This article is from page 58 of the 2007-10-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 58 JPG
, Dr John McCavitt highlights the role of Clare nobleman Donagh O’Brien, who risked his life travelling on the boat from the continent which picked the earls up from Rathmullan and
conveyed them to safety abroad.
Having previously fled from Ireland himself following his escape from Athlone gaol, O’Brien, a trusted fol- lower of the Earl of Tyrconnell and a cousin of the Earl of Thomond, per- sonally delivered the message to the earl that his life was in danger should he remain in Ireland.
The publication features a wide range of contemporary images, pho- tographs of the surviving built herit- age and modern art.
The book contextualises the exodus
of the earls in terms of the northern peace process and reveals new in- sights into the reasons for the Flight of the Earls, not least the link with ‘Ireland’s Helen’, Mabel Bagenal, the Protestant beauty. Her elope- ment with the dashing Earl of Tyrone precipitated a family feud with the Bagenals over her unpaid dowry that unleashed a tidal wave of events that not only led to the Nine-Years War but arguably swept the earls of Ty- rone and Tyrconnell to the continent in 1607.
The book emphasises the impact of the imprisonment of Dublin aldermen following the Gunpowder Plot in Eng- land in 1605 on the way events un- folded at Rathmullan two years later.
While many who departed from the shores of Lough Swilly were Ulster- men, evidence shows that all four provinces were represented on the vessel that left Rathmullan.
Considerable attention in this 400th anniversary year has focused on who comprised the so-called ‘Noble 99’, those who departed from Rathmullan
in September 1607. A chapter tackles some of the myths that have arisen over the centuries in this regard.
The ‘fate and fortunes’ of those who took part in the exodus is also charted, with poignant details of what happened to the earls themselves and the leading nobles as well as exam- ining the adventures and misadven- tures of the women and children who took part.
Perhaps most revealingly of all, the book chronicles the fate of those who managed to make it back to Ireland.