Aodh Mór Ó Néill, anglicized as Hugh The Great O’Neill (1540-1616), was a 16th-century Irish chieftain who led the Irish resistance during the Nine Years’ War (1594-1603), a rebellion that shook England… and could have toppled it!
Hugh O’Neill was born between 1540 and 1550. A member of the O’Neill clan, Hugh grew up in a climate of tension, pitted against other members of his family, as each fought to take over the clan. Hugh lost both his brothers and his father, and fled to London for fear of being murdered too.
He was raised by the Hoveneden family.
In 1957, Hugh was approached by the British government, which wanted to support him in his bid to succeed the O’Neill clan. At the time, Queen Elizabeth I saw him as a potential ally, and wanted to bribe him to join the English cause. This strategy initially paid off for the Kingdom of England, which sought to weaken the Gaelic clans of Ulster.
Initially seduced by the Kingdom’s advances, Hugh O’Neill agreed to defend English interests in Ulster. As early as 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellions, Hugh O’Neill took part in the battle, fighting alongside the English against Gerard Fitzgerald’s troops.
His involvement in the English cause earned him a seat in the Dublin Parliament in 1585 as Earl of Tyrone. In 1587, he was also granted title to the lands of his grandfather, Conn O’Neill. He nevertheless lost part of it, annexed by the Queen, who decided to build a fort near the Blackwater River. (This castle was later razed to the ground by Hugh himself during a battle).
In 1595, he was officially enthroned as “The O’Neill” in Telach Oc, in the manner of the ancient Gaelic kings. He is now the most powerful lord in all of Ulster!
At the time, England was doing everything it could to gain a foothold in Ulster. But very soon, the Irish clan chiefs’ attempts at corruption take a new turn.
The ambitious Hugh O’Neill is demanding a reward from the Kingdom of England for his support of the Crown. He ran for the post of Lord President of Ulster, but Queen Elizabeth I refused to grant him the post, fearing that his power would enable him to overthrow her from the throne.
Hugh O’Neill breaks all allegiance to the English crown, and joins forces with 7 other clan chiefs to fight against the English presence in Ulster, and the rise of Protestantism. He then recruited Ulster peasants and Scottish mercenaries called Redshanks to build an army capable of facing the English onslaught. He also obtained muskets, cartridges and artillery from Philip II of Spain, who was also opposed to Protestantism.
Conflict erupted in 1595, when he ambushed an English army taking part in the Battle of Clontibret. Victorious in this first assault, Hugh and the other clan chiefs decided to offer the crown of Ireland to Philip II of Spain, who refused.
Conflict ensued between the English and the Irish. Hugh, increasingly popular, claimed to be the champion of the Roman Catholic Church, and the liberator of the native Irish.
In 1598, the conflict ended and Elizabeth I granted O’Neill a pardon. However, the conflict resumed two months later, with O’Neill still fighting on behalf of the Irish cause. On August 14, 1598, he massacred an English army at the Battle of Yellow Ford, near the Blackwater River.
Eight months after the battle, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was commissioned by the Queen to crush the rebels, with the support of a 17,000-strong army. But Devereux managed to secure talks on September 7, 1599, and signed a truce with Hugh O’Neill.
But conflicts flared up again, and Hugh O’Neill called on all Irishmen to join him in fighting, in the name of the Catholic religion and their freedom. The whole of Ireland followed, but the English managed to retake Derry and force Hugh to retreat to County Armagh. However, Spain sent him a new army, which was massacred at the Battle of Kinsale. This bitter failure was a real disaster for O’Neill, who immediately destroyed his chances of winning the war against England.
O’Neill flees with the rest of his army to the north. This escape enabled Lord Mountjoy to gradually regain control of Ireland and the towns of Ulster. At the time, famine was raging, and the prevailing misery allowed England to reassert its supremacy without difficulty.
Aware of his defeat, O’Neill shows caution, and asks the Queen’s forgiveness. He submits to Lord Mountjoy, unaware that Queen Elizabeth I has just died. The Nine Years’ War was over.
Conciliatory, Hugh went to the London court in June, to meet James I, successor to Elizabeth I. He was then pardoned and sent back to Ulster, but his rights and powers were severely curtailed by the English government. He contested his situation with England until 1607, when he learned that his arrest was imminent. He decided to flee Ireland on September 14, 1607, and spent the winter in the Netherlands. In April 1608, he found hospitality in Rome, supported by Pope Paul V.
In 1613, Hugh O’Neill was officially declared an outlaw by the Parliament of Ireland. He died on July 20, 1616 in Rome, and was buried at San Pietro in Monotorio.
