During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (1529-1603), the castle was rebuilt yet again then fortified in 1552 by the Lord Deputy of Ireland James Croft during the reign of Edward VI. Croft put this new incarnation of the castle under the command of Hugh Mac Neil Oge who was loyal to the English crown. Mac Neil Oge was killed by Scottish raiders in 1555 and Belfast Castle was given to Randolphus Lane. Until the late 16th century most of the land surrounding Belfast was still in the hands of the O'Neill clan led by Brian McPhelim O'Neill. In 1571 this land was granted to Sir Thomas Smith by Elizabeth I, but Smith failed to take control of the area, or to fulfill the requirements of his grant, and so the land reverted to the crown under James I. Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex pledged to Queen Elizabeth I that he would conquer parts of Ulster at this own expense. In 1573, he set out on his expedition from Liverpool only to have his convoy get caught in a storm off the coast of Ireland and disperse. Devereux was forced to spend the winter in Belfast. In October 1574, Devereux lured Sir Brian MacPhelim and his entourage (including his wife) under the pretense of negotiations and a feast in MacPhelim's honour at Belfast Castle. Essex then had MacPhelim's retainers killed and took MacPhelim, his wife and his brother into custody, sending them to Dublin where they would later be executed. In 1597, during the Nine Years War, the English garrison posted at Belfast Castle were captured and killed by Ulster rebels. The castle, village and surrounding area of Lagan valley were all devastated during the rebellion.