Meaning of flight of earls | Babel Free

Definitions

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

Examples

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

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

CEFR level