The following article was published in February 1998 issue of our newsletter:
The O'Neill Rising
March of 1998 marks the 395th
anniversary of the peace treaty at Mellifont signed by Hugh O'Neill, earl
of Tyrone. The events leading up to this treaty are quite interesting.
Hugh O'Neill was brought up by English settlers in the Irish midlands and
fought on the side of the English in Munster and Ulster. As English power
spread in Ulster he realized that it would eventually encroach upon his
authority and upon his fellow Gaels. Because of this, he opted to head
a confederacy of Ulster chieftains who had risen up against the English
in Ulster.
O'Neill who was aided by
Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh Maguire was able to field a well trained and
well equipped army against the English. They repelled several invasion
attempts into Ulster by the English and eventually routed them at the Battle
of the Yellow Ford in 1598, 400 years ago.
O'Neill extended his campaigns
into the other provinces and eventually requested continental aid. By this
time the English started committing large amounts of resources to O'Neill's
defeat. A large force under Lord Mountjoy used scorched earth tactics and
stared undermining O'Neill's campaign.
In the winter of 1601 after
a grueling mid-winter march, O'Neill assaulted the English forces at Kinsale
in an attempt to link up with Spanish forces that had landed at a nearby
base. O'Neill's forces were defeated by the English and his guerrilla war
lost steam. He was forced to sign the treaty of Mellifon in 1603. The terms
O'Neill received were generous, he was able to keep his lands and earldom
but had to relinquish overlordship of the traditional O'Neill vassals.
Four years later, O'Neill, along with other Irish lords, left Ireland for
the continent because they felt so threatened by newcomers.
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