The
Nine Years War (
Irish Cogadh na Naoi mBliana) or
Tyrone's Rebellion[1][2] took place in
Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of
Gaelic Irish chieftains
Hugh Ó Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone,
Hugh Roe Ó Donnell and their allies, against the
Elizabethan English. The war was fought in all parts of the country, but primarily in the northern province of
Ulster. It ended in defeat for the Irish chieftains, which led ultimately to their exile in the
Flight of the Earls and to the
Plantation of Ulster.
The war against Ó Neill and his allies was the largest conflict fought by England in the Elizabethan era. At one point (1600–1601) more than 18,000 soldiers were fighting in the English army in Ireland.[3] By contrast, the English army assisting the Dutch during the Eighty Years' War was never more than 12,000 strong at any one time.[3]
The Nine Years War was caused by the collision between the ambition of the Gaelic Irish chieftain Hugh Ó Neill and the advance of the English state in Ireland, from control over the Pale to ruling the whole island. In resisting this advance, Ó Neill managed to rally other Irish septs who were dissatisfied with English government and some Catholics who opposed the spread of Protestantism in Ireland.
From Hugh Roe Ó Donnell, his ally, he took a supply of Scottish mercenaries (known as Redshanks). He also hired large contingents of Irish mercenaries known as buanadha under leaders such as Richard Tyrell. To arm his soldiers, Ó Neill bought muskets, ammunition and pikes from Scotland and England. From 1591, Ó Donnell, on Ó Neill’s behalf, had been in contact with Phillip II of Spain, appealing for military aid against their common enemy and citing also their shared Catholicism. With the aid of Spain, Ó Neill was able to arm and feed over 8000 men, unprecedented for a Gaelic lord, and so was well prepared to resist any English attempts to govern Ulster.
