"The Nine Years War was one of the most traumatic and bloody conflicts in the history of Ireland. Encroachment on the liberties of the Irish lords by the English crown caused Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, to build an unprecedented confederation of Irish lords leading a new Irish military armed with pike and shot. This book is an important reassessment of the military dimensions of the Nine Years War, as situated in the wider context of European political and military history. 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. The opening shots were fired in Ulster, but from 1593 to 1599 war engulfed all of Ireland. The conflic consumed the lives and reputations of Elizabeth's court favourites as they struggled to cope with the new Irish way of war. Sophisticated strategy and modern tactics made the Irish war appear unwinnable to many in England, but Lord Mountjoy's arrival as deputy in 1600 changed everything. Mountjoy reformed the demoralized English army and rolled back the advances achieved by Tyrone. 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. This book rewrites the narrative and interpretation of the Nine Years War. It uses military evidence to show that not only was Irish society progressive, it was also quicker to adopt military and technological change than its English enemies."--

`A study of both Tudor Anglo-Irish relations and the 16th century, Morgan's work is first rate, thoughtful, well-researched and subtle.' ARCHIVES As a study of both Tudor Anglo-Irish relations and the sixteenth-century, Morgan's work is first rate, thoughtful, well-researched and subtle. ARCHIVES Fascinating piece of detective work... No serious student of late Tudor Ireland can afford to ignore this rigorous and painstaking analysis. HISTORY Between 1594-1603 Elizabeth I faced her most dangerous challenge - the insurrection in Ireland known to British historians as the rebellion of the earl of Tyrone, and to their Irish counterparts in the Nine Years War. This study examines the causes of the conflict in the developing policy of the Crown, which climaxed in the Monaghan settlement of 1591, and the continuing resilience of the Gaelic system which brought to power Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Hugh O'Neill. The role of Hugh O'Neill, the earl of Tyrone, was pivotal in the conspiracies leading up to the war and in the leadership ofthe Irish cause thereafter. O'Neill's acceptance of an alliance with Spain rather than a fragile compromise with England is the terminal point of the study. By exploiting all the available source material, Dr Morgan has not only provided a critical reassessment of the early career of Hugh O'Neill but also made an original and lasting contribution to both Irish and Tudor historiography. HIRAM MORGAN is lecturer in history, University College, Cork.

Swords Around the Cross presents one of the few full-length treatments of the heroic struggle of the Irish clansmen in their effort to defend their faith and country against English encroachment and conquest in the sixteenth century. This book has infuriated establishment academics for its honest and thorough treatment of the Irish past. In so doing, the image of a "golden age" under Elizabeth I is dealt a serious blow.

The comprehensive defeat of the Jacobite Irish in the Williamite conflict, a component within the pan-European Nine Years' War, prevented the exiled James II from regaining his English throne, ended realistic prospects of a Stuart restoration and partially secured the new regime of King William III and Queen Mary created by the Glorious Revolution. The principal events - the Siege of Londonderry, the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim, and the two Sieges and Treaty of Limerick - have subsequently become totems around which opposing constructions of Irish history have been erected. Childs argues that the struggle was typical of the late-seventeenth century, principally decided by economic resources and attrition in which the 'small war' comprising patrols, raids, occupation of captured regions by small garrisons, police actions against irregulars and attacks on supply lines was more significant in determining the outcome than the set-piece battles and sieges.

Examines the divided loyalties of the descendants of Ireland's Anglo-Norman conquerors during the wars against the Irish confederate rebels. WINNER of the NUI Publication Prize in Irish History 2019 Descendants of Ireland's Anglo-Norman conquerors, the Old English had upheld the authority of the English crown in Ireland for four centuries. Yet the sixteenth century witnessed the demotion of this Irish-born and predominantly Catholic community from places of trust and authority in the Irish administration in favour of English Protestant newcomers. Political alienation and growing religious tensions strained crown-community relations and caused many Old Englishmen to reconsider their future in Ireland. The Nine Years' War (1594-1603) presented them with an ideal opportunity to reassess their relationshipwith the crown when the Irish Confederates, led by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, sought their support. This book explores the role of the Old English during the Nine Years' War. It discusses the impact of divided loyalties, examines how they responded to political, social, religious, and military pressures, and assesses how the war shaped their sense of identity. The book demonstrates that despite the anxieties of English officials, the Old English remained loyal. More than that, they played a key role in defeating the Irish Confederacy through military and financial support. It argues that their sense of tradition and duty to uphold English rule in Ireland was central to their identity and that appeals to embrace a new Irish Catholic identity, in partnership with the Gaelic Irish, was doomed to failure. RUTH CANNING is Lecturer in Early Modern History at Liverpool Hope University.

The reign of Elizabeth I will always be remembered for the Armada. But it was the Irish, not the Spanish, who came closest to destroying the security of the Elizabethan state. Between 1560 and 1602, only superior military force -- allied with ruthless subjugation -- preserved England's throne against a succession of rebellions and uprisings throughout Ireland. This classic work by renowned military historian Cyril Falls is the crucial account of the half century that changed the course of Anglo-Irish history. The Elizabethan wars in Ireland involved the collision of two civilizations. Falls's critical work gives a vital perspective to the broad sweep of Anglo-Irish relations.