Lough Swilly

Flight of the Earls

Flight of the Earls, a popular term for the departure from Rathmullen, Co. Donegal, of Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, Rory O'Donnell, earl of Tyrconnell, and Cúchonnacht Maguire, lord of Fermanagh, together with their followers on 4 September 1607. Their decision to leave has never been fully explained. It was probably a combination of government pressure on their seigneurial rights and unwarranted fear that the conspiracy they were hatching with Spain had been uncovered. The escape vessel did not reach Spain. It was driven into a Norman port and the authorities in Paris and Brussels shunted their embarrassing guests off to Rome, where they eked out their days on papal pensions. The government of Ireland declared their flight treasonous and confiscated their lands to make way for the Ulster plantation. Tadhg Ó Cianáin, who travelled with the earls, left an untitled manuscript account of the journey. The Departure of O'Neill out of Ireland (1958), painted by Thomas Ryan, is a good example of the romantic nationalist connotations which the Flight has acquired.

Hiram Morgan

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"Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-FlightoftheEarls.html

"Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-FlightoftheEarls.html

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Flight of the Earls

Flight of the Earls, 1607. Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, who had been in open rebellion against Elizabeth, submitted in 1602. O'Donnell was created 1st earl of Tyrconnel. But increasingly dissatisfied with their position, they fled on 4 September 1607 from Rathmullan on Lough Swilly with some 90 family and retainers and took refuge at Rome. Neither saw Ireland again. Tyrconnel died in 1608, Tyrone in 1616. The result was to deprive the native Irish of a focus for resistance, and colonization from England and Scotland proceeded rapidly until the great rising of 1641. Over the next three centuries, tens of thousands of Irish left their native land.

J. A. Cannon

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JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-FlightoftheEarls.html

JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-FlightoftheEarls.html

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Lough Swilly

Lough Swilly , inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.25 mi (40 km) long, Co. Donegal, NW Republic of Ireland. It is narrow and irregular in shape, with numerous islands. There is a lighthouse at Fanad Point. The resort town of Buncrana is on the eastern shore. On the lough, Wolfe Tone, an Irish revolutionary, was captured (1798) in an ill-fated insurrection against English rule.

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"Lough Swilly." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Lough Swilly." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Swilly-L.html

"Lough Swilly." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Swilly-L.html

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Flight of the Earls

Flight of the Earls, 1607. Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, who had been in open rebellion against Elizabeth, submitted in 1602. O'Donnell was created 1st earl of Tyrconnel. But increasingly dissatisfied with their position, they fled on 4 September 1607 with some 90 family and retainers and took refuge at Rome. Neither saw Ireland again.

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JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-FlightoftheEarls.html

JOHN CANNON. "Flight of the Earls." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-FlightoftheEarls.html

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Suileach

Suileach. Multi-eyed, eponymous sea-monster of Lough Swilly (Co. Donegal) thought to have been dispatched by St Colum Cille (521–95).

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JAMES MacKILLOP. "Suileach." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Suileach." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Suileach.html

JAMES MacKILLOP. "Suileach." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-Suileach.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

A MARINE JUNKYARD; Here is music legend Phil Coulter near the shore of Lough...
Newspaper article from: Sunday Mirror (London, England); 2/8/2004
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