The second half of the 16th century heralded the end of Gaelic civilization in Ireland. Bloody wars among the Irish chieftains, vicious succession contests and lack of interest in events immediately beyond their own interests left the Irish vulnerable to encroachment by their more powerful English neighbour. One leader who understood the military and political strategies of the English was Hugh O’Neill who after much equivocation led a confederation of Irish clans against this formidable enemy in the Nine Year War (1594 – 1603).
Hugh was an enigma; he was brought up amongst the English in Ireland, yet his greatest ambition was to be chieftain of the O’Neill people. He was condemned as the ‘Principal Traitor’ by the Establishment yet he had friends and confidantes in high places. He fought to defend his territories in Ulster even as he accelerated the demise of Gaelic traditions by disporting himself as an English noble. These are some of the reasons why his personality is as difficult to grasp today as it was in his time.
But it was his genius as a military strategist that made Hugh O’Neill stand out among his contemporaries. When he combined order and discipline with the traditional Gaelic élan, he defeated large English armies sent against him, notably at Yellow Ford in 1598. However, when he was forced to change these tactics disaster followed at Kinsale in 1601. This is his story and the stories of others, high and low, and from many places, who he encountered during a momentous life.
Hugh was an enigma; he was brought up amongst the English in Ireland, yet his greatest ambition was to be chieftain of the O’Neill people. He was condemned as the ‘Principal Traitor’ by the Establishment yet he had friends and confidantes in high places. He fought to defend his territories in Ulster even as he accelerated the demise of Gaelic traditions by disporting himself as an English noble. These are some of the reasons why his personality is as difficult to grasp today as it was in his time.
But it was his genius as a military strategist that made Hugh O’Neill stand out among his contemporaries. When he combined order and discipline with the traditional Gaelic élan, he defeated large English armies sent against him, notably at Yellow Ford in 1598. However, when he was forced to change these tactics disaster followed at Kinsale in 1601. This is his story and the stories of others, high and low, and from many places, who he encountered during a momentous life.
