Was Elizabeth I the worst monarch of Ireland?
While Elizabeth is seen as one of the best monarchs of England and as having ruled during a golden age, in Ireland things are very different. Elizabethan Ireland was a time of cruelty, conflict, war, and atrocity.
Elizabeth’s rule in Ireland caused many conflicts and rebellions. This were put down with great savagery, which in turn generated reactions. The native elites, both Gaelic and Old English, were excluded from state offices. The Gaelic Irish were seen as savages and barbarians who needed to be civilised. By the 1590s many Elizabethans believed that this civilising had to be done by the sword. Add to this endemic corruption, faction fighting, Elizabeth’s toleration of the empire building of her minor officials, and incompetence… The result was the Nine Years War, the greatest threat Elizabeth faced and which she almost lost.
Credit to : Foras Feasa: Exploring Irish History