Tyrconnell
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Tyrconnell, also spelled Tirconnell and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named County Tirconaill between 1922 and 1927. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, County Sligo, County Leitrim, County Tyrone and County Londonderry at its greatest extent. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Cenél Conaill people of the Northern Uí Néill and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area.
St. Eunan's Cathedral was the seat of the Bishop of Raphoe, which formed the religious center of Tyrconnell.
Flight of the Earls
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The Flight of the Earls took place in September 1607, when Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and about ninety followers, left Ulster in Ireland for mainland Europe. Their permanent exile was a watershed event in Irish history, symbolizing the end of the old Gaelic order.
The Ulster aristocrats set sail from Rathmullan, on the shore of Lough Swilly.
A bronze sculpture commemorating the Flight in Rathmullan, County Donegal
President of Ireland Mary McAleese arrives to unveil a statue depicting the Flight of the Earls at Rathmullan on 4 September 2007.