Although England had long claimed Ireland for its own, actual control at the end of the 15th century was limited to the ‘Pale,’ an area not more than 20 miles in diameter around the city of Dublin in the eastern province of Leinster.
The Tudor regime (occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales) faced its greatest challenge in Ireland at the turn of the 16th century. The extension of royal authority had run into fierce opposition from a confederacy of Gaelic lords led by Hugh O'Neill.
In Ulster, the Lord of Tyrone, Shane O’Neill, declared his open defiance of the English in 1561. In order to compete with the growing might of the government forces, Shane expanded the privilege of military service to include the peasantry, whom he equipped with firearms.
Backed by Philip II of Spain, Tyrone and his allies outclassed the forces of the English Crown, achieving a string of stunning victories and bringing the power of Elizabeth I in Ireland to the brink of collapse.
Sophisticated strategy and modern tactics made the Irish war appear unwinable to many in England, but Lord Mountjoy's arrival as Lord deputy in 1600 changed everything. Mountjoy (1st Earl of Devonshire) reformed the demoralized English army and rolled back the advances achieved by Tyrone.
In Oct 1601, Spanish forces land near Kinsale and Lord Mountjoy lays siege on Kinsale. Jan 1603 he was able to defeat Tyrone and Spanish forces at the Battle of Kinsale, and captured Tyrone’s headquarters at Dungannon before peace was agreed.
Lord Mountjoy's success was crowned by his shattering defeat of Tyrone and his Spanish allies at Kinsale in 1601, which ultimately led to the earl's submission in 1603, though not before famine, misery and atrocity took their toll on the people of Ireland.
The 1603 Treaty of Mellifont brings peace & a new order to Ireland. The war costs approx. 100,000 lives, esp. because of starvation. The decisive English victory secured the English rule over Ireland for the next centuries.
Nine Years' War in Ireland
