With apologies for the Star Wars-esque title (is there a conventional term for the alliance led by Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Donnell?), this has been on my mind since I read an excellent answer about the role of the Laudabiliter and the complexity of subsequent interactions between the Papacy and the English monarchy regarding the status of Ireland. I imagine at first in the initial outbreak it was mostly a desire to maintain their traditional autonomy? There is often a narrative which seeks to hold them up as Proto-Irish Nationalist heroes, is this entirely anachronistic romantic notions? Was there any discussion of awarding the crown to Philip of Spain? Or even of reviving the institution of the High Kings and crowning Hugh O'Neill?
Great question! Oh and the usual term for the “rebel alliance” is the same as during the 1641 rebellion - “confederates”.
The TL:DR version is that the war goals of the confederates were, in the first place, to halt the encroachment of English government and secure their traditional autonomy. This remained consistent throughout the war, but when the offer of Spanish help materialised this emboldened the rebels to push for a more extensive victory which could provide more permanent guarantees and which would see them replace their heretical Protestant monarch with a Catholic one. There was something of a proto-nationalist component which developed in the latter stages of the war - which Hiram Morgan has termed "faith and fatherland" ideology - but the Old English did not join with the Gaelic rebels in the way that the next generation would in the 1640s.
Of course, it isn’t known as “Tyrone’s Rebellion” for no reason either. He was the axis around which things moved. Yet Hugh O’Neill’s early career certainly doesn’t give the impression that he was an incorrigible opponent of all things English, or that open confrontation with the English Crown was in any sense inevitable. Once rebellion had broken out this proved to be the death knell for the reformist policies which had hoped to transform the warrior lords of Gaelic Ireland into English gentry. But it is equally true that O’Neill was himself shaped by those policies. I’ll just sketch out some of Hugh O’Neill’s career before moving onto the war itself, as it is some very useful context, as well as simply being fascinating. Of course, you can always skip this section if you wish.
So, as usual, this might be a long one :) But feel free to ask for any clarifications if it's too rambling, or any further questions.