The Flight of the Earls

O'Neill returned to Tyrone a defeated man. He survived as a fugitive from the Crown for a further two years before seeking terms for peace. Ruairí O'Donnell had already surrendered. The Treaty of Mellifont was signed on the 30th March 1603 between O'Neill and Lord Mountjoy. The Irish received very good terms, most likely because of the growing cost of the war, as well as Elizabeth's failing health. Under the terms of the treaty O'Neill and O'Donnell were granted a full pardon and Ruairí O'Donnell was created the first Earl of Tír Chonaill. Elizabeth I died shortly before the treaty was signed and succeeded by her cousin James I (James VI of Scotland).

Life for the Earls however did not revert to their old existence. Ruairí's lordship was greatly diminished and he was not granted the estates traditionally owned by the lord of Tír Chonaill (Sir Cahir O'Doherty was granted the whole of Inishowen). O'Neill had to endure new arrivals into his territories. Church and State made claims to lands which were part of his ancestral domain. English captains, Henry Docwra and Arthur Chichester, led a hate campaign against him.

Plots and conspiracies surrounded them. O'Neill was summoned to London to defend his estates against a claim made by the O'Cahan Chieftain, who wanted to have his lands separated from the O'Neill lordship. He was reluctant to go, fearing that he would not return.

All these elements contributed to the Earls' decision to leave the country. Cú Chonnacht Maguire arrived with a French ship at Rathmullan, County Donegal in September 1607. The extended O'Neill and O'Donnell families, 99 people in total boarded the ship and departed for the continent. O'Donnell brought with him his infant son Hugh but left behind his pregnant wife, Bridget O'Donnell, most likely expecting that she would join him later. His sister Nuala and brother Cathbharr also travelled with him. O'Neill travelled with his wife and two of his sons. He could not find his youngest son in time for the departing ship and was forced to leave him behind.

The journey was an extremely difficult one. Heavy storms forced the ship away from its intended port of Corunna in northern Spain and they were obliged to land in Quilleboeuf in France on the 4th of October. The French, who were fearful of English reprisal, did not welcome their arrival. The Earls travelled over land to Louvain in Belgium, where they were made welcome at the Franciscan Irish College. They rested in Louvain over the Christmas of 1607 before setting out for Rome. The party intended to travel to Italy where they hoped a ship would bring them across the Mediterranean to Spain. They made a difficult crossing over the Alps during the winter of 1608, arriving in Rome, where they were granted an audience with the Pope on the 4th of May.

But an invitation to Spain for the lords was not forthcoming. At this stage Philip III of Spain had signed a peace treaty with the English and was unwilling to be seen helping his former Irish allies.

While awaiting a reply from Philip, tragedy struck the exiles. Ruairí O'Donnell, affected by the stifling heat, was struck down by a fever. His brother Cathbharr, also became ill followed by O'Neill's son Hugh, the Baron of Dungannon. The three died and were buried in Rome. O'Neill was forced to remain on without his young companions. Despite continuous efforts to return home, he never left Italy.

The fate of the Irish exiles

Hugh Albert O'Donnell (son of Ruairí) became an army officer in the Austrian service, studied at Louvain University and became a Knight of Alcántara in 1625. He died in battle in 1642 leaving no children. His sister Mary, who was raised in the English court, fled an unsuitable marriage to a Protestant landowner and met with her brother for the first time in Brussels in c. 1626. She again fled, this time from the exiled Irish community. Unwilling to commit to another arranged marriage she eloped with an Irish Captain and died in obscurity, most likely in Rome. O'Donnell's descendants are to be found to this day in parts of Austria and Spain, descended from the Niall Garbh O'Donnell line.

John O'Neill (second son of Hugh O'Neill) spent his life in service in the Spanish army, leading the Irish Regiment, and died in 1641 in battle at Catalonia. Many of the Irish exiles made careers for themselves in the Spanish Army in Flanders, including Art Óg O'Neill (Hugh's nephew) and his son Hugh Dubh. Irish officers and captains were generous supporters of the Irish college in Louvain and many of the Irish exiles are buried there, including Red Hugh's sister Nuala O'Donnell.

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