(Redirected from Red Hugh O\'Donnell)'"Red" Hugh O'Donnell' ('Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill' in
Irish) (
1572-
10 September 1602) was Prince of Tyrconnell, who led a rebellion against English government in Ireland from 1593 and helped to lead the
Nine Years War, a revolt against English occupation, from 1595 to 1603.
Early Life, Imprisonment and Escape
''For the political context of O'Donnell's life see the
Tudor re-conquest of Ireland''
Hugh Roe was born to the King of Tir Connaill,
Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill, and his second wife, the Ineen Dubh, in 1572. At the age of 15 years he was kidnapped by Sir
John Perrot in an attempt to prevent an alliance between the
O'Donnell and
O'Neill clans, and imprisoned in
Dublin Castle in 1587. He escaped briefly in 1591 but was recaptured within days. He finally managed to escape in January 1592 with the assistance of his ally
Hugh O'Neill, who arranged for his escape from Dublin into the
Wicklow Mountains in the height of winter. He successfully reached the stronghold of
Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne (another of O'Neill's allies) at
Glenmalure, where he found refuge, but his companion and fellow escapee Art O'Neill died of exposure in the mountains. O'Donnell himself lost both his big toes due to
frostbite. Hugh O'Donnell and his two companions, the brothers Art and Shane O'Neill, are the only prisoners to ever successfully escape captivity in Dublin Castle.
The Nine Years War
Upon his return to
Ulster, he gained the leadership of the O'Donnell Clan (known as ''Clan Dalaigh'' of the tribe ''Cenel Connaill'' derived from the Heremonian Dynasty of High-Kings of Ireland), O'Donnell becoming "The O'Donnell", Lord of
Tyrconnel (modern
Donegal) after his father abdicated in his favour later that year. Having driven the crown sheriff out of Tyrconnel, he successfully led two expeditions against
Turlough Luineach O'Neill in 1593, in order to force Turlough O'Neill to abdicate his chieftainship in favour of
Hugh O'Neill. At this point, O'Neill did not join O'Donnell in open rebellion, but secretly backed him in order to enhance his bargaining power with the English. O'Donnell by now was also communicating with
Phillip II of Spain for military aid.
Declaring open rebellion against the English the following year, O'Donnell's forces captured
Connaught from
Sligo to
Leitrim by 1595. In this year,
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, abandoned negotiation with the English and in 1596 the combined forces of O'Donnell and O'Neill defeated an English army under Sir
Henry Bagenal at the
Battle of Clontibret.
Their greatest victory came two years later however at
Battle of the Yellow Ford on the
Blackwater River near the southern border of
Tyrone in August 1598. At this battle, the Irish annihilated an English force marching to relieve
Armagh and they seemed on the verge of expelling the English from Ireland altogether. O'Neill then went south to secure the alliegance of Irish lords in Munster, while O'Donnell raided
Connacht, driving out the small English settlement there.
However, in the next two years, O'Donnell and O'Neill were hard pressed with the deployment of thousands more English troops in the country. O'Donnell repulsed an English expedition towards western Ulster at the
battle of Curlew Pass in 1599, but his and O'Neill's position was increasingly defensive. Even worse for O'Donnell than English offensives was the defection of his kinsman,
Niall Garve O'Donnell to the English side, in return for their backing his own claim the
O'Donnell chieftainship. Niall Garve's support allowed the English to land a sea-borne force at
Derry in the heart of O'Donnell's territory.
They recognised that their only chance of winning the war outright was with the aid of a Spanish invasion. The Spanish finally landed at
Kinsale - at virtually the opposite end of Ireland from the Ulster rebels in September 1601. O'Donnell Led his army in a hard march during the winter of 1601, often covering over 40 miles a day, to join O'Neill and the Spanish General
Juan del Aquila at
Kinsale arriving in early December 1601.
En route, true to his family arms and Constantinian motto
In Hoc Signo Vinces and in anticipation of the battle to come at
Kinsale, he visited and venerated a relic of the
True Cross (
Holy rood) on the Feast of St. Andrew, on November 30, 1601 at
Holy Cross Abbey, which was a rallying point the defence of religious freedom and for Irish sovereignty. From there he sent an expedition to
Ardfert in
County Kerry, to win a quick victory and successfully recover the territory of his ally, Fitzmaurice,
Lord of Kerry, who had lost it and his 9-year old son, to Sir Charles Wilmot. He left some of his O'Donnell kinsmen behind in
Ardfert to guard the Barony of Clanmaurice.
During the
Battle of Kinsale on 5/6 January 1602 the combined forces of Del Aquila, O'Neill and O'Donnell were defeated by Sir
Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy.
Flight to Spain and Death
After the Irish defeat at Kinsale, O'Donnell sailed to
Spain with the aim of securing further assistance from
Philip III of Spain. He died there, in 1602 at the age of twenty-nine, at
Simancas Castle. With his death Spanish plans to send further assistance to the Irish were abandoned. While it was once commonly held that he had been
poisoned - a
James Blake from Galway is often named as the assassin who befriended and then poisoned him on behalf of the English - it is now widely believed that he died of a
tapeworm.
He was buried in the chapter of the
Franciscan monastery in
Valladolid. However, the building was demolished in the nineteenth century, and the exact location of the
tomb is unknown.
He was succeeded as chief of the Clan O'Donnell and Lord of Tyrconnel by his brother
Rory O'Donnell.
He was highly praised in the
Irish language writings of the early seventeenth century for his nobility and religious commitment to
Roman Catholicism - notably in the
Annals of the Four Masters and ''Beatha Aodh Rua O Domhnaill'' ("The Life of Red Hugh O'Donnell") by
Lughaidh O Cleirigh. Although his posthumous reputation has been somewhat overshadowed by that of his ally Hugh O'Neill, his leaderhip and military capabilites were considerable. His personality seems to have been particularly magnetic and contemporary sources are united in their praise of his oratorical ability.
In 1991, a plaque was erected at Simancas Castle in commemoration of Red Hugh O'Donnell, which was unveiled by Don Leopoldo Ó Donnell,
Duque de Tetuan.
Further reading
★ ''The Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell (Beatha Aodh Rua O Domhnaill)'' by Lughaidh O'Cleirigh. Edited by Paul Walsh and Colm Ó Lochlainn. Irish Texts Society, vol. 42. Dublin: Educational Company of Ireland, 1948 (original Gaelic manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin).
★ ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annála RÃoghachta Éireann) by the Four Masters'', from the earliest period to the year 1616, compiled during the period 1632-1636 by Brother Michael O’Clery, translated and edited by John O'Donovan in 1856, and re-published in 1998 by De Burca, Dublin.
★ ''A View of the Legal Institutions, Honorary Hereditary Offices, and Feudal Baronies established in Ireland'', by William Lynch, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Paternoster Row, London, 1830 (O’Donnell: page 190, remainder to Earl’s patent).
★ ''Vicissitudes of Families'', by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, published by Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, Paternoster Row, London, 1861. (Chapter on O’Donnells, pages 125-148).
★ ''The Fate and Fortunes of the Earls of Tyrone (Hugh O’Neill) and Tyrconnel (Rory O’Donel), their flight from Ireland and death in exile'', by the Rev. C. P. Meehan, M.R.I.A., 2nd edition, James Duffy, London, 1870.
★ ''Elizabeth's Irish Wars'', by Cyril Falls, London, 1950.
★ ''Erin’s Blood Royal – The Gaelic Noble Dynasties of Ireland'', by Peter Berresford Ellis, Constable, London, 1999, (pages 251-258 on the O’Donel, Prince of Tirconnell).
In popular culture
★ Hugh O'Donnell serves as the main character in the
1966 Walt Disney feature film, ''
The Fighting Prince of Donegal''.
★ He is also a major character in
Brian Friel's
1989 play ''
Making History''.
See also
★
O'Donnell
★
Irish kings
★
Tyrconnell
★
Kings of Tir Connaill
★
Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691
External links
★
The Life of Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill, transcribed from the Book of Lughaidh Ó Clérigh
★
The Hugh O'Donnell Guild
★
The O'Donnell Coat of Arms and Family History
★
Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill Genealogy
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