Policy of Mountjoy and of Chichester
 
Above : Picture Of Sir Arthur Chichester, Replace MountjoyÂ
The nine years’ war which he had waged against the power of England had won for Hugh O’Neill a great reputation, not only throughout the British Isles, but also on the Continent of Europe. Henry IV of France, no mean judge of military ability, counted him as ranking third amongst the famous soldiers of his age. Even in defeat, he was certainly the most important man in Ireland, and this Mountjoy realised. ” On my Lord Tyrone all the tranquillity of this Kingdom doth depend,” he declared.
O’Neill was now advanced in life, and was too sagacious and clearsighted not to understand that, at least in his day, the chance of attaining Irish independence by another revolt would probably come no more, and that, for him, nothing remained but to settle down to the status of a nobleman under the English Crown.
As long as the Deputyship remained to Mountjoy, things went on smoothly enough ; for that wise official adopted a conciliatory attitude. When Donal O’Cahain, who had passed over to the English side towards the close of the war, refused to pay to O’Neill, his over-chief, his accustomed dues, Mountjoy supported O’Neill, and silenced remonstrances by the stern ultimatum, ” O’Cahain must and shall be under my Lord Tyrone.” O’Neill, on his side, seemed perfectly willing to abide by the bargain made at Mellifont, and, when sheriffs were sent into Tir Owen, he received them with civility.
Unfortunately for the tranquillity of Ireland, Mountjoy was replaced in 1604 by Sir Arthur Chichester, an official of very different temper.
He started by a series of proclamations, forbidding, amongst other things, the carrying or use of arms by the native Irish. Worse still, nothing of the kind had up to this been attempted. O’Neill and O’Donnell remonstrated in vain. In spite of the anger which he must certainly have felt, O’Neill refrained from giving expression to his feelings ; but Rory O’Donnell and some of the other chiefs appear to have acted with less prudence. Some of their remarks were, of course, reported to Chichester by one or other of the army of Government spies who continually surrounded them.
In 1605 a conspiracy known as ” the Gunpowder Plot ” had been discovered in England.
Those implicated were a number of Catholic gentlemen. Chichester was convinced that some of the Irish were participators in the plot, and when he failed to discover any evidence of this, he still believed that a conspiracy of some kind was being hatched in Ireland. Niall Garff came forward with a story, which he had heard, he said, from a certain Mary Maguire, but even Chichester realised that it was not possible to found a charge of conspiracy upon it.
Donal O’Cahain thought this a favourable opportunity to bring his wrongs forward again, and he laid the matter before the Irish Council (April 1607). O’Neill came to Dublin to defend his claim to dues from O’Cahain’s territory. A special Commission was appointed to investigate the question, but they could arrive at no final decision, and Sir John Davies, the Attorney-General, suggested that, in the following autumn, the two litigants should go to London and lay the case before the KingEnglish Crown..