What reasons can have induced Shane to wish to embark in an enterprise, the dangers of which he must have known, it is impossible to say with anything like certainty ; but probable conjectures may be hazarded. It would be a manifest advantage to him to study on the spot the various intrigues of the Court, and to arrive at a just estimate of the policies and influence of the various ministers who surrounded the Queen.

Still more vital would it be to his interests to meet and interview foreign ambassadors in London, and to judge of the amount of support he could count on from their respective masters, should he, at any future time ,decide to try the chances of rebellion against England. To a man cradled and reared as Shane had been, danger was no deterrent. Still, he was too prudent not to take all possible precautions. He insisted that the five highest nobles in Ireland should be his sureties, and pledge their honours that he should safely go to England and safely return. His people should not be molested in his absence, nor his tributaries maintained against him.

A liberal sum should be allowed him for the expenses of his journey. These conditions he refused to depart from, and to them the English ministers were reluctantly compelled to consent. In the last days of the year 1561 Shane crossed to England, and on January 6th, 1562, he appeared at Elizabeth’s Court, with his followers and gallowglasses, all in native costume. Kneeling on one knee, he ” made his submission,” stipulating, however, for ” the rights enjoyed by his ancestors.”

For nearly five months the Ulster chief remained at Court, sharing in the amusements of the nobles and courtiers. He did not forget, however, to take opportunities to speak with the foreign envoys, especially with the Bishop of Aquila, Ambassador of Philip II of Spain. Elizabeth herself was gracious to him. She probably admired this man of strange garb and commanding presence. They, no doubt, spoke together in Latin or French, with both of which Shane seems to have been acquainted ; though, at his first appearance before her, he had used his native Gaelic, which was ” like the howling of a dog,” says Camden.

The Privy Council, which had been often sorely perplexed by Shane’s insistence on his right of succession, summoned him before them and questioned him on the subject. His replies were the same in substance as those he had given to Sidney some years before. He was his father’s eldest legitimate son, and he was the chief chosen by the clan. As regards relations with the English Crown, he declared that hitherto the O’Neills had owed nothing beyond ” mere allegiance ” to the Lords of Ireland.