Countess Tyrone And The Earls

The greatest event in Irish history, the unexpected and sudden departure of Earl Tyrone, Earl Tyrconnell, Cuchonnacht Maguire and Cathabarr O'Donnell with ninety nine followers has mystified historians for centuries, giving rise to much speculation about the reasons for the northern nobles departure from Ireland on 14th September 1607. The event has been well chronicled yet the records give the facts of the flight from Ireland but say little about the emotional impact of such an event. Accompanying the Irish Earls and their retinue, were their wives and female relations as well as some of their young children. Most notable among them were Catherine, wife of Earl Tyrone, Nuala O'Donnell, Earl Tyrone's aunt and Rose, wife of Cathabarr O'Donnell. This is their story.

Until the end of 16th century, Ulster was the most Gaelic part of Ireland. Fifty years later, it was the last Gaelic part. In 1607 Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and other Gaelic chieftains fled the continent and settled in Rome. Their lands were declared forfeit to the crown and were cleared for the plantation of Ulster, which followed.

Until the end of 16th century, Ulster was the most Gaelic part of Ireland. Fifty years later, it was the last Gaelic part. In 1607 Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and other Gaelic chieftains fled the continent and settled in Rome. Their lands were declared forfeit to the crown and were cleared for the plantation of Ulster, which followed.

"The Pursuit of the Heiress" is a new, greatly enlarged and more widely focused version of what the late Lawrence Stone described as "a brilliant long essay or short book on the subject of the role of heiresses among the Irish aristocracy," which was published by the Ulster Historical Foundation under the same title in 1982 and has long been out of print. The new book comes to the same broad conclusions about heiresses--namely that their importance as a means of enlarging the estates or retrieving the fortunes of their husbands has been much exaggerated. This was because known heiresses were well protected by a variety of legal devices and, in common with many aristocratic women of the day, also had minds and strong preferences of their own--which meant that they were not generally an object of deliberate or profitable pursuit. The new book also ranges more widely than its central theme of heiresses and addresses other aspects of aristocratic marriage such as abductions, elopements, mesalliances, the supposed "rise of the affective family," and the disadvantaged situation of even the richest and most privileged women in an age when both adultery and divorce were largely the prerogative of men.