Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle (pronounced or ; Scottish Gaelic ''Caisteal Inbhir Aora'' ) is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland's longest sea loch. It is one of the earliest ex ...
Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg
Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, ''Clan Iain Mor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens (Antrim)'' and sometimes referred to as ''MacDonnells'', is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. ...
Women in early modern Scotland
Women in early modern Scotland, between the Renaissance of the early sixteenth century and the beginnings of industrialisation in the mid-eighteenth century, were part of a patriarchal society, though the enforcement of this social order was no ...
did not use their husband's surnames after marriage. They had six sons and one daughter, Finola O'Donnell, more famously known as ''
Iníon Dubh
Finola MacDonald, styled after her marriage as Dame Finola Ó Domhnaill or Finola, Lady Ó Domhnaill, and better known by the Irish nickname ''Iníon Dubh'' (pronounced in both Scots Gaelic and Ulster Irish as 'In-neen Doo'), was queen conso ...
''.Hill, J. Michael. ''THE RIFT WITHIN CLAN IAN MORE: THE ANTRIM AND DUNYVEG MACDONNELLS, 1590-1603'' (1 January 1993), ''Sixteenth Century Journal''; ASIN: B007M36E1C. She married Sir Hugh O'Donnell.
In June 1563 Agnes Campbell gave
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
.
Campbell's husband James died in 1565 while he was being held prisoner by the Irish chieftain Shane O'Neill. At that time O'Neill had been supporting the English.
In 1569, she moved to Ireland to marry Turlough Lynagh O'Neill, who had replaced Shane O'Neill as the Chief of the Name of the Clan O'Neill of Tyrone. She took with her a
dowry
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...
of 1,200 Highland troops, and Gaelic tradition allowed her to lead the troops. She personally led them against occupying English forces and proved herself a formidable leader. She also helped mobilise Scottish support for the Irish. Agnes Campbell was fluent in English and Latin, which greatly impressed the English.
In May 1580 she came to Scotland with her son Agnus O'Neill to visit her nephew,
Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll (c. 1542– October 1584) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was appointed to the Lord Chancellorship of Scotland.
Biography
He was the eldest son of Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll and his sec ...
, and the Scottish royal court to discuss issues over her Scottish property and her husband's affairs.William Boyd, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland, 1574-1581'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 379 no. 454, 421 no. 489.