Great O'Neill: A Biography of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, 1550-1616 (Paperback)

by Sean O'Faolain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Sixteenth Century Ireland, still in the Middle Ages, forms the background for the biography of the wild Irish chieftain who kept Elizabeth's Irish army at bay for nine years. From the time when his grandfather, Conn, was made the first earl of Tyrone, there was disunity among the bewildered people. Some thought he had betrayed his race for immediate good to himself. His grandson was sent to be brought up in the household of ?? the elder; he returned to face years of struggle for his own ancestral rights in the North of Ireland. He was an opportunist - he played his cards well for his own ends; he stayed virtually clear of the bitter Desmond Wars of Southern Ireland, he shut his eyes to the massacres and butchering, until his loyalty was taxed by the kidnapping of his sily's son, Red Hugh. From that moment, his roots struck deeper into Irish ??soil, and though he played for time, and pretended friendship for the dread English, he was veering towards his fate as leader of Ireland's fight for independence, a fight which almost brought success. Spain was yapping at England's ?? and promising aid to Catholic Ireland. The wars were wars of frontier and forest, and for nine years, The O'Neill used strategy, deceit, and the allies of time, famine and penury, to keep successive English leaders at bay. But his own success caught him by the heels, and at Kinsale he met defeat and rout. O'Faolain shows him as he was, ?? not an Irish patriot hero, but as a man who "had designed with what he found...A European figure intelligently aware of the large nature of the conflict..as intelligent a man as any of his time..lost to European history and made part of merely local plety." There is much that is fascinating reading --Kirkus Reviews

Product Description
Originally published in 1942, this is the story of Hugh O'Neill. Born in 1550, Hugh O'Neill lived in England from the age of nine as a protege of Queen Elizabeth I. He returned to Ireland as Baron Dungannon and was proclaimed Earl of tyrone in 1585, but when he went through the ancient ritual of becoming "The O'Neill", the chief of Tir Eoghain, in 1595, he had bthrown down the gauntlet to Tudor power. Elizabeth sent a succession of commanders to suppress the traitorous earl; the ensuing conflict, for which O'Neill combined forces with Red Hugh O'Donnell and other Gaelic chieftains, was the Nine Years War. The Battle of Kinsale, in which the Irish forces were defeated in 1601, marked the end of the possibility of a permanent victory for Gaelic Ireland. O'Neill subsequently travelled to Rome, where he lived in exile by the grace of the Pope and the King of Spain until his death in 1616.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Dufour Editions (December 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802313213
• ISBN-13: 978-0802313218
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,392 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hugh O'Neill - The Last Irish King, August 14, 2000

By	Linda O'Neill (Lafayette, CO USA) - See all my reviews

I read this book because I am an O'Neill and wanted to learn more about my heritage. What I came away with is a better understanding of the history of the conflict between Ireland and England, that Ireland was in fact England's first colony and that a man named Hugh O'Neill nearly ended England's world colonization before it began. Enlightening also is the view into 16th century European culture and politics. This book is a pleasure to read for it's colorful descriptions of characters and settings as well as it's glimspe into historical events that are not often described.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ancient Gael, June 21, 2001

By	Nollaig O'Faolain (Ireland) - See all my reviews

This is a profound book full of fascinating historical data on one of the most complex characters of ancient Irish history. Much of what the author writes is of necessity speculation but he also has researched into the history of the O'Neills & the old gaelic Chieftain order. The result is a facinating drama from the pages of ancient Irish history presented in a most dramatic & colourful manner. Personally I believe here is a story that could transfer the world of cinema & rival & surpass Braveheart in its epic scale & mesmerising characters. There is firstly the young O'Neill born into the most eminent of all Irish families, suddenly orphaned & at risk from his own people. Forced to flee he is taken in by the English & raised to be their pawn. In time he grows to manhood, returns to his people & claims all that is his. At first he has the support of the English as they pit Irish against Irish but eventually he outgrows them & becomes instead the most dangerous foe the Elizabethan armies have ever encountered. He scores victory after vistory over the English, culminating with his destruction of their great army at The Battle of the Yellow Ford. Unfortunately for O'Neill English resources far outweigh his as he well knows & a single defeat will spell his ruin. This comes inevitably at the battle of Kinsale & then all are left to mourn not just the passing of the Ancient Gael & its great Lords but the entrenchment of the English in Ireland which resulted in such pleasures as the Penal Times, 1798, The Great Famine, the War of Independence & today's Troubles in Northern Ireland. All can be traced back to that single defeat at Kinsale. I rate this book as by far the most significant work that O'Faolain ever wrote & believe it should be compulsory for all Irish History students. One curious aside is the comparison between this period of Irish history & the Indian wars in the USA. Certain characters have an uncanny resemblance, Sitting Bull & Hugh O'Neill; Crazy Horse & Hugh O'Donnell; Mountjoy & Sherman(?). Also the desperate struggle to maintain an ancient way of life & the realisation on the part of the indigenous peoples that theirs was a hopeless battle & that eventually a single defeat would bring their end. Yet these people believed strongly enough in their culture to fight for it & as an Irishman I am proud that O'Neill & O'Donnell fought their great foes rather than going quietly into the night. A great book.