Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd earl

Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd earl of

(born c. 1540—died July 20, 1616, Rome, Papal States) Irish rebel. Born into the powerful O'Neill family of Ulster, he grew up in London, then returned to Ireland (1568) to assume his grandfather's title of earl of Tyrone. As chieftain of the O'Neills from 1593, he led skirmishes against the English and won the Battle of the Yellow Ford on the River Blackwater, Ulster, which sparked a countrywide revolt (1598). He received aid and troops from Spain (1601) but was defeated by the English at Kinsale and forced to surrender (1603). In 1607 he fled with about 100 chieftains and lived in Rome the rest of his life. The so-called “flight of the earls” brought an end to Gaelic Ulster, and the province was rapidly Anglicized.