flight of earls

noun

the departure into exile of the Irish chieftain Hugh O'Neill and his followers in 1607.

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Meanings

noun
  1. Irelandhistoricalthe departure into exile of the Irish chieftain Hugh O'Neill and his followers in 1607.
  2. Irelandpoeticthe mass emigration of the younger population in the 1970s and 1980s due to unemployment.

    So farewell you boys and girls, another bloody flight of Earls, Our best asset is now our best export too.

    1987, Liam Rielly, Song: Flight of Earls
    1 more example

    The 'flight of earls' theme with its various threnody on the decay of rural Irish life in song, ballad, play and fiction was everywhere […]

    1994, Brendan Kennelly, Dark fathers into light, page 40
Cite this entry
APA

flight of earls. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flight%20of%20earls

MLA

“flight of earls.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flight%20of%20earls. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flight of earls,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flight%20of%20earls.

Source: flight of earls on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.