[citation needed] Cahir was knighted by Lord Mountjoy,[1] and for a time he seemed prepared to work amicably with the English authorities: he found a strong supporter in Sir Henry Docwra, the first Governor of Derry.

[4] After the Flight of the Earls and angered by the eviction of his clansmen during the subsequent Plantation of Ulster, in 1608 Sir Cahir sacked and burned the town of Derry.

Paulet has been accused of goading O'Doherty into taking up arms by a calculated series of insults under the code of conduct of an Irish clan chief.

O'Doherty's precise motives for the rebellion are unclear, and its timing is also something of a puzzle, especially as the Privy Council of Ireland had just ordered that the Clan's confiscated and planted lands be restored to him.

The passage of time has now dimmed his memory and the English-speaking native community has developed a distorted view of this great son of Inis Eoghain.

It is indeed a paradox that the planters' view of the 'villain' who sacked Culmore and burned Derry has been passed on to the descendants of those whom Cathaoir Rua strove to defend and protect.

O'Dogherty received a traditional white wand of office and a sword which Cahir O'Doherty bore at the time of his death in battle at Kilmacrenan in 1608.