The news of the Spaniards' arrival had been speedily conveyed to the Ulster chieftains. Their disappointment at the smallness of the succour so long waited for, and at the ill selection of a landing place, must have been extreme. They knew, however, that this was their last chance, and they prepared to march southwards in all haste. Hugh Ruadh called together the sub-chiefs who still adhered to him, and, when all were assembled with their forces at Ballymote, he started on his ... Read More

Above : Painting Of Hugh O'Neill When the news of the intended confiscations came to the ears of the Irish whose lands lay within the counties to be planted, it was to them " as a sentence of death." The fiat, however, had gone forth against them; no justice, much less mercy, was accorded them. In vain they employed lawyers to plead their cause before the Royal Commission ; the decisions were almost always against them. It mattered little that, in ... Read More