Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone

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Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (Irish: Aodh Mór Ó Néill; c. 1550 – 10 July [N.S. 20 July] 1616), was an Irish lord and key figure of the Nine Years' War. Known as the "Great Earl", he led the confederacy of Irish lords against the English Crown's conquest of Ireland during the Elizabethan era. He was born into the O'Neill clan, Tír Eoghain's ruling noble family, during a violent succession conflict which saw his father assassinated. At the age of eight he was relocated to the Pale where he was raised by an English family. Although the Crown hoped to mold him into a puppet ruler sympathetic to the English government, by the 1570s he had built a strong network of both English and Irish contacts which he utilised for his pursuit of political power, eventually becoming one of the richest and most powerful lords in Ireland. Throughout the early 1590s, Tyrone secretly supported rebellions against the Crown's advances into Ulster whilst publicly maintaining a loyal appearance. He regularly deceived...

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