The Flight of the Earls (September 1607)
The Flight of the Earls – September 1607 A Turning Point in Irish History On a quiet September morning in 1607, a small ship slipped away from the shores of Lough Swilly in County Donegal. Aboard were Hugh O'Neill , Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell , Earl of Tyrconnell — two of the most powerful Gaelic lords in Ireland. With them were nearly one hundred family members, loyal followers, and retainers. They would never return. This event would become known as “The Flight of the Earls” — a departure that marked not only the end of an era, but the collapse of a centuries-old Gaelic order. With the sailing of that ship, Ireland lost her last native princes, and the door was thrown open for total English control. What followed was conquest, colonisation, and the slow dismantling of a civilisation rooted in language, law, custom, and clan. The End of Gaelic Ireland To understand the weight of the Flight, we must return to the years before it. The late 16th century was a time ...