The Nine Years War (1594-1603)

The Nine Years War was a long drawn out war of attrition, in which the Irish fought in order to maintain their authority and way of life.

In the beginning Gaelic families tolerated English garrisons and sheriffs in their territories. But when the English began to increase their officials in the province and to threaten the authority of the Gaelic Lords, this was not to be endured. The kidnap and incarceration of Red Hugh O'Donnell helped to sour the relationship between the English and the O'Donnells. On Red Hugh's return one of his first acts was to expel the English sheriff from Tir Chonaill.

The Nine years War began with Hugh Maguire's revolt in Fermanagh, caused by the introduction of an English sheriff into his territory in 1593. Maguire soon found support from his neighbours in Donegal.

The English had already successfully crushed the lordships of The McMahon in Monaghan and The O'Rourke in Leitrim, so understandably the remaining Ulster lords could have suspected that they were next on the list. O'Neill secretly supported the rebels with arms and aid but was unwilling to openly declare his intentions. He kept up the appearance of loyalty until 1595. O'Neill, of the three chieftains, had the most to lose. Elizabeth I, with whom he had a good relationship, supported his position. He however was a shrewd man, secretly arming his army for the day when the Queen might impose one too many officials on him or impinge further on his authority in Tyrone.

The Irish had numerous successes in battle in the early years of the Nine Years War. Maguire defeated the English at the Ford of the Biscuits in Fermanagh and O'Donnell led successful raids into Sligo, Mayo and north Galway. O'Neill proved himself to be an exceptional leader, defeating the English at Clontibret in Monaghan, Yellow Ford in Armagh and the Moyry Pass on the Armagh/Louth border. The early battles of the war were successful for a number of reasons. O'Neill was well trained and familiar with English battle strategy; most of the battles were fought on his terms on territory unfamiliar to the invading forces, by a well supplied Irish army and the Irish fought for their own survival and their way of life.

Sustaining their successes and taking the entire country however was going to be extremely difficult. Many of the old Anglo-Norman families in Ireland remained loyal to the crown and were unwilling to join O'Neill and O'Donnell. Foreign aid was therefore essential.

This aid came in the form of funds and arms from Spain. Spain was a Catholic country with an interest in assisting the enemies of its adversary, England. Several meetings took place between the Spanish and the Ulster Lords during the course of the Nine years War, in Killybegs and Lifford, County Donegal, but it was not until 1601 that assistance finally arrived.

The reason for the Gaelic allies' eventual defeat was their over dependence on the Spanish King and the failure of support to arrive on time. Also, the bitter conflicts that raged over succession within each lordship weakened their ability to fight the invading force.

By the time Red Hugh left for Kinsale much of his territory had already been lost to his cousin Niall Garbh who had the support of the English captain Henry Docwra.

Kinsale 1601

The Spanish arrived in Kinsale, County Cork in September 1601 but in much smaller numbers than anticipated. Despite the difficulties presented to them the Irish were in a good position at the onset of the battle. In an effort to gain the advantage O'Donnell persuaded a more cautious and reluctant O'Neill to attack the assembled English force, led by Lord Mountjoy and Lord Carew. The battle was a disaster from the beginning. O'Neill's forces failed to surprise the English and did not attack them upon being sighted, but waited, thereby losing the advantage. They were forced to give up ground and were mowed down by the advancing cavalry. The sight of this caused O'Donnell's force in the rear guard to flee, after only engaging in battle in a minor way. Everything happened so quickly that the battle was over before the Spanish even rode out onto the battlefield. The Spanish Captain, Don Juan del Águila, quickly gave up hope and nine days later surrendered to Mountjoy.

His armies depleted and with much of the O'Donnell lordship lost to his cousin Niall Garbh and Docwra, Red Hugh fled to Spain. He made efforts to secure additional aid from King Philip III, but died before any force could be assembled. In his will, taken just before his death in Simancas, O'Donnell named his younger brother Ruairi as his successor.

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