In October 1641 the Irish Rebellion erupted in Ireland. During the early stages of the eleven years of conflict much of the fighting occurred in the northern province of Ulster between Irish Catholic Confederates and Scottish forces. After ten months of fighting with few victories, the Confederation placed Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill, an Irish Catholic patriot and skilled military officer, in charge of their poorly trained Ulster Army hoping that he could reverse their fortunes. Ó Néill attempted to train and strengthen his army over the autumn and winter of 1642-1643 in war torn Ulster, but ultimately determined that he needed to temporarily move his fledgling force to a safer place until they were fully ready to fight.