the O'Neills, and so became part of the Diocese granted
to them - now the Diocese of Derry, while most of the rest
of Donegal is in the Diocese of Raphoe.
However, in the 16th century, the O'Donnells regained Finnside
and built their fortifications there. A strong Caislain -
a stone castle surrounded by an outer stone wall - was built
near the village that bears it's name. The castle is believed
to have stood on a mound overlooking the Ford of Finn, near
the railway bridge at Castlefin station.
Another fortification was built at Killygordon, at the bend
of the Finn, near the present day bridge. This may have been
a Cranog - a moated structure in the water.
Both of these were strong outposts for the O'Donnells, when
possessions of Fords at good, strategic places was of great
value to the holders. Another important Castle was built by
Manus O'Donnell at Lifford in 1527. Lifford was strongly fortified
by the O'Donnells, and sorties were carried out against the
O'Neills' Castle in Strabane.
From the 12th to the 16th centuries, the valleys of the Foyle
and Finn resounded to the clash of tribal battles between
these valiant, headstrong warriors.
It is recorded in 'The Annals of The Four Masters' that in
the year 1442, Henry O'Neill met Naghtan O'Donnell in battle
at Castlefin. In 1480, the O'Donnells held a conference at
Castlefin with the sons of Naghtan O'Donnell and Con O'Neill
- and peace was made between them.
In 1531, the sons of the O'Donnell - Calvagh and Manus -
fought for the Chieftaincy. Their father brought in the Maguires
of Fermanagh to help Manus, who, with his forces, was on the
plains at Castlefin. Manus succeeded to the Chieftaincy in
1537, after the death of his father. In 1545, at Killygordon,
he was defeated in battle by his son, Calvagh. Three years
later, Calvagh was defeated by his father at Ballybofey.
Much of the trouble was due to the fact that the Chieftaincy
did not pass automatically from father to son. It could pass
to brother, nephew or other relative of the Chief. The Chieftain
was elected by vote. Each free-man in the Clan had a vote,
though the candidates were chosen by the 'Aireacht' or Assembly
of Nobles.
So all this 'fighting for the Chieftaincy' could have been
a showing off of skills - a sort of electioneering. Like electioneering
today, sometimes things got out of hand!
We read - "Battles were not uncommon, but the everyday
life of the people was not seriously disturbed by them."
Something like today's football matches!
|
|
|
|
|
Shane O'Neill (Shane the Proud)
|
|
|
Shane was a very powerful Chieftain, and under him,
Ulster was prosperous. Queen Elizabeth's Deputy in Ireland,
Sir James Croft, invaded Ulster several times, with
the intention of overthrowing Shane - but failed.
Shane realised that Queen Elizabeth planned to make
all Ireland obedient to her Government. He assumed the
government of Ulster from Drogheda to the River Erne.
He was known as Shane the Proud because of the dignity
and state which he kept up, and his extreme pride in
the title of the O'Neill. He decided to overthrow the
tiresome O'Donnells once and for all and he mustered
his large army at Carricklea on Lady Day 1567.
With a much smaller force, the O'Donnells surprised
his army and utterly defeated them. Many of Shane's
men were killed in battle, or drowned in the river.
Shane had to flee for his life! He sought refuge among
the McDonnells of Antrim, traditional galloglaigh to
the O'Neills. But Shane had inflicted a severe defeat
on them at the Battle of Glenshesk in 1565. He may have
forgotten. But they had not.
They slew him!
If Shane had made peace with the O'Donnells and had
them on his side, the outcome would have been a lot
different, but his arrogance was his downfall. The O'Donnells
were not easily overcome.
In 1461, when Eoghan O'Neill was at the height of his
power in Ulster, he demanded Tribute from Tir Conaill.
Aodh O'Donnell scornfully refused -
No hawk, nor hound, nor
steer O'Neill gets from me;
No homage yield, nor Tribute send - no vassel Clan
are we.
If he is Lord of Clanaboy and Chieftain of Tyrone,
Yet - I am Prince of Donegal; let each man hold
his own. |
|
|
|
|
|
Hugh O'Neill
|
|
| The great Hugh O'Neill was wiser
than his uncle Shane. He made a friendly alliance
with the O'Donnells, and the old quarrels between
the two clans were ended. Hugh O'Neill saw in united
action, the one hope of defending the country against
the English. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Red Hugh O'Donnell
|
|
|
Red Hugh was a "lad of great promise"
- so there was never any doubt that he would succeed
his father, Hugh Roe O'Donnell, as Chieftain of
Tir Conaill.
Sir John Perrot, the Lord Deputy had him kidnapped,
while, as a boy of fifteen, he was living with
his foster-father, Eoin McSweeney. He was held
prisoner in Dublin Castle, along with Art and
Henry O'Neill - Shane's sons. With these hostages,
the English were able to ensure the good behaviour
of the O'Neills and O'Donnells.
When the boys escaped in 1592, very lightly
clad, in the middle of a very severe winter, Fiach
McHugh O'Byrne of Glenmalure rescued them. But
Art O'Neill died from exposure. Red Hugh's feet
were badly frost-bitten, making him lame for the
rest of his life. He was taken to Hugh O'Neill's
castle at Dungannon. O'Cleirigh says - "There
was close friendship and alliance between them.
O'Neill was glad of his safe arrival, and his
soul stirred on seeing him."
In 1592, Red Hugh was elected Chieftain of Tir
Conaill.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Nine Years War
|
|
| Hugh O'Neill, who had spent
time at the court of Queen Elizabeth, knew
that the Queen planned to have power over
all Ireland. He secretly prepared for the
war that he knew was inevitable. Many of the
Ulster chiefs were discontented and feared
for their land - and indeed their lives. Brian
O'Rourke's father, Brian Mor, had been hanged
for sheltering shipwrecked sailors from Spanish
Armada ships.
An English sheriff called Captain Willis,
with a large number of disorderly followers,
plundered the people of Hugh Maguire in
Fermanagh. The Lord Deputy had Hugh McMahon,
chieftain of Monaghan, hanged outside his
own door. These unjust acts led to a revolt
in Ulster, which spread across the whole
country.
The War started in 1594.
The Ulster army had many spectacular victories
against the English - at the Ford of the
Biscuits, where they fled, leaving their
provisions behind; at the Ford of the Plumes
- so called because of the number of English
plumed hats left floating in the river.
The Council in Dublin wrote to Queen Elizabeth
-
"The State of the Realm was never
so dangerous, in the memory of men, as
it is at the present, in regard to the
unity of O'Donnell and the Chieftains
of Ulster and Connaught, with O'Neill
of Tyrone; and the great combination that
they have drawn together, stretching itself
into all parts of the Realm."
In 1596, the Government opened Peace negotiations,
but their terms were not accepted. There
was a lull in the fighting for a few months,
but both sides were just biding their time...fighting
soon broke out again. The English advanced
on several fronts, but were beaten back
at Ballyshannon and Tyrells' Pass, near
Mullingar. The main Army under Queen's Deputy,
Lord Borough, were defeated by Hugh O'Neill
at Drum Fluish on the Blackwater.
The Battle of the Yellow Ford, in 1598,
was the greatest defeat the English had
sustained in Ireland since the Norman Invasion.
Hugh O'Neill besieged Portmore, a fortress
on the Blackwater. The garrison was on the
point of surrendering, when the Earl of
Ormond - now Lord Deputy - decided to overthrow
O'Neill. They marched out of Armagh with
5,000 men. The Irish were not well supplied
with ammunition, musket or cannon. More
than half the Army was led by O'Donnell
and included 1,000 Connaught men under McLiam
Lochtar.
The English were discouraged when their
cavalry fell into concealed trenches, something
they hadn't bargained for. Then a wagon
load of gunpowder blew up, but the fighting
continued hard and long. Eventually, the
English were outmatched and defeated by
the great generalship of O'Neill, the impetuous
bravery of O'Donnell, Maguire and the other
Chieftains, and the spirit and determination
of the rank and file. Two thousand English
troops were killed and their Army in disorder
- leaving behind immense quantities of ammunition
and supplies.
But despite all these victories, the Irish
knew that they could not hold out indefinitely
without foreign aid. In 1600, Hugh O'Neill
wrote to King Philip of Spain, asking him
to send six or seven thousand men with heavy
guns. In September 1601, a Spanish fleet
of forty-five ships sailed into Kinsale
Harbour. The English garrison retreated
to Cork, leaving the town in the possession
of Don Juan Del Aguila, the Spanish Commander.
The force consisted of 3,400 men. A few
weeks later, about 700 men arrived at Crosshaven,
but, it was a case of "too little,
too late". To make matters worse, the
Spaniards had landed in Munster instead
of Ulster, where the Irish were strong.
The English army with 13,000 men marched
to Kinsale and besieged the Spaniards. O'Neill
and O'Donnell, though hard-pressed at home,
felt honour-bound to advance southwards
to the aid of Don Juan, but the English
learned of their attack, and were waiting
for them. They were driven back. Red Hugh
decided to take a ship to Spain to beg King
Philip to send further assistance. After
a few months, the tragic news came back
that he was dead - at the age of 29. It
was said that he had been poisoned, but
his death may have been the result of the
hardship he had endured in his escape from
Dublin Castle and indeed, all the years
of fighting.
The news of his death was a sad blow to
the Ulster fighters. They returned to their
own territory.
Hugh O'Neill held out in the bogs of Tyrone
for a year after the Battle of Kinsale,
still hoping for Spanish aid. The distress
of the people was terrible. The Government
forces carried out a policy of burning,
and destroying cattle and crops. It was
common to see people lying dead with hunger
in the fields. On March 30th 1603, Hugh
O'Neill submitted to Lord Mountjoy, receiving
an amnesty and the return of his land.
Don Juan and his fleet were given safe
passage back to Spain. Queen Elizabeth died
that year, and King James the First came
to the throne of England.
Though they had their lands restored, Hugh
O'Neill and Ruaidhri O'Donnell were surrounded
by enemies with old scores to settle. They
were plotted against and spied upon, and
in 1607, they were advised that it was the
intention of the Government to have them
arrested. They had the choice of leaving
Ireland or spending the rest of their lives
in prison.
So, on that historic day - 14th. September
1607 - a ship sailed out from Lough Swilly,
carrying a hundred people, including O'Neill
and O'Donnell and their families. They were
received with high honour on the Continent,
but that was the end of Gaelic rule in Ireland.
However, heartbreaking though exile was
for these great Celtic Lords, the people
left behind in Ireland were the real victims
- left in dire straits and at the mercy
of the English.
|
|
|
|
|
|
