Sir Arthur Chichester 1563-1624

Sir Arthur Chichester

Black and white sketch of Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland at the time of the Flight of the Earls in 1607. Sir Arthur is wearing the typical Elizabethan military dress of the seventeenth century.

C J Fallon, Ltd, Dublin

Sir Arthur Chichester
C J Fallon, Ltd, Dublin

Sir Arthur Chichester

Black and white sketch of Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland at the time of the Flight of the Earls in 1607. Sir Arthur is wearing the typical Elizabethan military dress of the seventeenth century.

C J Fallon, Ltd, Dublin

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Arthur Chichester was a career soldier involved in many successful adventures in the New World and Spain before arriving in Ireland with the Earl of Essex in 1599.

His brother had been Governor of Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, and Chichester reputedly came to Ireland to avenge his death at the hands of Irish rebels.

Chichester was appointed Lord Deputy in 1605. He was unhappy with the terms O'Neill and O'Donnell received under the treaty of Mellifont (1603), and felt cheated by their return to their estates.

He began a campaign of harassment against O'Neill, shadowing his every move and questioning his right to the title Earl of Tyrone. After the Flight of the Earls, Chichester drew up the plan of plantation. He himself was awarded a generous plot of land around Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and an estate in Inishowen, Co Donegal.

Information from the Flight of the Earls study pack produced by Donegal County Archives to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the event, September 2007.