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Published: August 13th 2023
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Repairs by the roadside.
I think that pony could now change a tube no problem. It watched me intently before rolling around on the grass. I have no idea when I first heard about The Flight of the Earls. It is one of those historical events that you can't avoid hearing something about if you live in Ireland. Be it in a song or someone talking about Irish history in an educational setting, or a documentary or in the pub.
When I started working in Donegal I became more aware of it. A flurry of commemoration about the event occurred during the 400th anniversary in 2007 including books, commemorative stamps and a sculpture installed at their departure point on the outskirts of Rathmullan on the shores of Lough Swilly.
The Earls sailed off in a French ship with a retinue totalling 99 people in September 1607 intending to reach Spain. The weather initially and subsequently political events, meant they never got there. Instead they ended up in Rome and never returned to Ireland. They are often seen as the first of many Irish exiles, known in Irish folklore as the "Wild Geese".
The Earls were Hugh O'Neill, modern County Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell of Donegal. They put aside traditional clan differences and together put up a very good fight against the forces of
La Ferme du Billy
I was hoping for a glass of Billy B cider. Unfortunately it was closed. the English crown, to the point where they very nearly drove them out of Ireland during the Nine Year War.
I'm not a historian, I didn't study history after second year at secondary school. We didn't even study very much Irish history. I wonder if that was because of the difficulty in teaching Irish history to 13 year olds in Derry and getting us to remain objective when there were riots going on only several hundred metres from our classroom.
The more I dipped into the Flight, the more interesting I found the story. Were they fleeing? Were they trying to get military aid from Spain and return stronger than before? Or a bit of both? Overall I find it a very sad story and one punctuated with what it's?
I now know that the politics of the time was incredibly complicated and the sequence of events leading to the Flight was littered with personal vendettas, ambition, deceit and enmity.
As you know, I like cycle touring. Once I discovered that the Earls were accompanied by a scribe, Tadhg O'Cianain, who kept a journal which detailed who amongst other details listed the town's they visited en
route. Well, there was only ever going to be one outcome for me.
It's taken me a while to get round to it, but I am finally en route to Rome, the long way. I'll try to put up info about my trip as it progresses depending on the reliability of WiFi, my phone, and how tired I'm feeling.
So the trip so far. I arrived in Cherbourg last Monday after my little break in Dorset. I sailed from Poole, with a stop over in Guernsey. It is ironic that I travelled via Britain when the Earls where doing everything they could to avoid British forces. At one point they were worried about getting driven onto the Channel Islands.
I cycled through all that lovely Normandy countryside to Lisieux where I picked up the route of the Earls.
They actually landed at Quillebeuf near Le Have after being driven up The Channel by stormy weather which prevented them getting within sight of Spain, but being unable to land. So close!
However they were placed under "a kind of arrest" and the men were sent to Lisieux to see the Marshall. The women remains behind in Quillebeuf to have another wee adventure of their own.
The Earls were well received in Lisieux. They were after all well known as great warriors throughout Europe as a result of some spectacular successes against English forces. We forget how integrated Europe actually was (not the same as getting on well with each other). Ireland was not as isolated as we sometimes believe.
Lisieux is a lovely city. Not a bad place to be sent to under arrest. In the tourist office the staff knew Irish people had vista long time ago, but were not aware of the significance of it all. I learned that the French for the Flight of the Earls is "La Fue des Comtes"
I visited the Cathedral which dates from the 12th Century. The Earls seem to have been fairly religious so likely went there.
I'm sure they would be impressed that in honour of St Thérèse, Lisieux is itself now a major centre of pilgrimage with a huge 20th century basilica.
I ended up spending a full day exploring the town and staying a second night before setting off to cycle to Quillebeuf.
There seems to be a problem with this website at the moment so I fortunately I can't upload any photos.
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