Battle of Aura The Battle of Aura ( Battle of Slieve - na - Aura ) , was fought in the middle of the sixteenth century between the MacDonnells , led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell , against the McQuillan s and O ' Neill s , in which the MacQuillans and O ' Neills were defeated . Translated , Slieve - an - Aura means " Hill of Battle " – the modern spelling is Slieveanorra . The ' Traditional ' Account . Edward McQuillan mounted an attack against the camp of Sorley Boy near Bonamargy on 4 July 1559 , however his attack was repulsed with heavy losses , including his brother Roderick McQuillan , his second in charge . The MacQuillan ' s retreated and Sorley Boy pursued them to their camp on the banks of Glenshesk River which he attacked on 5 / 6 July and both forces suffered heavy losses , including MacQuillan ' s other brother Charles McQuillan . The McQuillan ' s retreated further and set up camp near Slieve - na - Aura . Hugh MacFelim O ' Neill , Prince of the O ' Neills of Clandeboy , arrived at the camp of the McQuillan ' s with reinforcements . During the night of 13 July 1559 , the MacDonnells cut and spread rushes over the boggy terrain , to make a path across the swampy land . In the morning , a party was sent to the camp of the O ' Neills . The O ' Neill chief then ordered his cavalry to pursue the MacDonnells who fled towards their own camp by way of their path . The pursuing cavalry were soon bogged down in the wet terrain and attempted a retreat , but were cut off by Sorley Boy , Hugh MacIlveal and his men . Hugh McFelim O ' Neill is said to have offered MacIlveal " " all the young horses , and all the fair damselss of Claneboy , " " as his ransom , in which MacIlveal replied , " " If all the horses in Ireland were Sorley Boys , I would rather go on foot , " " before killing Hugh McFelim O ' Neill . The chiefs of Clan MacAuley and Clan MacPhoil and their forces , who were to fight on the side of the McQuillans and O ' Neills , arrived during the middle of battle and became spectators . Sorley Boy MacDonnell then rode out to the chiefs of the MacAuleys and MacPhoils and persuaded them to join his ranks , to which they agreed . Their combined force then drove the McQuillans and the O ' Neills to the banks of the river Aura , where they were finally defeated . Edward McQuillan also fell during the battle . The dead were left all over Glenshesk . After the battle the MacDonnells withdrew to the mountain of Trostan , which overlooks Cushendale , and Sorley Boy MacDonnell was entertained by MacAuley , Lord of the Glens . A cairn was then erected to commemorate the place of festivities . Near the summit of the 1530 foot Slieve - na - Aura two cairns were said to have marked the burying place of O ' Neill and his men . The Historical Account . In April 1583 , taking advantage of Sorley ' s perceived weakness through the absence of a significant number of MacDonnell warriors , who had been hired by Turlough Luineach O ' Neill for a campaign in the west , the Mac Quillans made their last great attempt to decisevly defeat the MacDonnells and recover the Route . In alliance with Sir Hugh MacFelim ' Bacach ' O ' Niall of Edenduffcarrig ( Shane ' s Castle , Randlestown ) and accompanied by two companies of English shot ' sent from the pale ' and commanded by the newly appointed Senechel of Clandeboye , Captain Thomas Chatterton , the Mac Quillans launched a devastating raid on the northern glens ' to follow their revenge upon the Scots ' . Sorley assembled a small force which threatened the main camp of the raiders sited on a broad ridge near Slieve na Orra . The cavalry and heavy Galloglass infantry of the raiders were tricked into charging the small , apparently vulnerable , MacDonnell host across what they believed to be sound ground but which was in fact a deep bog , were they were incapacitated and decisively defeated by the lightly armed MacDonnell swordsmen and bowmen . Hugh Mac Felim and Chatterton fled , but were hunted down and killed near the summit of Orra while the third commander of the raid , Rory Oge MacQuillan , sought refuge on a crannog at Loughgile , ' but was pursued by one Owen Gar Magee , who swam to the island and slew him . ' Controversy over the dating of the battle . This action is called the battle of Slieve - an - aura in a number of accounts written since the nineteenth century and has been inaccurately dated to 1559 by a number of sources used by the ' traditional ' account given above , following a date popularised in Rev . George Hill ' s history , " The MacDonnells of Antrim " . The accurate date of the Battle of Orra has been preserved in the State Papers for Ireland , which , unfortunately , Hill failed to consult . A dispatch from the Lords Justice Ireland , to the Privy Council , dated 29 April 1583 , records Hugh McFelim ' s death on a raid , ' slain by the Scots ' . The primary source for many of the quotes given in the traditional account is the MacDuffee Manuscript , a history compiled by a man called McDuffee , circa 1714 .