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Sir Hugh O'Donnell

Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell (Irish: Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; c. 1520 – 1600)[1] was an Irish Gaelic lord. He was The O'Donnell of his clan, and king of Tyrconnell in Tudor-era Ireland.

Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell
Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill
King of Tyrconnell
Reign1566–1592
PredecessorCalvagh O'Donnell
HeirHugh Roe O'Donnell
Bornc. 1520
Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
Died1600 (aged 79-80)
Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
SpouseIníon Dubh
IssueNumerous, including Donal, Siobhán, Hugh Roe, Rory, Nuala and Cathbarr
HouseUí Dhomhnaill
FatherManus O'Donnell
MotherJudith O'Neill

A "wary politician",[2] O'Donnell's lordship was marked by political indecision. He attempted to appease both pro- and anti-English factions in Tyrconnell, and alternated between varying alliances. His clan ultimately united with long-time enemies the O'Neills against the English, which led to the Nine Years' War (1592–1603).

O'Donnell's health had heavily declined by the 1580s. His second wife, Scotswoman Iníon Dubh, organised his abdication in 1592, in favour of their eldest son Red Hugh O'Donnell.[3]

Family background

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Hugh McManus O'Donnell was born circa 1520. His parents were Manus O'Donnell, King of Tyrconnell, and Judith O'Neill (Irish: Siobhán Ó Néill), daughter of Conn O'Neill.[1][4]

Early career

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During 1542, he is recorded campaigning for Manus against the lords of north Connacht.[1]

Historian Francis Martin O'Donnell has named Sir Hugh's first wife as "Nuala, a daughter of O’Neill".[5] Their children include Donal and Siobhán O'Donnell.[6]

According to historian Robert Dunlop, "for a long time past there had existed two parties in Tyrconnell" – those who supported an alliance with the English, and those who preferred to side with the O'Neills.[2] The O'Neill clan were hereditary rivals to the O'Donnells.[7][8][4]

Around 1557, O'Donnell feuded with his half-brother Calvagh for control of Tyrconnell's lordship. He allied himself with the O’Neill family against Calvagh.[4]

Reign

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O'Donnell succeeded to the lordship upon Calvagh's death in 1566.[9][2] Later that year, O'Donnell's claim to the lordship was disputed by Calvagh's illegitimate son Hugh O'Gallagher.[2]

O'Donnell's succession to the lordship of Tyrconnell was a triumph for the pro-O'Neill faction. However, O'Donnell attempted to appease both factions by avoiding overt political declarations. This greatly diminished the confidence his own party had in him as leader, and his indecision also failed to satisfy the English government.[2] According to historian Emmett O'Byrne, O'Donnell was "always too weak politically and militarily to deal with the combined challenges of the power of the O'Neills in Ulster, the extension of English control into north Connacht, and the strength of his rivals in Tyrconnell".[1]

O'Donnell later did an about-face and allied with the English to crush the O’Neills.[4] In 1567, he defeated clan chief Shane O’Neill at Letterkenny. Shane lost 1,300 men, and was compelled to seek refuge with the MacDonnells of Antrim, who assassinated him.[10][9][4]

O'Donnell's second wife was Scottish aristocrat Iníon Dubh of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg - they married sometime between 1567 and 1569.[11][6] At the time, marriage into the MacDonald family was particularly coveted due to their military might.[12][6] It was ultimately the influence of Iníon Dubh that pushed the O'Donnell clan further into opposition with the English – though publicly Sir O'Donnell maintained his loyalty to the Crown.[2]

In June 1574, powerful O'Neill clansman Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, married O'Donnell's daughter Siobhán.[13] In 1587, O'Donnell's son (and tanist) Hugh Roe O'Donnell was betrothed to Tyrone's daughter Rose O'Neill.[14][15] These dynastic marriages would further cement a growing alliance between two Irish clans who had traditionally been mortal enemies for centuries.[7] The Description of Ireland (1598) makes reference to this alliance: "This controversie was taken away by a double marriage, Tyrone having married [Hugh Roe]'s sister, by whom he hath diverse sons, and [Hugh Roe] having married his daughter..."[8]

In the 1580s, a violent succession dispute broke out amongst the O'Donnell family over who would succeed him.[1] With the help of her Scottish kinsmen, Iníon Dubh had O'Gallagher killed in May 1588, and Donal O'Donnell killed in September 1590.[6]

Sir Hugh O'Donnell abdicated in favour of Hugh Roe in 1592.[16][1][4] Hugh Roe was inaugurated as The O'Donnell on 3 May 1592.[1]

Death

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Sir Hugh O'Donnell lived in retirement until his death from old age in 1600, by which time Tyrone's Rebellion was in full flight.[1]

Family tree

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h O'Byrne, Emmett (October 2009). "O'Donnell (Ó Domhnaill), Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006332.v1.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Dunlop, Robert (1894). "O'Donnell, Hugh Roe" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 40. pp. 436–440.
  3. ^ Morgan, Hiram (October 2009). "O'Donnell, 'Red' Hugh (Ó Domhnaill, Aodh Ruadh)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006343.v1.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hugh O’Donnell". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Mar. 2024, Accessed 1 July 2024.
  5. ^ O'Donnell, Francis Martin (15 November 2018). "The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy (Maunsel Irish Research Series)". Academica Press. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d O'Byrne, Emmett (October 2009). "MacDonnell (Nic Dhomhnaill), Fiona (Fionnghuala) ('Iníon Dubh')". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006337.v1.
  7. ^ a b Morgan 1993, p. 124.
  8. ^ a b Walsh 1930, p. 37.
  9. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: McNeill, Ronald John (1911). "O'Donnell s.v. Calvagh O'Donnell". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 7.
  10. ^ Brady. "O'Neill, Shane (Seaán)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ Walsh 1930, p. 17.
  12. ^ Hill, J. Michael (1993). "The Rift within Clan Ian Mor: The Antrim and Dunyveg MacDonnells, 1590- 1603". The Sixteenth Century Journal. 24 (4). The University of Chicago Press: 865–879. doi:10.2307/2541605. JSTOR 2541605.
  13. ^ Casway 2016, p. 71.
  14. ^ Walsh 1930, p. 36.
  15. ^ Morgan, Hiram (October 2009). "O'Donnell, 'Red' Hugh (Ó Domhnaill, Aodh Ruadh)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006343.v1. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  16. ^ Burke 1866, p. 409.

Sources

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