Donnell O'Donnell

Sir Donal O'Donnell (Irish: Sir Domhnall Ó Domhnaill, died 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.[1]

Biography

Sir Donal O'Donnell was the eldest son of Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the ruler of Tyrconnell.[2] 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 jurisdiction 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)".[3] His father's primary domain concentrated on Kilmacrenan and Mongavlin, and his cousin Niall Garbh O'Donnell held sway in Lifford and eastwards of there.[4] 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".[5]

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.[6] 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 Mac Donald, daughter of James MacDonald, Lord of Dunyveg and Kintyre, (nicknamed'Iníon Dubh/Dark-haired Daughter by the Irish) a Scottish woman.[7]

Shortly after the Armada shipwreck of 1588, Sir Donal O'Donnell was knighted and appointed as Sheriff of Donegal by the Lord Deputy, Sir William FitzWilliam.[8] 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.[8] Donal also drew strength from his alliance with Sir Turlough Luineach O'Neill, whose daughter he had married.[9]

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.[8] 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 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."[10]

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.[11] 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".[12]

Family tree

Sir Hugh O'Donnell (Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; died 1600)[lower-roman 1]
- Married first: an unnamed Irish woman
  - Donnchadh (Scaite)
  - Donnell (Domhnall d.1590
    - Wife: daughter of Turlough O'Neill
      - Dómhnall Óg[lower-roman 2]
  - Ruadhri (died 1575)
  - Siobhán, or Joan (died 1591)[lower-roman 1]
    - Married: Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.[lower-roman 3]
      - Hugh (1585–1609)[lower-roman 3] He was known as the baron of Dungannon, died in Rome and was buried in San Pietro di Montorio.[lower-roman 4]
      - Henry O'Neill (1586?–1617×21)[lower-roman 3] He became a colonel of an Irish regiment in Archduke Albert's army.[lower-roman 4]
      - Margaret, who married Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret.[lower-roman 4]
  - daughter (fl. 1579)
  - Nuala (fl. 1592)[lower-roman 1]
    - Married Niall Garbh O'Donnel(1569–1626)
      - Grania
- Second marriage: Fionnghuala "Inghean Dubh" Ní Seamus MacDonnell (married Aodh in 1569)
  - Aodh Ruadh (1571–1602).[lower-roman 1]
  - Rudhraighe (died 1608).[lower-roman 1]
    - - Elizabeth[lower-roman 5]
        Husband: Luke Plunket later 1st Earl of Fingall survived Elizabeth and married twice more.
    - Wife: Brigid daughter of Earl of Kildare
      - Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell.[lower-roman 5][lower-roman 2]
        Married: Anna-Margaret, daughter of Maximilian de Hennin, Count de Bossut.[lower-roman 6]
      - Mary Stuart O'Donnell (1607–1649?).[lower-roman 5]
  - Maghnus alive 1608
  - Mairghead died 1662
  - Máire (died 1662)
    - Married: Tadhg Ó Ruairc, King of West Breifne (died 1605)
  - Cathbarr (dead by September 1608)
    - Wife: Rosa (c.1588–1660) the daughter of Sir John O'Doherty — married secondly Owen Roe O'Neill (c. 1585–1649) who she met in the Low Countries
      - Hugh O'Donnell (died 1625), became a captain in the Spanish Army, serving in Flanders in the regiment of his stepfather (Owen Roe O'Neill). He was killed during the Siege of Breda.[lower-roman 7]

Notes:

Burke 1866, p. 409.
If the Earldom of Tyrconnell had not been attained, then next in line as 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell would have been Dómhnall Óg son of Sir Donnell O'Donnell (an elder half brother of the 1st Earl)
Canny 2008
Dunlop 1895, p. 196
"Hugh Albert O'Donnell, born [to Rory and Brigid] about October 1606, was the only son of this marriage, Mary Stuart O'Donnell being born about a year later. Some authorities give an eldest child, Elizabeth, probably illegitimate, who became first wife of Luke Plunkett, first earl of Fingall" (Silke 2006).
Burke 1866, p. 410.
Casway 1984, pp. 27–28.

Sources:

Burke, Sir Bernard (1866), A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, Harrison, pp. 409–410
Canny, Nicholas (January 2008) [2004], "O'Neill, Hugh , second earl of Tyrone (c.1550–1616)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20775 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Casway, Jerrold (1984), Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland, University of Pennsylvania Press
Dunlop, Robert (1895), "O'Neill, Hugh (1540?-1616)" , Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 42, pp. 188–196
Silke, John J. (May 2006) [2004]. "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

- O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740
- Lennon, Colm (1994), Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest, Volume 2 in the New Gill History of Ireland, Dublin: Gill & MacMIllan Ltd, ISBN 0717116239
- 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
O'Donnell 2018, p. 576.
Four Masters 1998, p. 1875 (Volume VI).
Four Masters 1998, p. 1891 (Volume VI).
Morgan 1999, p. 124.
Morgan 1999, p. 130.
Morgan 1999, p. 107.
The Annals of the Four Masters, 1590
O'Donnell 2018, p. 580-581.
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

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[Burke_1866,_p._409-13] Burke 1866, p. 409.

[3rd_Earl_of_Tyrconnell-14] If the Earldom of Tyrconnell had not been attained, then next in line as 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell would have been Dómhnall Óg son of Sir Donnell O'Donnell (an elder half brother of the 1st Earl)

[Canny,_2008-15] Canny 2008

[Dunlop,_1895-16] Dunlop 1895, p. 196

[Silke_2003-17] "Hugh Albert O'Donnell, born [to Rory and Brigid] about October 1606, was the only son of this marriage, Mary Stuart O'Donnell being born about a year later. Some authorities give an eldest child, Elizabeth, probably illegitimate, who became first wife of Luke Plunkett, first earl of Fingall" (Silke 2006).

[18] Burke 1866, p. 410.

[19] Casway 1984, pp. 27–28.

[1] O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740

[9] O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740

[2] Lennon, Colm (1994), Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest, Volume 2 in the New Gill History of Ireland, Dublin: Gill & MacMIllan Ltd, ISBN 0717116239

[11] Lennon, Colm (1994), Sixteenth Century Ireland – The Incomplete Conquest, Volume 2 in the New Gill History of Ireland, Dublin: Gill & MacMIllan Ltd, ISBN 0717116239

[3] 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

[13] 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

[FOOTNOTEO'Donnell2018576-4] O'Donnell 2018, p. 576.

[FOOTNOTEFour_Masters19981875_(Volume_VI)-5] Four Masters 1998, p. 1875 (Volume VI).

[FOOTNOTEFour_Masters19981891_(Volume_VI)-6] Four Masters 1998, p. 1891 (Volume VI).

[FOOTNOTEMorgan1999124-7] Morgan 1999, p. 124.

[FOOTNOTEMorgan1999130-8] Morgan 1999, p. 130.

[FOOTNOTEMorgan1999107-9] Morgan 1999, p. 107.

[10] The Annals of the Four Masters, 1590

[FOOTNOTEO'Donnell2018580-581-11] O'Donnell 2018, p. 580-581.

[FOOTNOTEO'Donnell2018575_(see_also_Dossier_239,_O'Donnell_Archives_of_Rupert_O_Cochlainn,_Lifford_Heritage_Centre,_County_Donegal)-12] O'Donnell 2018, p. 575 (see also Dossier 239, O'Donnell Archives of Rupert O Cochlainn, Lifford Heritage Centre, County Donegal).