The Flight of the Earls: Gaelic Ireland's Vanished Hope

The History of Ireland: Rebellion, Empire, and Independence — Fexingo History · Aug 1, 2026 · 8m · transcript

In September 1607, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, boarded a ship at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly, bound for the Continent. Within days, the Gaelic lords of Ulster were gone, and with them the last hope of a native Irish order. This episode follows the year before the Flight: the Treaty of Mellifont, the collapse of the O'Neill lordship, the growing pressure from London, and the fateful decision to sail. We examine the disputed causes—was it fear of arrest, a planned invasion, or a calculated gamble?—and trace the tragic aftermath, as the…