Proclamation Of Dungannon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Proclamation of Dungannon was a document produced by Sir Phelim O'Neill on 24 October 1641 in the Irish town of
Dungannon Dungannon (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...
. O'Neill was one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion, which had been launched the previous day. O'Neill's Proclamation set out a justification of the uprising. He claimed to have been given a
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
signed and sealed on 1 October by the
King of Ireland Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. This continued in all of Ireland until 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act removed most of Ireland's residual ties to the British monarch. Northern Ireland, as p ...
Charles I that commanded him to lead Irish Catholics in defence of the
Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...
against Protestants who sympathised with Charles's opponents in the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
.


Background

Following the trial and execution of the
Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
, the
Earl of Strafford Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the 1st Viscount Wentworth, the clo ...
, in May 1641, Ireland was in a state of turmoil. There was growing tension between Catholics and Protestants (particularly those of a
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
tendency) with the former generally sympathetic to King Charles while the latter supported the English Parliament and the Scottish Covenanters in the dispute that would shortly lead to the outbreak of the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. This formed part of the wider War of the Three Kingdoms. On 23 October a major uprising broke out in
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
organised by leading members of the Gaelic aristocracy. The rebels attacked Protestant plantation settlements as well as native Irish Protestants and took garrison towns held by the
Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
. Irish government authorities in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
struggled to contain the insurgency with the limited number of troops they had at their disposal. A last-minute warning saved
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
from a surprise attack, although O'Neill was clearly unaware of the failure of the Dublin plot when he issued his proclamation.


Proclamation

After seizing several key strategic points in Ulster over the previous twenty-four hours, Sir Phelim made his proclamation in Dungannon, a town that had symbolic importance as the traditional capital of the
O'Neill dynasty The O'Neill dynasty ( Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically one of the most prominent family of the N ...
. The text read: :''This proclamation is to inform all in this country that the present meeting and assembly of the Irish is in no way intended against the King, or to hurt any of his subjects either of the English or the Scottish nation; but only for the defence and liberty of ourselves and of the natives of the Irish nation. We order all people at once to return to their homes, under pain of death, and promise that any hurt done to any person or persons shall be at once repaired.'' In support of his actions, Sir Phelim claimed to have a document from King Charles commissioning him. The Commission was supposedly signed under the
Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland (; also the Scottish Seal; formally the Seal appointed by the Treaty of Union to be kept and made use of in place of the Great Seal of Scotland) is a seal used by the first minister of Scotland to seal letters pate ...
. By declaring their loyalty to the Crown and defence of the Catholic religion, O'Neill and his followers adopted a political stance which was taken up by the subsequent Irish Confederation which governed rebel-controlled territory in the name of the King from 1642 until 1649. The Proclamation encouraged many Catholics to believe they could lawfully join the rising with the King's blessing, while Protestants were left demoralised.


Second Proclamation and Commission texts

Sir Phelim's second and more trenchant proclamation was made "from our camp at
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
" on 4 November 1641 alongside Rory Maguire: :''To all Catholics of the Roman party both English and Irish in the kingdom of Ireland we wish all happiness, freedom of conscience, and victory over the English heretics, who for a long time have tyrannised over our bodies and usurped by extortion our estates. Be it hereby made known unto you, all our friends and countrymen, that the king's most excellent majesty, for many great and urgent causes him thereunto moving, imposing trust and confidence in our fidelity, hath signified unto us, by his commission under the great seal of Scotland, bearing date at Edinburgh, the 1st day of this inst. October, 1641, and also by letters under his sign manual, bearing date with the said commission, of divers great and heinous affronts, that the English Protestants, especially the English Parliament, have published against his royal prerogative, and also against his Catholic friends, within the kingdom of England, the copy of which commission we herewith send unto you, to be published with all speed in all parts of this kingdom, that you may be assured of our sufficient warrant and authority therein.'' He also published the actual royal commission that gave authority for his earlier proclamation. It was subtly different, in that it empowered him to arrest and seize property from all of Charles's English Protestant subjects living in Ireland, but exempted his Irish and Scottish subjects. He was ordered to: :''Charles, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., to all Catholic subjects within the kingdom of Ireland, Greeting: Know ye, that We, for the safeguard and preservation of Our person, have been enforced to make our abode and residence in the kingdom of Scotland for a long season, occasioned by reason of the obstinate and disobedient carriage of the Parliament of England against Us that hath not only presumed to take upon them the government and disposition of those princely rights and prerogatives, that have justly descended upon Us from Our predecessors, being kings and queens of the said kingdom for many hundred years past, but also have possessed themselves of the whole strength of the said kingdom, in appointing governors commanders and officers in all places therein, at their own will and pleasure, without Our consent, whereby We are deprived of Our sovereignty and are left naked without defence. And forasmuch as We are in Ourself very sensible, that these storms blow aloft and are very likely to be carried by the vehemency of the Protestant party of the kingdom of Ireland, and endanger Our Regal power and authority there also; Know Ye, that We, reposing much care and trust in your duty and obedience, which We have for many years past found, do hereby give unto you full power and authority to assemble and meet together with all the speed and diligence, that business of so great a consequence doth require, and to advise and consult together by sufficient and discreet numbers at all times, days, and places, which you shall in your judgment hold most convenient, and most for the ordering, settling and effecting the great work (mentioned and directed unto you in Our letters) and to use all politic means and ways possible to possess yourselves (for our use and safety) of all the forts, castles, and places, of strength and defence within the kingdom, (except the places, persons, and estates of Our loyal and loving subjects the Scots) also to arrest and seize the goods, estates, and persons of all the English Protestants, within the said kingdom to Our use. And in your care and speedy performance of this Our will and pleasure We shall rely on your wonted duty and allegiance to Us which We shall accept and reward in due time. Witness Ourself at Edinburgh this 1st day of October in the seventeenth year of Our reign.'' Part of the commission in the original spelling: :"''.. vse all polliticke waies and meanes possible to possess your selues (for our vse and safety) of all the forts Castles and places of strength and defence within the said Kingedome, (except the places, persons and estates of our Loyall and loveinge subiects the Scotts) and allsoe to arrest and seize the goods, estates, and persons of all the English protestants within the said kingdome to our vse.''"


Forgery?

Until the late nineteenth century historians generally accepted that the commission was genuine, or at the very least Charles had secretly encouraged the Irish Catholics to launch a rising. Since then, for a variety of reasons, it has been considered to be a forgery produced by O'Neill and his associates without the knowledge of the King. They may well have acquired a copy of the Great Seal of Scotland when they captured the garrison town of Charlemont on 23 October. The historian David Stevenson notes that it would be unlikely that the commission would have been addressed to Sir Phelim O'Neill. Had it been genuine it would almost certainly have been issued to more senior Irish Royalists such as the Earl of Ormond or the leading Catholic noble of Ulster, the
Earl of Antrim Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...
. It is also unlikely to have been issued at
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
as Sir Phelim claimed. However, King Charles was in Edinburgh on 1 October, dealing with Scottish political matters. Forgery or not, King Charles publicly proclaimed all the Irish rebels as
traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
s on 1 January 1642.


Impact in England and Scotland

That the Commission was genuine was widely accepted in England and Scotland by the King's opponents and even some of his own supporters. It seemed to tie in with earlier rumours of an army plot which had suggested that Charles might bring over the New Irish Army, made up largely of Ulster Catholics, to impose his will on England and Scotland. Anger at the King's alleged links with the insurgents grew – particularly as horror stories of atrocities committed, such as the Portadown Massacre, began to filter across the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
. Tensions arising from news of the Irish rebellion was a factor in the English push to Civil War in early 1642. The Scottish authorities dispatched an Army which quickly retook much of Ulster from the insurgents. Once the English Civil War broke out in October 1642, Charles' emissaries began negotiations with the Irish rebels for their support, which seemed to present further evidence to his opponents of his links with the Catholic Ulster leaders. Many of these later dealings were exposed when Charles private letters were captured during the
Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Roundhead, Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Sir Th ...
(1645) and published as
King's Cabinet Opened
'. When Phelim O'Neill was captured in 1653 following the
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...
, he was put on trial for his life. The authorities offered to spare him if he would repeat his earlier claims that Charles had ordered the Catholics to rise in 1641. O'Neill now refused to implicate the King, who had been executed four years earlier, and was put to death himself.O Siochru pp. 221–222 Nonetheless the English Republicans continued to use O'Neill's earlier claims of the King's involvement to justify their decision to commit
regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * * – Preview * O Siochru, Micheal. ''God's Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland''. Faber and Faber, 2009. * – Preview * {{Wars of the Three Kingdoms Irish Rebellion of 1641 Proclamations Government documents of Ireland