in law came down to the recovery of lands by Florence from an English mortgagee (William Brown), who had possessed them on account of a debt owed to him by the earl. In June 1598, Mac Carthaig travelled to England to pursue the matter. However, the situation was transformed by the arrival in Munster of the Ulster forces of Hugh O'Neill, who was leading a nationwide rebellion – the Nine Years' War – against the English government in Ireland. In the autumn, Donal Mac Carthaig (the late Earl's illegitimate son) was reported to have acknowledged the authority of the rebel O'Neill and assumed the title of Mac Carthaig Mór, but the O'Sullivan Mór withheld the White Wand or rod of inauguration (which symbolically approved the accession) in favour of Fínghin mac Donncha Mac Carthaig. In a desperate situation, when it seemed that all the native lords in Munster were going into rebellion, the crown granted Mac Carthaig a free pardon, on terms that he immediately withdraw his followers from rebellion in return for qualified acknowledgement of his title against Donal Mac Carthaig, but he prevaricated and only returned to Munster after Sir Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex – whose favour he had been relying upon – threw up his command as lord lieutenant in Ireland in late 1599 and returned to England under a cloud. Mac Carthaig had managed to negotiate English support for his claims to land and title, but he also maintained contact with the rebels to the same end. This has made some commentators claim that his real sympathy lay with the rebels, especially as he was described in his youth as being "very zealous in the old religion [Catholicism]". However, it is more likely Fínghin mac Donncha was using both sides as a lever to further his own aims. War in Munster During the Nine Years' War in Munster, Mac Carthaig failed to engage with the English military campaign and secretly negotiated with the rebels under Hugh O'Neill and the Spanish. O'Neill's strategy was to back those local Irish lords who had a grievance against English authority and were in command of sufficient land and followers to contribute to his war effort. In 1599, Mac Carthaig visited Fitzthomas, the rebel "Súgan" Earl of Desmond, in Carbery, where he claimed to have spoken in the queen's favour; it is more likely that Mac Carthaig promised his