The Story That Altered the Course of Irish History
A leading authority on the period of the Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of Ulster, has just released a new illustrated book on the Flight of the Earls which is now available in Irish bookshops and can be ordered online at www.theflightoftheearls.net.
Dr. John McCavitt is a widely published author of articles and books on Early Modern Ireland, including Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland 1605-1616 (Belfast 1998), The Flight Of The Earls (Dublin 2002). He has also written a play on the Flight of the Earls.
The event which is known as "The Flight of the Earls" is widely regarded as one of the most enigmatic events in Irish history, virtually defying explanation. It is also considered a pivotal moment in Irish history, witnessing the demise of Gaelic Ireland, the onset of the Protestant ascendancy and penal days for Irish Catholics.
On September 14, 1607, the earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, along with a close circle of family and associates, boarded a ship at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly in Donegal, bound for Spain.
The event remains shrouded in controversy, characterised as mysterious, enigmatic to the point of defying explanation. Even the term, "the Flight of the Earls," conjuring up notions of a precipitate, tragic, perilous escapade tinged with romance and despair, has been the subject of dispute, with some commentators questioning the historical accuracy of terming the departure of the northern earls from Ireland as a "Flight" at all.
Why the northern earls took flight has been a matter of considerable debate, leading to accusations by hostile commentators that the earls were up to their necks in treason, while their apologists portray them as offended innocents, badgered into departing their homeland in fear of their lives.
In April 2008, a major commemoration of the arrival in Rome of the Irish earls is planned. Anyone interested in attending, should contact Aideen Archbold in Rome at aideenarchbold@hotmail.com, or Tom O'Gorman in Chicago at comfinn@aol.com. For more information about the Flight of the Earls, visit: www.theflightoftheearls.net.
[The illustrated Flight of the Earls by Dr. John McCavitt is available by mail in paperback at £15. All prices are pounds sterling. Send sterling banker's draft to: Dr. J. McCavitt, c/o Abbey Grammar School, Courtenay Hill, Newry, Co. Down, N. Ireland BT 34 2ED.]
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