Proclamation of Dungannon facts for kids
The Proclamation of Dungannon was an important document created by Sir Phelim O'Neill on October 24, 1641. It was made in the Irish town of Dungannon. O'Neill was one of the main leaders of the Irish Rebellion, which had just started the day before. This Proclamation explained why the uprising was happening. O'Neill claimed he had a special paper, called a commission, from King Charles I. He said it was signed and sealed on October 1. This paper supposedly told him to lead Irish Catholics to protect the Kingdom of Ireland from Protestants who supported the King's enemies in the Parliament of England.
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Why the Rebellion Started
After the King's main representative in Ireland, the Earl of Strafford, was put on trial and executed in May 1641, Ireland was in a very troubled state. There was growing tension between Catholics and Protestants. Many Protestants, especially those with strict religious beliefs (called Puritans), supported the English Parliament. Catholics generally supported King Charles. This disagreement was part of a bigger conflict called the War of the Three Kingdoms, which soon led to the English Civil War.
On October 23, a large uprising began in Ulster. It was organized by important leaders of the Gaelic Irish people. The rebels attacked Protestant settlements, known as plantations. They also attacked native Irish Protestants. They took control of towns held by the Irish Army. The government in Dublin struggled to stop the rebellion because they had very few soldiers. A last-minute warning saved Dublin Castle from a surprise attack. Sir Phelim O'Neill did not know this attack had failed when he made his proclamation.
What the Proclamation Said
After taking over several important places in Ulster, Sir Phelim made his proclamation in Dungannon. This town was special because it was the traditional home of the O'Neill dynasty. The document said:
- This message is to tell everyone in this country that the Irish people are meeting and gathering not to go against the King. We also do not want to harm any of his subjects, whether they are English or Scottish. We are only doing this to defend ourselves and the native people of Ireland. We order everyone to go home right away, or they will be punished. We promise that any harm done to anyone will be fixed immediately.
Sir Phelim said he had a document from King Charles that gave him permission for his actions. He claimed this "Commission" was signed with the Great Seal of Scotland. By saying they were loyal to the King and defending the Catholic religion, O'Neill and his followers set a political goal. This goal was later adopted by the Irish Confederation. This group governed the areas controlled by the rebels from 1642 to 1649, acting in the King's name. The Proclamation made many Catholics believe they could join the rebellion legally, with the King's blessing. This made Protestants feel worried and discouraged.
Another Proclamation and the Commission
Sir Phelim made a second, stronger proclamation "from our camp at Newry" on November 4, 1641. He was with Rory Maguire at this time. It said:
- To all Catholics, both English and Irish, in Ireland, we wish you happiness, freedom to believe what you want, and victory over the English Protestants. These Protestants have treated our bodies badly and unfairly taken our lands for a long time. We want all our friends and countrymen to know that the King, for many important reasons, trusts us. He has told us, with his commission under the great seal of Scotland, dated October 1, 1641, and also by letters signed by him on the same date, about the many serious insults the English Protestants, especially the English Parliament, have made against his royal power and his Catholic friends in England. We are sending you a copy of this commission to be shared quickly everywhere in Ireland, so you can be sure we have proper permission and authority.
He also shared the actual royal commission he claimed to have. This document was a bit different. It supposedly gave him power to arrest and take property from all of King Charles's English Protestant subjects in Ireland. However, it said he should not harm Irish and Scottish subjects.
Was the Commission Fake?
Until the late 1800s, most historians believed that the commission was real. Some even thought King Charles had secretly encouraged the Irish Catholics to start the uprising. But since then, for several reasons, it is now believed to be a fake. Historians think O'Neill and his friends made it up without the King knowing. They might have gotten a copy of the Great Seal of Scotland when they captured the town of Charlemont on October 23.
The historian David Stevenson points out that it would be strange for the commission to be sent to Sir Phelim O'Neill. If it were real, it would most likely have been given to more important Irish Royalists. These would include people like the Earl of Ormond or the main Catholic noble in Ulster, the Earl of Antrim. It is also unlikely that it would have been issued in Edinburgh, as Sir Phelim claimed. However, King Charles was in Edinburgh on October 1, dealing with Scottish political matters.
Whether it was fake or not, King Charles publicly declared all the Irish rebels to be traitors on January 1, 1642.
How it Affected England and Scotland
Many people in England and Scotland, especially the King's opponents, believed the commission was real. Even some of the King's own supporters thought it might be true. This seemed to fit with earlier rumors that Charles might bring an army from Ireland, made mostly of Ulster Catholics, to force his will on England and Scotland. Anger grew about the King's supposed links with the rebels. This was especially true as terrible stories of violence, like the Portadown Massacre, reached across the Irish Sea. The news of the Irish rebellion made tensions worse and helped push England towards Civil War in early 1642.
The Scottish authorities sent an army that quickly took back much of Ulster from the rebels. Once the English Civil War started in October 1642, King Charles's messengers began talking with the Irish rebels to get their support. This seemed to give his opponents more proof of his connections with the Catholic leaders in Ulster. Many of these later dealings were revealed when Charles's private letters were captured during the Battle of Naseby in 1645. They were then published in a book called King's Cabinet Opened.
When Phelim O'Neill was captured in 1653, after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, he was put on trial. The authorities offered to let him live if he would repeat his earlier claims that Charles had ordered the Catholics to rise in 1641. O'Neill refused to blame the King, who had been executed four years earlier. So, O'Neill himself was put to death. Still, the English Republicans continued to use O'Neill's earlier claims about the King's involvement to justify their decision to execute the King.
