Is it Derry or Londonderry? - Pt 3 The Tudor Plantations and the Flight of the Earls
In Part 2 we saw how Henry VIII became King of Ireland as well as England, but being the monarch of a country isn’t necessarily the same thing as ruling it, as King Henry found out. The softly, softly approach he started out with ultimately ended with a heavy-handed attempt to enforce the Gaels and Anglo-Irish into accepting English culture and customs.
When his Catholic daughter, Mary, succeeded him the Irish were expecting a change of fortunes, but the new queen turned out to be just as ruthless as her father. She may have followed the religion of her mother Catherine of Aragon, but she was English, and in her quest to Anglicise Ireland, she began planting English settlers – and not just Catholics.
Mary’s Plantation started in 1556 when she ordered the removal of the troublesome O’Moore and O’Connor clans who had been constantly raiding The Pale. After their expulsion, two new counties were formed which she named Queen’s County (now Laois) and King’s County (Offaly). Two new towns were also created – Maryborough (now Portlaoise) and Philipstown (now Daingean), named after her husband, Philip, the King of Spain.
The plantation was not entirely successful for various reasons, not least because the O’Moores and O’Connors didn’t take the situation lying down, but how far she would have gone with the plantation idea is unclear because within two years she had died, and replaced by her half-sister, Elizabeth.
The map below shows how the counties of Ireland look today with Offaly near the centre and Laois just underneath.
When Elizabeth I came to the throne she inherited an Ireland that was not happy in being told what to do by the English. They were expected to speak English and wear English style clothes – and now they had a Protestant Queen to deal with as well.
The Catholic Irish were constantly causing trouble, but Elizabeth was not somebody to be messed around with, as the Earl of Desmond was to find out. In 1579 the most powerful man in Munster enlisted the help of the Pope and King of Spain to fight in the name of the Catholic religion by rebelling (for the second time) against the Queen of England. The revolt was ruthlessly put down by an English army that showed little mercy: Farms and livestock were destroyed and the Munster population was left virtually without food. The famine that followed led to the deaths of an estimated 30,000 people.
After the revolt had been crushed, the ‘Rebel Earl’ went on the run and carried out a guerrilla war from the mountains of Kerry and Tipperary, but in 1583 his luck ran out. He was killed during a skirmish at Glenageenty where he was beheaded. His body was later buried at Castleisland, and his head was sent to Queen Elizabeth in exchange for 1000 pounds of silver.
To ensure the future peace of Munster, the queen initiated another Plantation, and one of the recipients of the former Earl of Desmond’s land was Sir Walter Raleigh, who was given 42,000 acres around Youghal for the part he played in the suppression of the rebellion.
Even though he lived on and off at Youghal during the seventeen years he owned the Plantation, it wasn’t one of the most successful periods of his life, and as we know, he was more interested in establishing a colony in the New World.
Like Mary’s Plantation in the Midlands, Elizabeth’s Munster Plantation didn’t stopped the rebellions either, but the next one was to have more far-reaching consequences – and especially so for Derry.
The Plantation of Ulster was the result of yet another rebellion, this time from the north’s two most powerful earls – Hugh O’Neill and Hugh O’Donnell. Between 1594 and 1603 they fought a campaign against Queen Elizabeth’s Irish government in what became known as the Nine Years War, but unlike the rout in Munster, the earls of Ulster had a good deal of success, due partly to Spanish support, who were still smarting from England’s defeat of their Armada in 1588.
In 1601 however, the earls lost a decisive battle at Kinsale, and in March 1603 (the same month as Queen Elizabeth died), they were given little choice but to sign a peace treaty at Mellifont. Under the terms of the treaty they were allowed to keep their land, but for them it was not the same thing as being able to rule over it.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth on 24th March, there was a union of the English and Scottish Crowns when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, and the new king was to have a big impact on how Ireland was going to change – particularly Ulster.
In 1607, fed up with the restrictions being imposed on them in the Mellifont Treaty, the earls fled Ireland to mainland Europe, where some hoped to enlist support for another rebellion. The king saw it as an act of treason and immediately confiscated their lands. With no real support or appetite for another rebellion, the earls never returned, and their departure signalled the end of the old Gaelic order. The event has since become known as the Flight of the Earls.
Not all Irish clans were anti-English, and one of those who supported the government against the earls was Sir Cahir O’Doherty, the Gaelic Lord of Inishowen. With the earls out of the way, James started to dish out small plantations of the former earls’ territory to those who supported the government cause, and O’Doherty was expecting to be one of those to receive a nice little reward, but when he found out that his name had been left off the list he took umbrage and started a rebellion of his own.
His rebellion saw the burning down of, what was then, the small town of Derry, and as a consequence, the loyal Gaelic leaders were seen to be untrustworthy, and in 1609, with the earls gone for good, James embarked on a radical approach to the problem of Anglicising and “Civilising” Ulster once and for all, and in Part 4 I’ll be describing how his plans changed Ulster history – and for Derry in particular, by planting Scottish and English Protestants to take their place.
POSTED – JANUARY 2023
Originally posted 2023-01-24 09:27:37.
Excelllent work Malc.
Thank you so much Shey.
Looking forward to getting to more later
Another great history lesson Malcolm, I always learn something new from your blog posts 🙂 And nicely illustrated too. Kinsale looks exactly my sort of place for photography!
Thank you Sarah. Unfortunately, I’ve always found Ireland a problem for good photography, due in no small part to the country’s obsession to supply inappropriate weather for photographers 🙂
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Malcolm, you always do a wonderful job of explaining any particular history in a way that is fascinating! Having visited both Ireland and Northern Ireland a few years ago, I felt like I came away knowing quite a bit of history about both places. However, when I read your posts, I definitely know there’s still so much to learn!! Thanks for making this an enjoyable way to learn even more of this important history!
Thank you so much Sylvia. I enjoy doing these sort of posts, and even more so when I read comments like yours. It makes it even more worthwhile 🙂
This was certainly a turbulent time in Ireland – quite a rollercoaster to read about! I can quite imagine what they thought about Henry VIII, but they must indeed have thought they had the perfect ally when Mary came to the throne. Just goes to show you can’t always trust the people you think you can. And vice versa for that matter, you’d think Mary might have been a bit more sensitive to those who were more religiously like-minded though. As for James, that arrogant idea of ‘civilising’ another nation is one that chimes so readily with my medieval studies – talk about history repeating itself! And I love that last photo – we’ve seen lots of rainbows identical to that around the coast here. We saw a particularly stunning one just after Christmas as we were watching the seals resting in their cove at the foot of Great Orme, and the blaze of colour lasted for well over an hour! Rainbows have a great knack of giving us hope, don’t you think? Another great read, Malc, and again, I’m looking forward to Part 4. 🙂
The history of Ireland is a complex and gripping one, which is why I need to put Derry/Londonderry into context over several parts. I hope you approve. As for the rainbows, you better get used to seeing them, because they happen frequently along the coast – or at least they do where I live. I can already tell that you’re loving your new home 🙂
I most certainly approve, Malc, so please carry on – I love a complex and gripping history, and that of Derry/Londonderry certainly seems to fit that bill!
And on rainbows, I think we’re beginning to get our heads round the maritime frequency of these stunning apparitions, as we’ve seen more of them since we’ve been here than probably all the ones we’ve seen before put together! And one of the most vibrant and complete (double!) rainbows I’ve ever seen appeared a couple of months ago when I was standing in the kitchen. It was a full arc, and the apex was right above our garden. I just stood and stared at it, wide eyed and open-mouthed! They’re such special things and we’re always moved and delighted to see them. Just need to keep looking for that gold now…
You’re right that we are loving our new home, and I’ll email as soon as I can to give you an update. 🙂
That’s good to hear Alli. I’m so pleased that it all seems to be working out for you. Looking forward to the update – and perhaps a post as well 🙂
Yes, I’m working on a post now, so hopefully within the week it’ll be out, as I have a lot of distractions at the moment – good ones though, for once – so it’s coming together in a somewhat piecemeal fashion.
Oh, and I’ve just realised – your replies actually showed up in my dashboard thingy this time – yay! 😀
Good news all round then 🙂
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That was an absolutely fascinating read. I found out a lot of thins I didn’t know 🌹
There is plenty more to come on this subject Luisa, so I hope you feel the same come the end. Thanks as always for your kind comment 🙂
Thank you, as ever, for your nice reply!
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Quite the history. Well done, Malc.
Thanks Pat. There’s a lot to cover in this sequence of posts. I hope ou stay with it.
Another interesting and informative read Malc, especially as you mention a place I’m very familiar with – Portlaoise. My son’s dad came from a small town in Co. Tipperary on the bus route between Dublin and Limerick – Portlaoise is a major pick-up/drop off point en route, a nice little town with a decent shopping centre and I’ve been there a few times.
I hope it brings back some good memories for you then Eunice 🙂
Thanks for helping me get Irish history somewhat better sorted out in my head.
Glad to be of assistance Don, and there’s quite a lot more to come if you’re interested
Wonderful article and interesting information which I quite enjoyed Malc, as Ireland is one of my favourite countries. And naturally your photography was excellent!
I’m always grateful for your kind words Francesc. Thank you so much.
Always a pleasure Malc. Cheers. All the best.
Thanks F 🙂
You’re very welcome!