Donnell O'Donnell

Sir Donal Dubh O'Donnell[1] (Irish: Sir Domhnall Ó Domhnaill, died 14 September 1590) was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell in modern-day County Donegal. He was the eldest son of Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell, the Lord of Tyrconnell for much of the reign of Elizabeth I.[2]

Biography

Sir Donal O'Donnell was the eldest son of Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the ruler of Tyrconnell.[3] Sir Donal was the leading contender in the O'Donnell succession dispute of the 1580s which took place while his father was still alive. His personal authority, with duties similar to a Tacksman to a Scottish clan chief, covered "that part of Tirconnell from the mountain westwards, i.e. from Barnesmore to the river Drowes (i.e. Tirhugh), and also all the inhabitants of Boylagh and Tir Boghaine (i.e. Bannagh)".[4] His father's primary domain concentrated on Kilmacrenan and Mongavlin, and his cousin Niall Garbh O'Donnell, with similar duties, held sway over the Clan's traditional stronghold of Lifford and eastwards of there.[5] The Four Masters described him as "a mighty champion and great in battle, and it was never heard that at any time he had turned his back on his enemies" and O'Donovan says he was known "to lead his father's forces".[6]

Amongst the other leading contenders were his younger half-brother Hugh Roe O'Donnell and his great-uncle Hugh Dubh O'Donnell. Donal received the allegiance of O'Boyle and MacSweeney Banagh, as well as of the English Crown, who felt he had a stronger claim to the Lordship, by primogeniture.[7] The Dublin government felt that Donal could command more support locally than his brother as Donal's mother was an Ulster woman while Hugh Roe was the son of Finola MacDonald, daughter of James MacDonald, Scottish clan chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Kintyre.[8]

Shortly after the Armada shipwreck of 1588, Sir Donal O'Donnell was knighted and appointed as High Sheriff of Donegal by the Lord Deputy, Sir William FitzWilliam.[9] FitzWilliam also had Sir Eoin O'Gallagher, an influential supporter of Hugh Roe, arrested and imprisoned. In 1589 a force of Irish Army troops were sent into the area under Captain John Connill who assisted Sir Donal against his rivals.

Sir Donal grew stronger in the late 1580s, and took control over much of western Tyrconnell. He was also powerful enough to back his own candidate in the succession dispute in neighbouring Fermanagh, where he established Hugh Maguire as Chief of the Name ahead of his rival Connor Roe Maguire.[9] Donal also drew strength from his alliance with Sir Turlough Luineach O'Neill, whose daughter he had married.[10]

Shortly after the Armada shipwreck of 1588, Sir Donal O'Donnell was knighted and appointed as Sheriff of County Donegal by the Lord Deputy, Sir William FitzWilliam.[9] Faced with the attempted overthrow of her husband, Sir Hugh O'Donnell, and the eclipse with English backing of her son's claim to the succession, Iníon Dubh hired large numbers of Redshank mercenaries and raised those among Donegal's Irish clans which were still loyal to her husband to confront her son's rival. Sir Donal was defeated and killed in action at the Battle of Doire Leathan, near Glencolmcille, on 14 September 1590.

According to the Annals of the Four Masters, "Seldom before that time had his enemies triumphed over him; and the party by whom he was slain had not been by any means his enemies until they encountered on this occasion; and although this Donnell was not the rightful heir of his father, it would have been no disgrace to Tirconnell to have elected him as its chief, had he been permitted to attain to that dignity. In this conflict were slain along with Donnell the three sons of Owen, son of Mulmurry, son of Donough above mentioned, together with two hundred others, around Donnell."[11]

Legacy

After successfully escaping from Dublin Castle two years later, Hugh Roe successfully had himself made The O'Donnell.

Sir Donal O'Donnell was survived by his only son, Donal Óg O'Donnell.[12] In a Spanish genealogy of the O'Donnell Dukes of Tetuan, Sir Donal O'Donnell features as a collateral ancestor with the annotation "en 1589 su padre le concedio el titulo de marques - en 1587 se adhirio al pacto de su padre para librar a su hermano (Red) Hugh".[13]

Family tree

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O'Donnell family tree

Issue of Hugh McManus O'Donnell (Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; c. 1520 - 1600)[i]

First marriage: (Unknown woman)

  • Duncan "Scaite" O'Donnell (Donnchadh Ó Domhnaill)[ii]
  • Rory O'Donnell (Ruaidhri Ó Domhnaill)
    • Died 1575

Second marriage, c. 1569: Fiona MacDonald (Fionnghuala Nic Dhomhnaill, also known as Iníon Dubh; fl. 1567–1611), daughter of James MacDonald, 6th of Dunnyveg and Agnes Campbell.[xxiii][viii]

  • Manus O'Donnell (Maghnus Ó Domhnaill)
  • Margaret O'Donnell (Mairghead Ní Domhnaill)
    • fl. 1608, possibly died 1662
  • Gráinne O'Donnell (Gráinne Ní Domhnaill)[liii]

Notes

  1. ^ There is debate on the identity of her mother. Concannon believes Siobhán was born c. 1569, and that her mother was Iníon Dubh,[vi] who married Sir Hugh around that time. However, Siobhán married Hugh O'Neill in 1574, making that date of birth unlikely. Casway and Walsh believe Siobhán's mother was Sir Hugh's first wife.[vii][viii]
  2. ^ In a letter dated 31 January 1591, O'Neill references Siobhán's recent death.[viii]
  3. ^ Her death date has alternately been given as 1639, 26 April 1640, or sometime after 31 March 1642.[viii]
  4. ^ Walsh believes her birth date was c. 1588.[viii]
  5. ^ Sources disagree on Henry's date of death: 1610,[vii] c. 1620,[xxii] or c. 1626.[xi] It is clear that he died sometime before the publication of Philip O'Sullevan's Historia Catholica in 1621.[viii]
  6. ^ Some modern news sources have given his birthdate as 30 October 1572.

References

  1. ^ O'Byrne, Emmett (October 2009). "O'Donnell (Ó Domhnaill), Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006332.v1.
  2. ^ The historicity of this person is disputed; Ó Domhnaill, Niall; Na Glúnta Rosannacha (1952), page 87
  3. ^ Annals of the Four Masters: "1590: ...the son of O'Donnell himself, who, being unable to display prowess or defend himself, was slain at Doire-leathan, on one side of the harbour of Telinn, on the 14th of September."
  4. ^ Morgan, Hiram (1993). Tyrone's Rebellion : the outbreak of the Nine Years War in Tudor Ireland. Internet Archive. [London] : Royal Historical Society ; Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK ; Rochester, NY, USA : Boydell Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-86193-224-5.
  5. ^ Hegarty, Roddy. Imeacht Na nIarlí: The Flight of the Earls: 1607 - 2007 (PDF). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b Concannon, p. 218-219 "Siobhan was probably the eldest of the family, and must have been born not later than 1569." "We know little of Siobhan, who can hardly have been more than one-and- twenty, when she died in 1590."
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Casway 2016
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Walsh, Paul (1930). Walsh, Paul (ed.). THE WILL AND FAMILY OF HUGH O NEILL, EARL OF TYRONE [WITH AN APPENDIX OF GENEALOGIES] (PDF). Dublin: Sign of the Three Candles.
  9. ^ a b Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004, p. 511-512
  10. ^ O'Byrne, Emmett; Clarke, Aidan; Barry, Judy (October 2009). "Bagenal (O'Neill), Mabel". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006953.v1. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e Lee 1895, p. 196
  12. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004, p. 839
  13. ^ Morgan, Hiram (September 2014). "O'Neill, Hugh". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006962.v1. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  14. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.
  15. ^ a b Hill 1873. "Sir Randal Macdonnell was married about the year 1604 to Ellis or Alice O'Neill, the third daughter of Hugh earl of Tyrone. This lady, who was born in 1583, was in her twenty-first year at the time of her marriage, and was younger than either of her sisters, lady Macmahon or Lady Maginnis. She was older than her brother Hugh, the baron of Dungannon."
  16. ^ Cokayne 1910. "[The 1st Earl of Antrim] m., 1604, Alice, da. of Hugh (O'Neill), Earl of Tyrone [I], by his 2nd wife, Joanna, da. of Hugh McManus O'Donnell."
  17. ^ Ohlmeyer, Jane H (2001) [1993]. Civil War and Restoration in the Three Stuart Kingdoms: The Career of Randal MacDonnell, Marquis of Antrim. Dublin: Four Courts Press. p. 359. ISBN 978-0521419789.
  18. ^ Cokayne 1910. "[The 1st Earl of Antrim] m., 1604, Alice, da. of Hugh (O'Neill), Earl of Tyrone [I], by his 2nd wife, Joanna, da. of Hugh McManus O'Donnell."
  19. ^ Ohlmeyer, Jane H (2001) [1993]. Civil War and Restoration in the Three Stuart Kingdoms: The Career of Randal MacDonnell, Marquis of Antrim. Dublin: Four Courts Press. p. 359. ISBN 978-0521419789.
  20. ^ Concannon, p. 218 "The inscription on the tomb in San Pietro in Montorio shows that her eldest child, Hugh, was born in 1585."
  21. ^ Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1867, p. 459: "..he died unmarried on the 23rd of September, 1609, aged twenty-four... and was buried in the church of St. Peter's in Montorio..."
  22. ^ a b Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1867, p. 459
  23. ^ O'Byrne, Emmett (2009). "MacDonnell (Nic Dhomhnaill), Fiona (Fionnghuala) ('Iníon Dubh')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006337.v1.
  24. ^ a b c Morgan, Hiram (October 2009). "O'Donnell, 'Red' Hugh (Ó Domhnaill, Aodh Ruadh)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006343.v1.
  25. ^ a b Concannon, p. 218
  26. ^ Donegal County Archives. The Flight of the Earls: Document Study Pack.
  27. ^ Annals of the Four Masters: "1602:...O'Donnell should take the disease of his death and the sickness of his dissolution; and, after lying seventeen days on the bed, he died, on the 10th of September, in the house which the King of Spain himself had at that town (Simancas)...""
  28. ^ a b c Bagwell 1895
  29. ^ a b c O'Byrne, Emmett (October 2009). "O'Donnell (Ó Domhnall), Ruaidhrí". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006701.v1. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b c Webb, Alfred (1878). "Rury O'Donnell". A Compendium of Irish Biography.
  31. ^ a b Silke 2006 "Hugh Albert O'Donnell, born [to Rory and Bridget] about October 1606, was the only son of this marriage, Mary Stuart O'Donnell being born about a year later."
  32. ^ Bagwell 1895 "About ninety persons sailed with the earls, among whom were Tyrconnel's son Hugh, aged eleven months..."
  33. ^ Ulwencreutz, Lars (2013), Ulwencreutz's The Royal Families in Europe V, Lulu.com, p. 136, ISBN 978-1-304-58135-8 "Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell (1606-1642) Prince and Lord of Tryconnell".
  34. ^ "O'Donnell, Lady Mary Stuart (b. 1607?, d. in or after 1639), noblewoman". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20557. Retrieved 24 April 2024. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  35. ^ Casway 2009. Casway gives her birthdate as c. 1575
  36. ^ Concannon, p. 218 "O'Clery tells us that Nuala was already married to Niall Garbh in 1592. This will place her birth-year with some degree of probability about 1577 — not later."
  37. ^ Casway, Jerrold (July 2007). "Women in Flight". History Ireland. 15 (4). Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  38. ^ a b c Casway 2009
  39. ^ O'Sullivan Beare 2008. Philip O'Sullivan Beare notes that Manus's death (October 1600) occurred shortly after Nuala and Niall separated.
  40. ^ a b Dunlop, Robert. "O'Donnell, Niall Garv". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. 41.
  41. ^ Hill, George. Historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim. p. 221. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  42. ^ Annals of the Four Masters: "1608: Niall Garv O'Donnell, with his brothers Hugh Boy and Donnell, and his son, Naghtan, were taken prisoners about the festival of St. John in this year."
  43. ^ McGurk, John (August 2007). "The Flight of the Earls: escape or strategic regrouping?". History Ireland. 15 (4).
  44. ^ According to the English officials who wrote the Calendar of State Papers, Hugh Roe personally killed Niall Garve's four-year-old son (also his own nephew)
  45. ^ "O'Donnell". 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 20. 1911.
  46. ^ Concannon, p. 218 "Manus may have been born about 1579 or 1580. He was old enough to play a man's part in the battle in which he met his death at the hands of Niall Garbh (A.D. 1600)" Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh names the sons in the order of their birth: Hugh Roe, Ruairi, Manus and Cathbar.
  47. ^ Concannon, p. 232
  48. ^ a b c Clavin, Terry (October 2009). "O'Cahan, Sir Donnell Ballach". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006536.v1. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  49. ^ Pollard, Albert Frederick. "O'Cahan, Donnell Ballagh". Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900. 41.
  50. ^ a b Gallogy, Dan (1963). "Brian Oge O'Rourke and the Nine Years War". Breifne Journal. 2: 194–195.
  51. ^ a b c d e Darren, McGettigan (October 2009). "O'Donnell, Caffar". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.002288.v1.
  52. ^ Annals of the Four Masters: "[Flight of the Earls, September] 1607: ...Rose, the daughter of O'Doherty, and wife of Caffar, with her son, Hugh, aged two years and three months..."
  53. ^ O'Donnell, Eunan; Reflection on the Flight of the Earls; Donegal Annual, Bliainiris Dhún na nGall, Journal of the County Donegal Historical Society, No. 58 (2006); pp. 31-44. Gráinne is known only as a sister of the Earl (i.e., Rory), with no additional information.

Bibliography

  • Bagwell, Richard (1895). "O'Donnell, Rory" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. pp. 444–447.
  • Casway, Jerrold (2009). "O'Donnell, Nuala". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006696.v1. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  • Casway, Jerrold (2016). "Catherine Magennis and the Wives of Hugh O'Neill". Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society. 26 (1): 69–79. JSTOR 48568219.
  • Cokayne, George Edward (1910). The Hon. Vicary Gibbs (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom : extant, extinct, or dormant. The St. Catherine Press Ltd. p. 174.
  • Concannon, Helena (1920). "'The Woman of the Piercing Wail' (The Lady Nuala O'Donnell)". The Irish ecclesiastical record. 16. Dublin: John F. Fowler.
  • Dunlop, Robert (1895). "O'Neill, Hugh, third Baron of Dungannon and second Earl of Tyrone 1540?–1616". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLII. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 188–196. OCLC 8544105.
  • Hill, George (1873). An historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim: including notices of some other septs Irish and Scotch. Belfast: Archer & Sons. p. 222.
  • Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, Brian, eds. (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: in association with the British Academy: from the earliest times to the year 2000. Vol. 41. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861411-1.
  • O'Sullivan Beare, Philip (2008). Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth. Translated by Byrne, Matthew J. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
  • Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1867). "PROCEEDINGS AND PAPERS". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 5: 459.
  • Silke, John J. (May 2006). "O'Donnell, Rury , styled first earl of Tyrconnell (1574/5–1608)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20559. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)


Notes

  1. ^ Boyle, Michelle (20 December 2007). "Iníon Dubh - Forgotten heroine". An Phoblacht.
  2. ^ *O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740
  3. ^ *Lennon, Colm (1994), Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest, Volume 2 in the New Gill History of Ireland, Dublin: Gill & MacMIllan Ltd, ISBN 0717116239
  4. ^ *Annals of the Four Masters (1998), Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annala Ríoghachta Éireann) from the earliest period to the year 1616 (compiled during the period 1632-1636 by Brother Michael O'Clery et al., and translated and edited by John O'Donovan in 1856, Dublin: De Burca, ISBN 0946130-06-X
  5. ^ O'Donnell 2018, p. 576.
  6. ^ Four Masters 1998, p. 1875 (Volume VI).
  7. ^ Four Masters 1998, p. 1891 (Volume VI).
  8. ^ Morgan 1999, p. 124.
  9. ^ a b c Morgan 1999, p. 130.
  10. ^ Morgan 1999, p. 107.
  11. ^ The Annals of the Four Masters, 1590
  12. ^ O'Donnell 2018, p. 580-581.
  13. ^ O'Donnell 2018, p. 575 (see also Dossier 239, O'Donnell Archives of Rupert O Cochlainn, Lifford Heritage Centre, County Donegal).

References

  • Four Masters (1998), Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annala Ríoghachta Éireann) from the earliest period to the year 1616 (compiled during the period 1632-1636 by Brother Michael O'Clery et al., and translated and edited by John O'Donovan in 1856, Dublin: De Burca, ISBN 0946130-06-X
  • Lennon, Colm (1994), Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest, Volume 2 in the New Gill History of Ireland, Dublin: Gill & MacMIllan Ltd, ISBN 0717116239
  • Morgan, Hiram (1999), Tyrone's Rebellion, Boydell Press
  • O'Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740