Donegal County Archives Cartlann Chontae Dhún na nGall

The Plantation of Ulster

Plandáil Uladh

Contents Page

Ulster before Plantation 2 O’Doherty’s Rebellion and the Irish in Ulster 3The Plantation of east Ulster 4The Scheme for Plantation 5The King’s Commissioners and Surveys 6The grantees – 7

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• Undertakers• Servitors• NativeIrish• TheLondonCompanies• OtherGranteesBuildingsandTowns–TheBirthoftheUrbanLandscape TheNativesandthePlantationTheCulturalImpactofthePlantationThePlantationinDonegalThePlantationinLondonderryThe1641RebellionandtheIrishConfederateWars TheSuccessofthePlantationofUlsterWho’swho:• TheNativeIrish• King,CouncilandCommissioners TheProtestantReformation Glossary

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Ulster before Plantation

On the 14th of September 1607 a ship lefttheDonegalcoastboundforSpain.Onboardwereanumberof Irish families, thenoblemenof Ulster, including: Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone,RuairíO’Donnell,EarlofTírChonaill,Cú Chonnacht Maguire, Lord of Fermanaghand ninety nine members of their extended families and households. Their departure becameknownastheFlightoftheEarlsandmarked the end of the Gaelic rule in Ulster.The flight came at the end of a long drawn outwar, knownas theNineYearsWar (1594–1603), between the Irish lords and theBritishestablishment.ItleftUlsterimpoverishedand ended the strength of the Irish families,thelargestandmostpowerfulofthembeingtheEarlsofTyrone,theO’Neills.

Leftbehind inUlsterwere thesub-chieftains,some of whom had supported O’Neill andO’Donnellduringthewar,othershadchanged

sides and now expected to be rewarded fortheir loyalty to the crown. Also living in theprovince were numbers of ex-soldiers and officialswhoalsoexpectedtoberewardedforlongyearsofservice.

O’Neill’sandO’Donnell’slandswereimmediately confiscated by the crown and they were declared traitors. Rumours spread that the Earls intended to return to Ulster with a Spanisharmy to recapture theprovinceand lead thecountry into rebellion,whichencouragedtheKing, James I to bring Ulster firmly under Englishcontrolonceandforall.TheKingalsowanted to bring Protestantism to Ireland and toreplenishhis impoverishedtreasury, lefttohimbyhiscousin,ElizabethI.Theplantationof Ulsterwasanopportunitytodoboth.

among the Irish who were still landowners in the region were Sir Cahir O’Doherty,Niall Garbh O’Donnell and Donal O’Cahan.O’DohertywasLordofInishowen,atitlewhichhe had inherited from his father and which was supported by the English administration in returnforhisloyalty.Buttherealityoflifeafterthe flight of the earls was not what O’Doherty had been promised. He first lost Inch Islandin Inishowen,whichwasgrantedtoaplanterandthenhehadanumberofdisputeswiththenewgovernorofDerry.Thiseventuallyledhimtorebelagainsthisformerallies.O’Doherty’s rebellion, which began in April 1608, was localandnotveryambitious.HefirsttookthefortatCulmore,andthensackedandburnedthecityofDerry,killingthegovernor.Alargeforcewasraisedtomarchagainsttheuprising,whichcametoanabruptendafterO’Doherty

waskilledinbattleinJuly.Withhisdeath,yetmore land was forfeited to the crown and the wholeofInishowenwasgrantedtooneman,SirArthurChichester,beforetheplansfortheofficialplantationhadevenbeendrawnup.

ItislikelythatNiallGarbhO’Donnell,whoalsofought for theEnglish in theNineYearsWar, encouragedO’Doherty in his rebellion. NiallGarbhwas a cousin of RedHugh and RuairíO’DonnellbutresentedRedHugh’sinaugurationastheO’Donnell,Ruairí’spardonafterthewarandhisrestorationastheEarlofTírChonaill,whichNiallGarbhbelievedwasrightfullyhis.It appears the crown preferred to support Ruairí, as they thoughtNiallGarbhunpredictableand untrustworthy. Niall Garbh may have supported O’Doherty’s revolt but failed tojoinhim inbattle,declaringhisallegiance tothecrown.Niallhoweverwasarrestedbythe English and sent to prison at Dublin castle. From there he was transferred to the Tower of London where he was held without trial untilhisdeathin1626.

TheTowerofLondonwasalsothefinalhomefor another leading landowner in the area,DonalO’Cahan.O’Cahanwasasub-chieftainof theO’Neills in north Tyrone. Hewas alsoHugh O’ Neill’s son in law. Encouraged bySir Arthur Chichester he took a case againstHughO’Neillin1607,seekingtoownhisland outright, as his own estate. He too was arrestedonsuspicionofaidingO’Dohertyandwas sent first to Dublin and then to the Tower ofLondonwhereheremaineduntilhisdeathinc.1617.ThusambitiousofficialsandcareersoldiersremovedanumberofprominentIrishfrom their lands. Their land was forfeited tothecrownandthepossibilityofthemrebellingagainsttheintendedplantationwasended.

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O’Doherty’s Rebellion & the Irish in Ulster

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TheofficialschemeforPlantationbeganin1609andincludedonlysixofthenineUlstercounties.The counties chosen were Donegal, Tyrone, Coleraine, Cavan, Fermanagh and Armagh. The reason for this was that english settlers had occupied parts of east Ulster, since thearrivaloftheNormansinthe12thcentury, similar to thePale inLeinster.Amore recent transformation had happened in 1606 when lands traditionally held by the Clandeboye O’Neills,insouthAntrimandnorthDownwereplantedwithScottishfamilies.

HughMontgomery (1559–1644)andJamesHamilton (1560 – 1636) were both from Ayrshire in lowland Scotland. At that timelowland Scotland was over populated andUlsterwasseenasanopportunity toexpandpersonal fortunes.AfterConO’Neill, Lordofthe Clandeboye O’Neills was imprisoned in1602atCarrickfergus,hisestatewasdividedbetween himself, JamesHamilton andHughMontgomery.ThenewprivateplantationwasahugesuccessandprovidedamodelwhichKing James Iwoulddrawuponagain for hiscolony in Jamestown, Virginia, in America in1607.Thisareawouldbestrongly influencedby theUlster Scots tradition, a tradition thatsurvivestothisday.

The Plantation of East Ulster

KingJamesIcouldnotaffordtocolonisethe provincefromhistreasury,soaplantationwhereland was granted to men of wealth suited both parties. These planters had responsibility for bringingovertenants,developingthelandandbuildingsuitableaccommodationwhilepaying renttothecrown.ThisallowedJamestoputhisstamponUlsterwithoutanyexpenditureonhispart.JamesIwasalsoacommittedProtestant and this was an opportunity to establish thenew religion in the province and throughoutIreland.

Theplansforplantationwereeagerlyunderwayby1609.Ulsterhadbecomehometoanumber of career soldiers who now expected to be generously rewarded. Three men, Sir ArthurChichester, the LordDeputy, Sir JohnDavies,the Attorney General and Sir James Ley,the Chief Justice of Ireland, dominated thescheme for plantation. Before the schemecouldbedrawnupthequalityandquantityoflandwouldfirsthavetobesurveyed.MapsofwestUlsteratthispointintimewerenotvery accurate and the extent of land available for plantationhadonlybeenestimated.

The first survey of the escheated counties was completedin1609.Thesurveywascompletedbyacommission,whichmetinDungannoninCountyTyrone,whichincludedtheViceTreasurer of Ireland, Sir Thomas Ridgeway, Master ofthe Ordnance, Sir Oliver St. John, Sir JohnDavies, theAttorneyGeneralandSirWilliam

Parsons,theSurveyorGeneral.Thissurveywas inadequateforanumberofreasons,soasecondandmoredetailedsurveywascommissioned.

Thefirstoutlineof theschemeforplantationwasdrawnupbyDaviesandLeyandpresentedtoKing James. After a number of changes,the plan was endorsed by the King in April1610.Eachcountywasdividedintoprecincts,whichweredividedintoestatesofthreesizes.They consistedofestatesgreat (2000acres), middle (1500 acres) and small (1000 acres).The people who received these estates, the grantees,werealsodividedintothreecategories;Undertakers, who were English and Scottishlandowners,Servitors,whoweremostlycareersoldiers who had fought in Ireland during the NineYearsWarsuchasSirArthurChichester,andNatives,referredtoas‘deservingIrish’astheywereloyaltothecrown.

Each grant was made with strict conditions.Each precinct would have one Undertakerwho was allowed 3000 acres but the othergrants in thatprecinctweresmaller.The landwas granted rent-free until 1614, when itwas expected that the new arrivals wouldbe well enough established to begin paying rent to the crown. Any Undertaker who received2000acresormorewasexpectedto build a stone house and bawn within three years.Undertakerswithonly1500acrescouldbuildahouseofstoneorbrick.

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The Scheme for Plantation

Within thefirst threeyearsUndertakerswerealsoexpectedtobringoverfromBritain,24menforevery1000acrestheyweregranted.Thesemenweretobeover theageof18andeitherEnglish or inland Scots. These tenants were expectedtobuildnewhousesnearthebawnforaddedsecurityasthethreatofattackfromthe Irish was an on-going issue. Undertakerswerealsoexpectedtokeeparmsandwerenot allowed to lease their land to Irish tenants. AllUndertakerswereexpectedtotakepossessionof their grant by September 1610 and havefulfilled all the conditions of their grant within fiveyears.

Conditions for the Servitors were similar, although they were allowed Irish tenants on theirlands.Theyhadonlytwoyearsrentfreeon theirgrant,afterwhich theyhadtopayarentof£8per1000acresiftheirtenantswereIrishor£56s8d(fivepounds,sixshillingsandeight pence) per 1000 acres if their tenants

wereBritish.

The‘Native’Irishhadsimilarconditionsasthe Servitors,onlywithrentdueafterthefirstyear andatahigher rateof£1013s4dper1000acres. The Irish grantees were also pushedontolessfavourableandlessproductivelands,withthemostdesirableproportionsallocatedtotheUndertakers.

each of the confiscated counties was to have amarkettownwithacorporationandatleastonefreeschoolintheCounty.Eachparishhadalso toerectaProtestantparishchurch,withonetownlandsetasideineachparishasglebeorchurchlandsinevery1000acresgranted.

Some alterations were made to these conditions intheyearstofollow,mostnotably,timeperiodswere extended and Undertakers were also allowedtohaveIrishtenantsontheirestates.

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Although the plantation of the Province of Ulster was a long process drawn out over the course of the 17th century the official schemeonly lastedfrom1610–1625during the reign of King James I. To ensure the success of the plantation commissioners were appointed toovesee the roll out of the scheme and a number of surveys were conducted in order to ensure that the scheme wasprogressingwellandthatthenewtenantswere fulfilling their obligations under the terms oftheirgrant.

The second survey, carried out in 1609, bySirJosiasBodley includedmaps.Thesemaps

coveredeachtownlandandusedcolour-coded symbols to show church lands and estates.While this survey was needed to draw upthescheme forplantation,additional surveyswereconductedandreportsmadeinorderto assesstheprogressofthescheme.

In 1611 the plantation commission led bySir George Carew reported on progressmade in theplantation.NicholasPynnarwas commissioned to conduct a survey in 1619,which showed that the plantation was underway but that many Irish remained on theestates.Thefinalgovernmentsurveywas conductedin1622.

The King’s Commissioners & Surveys

Undertakers

The Undertakers who were granted estates in Ulster were generally already landowners in Britain and received the most coveted land in the province. A large number of the Undertakers were Scottish men with titles,such as Knights and Lords. A great deal of wealth would be needed to fulfil the requirementsofthegrantandsomeUndertakerswere slow to begin meeting their side of the arrangement.SevenbaroniesintotalweresetasideforUndertakers’estates.They includedthebaronyofOneillandinnorthArmagh,partofRaphoebaronyinCountyDonegal,Loughtee in County Cavan, Clogher and Omagh inCountyTyrone and thebaroniesofClankellyandLurginCountyFermanagh.Intotalfifty-oneestates were granted in the baronies assigned toUndertakers.However not all Undertakersintended toworkorevenkeep theirestates,being unwilling to move to Ulster or manage the estate as an absentee landlord. By1619 only 28 of the 51 estates remained in the hands of the original grantee as many sold their interests to other Undertakers or interestedparties.

ServitorsServitorsalsomadeupalargenumberofthegrantees. Three different types of Servitors

qualified under thescheme.Theseincluded:CouncillorsofState,whowere leading figures in the British administration in Ireland, such as SirJohnDavies,Captainsor Lieutenants who had military commands in Ulster (andweregenerallyowedmoney by the crown for their service), such as Sir Arthur Chichester,

and english freeholders who already held estatesinUlster.

Other Servitors who benefited included Sir Thomas Ridgeway and Sir William Parsons.AsCouncillorsofStatetheyalsoqualifiedfor Undertakers estates and were the onlygroup who could receive grants under both categories. Servitors’ estates were placed alongside the native Irish land grants in the hope that dividing areas where the Irish resided with former military men would increasesecurityandmakeanypossibleunrest easy to quash. As with the Undertakers,some Servitors had little interest in living in Ireland or in owning their grants and either hired agents to run their properties for them or sold them for a quick return of money rather than takeon the responsibility. NinebaroniesweresetasideforServitorsand native Irish. These included Orior baronyin County Armagh, Dungannon barony in CountyTyrone,KilmacrennanbaronyinCounty Donegal, Tullyhaw, Clanmahon, Tullygarveyand Castlerahan baronies in County Cavan and Clanawley and Tirkennedy in County Fermanagh.

Native IrishTwo hundred of the native Irish were considered suitable grantees under theschemeforplantation. Of them only 26 were granted estates of 1000 acresormore.SirTurloughMcHenryO’Neillreceived the largest individual grant among the Irish with his estate consisting of 9,900 acres in south Armagh. Conor Roe Maguire was not so fortunate, although he received a grant of a large portionofthebaronyof

Magherastephana in Fermanagh; he had surrendered over three times that amount of land.OthergranteesincludedthefamilyofSirHenryÓgO’Neill,theO’ReillysinCavan,theO’Cahans inColeraine,andtheMcSweeneysandO’BoylesinDonegal.

The Grantees

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The London Companies The cost of developing theUlster plantation meant that additional investment would be needed. To ensure its success, theGuilds ofLondon City were invited to take up landsin thenewCountyofDerry (formallyCounty ColeraineandpartsofCountyTyrone).Wealthymerchantswerenecessaryforthedevelopmentof towns and cities and the crown could not afford to rebuild the city of Londonderry/ Derry, which had been sacked during O’Doherty’s rebellion of 1608. They were granted a large territory, which included Derry and Coleraine and 38,520 acres of land,inanareaalongthecoastwithpotentialforcommercialdevelopment.

Other grantees Under the scheme land was also granted for theprovisionoffreeschoolsandforthesupport oftowns.Sixteentowns intheprovincewere incorporated during the reign of James I. TrinityCollegeDublinalsoreceivedagrant,with lands in Armagh barony, and 4000 acres in the barony of Tirhugh in County Donegal. Thesegranteesreceived27,593acresbetweenthemspreadthroughouttheprovince.

According to the 1609 survey 75,000 acreswere recorded as church land that covered 5dioceses,Armagh,Clogher,Derry, RaphoeandKilmore.ThislandwasnowinthecontroloftheProtestantChurch.

Under the terms of the grants tenants had to be inplacebyNovember1611,butreportsin1611and1613showedthattheplantationwasnot gettingunderwayasquicklyasplannedsothe

KingextendedthetermsuntilAugust1616to give the grantees more time to establish themselves. The King also decided to relax the terms for Undertakers, allowing them to keep Irish tenants on their lands until May 1619. There was a clear reason forthis.Britishtenantswerenotcomingover inthenumbersanticipatedandtheIrishwereneededtoworkthelandandbringinthecrops. For this reason the original terms were further relaxedallowingUndertakers to keep Irishtenantsonuptoaquarteroftheirlands.

Settlement was more successful in some areas thaninothers.NorthArmagh,eastTyrone,andsouthTyroneweredensely settled,aswas inandaroundLondonderry/DerryandStrabane.Naturally enough it was difficult to attract tenantstopoorerlandandestatesinthewestof Ulster or in isolated areas that had higher concentrations of Irish. The Irish were also willingtopaymoreinrentinordertostayonthe land theyhadpreviouslyoccupiedwhichledtoanincreaseinrentinthe17thcentury.Itwasnotuntil1615-1620thatlargenumbersofsettlerscametotheprovince.Apartfromasetbackinthe1640s,thisincreasedthroughoutthe17thcentury,longaftertheofficialschemeforplantationwasover.

As well as the original grantees, newcomers arrivedbyothermeans.Someweretenantsortradespeople introduced by the landowners andtheiragentsbutsomewerepeoplewho came of their own accord, eager to exploit possible opportunities in Ulster. People arrived into the ports of Derry/Londonderry andCarrickfergusandlaterBelfast.

The Grantees

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One of the aspirations of the plantation wasto build a new infrastructure of settlements, townsandcities.Largetownswerenotcommon inUlster andmost of thepopulation lived inrural areas. Fairs and markets were held atdesignated sites not in towns. Homes, apartfrom the stone fortified houses and towers of the chieftains, were basic shelters known ascreats,whichconsistedofclayormudwalls.

Inthe1619surveyconductedbySirNicholas Pynnar,heoutlinedthebuildingcompletedto thatdate.Herecorded107castleswithbawns built by Undertakers as well as an additional 19 castles without bawns. He also recorded nearly 2000 houses of stone and timber built in theEnglishmanner.Bawnswerebuilt at the centre of estates and tenants were encouraged to build homesteads near the bawn for security. However, not all thegrantees fulfilled the terms of their grant and built vernacular or traditional houses rather than stone houses. On a number of estates settlement also remained scattered ratherthancentralisedaroundthebawn.SomeUndertakers built bawn walls but with less defensive houses inside, with the confidence that the bawn would provide all the security needed. A very small number of churcheswere built as a number of older churches were taken over by the Established Church,whichwastheChurchof Ireland.Undertakers and Servitors built new mills, including water powered corn mills and windmills. Market-houses and courthouses were alsobuilt which became the focus point for thegrowthoftowns.Marketswereessentialtotheeconomy of the new settlers and around them grewschoolsandinns,merchants,tradesmen andartisans.

Aspartoftheofficialplantationschememostbaronies were to have a corporate town.A corporate town was a town establishedby Royal Charter, which had the power topass its own by-laws and hold a local court. Corporate towns also had a fixed number of officials (burgesses) and could send

memberstoparliament.Thecorporationlooked after the administrative functions of the towns including: churches, schools, market-houses, courthousesandjails.Eachincorporatedtown was provided with lands for its support, managed initially by the Undertakersand then by the officials of the town. The commissioners for the plantation initiallydrew up a list of 25 proposed corporatetownsforUlsterbutthiswasreducedin1611to 16. The list of towns included: Limavady, Donegal, Lifford, Ballyshannon, Rathmullan, Dungannon, Mountjoy, Omagh, Strabane, Armagh,Charlemont,Mountnorris, Belturbet,Lough Ramor (later Virginia, County Cavan),EnniskillenandColeraine,butnotallofthesetownsendedupbeingincorporated.ItfelltotheUndertakers to support thedevelopmentof these towns with the London companies responsibleforLondonderryandColeraine.

ThegrantstotheLondonCompanieswerelargeenoughfortownstodeveloponsomeofthe estates,includingMoneymoreontheDrapersestate,Magherafelton theSaltersestateand BellaghyontheVintnersestate.

Inanumberofvillagespatentsweregrantedtoholdweeklymarkets,whichaddedtothelocaleconomy, inDonegal these includedConvoy, Ballybofey, Castlefin, Manorcunningham andNewtowncunningham.AlthoughthePlantationCommissiondeliberatelyplannedsometownsothersweresimplyacontinuationofcentresofIrishsettlement,sitesofcastles,fortsorchurchcentres.TownssuchasCavanandDungannonpre-date the plantation and Enniskillen andDerryhadlongbeengarrisontowns.

Thefocusoftheseplantationtownswasalwaysonthemarketplacewithamainstreetleadingtoadiamondorsquarewherethemarketwasheld. Examples of the ‘diamond’ feature canstillbeseenintownssuchasBelturbet,CountyCavan,Clones,CountyMonaghan,Enniskillen,County Fermanagh and Donegal Town and Raphoe,CountyDonegal.

Buildings & Towns – The Birth of the Urban Landscape

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©OrdnanceSurveyIreland2010/02/CCMA/DonegalCountyCouncil

Ports were extremely important for the developmentof theeconomy.Theyprovidedpointsofentryfornewarrivalsandanexportrouteforgoodsfromtheprovince.Portsalso attractedmerchantstothearea,whichaddedtothewealthofthedistrict.Forthefirstsevenyears of the plantation scheme goods could be transported without paying tax. CarrickfergusandLondonderrywereimportant for the prosperity of the province. However Belfast began to eclipse Carrickfergus asthe main coastal link to Britain after the1630s. Exports from Ulster included cattle,beef, oats, barley, linen, yarn and timberwhile household items such as clothing,tools and hardware were imported into the provincethroughtheseports.

Outside the towns and cities rural settlement remained scattered. Some villages however, grew intomarket townsoutofnecessityand becamehometomerchantsandtradespeople,

such as Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, Newtownstewart and Fivemiletown, CountyTyrone. The majority of settlers were tenantfarmers or labourers and they brought with thema shift frompastoral toarable farming.Avarietyoftradesalsogrewuparoundtheserural dwellers including weavers, tanners, dyersandmillers.

During theearlydaysof theplantation therewasaneedformenwithbuildingskills,includingplasterers,masonsand labourers, inorder toget the building programme underway. Thischangedwiththeneedsoftheplantationandmerchants, blacksmiths, butchers, weavers,coopersanddyersreplacedthesetradesmen.

all these innovations dramatically changed both the landscape and the economy ofUlster. Ulster had been heavily wooded, and was now cleared for agriculture and the saleoftimber.

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It quickly became clear that the Irish were needed on the land, at least until suitableBritishtenantscouldbefound.TheIrishwereneededtoplantcrops intheyears1610and1611 to prevent the newcomers arriving topovertyandfamine,thereforethedeadlineforthemovingonofnativeIrishwaspushedback until1619.Eventuallyin1621itwasaccepted that a small number would be allowed on the larger estates to make up the numbers. In the 1622 government survey the Irish stilloutnumberedthesettlersonallestates.

as feared there was some unrest among the Irish, which led to small skirmishes in 1615. These gathered very little support, as many Irish still believed that their situation would improve and they would be looked after in the new society. However, by 1641 this attitude changed, as it became clear that no section of Irish society had gained under thenewregime.

The Natives and the Plantation

areas that were exclusively Irish retained a distinct identity and to a large extent were never really anglicised. In isolated or upland areas the Irish language survived. In areas where both the Irish and British settlers co-existed the English language was adoptedand the settlers’ way of life was more fully accepted. English was also the language of administration used by the courts and tradespeople,whichgraduallyspreadwestwardsduringthe18thcentury.

Three languages were now in use in Ulster, Irish,UlsterScotsandEnglish,aswellasthree Christian religions. Despite the newly established Protestant Church of Ireland, native Irish mostly remained Catholic. The newarrivalsfromScotlandwerepredominatelyPresbyterian,whiletheEnglishwereAnglican.

Some of the arriving Scots had neither english nor Gaelic and spoke Scots. Scots was usedin lowland Scotland at the time. The Scots influence was to produce Ulster-Scots, whichcan still be found in parts of Down, Antrim,Derry/LondonderryandeastDonegal.Scottish

settlershadthebiggestimpactinareaswhichwereeasilyaccessible fromScotland, suchastheArdsPeninsula;whereasaconcentrationofenglish could be found further inland in south TyroneandCountyFermanagh.

OtheraspectsofBritishcustomsuchasdressandarchitecturewereintroduced,butinareasthat were predominantly occupied by nativeIrishverylittlechanged.TheIrishwereunwillingtoadopt foreigncultureandmaintainedtheirtraditions.

The Cultural Impact of the Plantation

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At the time of the Plantation large parts of Donegal were already in the hands of loyal English. Inishowen, for example was in the hands of Sir arthur Chichester while Sir Basil Brooke, an officer in the English army, heldlandsinDonegaltownandHenryFolliott,anEnglishcaptain,heldlandsinBallyshannon.

Some of the remaining Irish presented theircase to remain on their lands, but all were dismissed.Theydidreceivegrantsbutnotontheirancestrallands.Insteadtheywereforcedto settle for estates in the baronies set aside fortheIrish.

In County Donegal five of the six baronies were madeavailableforplantation.Thesebaronies were divided into precincts, which included the precincts of: Lifford, Portlough, Boylagh, Banagh,DoeandFanad.ScottishUndertakers wereplanted inPortlough,BoylaghandBanagh,with English Undertakers granted estatesin the precint of Lifford (Raphoe Barony). Servitors and the native Irish were confined to thebaronyofKilmacrennan.

The Plantation in Donegal

BishopsPalace,Raphoe

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In Donegal four towns were incorporated.Lifford, Ballyshannon and Donegal Town receivedchartersinFebruary/March1613,with Killybegs following in 1615. The developmentof towns was mostly left to the Undertakersand in 1612, Sir Basil Brooke agreed to setaside land for the development of DonegalTown. In October 1610 Sir Richard Hansardhad received a lease of the lands reserved for Lifford, but by 1612 he received an outrightgrantofthetownandlandsandplansforthedevelopmentofthetownwereagreed.

In the barony of Kilmacrennan, seventeen Servitors in total received grants as well as Trinity College Dublin. Servitors included Sir Ralph Bingley, John and Henry Vaughan, Captain Henry Harte and Captain William Stewart,allformermilitarymen.Irishgrantees received 60% of the barony of Kilmacrennan.Six grantees received large estates but the other 44 were granted much smaller estates. The Irish grantees included Donnell MacSweeney Fanad, Sir Mulmory Mac Sweeney Doe, Donagh Mac Sweeney Banagh, Walter McLoughlin Mac Sweeney, Turlough O’Boyle and Hugh McHugh Duff O’Donnell. Other minor grantees included IneenDubh, the Scottishmother of the Earl of Tír Chonaill and Bridget, the Countess ofTírChonaill.

In the baronies of Boylagh and Banagh eight estatesweregrantedtoScottishUndertakers, all ofwhom soldorpassedonownershipof their estates to others. One of the original grantees, Sir Robert Gordon of Lochinvar, sold his estate to John Murray who also acquired the estate of George Murray of Broughton in 1618. John Murray managed toacquirealleightestatesby1620includingthefishingrights.Theplantationofthisbarony was confined mostly to the area between KillybegsandDonegaltown.

The barony of Raphoewas divided into twoprecincts, Portlough and Lifford. Portloughwas granted to Scottish Undertakers while Lifford was granted to English Undertakers.The Church was also granted large amounts of land in the Raphoe barony. Nine Scottish grantees received estates in Portlough, fourwith the name of Stewart, including LudovicStewart, the Duke of Lennox and three withthefamilynameCunningham.Theplantation inthisprecinctwasmoresuccessfulthanthat in the remote western parts of County Donegal with estates remaining in the families

of the original grantees. Large numbers ofScottish tenants also settled in this precinct,whichbecameaproductivefarmingcommunity.

Nine English Undertakers were assigned estates in theLiffordprecint.These includedformer military men, Sir Henry Docwra (whoimmediately sold his estate to a William Wilson), Sir Robert Remington of YorkshireandSirHenryClareofNorfolk.Theseestatesalso changed hands a number of times so the plantationinLiffordwasslowtogetunderway.Although grantees were obliged to occupytheirestatesbetweenAugustandSeptember1610,notallhadarrivedtostaketheirclaimbythedeadline.

Inthereportof1611carriedoutbyLordCarewit appeared that the Servitors had made a better start at fulfilling the terms of their grant than the Undertakers. The buying and selling of grants was visible in the next survey to be carried out in 1613/14. For example HenryClarehadsoldhisestateinStranorlarto Peter Benson, and Sir Ralph Bingley had acquired the Remington and Berkeley estates.Sir Richard Hansard also added to his estateof Lifford by acquiring unwanted grants.The selling of grants by grantees was a clear indication that some of the grantees had either nodesiretostayorlackedthemeanstomake something productive of the lands given to them.SettlementintheRaphoebarony,asinother baronies was slow to get underway and it wasnotuntil1619thatthesurveysshowmanysettled families. It is during this period thatLiffordbegantoemergeastheCountyTownofDonegal. Itwasusedas anadministrativecentre by the plantation commissioners andwould remain the administrative centre of the County,eventothepresentday.By1622,over50houseshadbeenbuiltinthetown,hometomostlyEnglishsettlers.EnglishlawalsofoundahomeinLiffordwiththearrivalofjudgesandregularcourtsessions.

While towns began to grow around the plantation estates, settlement still remainedscattered throughout the countryside rather than becoming exclusively centred in towns and villages. The most intense settlementand certainly the most successful appears tohave been in the Portlough precint. Churchlands in Donegal were also leased by the Bishoptonewarrivals,withalargenumberof ScottishsettlingintheChurchlandsatRaphoe.

The county of Derry wasuniqueamongthe plantation counties in that it was not divided among the grantees ofUndertakers,Servitors and Irish but was granted to the City of London guilds, whowere drawn into the scheme forplantation in1609.Theneedforlarge investment in the plantation wasclear from the offset,

withthecrownunabletofinancethedevelopmentalone. Initially there was a mixed responsefrom the companies involved, as accepting the offer would commit them to the rebuilding of the towns of Londonderry and Coleraine. A committee was set up with membersof each company to look at the possibility and although there was uncertainty among the companies the London guilds finalised their arrangement with the King in January 1610. ThearrangementincludedplantingtheentireCounty of Derry as well as agreeing to build new citiesatLondonderryandColeraine.

Thecompaniesinitiallyagreedtospend£20,000 on buildingworks,most of whichwas spent onthecities,butthefinaltotalcameto£62,000. Anewbodywassetuptooverseetheseworks called ‘The Society of the Governor and Assistants,London of the New Plantation in Ulster, within the Realm of Ireland’; this was later shortened to The Honourable The Irish Society. The Society comprised a number of Londonaldermen,merchantsandrepresentatives ofthevariouscompaniesandreceivedapatent for plantation lands inMarch 1613. Eachofthe twelve principal companies received anestate in thecounty,whichwereallocatedbylottery in December 1613. The companies toreceivegrantswere;TheDrapers,TheVintners, TheSalters,TheIronmongers,TheClothworkers, TheMerchant Tailors, TheHaberdashers, TheFishmongers, The Grocers, The Goldsmiths, TheSkinnersandTheMercers.Thecompanies received grants under similar conditions as the Undertakers. They had to each build a manorhousewithabawn,withgunloopsandtowersfordefence.TheyhadalsotobuildtenanthousesandleasetheirestatestoBritishtenants.

The companies took over their estates fromtheSociety in1615andslowlybeganbringing in tenants. A conspiracy to overthrow the plantersinLondonderryin1615,whichwasledbyDonalO’Cahan’ssonRory,ledtoincreasedpressure from the government to progresswith the plantation. The conspirators weresubsequentlyexecutedinJuly1615.

A grant of land in County Londonderry was also made to an Undertaker, Sir ThomasPhilips of Limavady as he had also invested in the plantation. At the centre of eachcompany estate a town was developed, some taking their name from the company that established them, such as Salterstown(Magherafelt)andVintnerstown(Bellaghy).

By 1635, however, King Charles I, son of thedeceasedKingJames,wasunhappywith theprogressmadebytheLondoncompanies, inparticular the Irish remaining on the estates.Fines were imposed on the companies forkeeping Irish tenants, and when debts fromthese fines mounted up the legal weight oftheBritishadministrationwasbroughtin.TheCityofLondonauthoritiesandtheHonourableTheIrishsocietywerebroughttotrial,accusedoffailingtomeettheirobligations.Theirtitle to the land was forfeited and they were heavilyfined.ThiscontinueduntiltheremovalofCharlesIin1649althoughthelandwasnotformally restored to the London companiesuntilMarch1657.

Londonderry and Coleraine were the only walled towns of the plantation and were relativelymodern indesign incomparison tothemedievalwalledtownsofIreland.Alarge amount of money was spent on their development, with £11,000 spent on theLondonderry walls alone by 1629. The development of the cities was extremely important for the settlers and the successof theplantation, providingamarketbutalso providingwelldevelopedportsforexportandimportofgoodsandpeople.InLondonderrythewallswereatfirstprotectiveandprovidedrefugefor thecitizensof thewiderarea.Thetown however eventually outgrew the walled area and spilled out onto the bogside andacrosstheriverFoyle.

The Plantation in Londonderry

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The early 17th century was an extremely turbulent timeinEuropeanhistory. The thirty years war (1618-1648) was being foughtbymajorEuropean powers, driven by religious differences between Catholics and Protestants. England,Ireland and Scotland were drawn into their own conflict, but not exclusively for differences in religion.

a financial downturn in both countries and aweakKingontheEnglishthroneintheformofCharlesIalsocausedproblems.This led tonearly ten years of war in Ireland called the ConfederateWars and a Civil War in Britainthat would come to an end with the execution ofKingCharlesI.

The first signs of unrest began in Ireland with the appointment of Thomas Wentworth asLord Deputy of Ireland in 1631. Wentworthbecame unpopular with both Catholics andProtestants, because he treated Undertakersharshly, increasing rents and interfering withtenure.Healsoincreasedtaxesonexportsina time of economic hardship. Charles I hadpromised land reform, called ‘the Graces’ which were meant to protect the rights ofIrish landowners. However, Charles was more interested in the revenue the graces raised for his coffersthroughtaxes,ratherthantherightsofthepropertyowners in Irelandandtheywereneverformallypassedbyparliament.

Wentworth also spent time investigating ownershipoflandandlookingforopportunities to seize lands for the crown. Large amountsof Catholic owned land in Connacht was confiscatedanddeclaredcrownproperty.

His most unpopular move however was his enforcementofmembershipoftheEstablished Church, the Church of Ireland, which was opposedbybothCatholicsandPresbyterians. Wentworth tried to enforce conformity by introducing an oath for all to take, swearingthattheKingwastheheadoftheChurch.

Wentworth had thus created discontentamongsteveryclassinsociety,theOldEnglishhad lost land and felt discriminated against,the native Irish felt persecuted while the Presbyterian settlers felt their religious freedom wasunderattack.Wentworthwas recalledtoEngland in1640andexecuted for treason inMay1641.

Another reason the Irish were discontented,was because of unrest in Britain between King Charles Iandhisparliament.The Irish fearedthat that the King would be removed and the parliament would be harsh on Irish Catholiclandowners.

All this happened alongside a downturn intheeconomyduetoaseriesofharvestfailures,meaning that many landowners were in financial difficulty. These factors contributed to the outbreakof rebellion in Ireland.Manyof the Ulster plotters behind the rebellion were in debt and the rebellion was an opportunity toregainsomeoftheirformerwealth.

Therebellion,whichbeganinOctober1641,wasledbySirPhelimO’Neill,anIrishlandowner with estates in Counties Tyrone and Antrim,and supported by other leading Irish figures including Philip O’Reilly and Conor Roe Maguire.SirPhelimissuedaproclamationon the second day of the revolt, claiming they were not rebelling against the King, they were only defending their own liberties and anyone who retreated to their own homes would not be harmed. This promise wassoonbrokenandlargenumbersofthesettler populationfledinfearfortheirlives.

The rebellion got off to a bad start, with the discovery of the plot to take Dublin Castle. ButtherisinghadsupportinUlsterandsmall groups rose up in rebellion, including Rory O’MoreandtheMaguiresinFermanagh.Some oftherebelsfoughtforpoliticalideals;others were merely trying to settle old grudges or steal. Sir Phelim O’Neill seized Dungannonand Mountjoy fort (on the shores of LoughNeagh)beforegoingontotakeNewry.Manysettlers were slaughtered and thousands weredriven fromtheirhomes. Itwasnot the policyoftheleadersoftherebelliontoattack settlers but it appears they had very little controlovertheirforces,someofwhomwere out for revenge and murder. The drowning of settlers at Portadown appears to have beenthedecisionofonecaptain,TooleMcCann, rather than any official policy. PhelimO’Neill condemned this type of behaviour and executed nine rebels who had murdered someofhisplantertenantsatKinnard.

The rebellion spread and the rebels seized large parts of mid-Ulster. Attacks were concentrated on settlements such as towns, castlesandbawns.Settlerssufferedbybeingturned from their homes with large numbers fleeingtoDublin,butsomewererobbedandviciously murdered by gangs of rebels moving unopposedacrossthecountryside.

1641 and the Irish Confederate Wars

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By the end of 1641 the Old English of thePale, Munster and Connacht had joined therebels and the small insurrection became a national movement. These families, the OldEnglish,whohadsettledinIrelandduringtheNorman invasion in the 12th century, were Catholic in religion but of English descent.They felt their authority slip away under WentworthandfearedtheEnglishparliamentwould not distinguish between them and the ‘native’ Irish. The Old English were now struggling for their survival and they threw in their lot with the rebels, united by their commonreligion.

In1642,OwenRoeO’Neill,thenephewofHugh O’Neill,theformerEarlofTyrone,arrivedfromthe continent to lead the Irish forces. OwenRoe landed at Doe Castle in Donegal with a large force, on the 8th July 1642. In AugusthewasappointedLordGeneralof theUlster forces and Thomas Preston, another Irish soldiertrainedontheContinent,wasappointed commanderoftheLeinsterforces.

The British also raised an army, with a largeScottish force arriving led by Major-GeneralRobert Monroe. The north was ravaged byMonroe and his forces in retaliation for the slaughterofScottishsettlers.

OwenRoewasshockedatconditionsinUlster, but also at the lack of discipline among theIrish force. As a professional soldier he hadmilitary training and began efforts to mould therebelsintoaprofessionalforce.Duringhistime in Ireland he affirmed his loyalty to King Charles I, believing that theCatholicChurchcould be reinstated to its former position undertheKing’srule.

In May 1642, the rebels met in Kilkenny, establishing a general assembly called the ConfederateCatholicsofIreland,whichacted as an alternative to the Irish Parliament in Dublin.ItsmainaimsweretorestoretherightsofCatholicsandtodefendIrishliberties.TheyalsosworeanoathofloyaltytotheKing.

Catholicforceswereforthemostpartsroyalists, believing that they were defending Charles I fromapuritangovernment.EventsinEnglandtookadramaticturnwhentheEnglishCivilWarbrokeoutinAugust1642.CharlesIwaseager to agree a ceasefire with the Confederate Irishforcesandalthoughtwoperiodsofpeacewere agreed during the 1640s, neither sidemaintainedtheseceasefires.

In October 1646 Owen Roe travelled to Kilkenny to meet the new papal nuncio GianBattista Rinuccini, appointed to Ireland byRome.InJuneheheadednorthagain,this time well supplied with arms and money broughtbyRinuccini.Hewonamajorvictory for the Irish forces at the Battle of Benburb, inTyroneonthe5thofJune1646. But the Irish forces failed to capitalise on theirvictory.Theywere toopoorlyequippedto lay siege to the remaining forces in both LondonderryandCarrickfergus,soOwenRoe marched south. The Irish forces regroupedand attacked Dublin. The combined forces wereprobablystrongenoughtotakethecity,butdisputesanddistrustbetweentheleadersforcedOwenRoetowithdrawhis troops.Hewas ordered tomove to Connacht and takethetownofSligoinMay1647.

WithasplitintheIrishcamp,theEarlofOrmond took control of the royalist forces in Irelandbut they were heavily defeated at a battle at RathminesinDublinon2ndAugust1649.

Twoweekslateronthe12thofAugust,Oliver Cromwell and 3,000 of his soldiers landed unopposedatRingsend.ItwasthebeginningoftheendfortheIrishrebellion.Onthe11thof September 1649 he sacked the town of Drogheda before heading south and taking Wexford, Cork, Youghal, Kinsale, Kilkenny, Waterford and eventually Limerick and Galway, with a brutal force that ended any opposition by the native population. The remaining Ulster forces led by Bishop MacMahon were crushed in battle at Scariffhollis, outside Letterkenny, CountyDonegal,inJune1650.

The rebels’ lands were forfeited to the crown and another wave of plantations took place, with many grants being made to Cromwellian soldiers. With the 1662 Act of Settlement, Catholicswere removed fromallpositionsof politicalandcommercialimportanceinIreland.

Theimmediateeffectoftheuprisingwasthe temporary removalofBritish settlersand the destructionofproperty,butthesettlementwasquick to recover and towns andhomesteads were rebuilt. The rebellion also led to the widespread seizure of Irish lands. The Irishgrantees of the original plantation schemewerenowwipedoutandthelandsredistributed toCromwellianofficers.Largenumbersofnewsettlers continued to arrive in Ulster and the position of the Irish Catholics as landownerscontinuedtodeteriorate.

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The Plantation of Ulster was the most successful plantation undertaken in Ireland, but that isnottosaythatitwentaccordingtoplanorhadtheintendedoutcome.

The official scheme itself was slow to get underway;thisisevidentinthesurvivingsurveys carriedoutupto1622.Theplantationreliedheavily on private investment and this tooktime.Thesuccessof theplantation inDerry/Londonderry was solely down to the huge investmentoftheLondoncompaniesandtheirsuccessatbringinginplantersontheirestates.Once themajorityof settlershadarrivedquickprogress was made in building towns and settlementwhichisvisibleinthe1618-19survey.

Howeveroneoftheoriginalconditionsofthegrants to the planters, the removal of nativetenants,wasnotcarriedout. Itbecameclearfrom early on in the scheme that the Irish were needed on these estates and in some areas this system ofmutual dependency seems tohaveworkedwellintheearlyyearsatleast.

Other difficulties emerged including the problem of attracting tenants to isolated areas or areas of poor quality land andIrish tenants were pushed increasingly onto these areas of land. This further added to the feeling of the persecution of the nativepopulation.

The Irish community was neither converted to Protestantism nor anglicised in any great number,andasaresultthetwocommunitiesfailedtointegrateonalargeenoughscale.

Whilesomeoftheoriginalgranteeshadlittleinterestindevelopingtheirestatesandquicklysoldtheir interests inUlster,othershadmoresuccess, establishing towns and villages, bringing over settlers and introducing new and innovative farming practices to Ulster. IndustryandtradealsodevelopedasaresultofthisnewpopulationandnewmarketswereopenedupforproducefromUlster.

However,moreEnglishandScottishcameto Ulster outside the years of official plantation(1610-1625) than were ‘planted’, especially in the later part of the century. Famine inScotland in the 1690s saw large numbers immigratingtoUlster.Morelandbecame

available in Ireland due to fresh clearances afterthe1641rebellionandagainlaterinthe century after the Jacobite wars (1686-1691).ThesewarscreatedaProtestantlandedclass,whohad thevastmajorityof landandpowerin the country, while the vastmajority of thepopulationwereCatholic.

Theplantationalsosawgreatchanges inthelandscapeofUlster.Largepreviouslyforestedareas were cleared for agriculture on a scale thathadnotexistedundertheGaelicsystem.The development of towns and villages andthe introduction of British style architecture alsochangedthelandscapeinUlster.

The new settlers, in particular the Scottish brought with them a new culture to Ireland. Thelegacyofthiswasthedevelopmentofthe Ulster Scots language. The Scottish alsobrought with them other aspects of their traditionsofmusic,danceanddressandthisdevelopedovertheyearstoproduceauniqueidentityinpartsofUlster.

However, theplantationdid not bring aboutthe expected change in culture and religion amongst the native Irish population, but insteadproduceda two-cultured society. This would go on to create divisions in thatsociety,whichpersisttothepresentday. Unfortunately,thedifferencebetweenthetwo communitiesandthelackofintegrationhadleftUlsterwitha legacyofpartition,sectarianism andviolence.

Todaythereisanewoptimismthatthefuture of what is now Northern Ireland, is one of tolerance and acceptance of our cultural differences and a new desire to look at and understandoursharedhistory.

The success of the Plantation

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CavanacorHouse,Ballindrait,CountyDonegal.Early17thcenturyplantationhouse.

Sir Cahir O’Doherty (Ó Dochartaigh) (1587 – 1608)CahirO’DohertywastheLordofInishowen,oneof the largest sub-lordships inDonegal in the16thandearly17thcenturies.Hewasgranteda knighthoodforbraveryinbattleandtheEnglish supported his claim to the title of Lord of Inishowen.InreturnO’DohertysupportedEnglish forces in battle against Red Hugh O’DonnellduringtheNineYearsWar. However, in1608O’Dohertyroseinrebellion,sackingandburningtheCityofDerry.Badlyresourcedandwithoutany additionalhelptherebellionwasdoomed.HewaskilledinbattleatDoonRock,nearKilmacrenan,CountyDonegal,onthe5thofJuly1608.

Sir Donal Ballach O’Cahan (d.1617) DonalO’Cahanwas apowerful sub chieftainin the O’Neill Lordship, occupying lands inCounties Coleraine and Tyrone. He marriedHughO’Neill’sdaughterandjoinedhisfather-in-lawinbattleagainsttheEnglishduringtheNine Years War. He submitted to the crownin1602, forfeitingone thirdof his landsanda number of castles. O’Cahan’s relationshipwith O’Neill turned sour when his ambition drove him to take a case against O’Neill, challenging the earl of Tyrone’s claim to lordship over his estates. Both O’Neill andO’Cahanwere summoned toLondon for theKing to settle the case, but O’Neill fled tothecontinent.O’Cahan faredwelloutof the following settlement of land and he was made a Commissioner to administer justice in Ulster in placeoftheEarlofTyrone.AlthoughO’Cahanremained loyal to the english he was arrested on suspicionofsupportingO’Doherty’srebellion andsenttotheTowerofLondonwherehere-mainedanunconvictedprisonerfortherestofhis life.O’Cahan’s estatewas confiscated al-though his son RoryÓg received a grant of1000acresintheplantation.

Conor & Rory Maguire Conor (1616-1645) and Rory (1619-48)Maguirewere the sons of Sir BrianMaguire, Baron of Enniskillen. The family had beengranted a portion of land in the plantation scheme in reward for their loyalty during the NineYearsWar.Bothweresettledwellinplanter society and well educated. Conor attended Oxford,becamethe2ndBaronofEnniskillenand

attended the Irish House of Lords. Rory sat as anMP for County Fermanagh in 1640-41 and by all appearance the family’s loyaltyseemed assured. However both brothers becameconspirators, layinggroundwork forthe beginning of the 1641 rebellion, drivenby concern for their faith, their finances andtheirsocialstanding.ConorbecameinvolvedinaplottotakeDublinCastleinearlyOctober 1641. However, the plot was discoveredand Conor was arrested and sent to the Tower of London. After an escape attempt inFebruary in1645,Conorwasexecutedbybeinghung,drawnandquartered.

Rory was also involved with conspirators from the beginning. He led the rebellion in Fermanagh,butwasunable to takeEnniskillen castle.Hewasmade a colonel inOwenRoe O’Neill’s forces,fightingmainly inFermanagh and Monaghan. He was killed in a minor skirmishinCountyLeitrimin1648.

Owen Roe O’Neill (Eoghan Rua Ó Néill) (c. 1580 – 1649)OwenRoeO’NeillwasthesonofArtO’Neilland the nephewofHughO’Neill theEarl of

Tyrone. Since 1605 the young Owen Roe had been inSpanishFlanders,where he served with the Irish regimentuntiltheoutbreak of the 1641 rebellion in Ireland.Hewasappointed leader of the Ulster forces and tried to put his militaryexperiencetowork

inIreland.HisgreatestsuccesswastheBattleof Benburb, outside Tyrone in 1646. By thetime Cromwell arrived in Ireland Owen Roe was suffering from bad health and died a short timelateronthe6thofNovember1649.

Who’s who: The Native Irish

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King, Council and Commissioners

King James I (James VI of Scotland) (1566 – 1625)

JamesIwasthesonofMary,Queen of Scots, born in Edinburgh in 1566. James, whowasraisedaProtestant,inherited the throne from his cousin Elizabeth I in 1603, uniting the kingdoms of ScotlandandEngland.James

saw colonisation as a method of refinancing his treasury andduringhis reign,plantations were undertaken in Virginia, America (1607), Ulster (1609) and Plymouth, America (1620).His strong faith led to the introduction of anewEnglishtranslationofthebible,knownastheKingJamesBible,in1611.

King Charles I (1600 – 1649)

Charles I was the second son of James I and succeeded to the throne upon thedeath of his father in 1625.Charles inherited many of the problems that James I hadleft unresolved, including financial problems, a disgruntled parliament and

growing religious divisions among the community.Charles’s problemswithparliament existed throughout his reign. He attemptedto levy taxeswithoutparliament’s consent and dismissed it whenever it suited him, in turn

forwhichparliamenttriedtocurtailhisrights.Charles also tried to enforce religious reforms inScotland,which led toaScottish rebellionandeventually a full scaleCivilWar in1642.Charles and his Cavaliers (supporters of theMonarchy) fought against the supporters ofthe Parliament, known as the Roundheads.Charleswasdefeated,accusedofhightreason andhandedoverfortrialin1649.HewasfoundguiltyandexecutedinJanuary1649.Charles’sson,CharlesIIbecameKingaftertherestoration oftheMonarchyin1660.

Sir John Davies (1569 – 1626) Born inWiltshire in1569,Daviesstudied lawandwasappointedSolicitorGeneralforIreland by James I in 1603. By 1606 he had been promotedtothepositionofAttorneyGeneralforIreland.Davieswasinstrumentalintheeffort tocompletetheconquestofIreland,usinghislegalskillstopreventoppositionandestablish EnglishcommonlawinIreland.HebecameanallyofthenewLordDeputySirArthurChichester, accompanying him to Ulster in 1608 and completing a report on the confiscation ofcounties Fermanagh, Monaghan and Cavan. Davies also participated in the drafting ofplans for the plantation of Ulster and was himselfagrantee,receivinglandsinthebarony of Omagh in County Tyrone and in County Fermanagh.Heretiredfromofficein1619andreturnedtoEngland.

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Sir Phelim O’Neill (c.1604 – 1653)Sir PhelimO’Neill inheritedlands in Tyrone and armagh from his grandfather Sir HenryO’Neill,whowaskilledduring Cahir O’Doherty’s rebellion. O’Neill spent a number of years in London before serving as commissioner for army funds

and justice of the peace with the Irish government. In October 1641 he rose in rebellion in the hope of recovering his hereditary estates and the restoration of the Catholic Church in Ireland. On the 22nd of October he captured the fort at Charlemont

(County Armagh) and gradually took controlofmuchof southUlster.O’Neillwaspresentat the first general assembly in Kilkenny inOctober 1642 but was primarily focused onmilitary matters and fought with Owen Roe at the Battle of Benburb. After Owen Roe’sdeath he continued to fight with the Ulster forcesunderitsnewleaderBishopMcMahon. Despitethedefeatoftherebelsatthebattle of Scarrifhollis, County Donegal in 1650, Phelimremainedatlargeuntilcapturedin1653. Hewasexecutedonthe10thofMarchforhis allegedpartinthe1641massacresofProtestantsettlersandhisremainswere impaledonthe gatesofDundalk,DroghedaandDublin.

In the 16th century the whole of Europe underwent enormous change because of what becameknownas theProtestant reformation.It began because of widespread corruptionin the Catholic Church and people’s desirefor change. This change came in the formof a new religion, which began in Germanyand became know as Protestantism. By the beginningofthe17thcentury largenumbersoftheEuropeanpopulationhadembracedthenewreligion.

In england the change of religion began with King Henry VIII, who broke with the Catholic Churchsothathecoulddivorcehisfirstwife.Henry established the Church of England in1532,makinghimselftheheadoftheChurch. Henry’s heirs, his son Edward VI and hisdaughter Elizabeth I, were both raised as Protestants and further reformed the Church in Englandduringtheirreigns.

The Protestant religion itself divided into a number of different churches in the 16th century. In Scotland, a Scottish preacher by

the name of John Knox established the Presbyterian Church, which was founded onthebeliefsofaFrenchreformerbythenameofJohnCalvin.ThePuritansalsofollowedtheteachingofCalvin,andthisChurchbecamewell establishedinEnglandinthe17thcentury.

The reformation failed to takehold in Ireland as it had inother countries. ThemajorityofIrishremainedCatholic,asdidtheOldEnglishortheAnglo-NormanfamilieswhohadmadeIrelandtheirhomesincethe12thcentury.

WiththeplantationJamesIhopedtospreadthe new faith, by bringing in Protestants from Scotland and england and by declaring the Church of Ireland the Established Church, whichpeoplehadtoattend,althoughthiswasneverfullyenforced.

The changes in European religion would contribute to years of war among the main European powers and would lead to unrestand rebellion in Ireland as well as a civil war inBritain.

The Protestant Reformation

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Sir Thomas Wentworth (1593 – 1641) Earl of Stafford and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

Wentworth was born inLondon and knighted bythe King in 1611. In 1631he accepted the positionof Lord Deputy of Ireland.Wentworthcreatedenemies for himself among the Catholic and Protestant landowners. He was

committed to bringing down Irish landowners and saw no reason why estates could not be seized at will by the crown. His effortsto reform the Church of Ireland alienated large numbers of Protestants, creating enemies forWentworthonboth sidesof thereligiousdivide. InJanuary1640Wentworthwas created Lord Lieutenant of Ireland andmadeEarlofStraffordbytheKing,CharlesI. However despite Wentworth’s popularity withtheKing,hewasarrestedonthe25thofNovemberandsenttotheTowerofLondon. His enemies in England and Ireland built a case against him, based on his treatment of Irish landowners and the english parliament, who accused him of planning aroyalist coup against them. In total twenty- eight charges were brought against him, 16of these concerned his rule in Ireland. Hewas sentenced to death and was executed onthe12thMay1641.

Sir Arthur Chichester (1563 – 1625) BorninDevonin1563,Chichesterwasacareer soldier involved in numerous successful campaigns in the New World and Spain before arriving in Ireland in 1599. He was

appointed governor of Carrickfergus and remainedin Ireland for the rest of the Nine Years War, gaining a reputation for his harshtreatment of the Irish. In1604 he was appointed asLordDeputy.Disappointed with the terms granted to O’Neill and O’Donnell

after the war, he began a near personal campaignagainsttheEarlofTyrone.By1605 Chichester had acquired a large estate insouth Antrim. He seized on the opportunitycreatedbytheFlightoftheEarlsandquicklybeganmakingplansfortheplantationoftheprovince. Chichester benefited hugely fromthesubsequentconfiscationofland,receivinga grant of the whole of Inishowen as well as an estateinDungannon.HeretiredtoCarrickfergusin 1615 and died in London ten years later.arthur was succeeded by his younger brother Edward (1568-1648) who became Viscount ChichesterofCarrickfergus.

Alderman–Memberofatownorcitycouncil.Artisan–Askilledworker,whopracticesatradeorcraft.Ballyboe–(bailebo)Alanddivisionestimatedtocontainsixtyacresofland.Ballybetagh(BaileBiataigh)–Landdivisioncontaining16ballyboesortownlands.Barony–LanddivisioncreatedbytheAnglo-Normans.UlsterwasdividedintoBaroniesinc.1600.Bawn–Afortifiedenclosure,withahouseorcastleatthecentre.Bulwark-Anembankment,ofearthorstone,builtaroundastructurefordefence.Burgesses–Anelectedorun-electedofficial.Chattels–Personalpropertysuchasfurniture.Churles–Alowrankingfreemanorcommonperson.Cooper–Acraftsmanwhomakesorrepairswoodenbarrelsortubs.CorporateTown–TownestablishedbyRoyalCharterwithpowerstosendmembers toparliamentandresponsibleforitsowncourts,by-laws,marketsandfairs.Deponent–Personwhotestifiesorgivesdeposition.Escheated–Propertythatrevertstoownershipofthestate.Glebe–Landbelongingtoaparishchurch.Grantee-Arecipientofagrant.Guild–Anassociationmadeupofpeoplewithasimilarprofessionorinterests.Gunloops–Holesorslitsplacedinwallsoftownsandbuildingsfordefence.Freehold-Landorpropertyownedbytheoccupier.FlankerTowers-Towersalongabawnwallwherewatchwaskeptoverthebawn.Impeached–Chargedwithacrime.Incumbent–Anofficialwhoholdsoffice.Leasehold–Landorpropertyheldunderalease.Markettown–Atownwithrightstoholdamarket.Mercer–Adealerintextiles.Portcullis-GatemadeofironorwoodengratingthatcanbeloweredtoblockanentrancePuritans–BranchoftheProtestantChurch,thatadheredtostrictreligiousprincipals.Relict–Awidow.Tanners–Acraftsmanwhoworkswithskinsandhides.Tenure–Therighttoholdland.Upbraided–Criticised.WilliamiteWar–AlsocalledtheJacobiteWars(1689-1691)foughtbetweenKingJamesII andWilliamofOrangeovertheKingdomofEngland,ScotlandandIreland.

Glossary

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Additional Reading and Useful Websites:

Why not find out more about the Ulster Plantation and 17th century Ireland? There are lots of very interesting books available from your local library:

Brady,Ciaran,Gillespie,RaymondEds.,NativesandNewcomers,TheMakingofIrishColonialSociety1534-1641,IrishAcademicPress,1986CannyNicholas,MakingIrelandBritish,1580–1650,OxfordUniversityPress,2001Clarke,Aidan,TheOldEnglishinIreland,FourCourtsPress,2000Robinson,Philip,ThePlantationOfUlster,UlsterHistoricalFoundation,2000DonegalCountyArchivesService,TheFlightoftheEarls,DocumentStudyPack,DonegalCountyCouncil,2007O’Brien,Gerard,Derry&LondonderryHistoryandSociety,GeographyPublications1999Perceval–Maxwell,M.,TheScottishMigrationtoUlsterintheReignofJamesI,UlsterHistoricalFoundation,1999Nolan,Ronayne,Dunlevy,Eds.DonegalHistoryandSociety,GeographyPublications,1995Swift,Michael,HistoricalMapsofIreland,PRCPublishingLtd.,1999

Useful websites:

www.plantationofulster.orgwww.eastdonegalulsterscots.comwww.ulsterscotsagency.comwww.hamiltonmontgomery1606.comwww.flightoftheearls.iewww.flightofthearls.netwww.bbc.co.uk/historywww.askaboutireland.iewww.skool.iewww.seanruad.com–GivesalistoftownlandsineachmodernCountywww.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/-Guidetoreadingolddocuments.

Acknowledgements

Images appear courtesy of

Trinity College DublinLambethPalaceLibraryDerryCity,HeritageandMuseumServiceSarahGearty/HistoryIrelandTheBritishLibraryTheNationalMaritimeMuseum,GreenwichTheNationalArchives,UKTheNationalPortraitGallery,UKOrdnance Survey of Ireland HeritageOffice,DonegalCountyCouncil

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Archivesarecopyrightandshouldnotbereproducedwithoutpermission.ProducedbyTheArchivesService,DonegalCountyCouncil.

AnActionoftheCountyDonegalHeritagePlan.

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