First
to suffer were the MacDonnells of Antrim, whom he slaughtered
at the Battle of Glenshesk. He then turned his attention to the
O’Donnells on his western flank, but was severely defeated
by them at Lough Swilley.
Seeking revenge, he turned to the MacDonnells of Antrim for assistance.
During the festivities to mark the new alliance some of the MacDonnells
recalled the slaughter inflicted on them at Glenshesk and executed
Shane (1567). His head was sent to Dublin where government officials
placed the head on a stake on the walls of the city.
All
the lands of the Ulster chieftains were declared forfeit with
the exception of some lands belonging to Hugh O’Neill, the
older son of Conn, who was also allowed to retain the title of
Baron of Dungannon.
Hugh
O’Neill, son of Matthew and Baron of Dungannon, was adopted
by Giles Hovenden after the murder of his father by his uncle,
Shane O'Neill and raised at Balgriffen, near Dublin. There he
was brought up in the English Court where he was trained in the
English fashion, both in language, politics and in the art of
warfare.
Hugh
O’Neill, regarded as a valuable ally by officials in Dublin,
was quick to realize that an all-out war with the English was
inevitable if Ulster, and Ireland, was to survive. He also realized
that unity was strength and that peace with his fellow Ulster
earls was essential if he was to achieve his goal of driving out
the English invader.
The
other great Ulster chieftain of the period was ‘Red’
Hugh O’Donnell, the future chieftain of the O’Donnells
of Tirconnaill (Donegal). Following his escape from Dublin castle
in December of 1591, secretly aided by O'Neill, Red Hugh O’Donnell,
Lord of Tyrconnell, made his way back to Ulster. Crossing the
Boyne, he avoided both Drogheda and Dundalk and made his way to
the safety of O’Neill’s castle in Kinnard (Caledon)
in Tyrone. From there he headed west and soon reached the O’Donnell
castles in Ballyshannon and Donegal to rejoin his clansmen and
set about driving the English from Donegal.
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