UNIT 5 THE BATTLE OF KINSALE AND Ulster THE PLANTATION

OF ULSTER Connacht The 16th century was a very important Spanish soldiers joined up with two time in the history of Ireland. It strongly Gaelic lords, or earls from Ulster. Their influenced the languages which we names were Aodh Ó Néill (Hugh O’ Neill) speak today. In 1601 a major battle from Tyrone and Aodh Ó Dónaill (Hugh was fought at Kinsale near Cork. The O’ Donnell) of Donegal. Their aim was Leinster Battle of Kinsale was part of a bigger to fight against an English army. war between England and Spain.

Munster

Kinsale

The two earls and the Spanish were Spain to force the English to leave beaten by the English in battle and Ireland. The English saw the chieftains finally surrendered in 1603. The two or the heads of the Ulster families as a earls left Ireland for Spain in 1607 very serious threat. This is because the – a time known as the ‘Flight of the main leaders at the Battle of Kinsale Earls’. They wanted to get help from came from Ulster.

28 29 After the Flight of the Earls, the This was more difficult, as many government in England decided to take settlers spoke Scottish Gaelic and Scots land from the Ulster chieftains and along with English. This meant that the give it to ‘colonists’ or ‘planters’ who Scottish Presbyterian planters brought came from Scotland and England. This three languages to Ulster with them to is known as the Plantation of Ulster. add to the Irish already spoken there. Colonists are people who come to settle So there were actually four languages in a region which is ruled by a different spoken in Ulster at the time of the country. In this case, England was Plantation. ruling over Ireland. Many Scottish Gaelic speakers arrived King James I, the King of England at in Ulster in the 17th century. This 1622 map of the Plantation of Ulster the time of the Plantation, wanted meant that Ulster had the most Gaelic Protestants to settle in Ulster because speakers (that is, people who spoke So, many Scottish Gaelic- Ireland was a Catholic country at the Scottish Gaelic or Irish). This continued speaking, Presbyterian planters SUMMARY time. As a result, most of the settlers who right up until the 18th century. Of could easily have picked up arrived from Scotland were Presbyterian course, at this time many people • At the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, Irish and the Catholic natives of two earls from Ulster (O’Neill and and most of the English settlers were thought of Gaelic as one language, Ulster could easily have picked from the Church of England. whether it came from Ireland or O’Donnell) helped the Spanish up Scottish Gaelic. Also, many fight the English. Scotland, as Irish and Scottish Gaelic English-speaking planters probably King James I also wanted the were very similar. learned to speak some Irish as • The English won the battle and settlers to speak English it was still the most common eventually the two Ulster earls so he could be more language and this would have been left Ireland in the Flight of the powerful in useful for trading. Furthermore, Earls in 1607. Ireland. the Presbyterian Church made King James I • King James I wanted to make Ulster sure that some of their ministers an English-speaking, Protestant learned Irish so they could convert part of Ireland, so land was taken Catholics to Protestantism as well from the natives and given to as being able to preach to their own Scottish and English planters who church members who spoke Irish. came to settle in Ulster. This was In other words, it is likely that most called the Plantation of Ulster. of us have ancestors who spoke either Irish or Scottish Gaelic, no • Planters arriving from Scotland matter what religion we come from. would have brought the languages of Scottish Gaelic, Scots, and English to Ulster with them. • Most people with Irish or Scottish roots have ancestors who spoke Irish or Scottish Gaelic.

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