Flight of the Earls

The Flight of the Earls (Irish: Imeacht na nIarlaí) took place on 14 September [O.S. 4 September] 1607,^[a] when Irish earls Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, permanently departed Rathmullan in Ireland for Catholic Europe during a period of extreme political tension with the English Crown. They were accompanied by their extended families, retinue, followers and fellow nobility, numbering about 100 people. The earls were patriarchs of the two most powerful clans in Ulster—the O'Neill and O'Donnell clans—and their emigration is considered to symbolise the end of Gaelic Irish society.^[3]

Both earls fought against the Crown in the Nine Years' War (1593–1603), which ended with their surrender. The newly crowned James VI and I granted the earls generous peace terms which allowed them to retain most of their lands and titles. Many courtiers were unsatisfied with the king's leniency, and hostility towards the earls from British officials gradually increased over time. The implementation of English law in Ireland led to financial difficulties for both earls as well as a major land rights dispute between Tyrone and his vassal Donnell Ballagh O'Cahan, which was weaponised by officials such as Arthur Chichester, John Davies, and George Montgomery.

The Flight was seemingly a snap decision; its exact motivation is unclear and is the subject of debate.^[4] The earls may have been conspiring against the government, and their flight could have been an attempt to evade arrest or execution.^[5] The earls were bound for A Coruña, as Spain had allied with the Irish confederacy during the war, but were turned away by Philip III for fear of violating the recently-signed Treaty of London. The refugees spent time in Leuven in the Spanish Netherlands, where the earls left their young children to be educated at the Irish College of St Anthony. The earls arrived in Rome on 29 April [O.S. 19 April] 1608 and were granted small pensions by Pope Paul V. Their accommodation in Rome was paltry compared to their estates in Ireland. Tyrconnell died of a fever three months later. Tyrone repeatedly demonstrated his intent to return to Ireland and retake his lands, but he became ill and died in 1616 before doing so.

Most of the passengers on the flight never returned to Ireland. The flight was declared as treasonous by King James and the earls' titles were forfeited, which led to the acquisition of the earls' lands as part of the Plantation of Ulster.^[6]

From 1593, Ulster lords Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Hugh Roe O'Donnell led a confederacy of Irish lords in resistance to the Tudor conquest of Ireland.^[7] The Nine Years' War was a major political threat to the Tudor government's control of Ireland, and cost Queen Elizabeth I £2,000,000 to suppress—eight times more than had been spent on all continental wars waged during her reign.^[8] Despite the confederacy's military assistance from Spain (which was then engaged in the Anglo-Spanish War against England),^[9] confederate forces were decimated at the Siege of Kinsale. Hugh Roe traveled to Spain to seek further support from King Philip III, leaving his younger brother Rory in control of his forces.^[10]

The confederacy disintegrated as English forces travelled across Ulster destroying crops and livestock.^[11] The royal army's use of scorched earth tactics led to famine across 1602–1603,^[12] with conditions so extreme that the local population were reduced to cannibalism.^[13] The promised Spanish fleet was repeatedly delayed due to a lack of resources, despite Hugh Roe's petitioning. He died in Simancas of illness on 9 September [O.S. 30 August] 1602.^[14] Subsequently the Spanish government abandoned support for the confederacy and sought peace with England.^[15] Rory surrendered to Lord Deputy Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, at Athlone on 14 December [O.S. 4 December].^[16] Tyrone went into hiding for several months, but eventually surrendered by signing the Treaty of Mellifont on 9 April [O.S. 30 March] 1603, which ended the Nine Years' War.^[17]

Following Hugh Roe O'Donnell's death, his confessor Florence Conroy continued to pressure Philip III for send military resources. Conroy sailed from A Coruña in April 1603 with two ships carrying arms to Ireland, but he arrived after the Treaty of Mellifont had been signed. Conroy did not disembark and returned to Spain.^[18]

In summer 1603, Tyrone and Rory travelled to London to submit to King James I,^[19] who had acceeded to the English throne mere days before Tyrone's surrender.^[20] Despite years of bloodshed fighting the royal army, the confederates received remarkably generous terms.^[21] James pardoned Tyrone and Rory and restored them to most of their lands. Rory was made 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.^[b] Many English courtiers were upset and complained at the mild treatment of the earls,^[c] and became intent on dismantling the earls' remaining power.^[24]

Despite their generous peace terms, the confederates' defeat in the Nine Years' War had a profound effect on Gaelic culture. The Gaelic succession system of tanistry was replaced with primogeniture and Irish lords were forced to renounce their Gaelic titles.^[d] These legal changes, which essentially replaced the Gaelic legal system with English common law,^[28] led to a prominent land rights dispute between Tyrone and his principal sub-chief (and son-in-law) Donnell Ballagh O'Cahan.^[29] Customarily in Gaelic society, powerful chiefs granted portions of their land to sub-chiefs (Irish: uirríthe) in return for black rents. The often-tense relations between these chiefs were exploited by the government to weaken the Gaelic nobility.^[30] O'Cahan faced near-famine conditions towards the end of the war; he surrendered to English commander Henry Docwra in July 1602, relinquishing a third of his territory to the Crown under the promise that he would retain the remaining two-thirds under English law.^[31] O'Cahan's surrender critically weakened Tyrone's position and created animosity between the two men.^[32] When Tyrone surrendered at Mellifont, he negotiated with Mountjoy to retain ownership of O'Cahan's territory, overruling Docwra's promise. O'Cahan was further frustrated when Tyrone imposed various levies and taxes on the land to rebuild his wealth. O'Cahan was forced to yield a third of his lands to Tyrone. Neither man was satisfied with their circumstances as all of the castles on the disputed land remained in government hands.^[33]

It was initially easy for Tyrone to rebuild his estates due to the lacklustre government of the new Lord Deputy, George Carey.^[34] He used his new patent to claim absolute ownership over his earldom and reduce the landholdings of other O'Neill clansmen.^[35] Tyrone did not lose contact with Spain nor the hope that Anglo-Spanish conflict would renew.^[36] He wrote to Philip III in summer 1603, offering to take up arms for Spain if Anglo-Spanish peace negotiations failed.^[34] Despite these hopes, the Anglo-Spanish War ended in August 1604 with the signing of the Treaty of London.^[37] The Spanish government was hamstrung by bankruptcy and did not want to provoke conflict with England.^[38]

Many English politicians and soldiers, who had fought against Tyrone in the war, went to great lengths to convince authorities that Tyrone was untrustworthy and required adequate punishment for his continued treachery.^[39] Arthur Chichester, who became Lord Deputy in February 1605,^[40] had an aggressive attitude towards the Gaelic lords. He abolished the Gaelic feudal system, making sub-chiefs into freeholders with new legal rights. In October he banned Catholic clergy from Ireland and forced the population to attend Protestant church services.^[28] Additionally the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in late 1605 led to an increase in the severity of anti-Catholic laws.^[41] Tyrone's marriage became strained over his diminishing social position, and in December 1605 he considered divorcing his wife Catherine. Chichester sent officer Toby Caulfeild to recruit Catherine as a double agent, but she dismissed this out of hand.^[42] Tyrone was protected to an extent by Mountjoy's influence over the Irish Privy Council, but this support was lost when Mountjoy died in April 1606.^[43]

Chichester began to work with John Davies, Attorney-General for Ireland, to accuse Tyrone of treason. Despite their attempts, no hard evidence could be found.^[44] Chichester arrested and held Cuchonnacht Maguire, Maguire clan chief and a staunch supporter of Tyrone, for questioning.^[45] Other officials harnessed O'Cahan's hostility to orchestrate Tyrone's undoing.^[46] George Montgomery, the new Protestant Bishop of Derry, encouraged O'Cahan to renew his lawsuit.^[47] Montgomery also encouraged O'Cahan to leave his wife (Tyrone's daughter Rose),^[48][e] noting that "the breach between [O'Cahan] and his landlord [Tyrone] will be the greater by means of [Tyrone's] daughter".^[50] In March 1607 O'Cahan repudiated his marriage^[51] (though he retained Rose's dowry,^[50] against Tyrone's will)^[48] and before the end of the year he remarried to another woman.^[52]

O'Cahan received a loan from the Earl of Londonderry to fund his case,^[54] and also had Davies acting as his counsel.^[48] In May 1607, the trial came before the Privy Council. Tyrone lost his temper, snatching a document from O'Cahan's hands and tearing it up in front of Chichester. The council decreed that two-thirds of the lands should remain in O'Cahan's possession.^[54] It became clear to Tyrone that the restoration of his earldom meant little,^[55] and in a letter to the king he requested new letters patent to the disputed lands.^[56] In mid-July, Tyrone was ordered to present himself in London at the beginning of Michaelmas term (late September)^[57] to have ownership of the remaining land settled by the king.^[54]

Tyrone was not the only Irish lord frustrated with the English-led administration. The Earl of Tyrconnell was discontented that his new royal grant^[58] did not include the lands of his sub-chief Cahir O'Doherty^[59] in Inishowen.^[60] Tyrconnell struggled to transition from the role of a Gaelic warlord to an Irish peer, which led to financial difficulties. He became bitter and started plotting against the government.^[58] On a trip to Maynooth in 1607, he spoke of a plot against the English government, involving Tyrone and Spain, during a conversation with Richard Nugent, Baron Delvin (later 1st Earl of Westmeath).^[58] However historians disagree on whether an Irish plot existed,^[61] and if the government intended to arrest the earls.^[62]

In early summer 1607, Anglo-Irish statesman Baron Howth, having returned from the Low Countries, alerted Chichester and the 1st Earl of Salisbury to the existence of a treasonous Catholic league. Howth implicated Tyrconnell and Delvin in "a general revolt intended by many of the nobility and principal persons of this land, together with the cities and towns of the greatest strength; and that they will shake off the yoke of the English government, as they term it, and adhere to the Spaniard". Howth couldn't prove Tyrone's involvement, but was assured from his exchanges with insiders that Tyrone was a key figure in the league.^[63] Howth also claimed that Conroy, who had received funding from Philip III, was travelling to Ireland to notify the league of an impending Spanish expedition. Chichester was alarmed by this news but doubted the veracity of Howth's information.^[18] Salisbury appears not to have taken Howth's claims seriously; on 22 July 1607, Salisbury and the Privy Council wrote that it was "not worthy to draw on the King to any sudden action; because first it might alarm the Irish..." Chichester was told that he should had "rectified a little the strong discontent of the towns and others now boiling in their hearts... Their loyalty would then be confirmed and the less would be their jealousy if there were occasion to lay hold of any persons of rank".^[57]

By contrasting Howth's accusations with Tyrone's own account, it is apparent that Howth's claims were exaggerated in certain respects. The historian Micheline Kerney Walsh stated Tyrone's records confirm the existence of this Catholic league, which included many Irish elites, which planned to occupy certain strongholds in Ireland once Spain assistance arrived. Howth stated that Philip III had promised military resources to the league, but from surviving Hispano-Irish correspondence it is clear that Philip III had not been appealed to until after the Flight.^[45]

Tyrone learnt that the government intended to imprison him, or possibly execute him, once he got to London. Walsh proposed that Tyrone probably received this news at the same time he was ordered to London (mid-July), as Chichester noted "since [Tyrone] received His Majesty's letter for his repair thither, he did lose his former cheerfulness and grew often exceedingly pensive".^[57] Tyrone and Tyrconnell later declared in correspondence with Spain that this intelligence came from "intimate friends of theirs on the King's very Council", codenamed "el Cid", "Rodan" and "Malgesi". Of these three friends, only the identity of "el Cid"—Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton—is known.^[64] The exact cause of the flight is a matter of controversy among historians.^[4] Walsh stated Tyrone certainly believed that his arrest was imminent.^[65] The earls had written to Philip III in February 1606 that they were "in danger every moment of losing their lives".^[66]

The Franciscan friar Thomas Fitzgerald was arrested for his involvement in the Flight and was subsequently questioned at Dublin Castle on 13 October [O.S. 3 October] 1607. Fitzgerald stated that "five or six months" previously, the earls were "fearful to be taken or sent for into England" and so sent seaman John Rath into Spain to seek assistance from Philip III. However the Spanish king rejected the earls' pleas since assisting them could renew Anglo-Spanish conflict. Soon after this, Tyrone was ordered to London.^[67]

Cuconnacht Maguire left Ireland for the Spanish Netherlands in late May 1607.^[45] According to Thomas Edmonds (English ambassador to the Netherlands), Maguire disguised himself as a merchant and hired an unnamed 80-ton warship at Nantes in France.^[68][69] Maguire dressed the vessel as a fishing ship by filling it with salts and nets. It sailed from Dunkirk and anchored at Lough Swilly on 4 September [O.S. 25 August]. Maguire, Rath, Tyrconnell's secretary Matthew Tully and nobleman Donagh O'Brien were aboard.^[70]

Tyrone was at Slane with Chichester on 6 September [O.S. 27 August] when news of the vessel's arrival reached him.^[71] He seemed to have come to an immediate snap decision,^[35] and left for Mellifont two days later.^[71] Attorney-General Davies recollected that Tyrone left Slane in an unusually solemn manner, farewelling every servant and child in the house.^[72]

Once both earls had decided to leave the country, they rushed to gather their family members.^[73] On the afternoon of 9 September [O.S. 30 August], Tyrone left Mellifont with his son Shane, who had been living there with the family of politician Garret Moore. Tyrone travelled through Dundalk, Silverbridge, Armagh, Dungannon, and on 10 September [O.S. 31 August] reached the "Craobh", an "island habitation" near Stewartstown, where he stayed for two nights. It is possible Tyrone's wife Catherine and son Brian were living there and that this time was spent preparing for their departure.^[74] Tyrone's five-year-old son Conn, who was staying with his foster family in a far-off part of the country, was left behind due to time constraints, to Catherine's distress.^[75] According to an English account, Catherine "being exceedingly weary slipped down from her horse and weeping said she could go no further." Tyrone responded by threatening her with his sword "if she would not pass on with him and put on a more cheerful countenance".^[76]

At midday on 13 September [O.S. 3 September], Tyrone and his family arrived at the home of Tyrconnell's brother Cathbarr in Ballindrait. Cathbarr (and presumably his wife and children) joined the group as they continued their journey that night. The group crossed the River Foyle and reached Ramelton at daybreak the following day. They finally reached Rathmullan, a seaside village on Lough Swilly, where Tyrconnell was waiting for them.^[77]

At about midday^[78] on 14 September [O.S. 4 September],^[79][f] the earls embarked from Rathmullan for A Coruña in Spain. They were accompanied by about 100 passengers, which included their families, domestic workers and retinue, clergymen, followers and other aristocrats. Most of the passengers were Gaels from Ulster, though there were also many passengers of Old English heritage. The crew comprised French, Spanish and Flemish sailors. Notably, Tyrone's footman Pedro Blanco was leaving Ireland for the first time since he had arrived in 1588 as a seaman on the Spanish Armada.^[80] In the earls' hurry to depart, their horses were left alone on the shore.^[78]

In addition to Tyrone's son Conn, many of the earls' family members remained in Ireland. Tyrconnell's teenage wife Bridget was in the last month of her pregnancy, and was staying at her grandmother's Maynooth estate when she learned of her husband's departure. Tyrconnell later explained via a messenger that his flight was not "for want of love... if [he] had known sooner of his going, he would have taken [Bridget] with him." He expected Bridget to escape to the continent soon afterwards, but she cooperated with English authorities and never saw her husband again. Bridget gave birth to Tyrconnell's only daughter, Mary, and later remarried to Nicholas Barnewall, 1st Viscount Barnewall.^[81] Tyrone's brother Cormac MacBaron O'Neill also remained in Ireland, though his sons Art Oge and Brian took part in the Flight.^[82] By the end of the war, Cormac and Tyrone's relationship had become frayed. The historian John McGurk suggested that Cormac had become a political rival to his brother.^[83] On 15 September, Cormac travelled to Dublin to inform Chichester of the earls' departure and to petition for a custodiam of Tyrone's estates. Chichester was suspicious that Cormac took a full day to confer this news. Cormac was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he later died. Walsh, who argued that the Flight was a tactical retreat, stated that Cormac's absence from the Flight was probably pre-arranged with Tyrone, so he could prepare Ireland for the anticipated Spanish expedition. Cormac was married to Tyrconnell's sister Margaret; she and her youngest son Conn made their own way to the Spanish Netherlands.^[84]

Tadhg Ó Cianáin, a writer who took part in the Flight, wrote that the first night "was bright, quiet and calm, with a breeze from the south-west." The émigrés considered putting in to Arranmore to source more food and drink, but a strong storm blew the ship away from shore. They set a course past Sligo and straight ahead until Croagh Patrick.^[86]

The ship's crew were not familiar with this part of the sea. At midday on 17 September, the émigrés approached three large Scandinavian ships, returning from Spain, for directions.^[87] Fearing that a royal fleet at Galway might intercept them, the émigrés sailed further out into the Atlantic to make a clearer path to Spain.^[88] The difficult voyage was plagued by strong winds, rough seas and cramped conditions.^[89] After thirteen days at sea, the émigrés trailed relics in the water behind the ship to provide relief from the storms.^[87] Tyrone had a gold cross which contained a relic of the True Cross,^[90] possibly taken from a visit to Holy Cross Abbey in 1601.^[91] A journey from Rathmullan to A Coruña should have taken only four or five days,^[92] but it had been sixteen days when the émigrés neared the Spanish coast on 30 September. The wind began to blow against them, making it impossible to sail towards Spain. The ship was thrust up the English Channel and past the Channel Islands.^[93] In acceptance of the poor weather and their dwindling food supply, the émigrés tried to reach Le Croisic in France.^[88]

When the émigrés finally disembarked in Quillebeuf-sur-Seine, France, on 4 October, less than one barrel of drinking water remained.^[95] A day later the women and children were sent with their luggage on a boat up the Seine to Rouen.^[88][96] Quillebeuf's governor entertained Tyrone at dinner, but would not allow the earls to continue their journey without permission from King Henry IV. In the meantime George Carew, the English ambassador in Paris, attempted to have the earls arrested.^[97] Henry IV, who considered Tyrone to be one of the greatest generals in Europe,^[94] refused English demands to hand over the earls and—though denying them from proceeding to Spain—permitted them passage through northern France to the Spanish Netherlands.^[97]

The main group including Tyrone and Tyrconnell went with 17 men on horseback to La Bouille. The following day, the group were detained and taken to Lisieux.^[96]

Despite the earls' petitioning, Philip III would not allow the émigrés to enter Spain for fear of violating the 1604 Anglo-Spanish peace treaty.^[98] Spain was on the verge of bankruptcy and could not afford another war with England.^[38] In mid-December, the émigrés received news that the Netherlands' sovereign Albert VII wanted them to leave his states. On 28 February 1608, Tyrone and his companions (now reduced to thirty-two people on horseback plus the women in a coach) left Leuven to travel southwards.^[99] The nobles left their younger children behind in Leuven under the care of Irish Franciscans at St Anthony's College.^[89]

On 29 April, Tyrone and Tyrconnell were welcomed into Rome by a large procession of cardinals. The two earls met Pope Paul V the next day.^[100]

The pope granted the earls a monthly pension of a hundred crowns. Philip III offered the collective sum of 700 ducats a month for the group of about 50 émigrés. The earls were displeased with the small size of their pension and their reduced lifestyles; they quickly found themselves in debt.^[101]

During his time in Rome, Tyrone attended papal ceremonies, visited catacombs and relics, ascended the Scala Santa on his knees, and made the traditional pilgrimage to the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.^[102] Tyrone quickly became disillusioned with his exile and yearned to return to his position in Ireland.^[103] For the rest of his life, he did not give up the possibility of returning to Ireland.^[104] Following Tyrconnell's death, his only son Hugh Albert O'Donnell succeeded him as the 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell.^[69]

James I issued "A Proclamation touching the Earles of Tyrone and Tyrconnell" on 25 November [O.S. 15 November] 1607, in which he publicly accused the earls of plotting a rebellion.^[106][105] On 7 November [O.S. 28 October] 1614 the earls' titles were attainted by the Parliament of Ireland,^[107] which led to the eventual forfeiture of their lands and titles.^[108] The O'Neill and O'Donnell families continued to use their titles on the Continent. Tyrone's son Shane was recognised by the Spanish court as his successor, and created the 3rd Earl of Tyrone ("El Conde de Tyrone") in the Spanish nobility.^[109] Tyrconnell's son Hugh continued to use the title of Earl of Tyrconnell after it was attainted.^[110] Additionally, Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell could not have his title legitimately attainted. Hugh O'Donnell was naturalised as a Spanish subject in 1633.^[111]

Under the Common law, the title granted by King James and accepted by the earl had potentially lapsed as soon as the Earl embarked on the ship without his king's permission to leave Ireland, and when it lapsed it could not then pass down to his descendants without some special waiver. Assuming that Hugh Albert was being punished for a crime he did not commit, and was not being given a hearing, misses the whole point of the law of attainder. Hugh Albert was never issued a Writ of Summons to sit in the Irish House of Lords as his father's heir. Hugh Albert also never came to Dublin in 1614 to argue his case for a waiver, so far as is known, and never accepted James I as his king. Until he did so, his title and his claim to nobility were considered to be "in abeyance".

These attainders had a much greater impact on the people of Ulster. The 1603 peace arrangement with the three lords was ended, as they had broken its conditions by leaving the kingdom without permission, and their remaining freehold lands were confiscated. Chichester proposed a new plantation of settlers from England, Wales and Scotland, sponsored in part by the City of London merchants, which became known as the Plantation of Ulster. This had an enormous negative impact on the lower class Gaelic-culture inhabitants of Ulster.

In the papal bull Ilius of 1555, the Pope had conferred the title King of Ireland on King Philip II of Spain when he was married to Queen Mary. Philip II made no claim to the kingship of Ireland after Mary's death in 1558. He engaged in a lengthy war from 1585 with her sister Elizabeth I, and he and his successor Philip III supported the Irish Catholic rebels by sending the 4th Spanish Armada to Ireland in 1601 which ended in defeat at Kinsale. He had been offered the kingship in 1595 by O'Neill and his allies but turned it down. Given this lengthy support, it was reasonable for O'Donnell and O'Neill to imagine that they might solicit help from Philip III, but Spanish policy was to maintain the 1604 Treaty with England, and its European fleet had been weakened from several conflicts, including the Battle of Gibraltar by the Dutch over four months earlier.

Therefore, by mid-1607 Spain had neither the desire nor the means to assist an Irish rebellion. While the Flight is often described as a first step in arranging a new war, this must be seen as an emotional and false conclusion, as there were no plans or proposals at all from the Spanish side to support the earls. Spanish policy in the 1590s had been to help the Irish warlords as a nuisance against England, but they had been defeated by 1603. It could not be in any way in the interest of Spain to assist their unsuccessful former allies in 1607.

Tadhg Ó Cianáin's diary is the only continuous and contemporaneous account of the Flight. Its original title, Turas na dTaoiseach nUltach as Éirinn – the departure of the Chiefs of Ulster from Ireland – has been changed since the creation of the more dramatic phrase "Flight of the Earls" to the latter's modern literal translation, Imeacht na nIarlaí; and, according to Professor Ó Muraíle, turas can also mean a religious pilgrimage.^[112][86]

The event was first named as a "flight" in an 1868 book by Charles Patrick Meehan. In Irish, the neutral term Imeacht is usually used i.e. the Departure of the Earls. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí'.

Some historians, particularly Micheline Kerney Walsh, have criticised the name "Flight".^[113][114] Kerney Walsh and McGurk have argued that the Flight was a tactical retreat and not a spontaneous escape from authorities.^[115][116] Meehan argued that the earls' tenants wanted a new war: "Withal, the people of Ulster were full of hope that O'Neill would return with forces to evict the evictors, but the farther they advanced into this agreeable perspective, the more rapidly did its charms disappear."^[117] Some historians argue that their flight was forced upon them by the fallout from the Tudor conquest of Ireland, while others that it was an enormous strategic mistake that cleared the way for the Plantation of Ulster.^[118]

In 1895, Richard Bagwell stated that "there can be no doubt that [Tyrconnell] had been in correspondence with Spain, but it must remain uncertain whether there was any conspiracy".^[119] In 1916, historian Paul Walsh wrote that "there is no evidence of conspiracy on the part of [O'Neill] or [Maguire]."^[120] In 1996, Murray Smith stated that O'Neill was not innocent of plotting.^[121] In 2007, McGurk noted that "historians have been unable to agree on whether or not there was a plot in 1607" and "the historical jury is still out" on whether there was a government plot against O'Neill's life.^[114]

The earls' departure is considered to symbolise the end of Gaelic Ireland.^[3] The subsequent Plantation of Ulster in 1609 saw the earls' lands colonised by Protestant British settlers (particularly Presbyterian Scots), which led to sectarian conflict still present today.^{[122][123][108][6]}

From 1616, a number of bards outside Ulster had a poetic debate in the "Contention of the bards" and one of the arguments celebrated King James's Gaelic-Irish Milesian ancestry through Malcolm III of Scotland. So it is debatable whether the Gaelic order had ended or was evolving.

Ethna Carbery's poem Princes of the North is addressed to Tyrone and laments the Flight.^[124]

An illustration of the earls leaving Rathmullan was published in A. M. Sullivan's book Story of Ireland (1867).^[125] In the 19th century, H. Warren and J. Rogers produced an engraving of Tyrone coercing Catherine to depart Ireland.^[126] One of the best known depictions of the event is Thomas Ryan's 1958 painting The Departure of O'Neill out of Ireland.^[127]

The Flight of the Earls Centre in Rathmullan is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Flight.^[128]

In 2007, the 400th anniversary of the Flight was commemorated throughout County Donegal, including a regatta of tall ships, fireworks, lectures, and conferences. In January and February 2007, BBC Northern Ireland broadcast a documentary on the Flight.^[129] Commemorative postage stamps were issued by the Irish post office, featuring illustrations of Tyrone and Tyrconnell by Seán Ó'Brógáin.^[130]

On 14 September 2007, President of Ireland Mary McAleese unveiled a statue by John Behan at Rathmullan. The bronze statue depicts three men walking a gangplank, representing the plight of the émigrés.^[131] The Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive marked the anniversary with an exhibition and outreach programme supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.^[132]

Across 2007 and 2008, Denis Conway starred in and organised a production of Brian Friel's 1989 play Making History, which follows Tyrone in Rome reckoning with his legacy.^{[133][134][135]} The production was toured along the route of the Flight of the Earls, as well as at various sites in Ireland associated with Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell. Similarly to the Flight, the tour concluded in Rome.^[136]

In 2008 there were also celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Earls in Rome, with a celebratory performance by the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland in Sant'Ignazio Church in Rome.^[137]

Compiling a complete list of the émigrés who embarked from Rathmullan is difficult as some people left and joined the group once the earls got to France.^[138] Tadhg Ó Cianáin kept an incomplete record of names.^[95] In 1916, Paul Walsh utilised the Annals of the Four Masters and the English State Papers to expand this list to 49 named participants.^[139] In their work Imeacht na nIarlaí (1972), Tomás Ó Fiaich and Pádraig de Barra added more names to Ó Cianáin's list.^[140]

John McGurk stated that "the crew comprised French, Spanish and Flemish hands."^[80]

In his account, Ó Cianáin recorded "2 lackies of [Tyrone]", "4 servants of [Tyrconnell]", "3 lackies of [Tyrconnell]" and "3 waiting women".^[95]

Florence Conroy did not board at Rathmullan; he met the earls at Douai and escorted them to Leuven, then continued on with them to Rome.^[181] Ó Cianáin stated that Dr Eoghan MacMahon "came to meet [the earls' party] from Douai to [Arras]".^[182] Tyrone's son Henry met the earls at Halle and travelled with them to Leuven. Henry stayed behind at the Irish College to care for the earls' children.^[183]

• Bridget FitzGerald, Tyrconnell's wife^[184]
• Iníon Dubh, Tyrconnell's mother^[185]
• Mary O'Donnell, Tyrconnell's sister^[186]
• Niall Garve O'Donnell, Tyrconnell's cousin and brother-in-law^[186]
• Hugh Boye O'Donnell, Niall Garve's brother^[186]
• Hugh McHugh Dubh O'Donnell, senior O'Donnell nobleman^[186]
• Cormac MacBaron O'Neill, Tyrone's brother^[187]
• Margaret O'Donnell, Tyrconnell's sister and Cormac's wife^[82]
• Conn Ruadh O'Neill, Tyrone's son^[188]

• Tudor conquest of Ireland
• Contention of the bards
• O'Cahan
• Tadhg Ó Cianáin
• "The Hunting of the Earl of Rone"
• Regiment of Hibernia

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• Cokayne, George Edward (1896). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. VII (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180891114.
• Jennings, Brendan (1941). "The Career of Hugh, Son of Rory O Donnell, Earl of Tirconnel, in the Low Countries, 1607-1642". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 30 (118): 219–234. ISSN 0039-3495. JSTOR 30097953.
• Meehan, Charles Patrick (1868). The fate and fortunes of Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donel, earl of Tyrconnel; their flight from Ireland, their vicissitudes abroad, and their death in exile. University of California Libraries. Dublin, J. Duffy.
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• Earls Heritage Centre, Rathmullan, County Donegal
• Wild Geese Heritage Museum and Library
• Mural depicting Flight of the Earls, Belfast
• Yearlong Commemoration of Flight of the Earls (1607–2007) 2007 – Donegal County Council/County Development Board
• The Flight Of The Earls Dr John McCavitt FRHistS
• Information on the Flight of the Earls
• BBC History article
• The National Library of Ireland's current exhibition, Strangers to Citizens: the Irish in Europe, 1600–1800

55°05′26″N 7°33′17″W / 55.0906°N 7.5548°W / 55.0906; -7.5548