Hugh O'Neill, was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone and was later created The Ó Néill Mór, Chief of the Name. O'Neill's career was played out against the background of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, and he is best known for leading a coalition of Irish clans during the Nine Years' War, the strongest threat to the House of Tudor in Ireland since the uprising of Silken Thomas against King Henry VIII.
Niall Garve O'Donnell was an Irish chieftain, alternately an ally of and rebel against English rule in Ireland. He is best known for siding with the English against his kinsman Hugh Roe O'Donnell during the Nine Years' War in the 1590s.
The Flight of the Earls took place in September 1607, when Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and about ninety followers, left Ulster in Ireland for mainland Europe. Their permanent exile was a watershed event in Irish history, symbolizing the end of the old Gaelic order.
Donegal is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was also historically spelt 'Dunnagall'. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th century, Donegal was the 'capital' of Tyrconnell, a Gaelic kingdom controlled by the O'Donnell dynasty of the Northern Uí Néill.
Hugh Roe O'Donnell, also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donnell and Lord of Tyrconnell in 1593, following a lengthy succession dispute within the derbhfine of the O'Donnell dynasty, and after escaping a five-year imprisonment without trial in Dublin Castle. Along with his father-in-law Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone, he led an alliance of Irish clans in the Nine Years' War against the English government in Ireland. Hugh Roe led an Irish army to victory in the Battle of Curlew Pass. After defeat in the Siege of Kinsale, he travelled to Spain to seek support from King Philip III. Unsuccessful, he died in Spain and was succeeded by his younger brother Rory O'Donnell. He is sometimes also known as Aodh Ruadh II or Red Hugh II, especially in his native County Donegal.
The siege of Kinsale, also known as the battle of Kinsale, was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of the Nine Years' War—a campaign by Hugh O'Neill, Hugh Roe O'Donnell and other Irish lords against English rule.
The O'Donnell dynasty were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland.
The Nine Years' War, sometimes called Tyrone's Rebellion, took place in Ireland from 1593 to 1603. It was fought between an Irish alliance—led mainly by Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone and Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tyrconnell—against English rule in Ireland, and was a response to the ongoing Tudor conquest of Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the country, but mainly in the northern province of Ulster. The Irish alliance won some important early victories, such as the Battle of Clontibret (1595) and the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1598), but the English won a victory against the alliance and their Spanish allies in the siege of Kinsale (1601–02). The war ended with the Treaty of Mellifont (1603). Many of the defeated northern lords left Ireland to seek support for a new uprising in the Flight of the Earls (1607), never to return. This marked the end of Gaelic Ireland and led to the Plantation of Ulster.
Finola MacDonald, styled after her marriage as Dame Finola Ó Domhnaill or Finola, Lady Ó Domhnaill, and better known by the Irish nickname Iníon Dubh, was queen consort of Tyrconnell. She was the daughter of Séamus Mac Dhòmhnaill, 6th Laird of Dunnyveg, and his wife, Lady Agnes MacDonald, and became the second wife of Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill, king of Tyrconnell. She was the mother of eight children, including four sons. Her offspring included Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Rory, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and Cathbarr O'Donnell.
O'Doherty's Rebellion, also called O'Dogherty's Revolt, was an uprising against the Crown authorities in western Ulster, Ireland. Sir Cahir O'Doherty, lord of Inishowen, a Gaelic chieftain, had been a supporter of the Crown during the Nine Years' War (1593–1603), but angered at his treatment by Sir George Paulet, governor of Derry, he attacked and burned Derry in April 1608. O'Dogherty was defeated and killed in the Battle of Kilmacrennan in July. The rebellion ended with the surrender of the last die-hards at the Siege of Tory Island later in the same year.
Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore was a leading English-born soldier and statesman in early seventeenth-century Ireland. He is often called "the founder of Derry", due to his role in establishing the city.
Burt Castle is a ruined castle located close to Newtowncunningham and Burt, two villages in the east of County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. Historically it was sometimes spelt as Birt Castle. It is also known by the name O'Doherty's Castle, and should not be mistaken for O'Doherty's Keep near Buncrana.
Donegal Abbey is a ruined Franciscan Priory in Donegal in Ireland. It was constructed by the O'Donnell dynasty in the fifteenth century. It is sometimes referred to as Donegal Friary.
Sir Arthur O'Neill or Sir Art O'Neill was an Irish soldier and landowner. He was part of the O'Neill dynasty, which was the most powerful Gaelic family in Ireland at the time. He was the son of Turlough Luineach O'Neill, the head of the O'Neill dynasty until 1595. He was the second son of Turlough, but his eldest brother Henry O'Neill died in 1578. At times he had a strained relationship with his father, and offered his support to Turlough's rival Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. When Tyrone succeeded Turlough as head of the O'Neills and began Tyrone's Rebellion, Arthur offered tacit support to his distant cousin.
Cathbarr O'Donnell was an Irish nobleman.
John Connill was a soldier noted for his service in Ireland during the late sixteenth century.
Captain Humphrey Willis was an English soldier in Ireland in the sixteenth century, his parents are unknown. Captain Willis was appointed Sheriff of County Donegal and County Fermanagh by the Lord Deputy of Ireland William FitzWilliam. Captain Willis was a fluent speaker of Irish, and enforced his authority with a detachment of the Irish Army.
Conn Oge O'Donnell was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty of Donegal.
Nuala O'Donnell was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty in sixteenth century Ireland who took part in the 1607 Flight of the Earls.
The Battle of Lifford was fought in County Donegal in October 1600, during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. A mixed Anglo-Irish force under Sir John Bolle and the Gaelic leaders Niall Garve O'Donnell and Sir Arthur O'Neill captured the strategic town of Lifford. A subsequent attempt to recapture it by forces led by Red Hugh O'Donnell failed.
Irish Alliance 
