List of participants in the Nine Years' War
This article is a list of the participants, both civilian and military, of the Nine Years' War in Ireland. The war was fought in the late 16th and early 17th century and was a conflict between a coalition of Irish lords and their Spanish allies against the English and their authorities in Ireland. Confederation of Irish Lords. Beginning with the alliance between Tyrone and Tyrconnell in 1593, most of the Irish kingdoms and lordships gradually assembled, either voluntarily or through coercion, into a loose confederation whose aim was to expunge English rule  in Ireland once and for all. Although the motives of Hugh O'Neill, the symbolic leader of the Irish during the conflict, are still debated, a return to the Gaelic order and the disbandment of English institutions in Ireland was a paramount objective for not only O'Neill, but his allies as well. England and Kingdom of Ireland. The war presented the first major threat to English authority in Ireland since the beginning of the Tudor conquest. The dominant forces in Elizabeth's court at the time were the opposing factions of Essex and Cecil. While both men were anti-Catholic and  desired the full subjugation of Ireland, their approaches to the war differed, with Essex demanding more aggressive action against the native Irish lordships, and Cecil preferring a steadier approach. The war ended shortly after Elizabeth's death in March 1603. Lord Mountjoy was largely responsible for ending the war in the crucial years from 1600 to 1603. He ultimately became the dominant English voice in Ireland until his departure in 1604. The generous terms offered by Mountjoy to the Irish in the Treaty of Mellifont were quickly undone by his successor, Sir Arthur Chichester. Spain. Irish nobles and Catholic officials  had long been in contact with the Spanish monarch about the possibility of a Spanish intervention in Ireland. For their part, the war in Ireland was just one theatre in the larger Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and was seen as an effective way of squeezing English money, resources and manpower which would otherwise be directed at Spanish possessions in the Netherlands. O'Neill and a number of other Irish lords pledged their allegiance to Philip II, proclaiming him King of Ireland. They framed the war as a defence of Catholicism against the English heretics to curry favour with the devout monarch . This was a calculated and deliberate tactic on the part of the Irish, with Essex once quipping to O'Neill ""thou carest for religion as much as my horse"". Actual Spanish commitment to Ireland and the Irish cause has been the subject of much debate amongst historians, especially given the lacklustre performance by the Spanish soldiers upon landing. While aid and financial support had been relatively forthcoming during the war years, the decisive defeat at Kinsale coupled with Spain's two failed armadas in 1596 and 1597 made it highly unlikely that they would attempt further landings in Ireland. List of