The Nine Years’ War (1594 – 1603), also known as the Tyrone Rebellion, was a terrible period pitting Irish Gaelic clans against the British armies ruling the Kingdom of Ireland. After 9 years of battles and warlike confrontations, the war ended in failure for the Irish clan chiefs.
The late 16th century in Ireland was marked by growing tension between the English Crown and the traditional Gaelic lords. While England, under the reign of Elizabeth I, sought to consolidate its control over the island, the Gaelic chiefs fought to preserve their autonomy and traditional way of life.
These tensions were exacerbated by religious differences, England being Protestant and Ireland predominantly Catholic.
With its thirst for conquest, England attempted to extend its power over the entire Kingdom of Ireland. To achieve this, Elisabeth I implemented a series of strategies to corrupt the great Irish clan chiefs, gradually gaining power over the whole island.
As part of this strategy, the English government made numerous advances to Irish chieftain Hugh O’Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, who ruled Ulster at the time, including the Pale region, a territory covering more than 30km around Dublin.
Hugh O’Neill has always been regarded by the English as a rather conciliatory clan chief, having consistently helped British interests.
But he refused the advances of the English government, reproaching Elizabeth I for never having been thanked for his actions in favor of the crown, and complaining that he had never been appointed Lord President of Ulster as a reward for his loyalty.
The Queen of England refused to grant him such a title, fearing that this status would benefit O’Neill too much for him to consider overthrowing her throne.
Faced with this refusal, O’Neill decided to radicalize his position, joining forces with 7 other clan chiefs opposed to the British presence and the rise of Protestantism on the island.
To prepare for an imminent conflict, Hugh O’Neill decides to requisition all his peasants to form an army, and asks his ally, Hugh Roe O’Donnell, to grant him Scottish mercenaries called “Redshanks”.
He also managed to obtain Irish mercenaries under the command of chiefs such as Richard Tyrell. In order to obtain the necessary armaments for his troops, O’Neill hurried to contact Philip II of Spain, and asked for his help in the name of their friendship, and their common fight against Protestantism. Faced with such a request, the Spanish monarch agreed, and sent large numbers of muskets, cartridges and artillery, as well as enough food to support O’Neill’s 8,000 men.
Conflict erupted in 1595, when Hugh O’Neill commanded the offensive at Portmore Fort. Panicked by the revolt, the English government decided to set up negotiations in 1596, which failed miserably.
Faced with this impasse, Elisabeth I launched a whole army towards Ulster. The encounter between the English and Irish troops was unusually violent, and the English were surprised to find themselves up against a well-trained army.
The Irish soon won the Battle of Clontibret, and were also very successful at the Battle of Yellow Ford in 1598, when an ambush resulted in the loss of over 2,000 British soldiers. This victory galvanized the whole country, and the revolt spread throughout Ulster and the rest of Ireland. The Munster plantations were totally destroyed, and the British were violently driven off their land.
As the conflict escalated, Elizabeth I sent 17,000 men to Ireland, under the command of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. He was unable to stand up to the rebels and lost many men at the battle of Curlew Pass, not to mention the many losses caused by dysentery.
Out of anger, Elizabeth I had the Earl of Essex beheaded, and replaced him with Lord Mountjoy, a fine strategist who immediately entrusted the direction of operations in the Munster to George Carew and Arthur Chichester.
George Carew proved highly competent in this project, and succeeded in suppressing the Rebellion in Munster around 1601, after numerous victories and some negotiations. He had the main leaders of the rebel movement imprisoned, and expelled supporters of O’Neill’s cause from Munster.
In 1601, Lord Mountjoy decided to order a large-scale landing of his troops in Derry, and asked Arthur Chichester to stir up trouble in the region, murdering hundreds of civilians, burning peasants’ farms and starving the countryside.
This maneuver was in fact designed to reduce the rebels’ resources, and force the Irish chiefs to protect only their territories, thus slowing the pace of the rebellions.
Faced with such savagery, O’Neill decided to march towards Kinsale and confront Lord Mountjoy’s army, creating a surprise effect. The Battle of Kinsale (January 1601) was a bitter failure, however, and left the rebels in a desperate situation. Many died in the battle, and the survivors fled further north.
This setback enabled Lord Mountjoy to gradually regain control of the country, gradually taking over the major cities previously invaded by the rebels. In Ulster, famine was raging, and many Irish had to resort to cannibalism to survive.
Thousands die of famine. Soon, the misery of the surroundings forced O’Neill’s vassals to capitulate to Mountjoy.
Hugh O’Neill officially surrendered on March 30, 1603, a week after the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
Faced with England’s total victory over the Kingdom of Ireland, Lord Mountjoy announced an amnesty for the rebels in 1604, on the orders of James I, successor to Elizabeth I.
The main reason for such leniency was that the war in Ireland had been far too costly for England, and would have weakened the country considerably. Hugh O’Neill and his vassals are then freed, and try to foment a new rebellion with the help of the Spanish.
The attempt failed, however, as Spain had been visibly weakened by the war with England.
