Charles O'Kelly (1621–1695) was an Irish soldier and writer. O'Kelly was born at Screen or Clonlyon,

Aughrim, County Galway Aughrim () is a small village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located between the towns of Loughrea and Ballinasloe, along the old N6 national primary road (now listed as the R446 regional road) that used to be the main road between Galway and ...

, son of John O'Kelly and Isma Hill, daughter of Sir William of Ballybeg,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

. He was educated at St. Omer. He first saw action in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1642. He inherited Aughrim in 1674, and was elected

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Roscommon County Roscommon County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 23,459. The county seat is Roscommon. The county was founded in 1840 and organized in 1875. History The county was formed by ...

in 1689. He again fought, this time as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, in the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

, serving at Aughrim and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. He later authored ''Macariae Excidium, or the Destruction of Cyprus, containing the Last Warr and Conquest of that Kingdom'', which contains the only account of the battle of Aughrim by a native of the area.

Bibliography

* ''Macariae Excidium, or the Destruction of Cyprus, containing the Last Warr and Conquest of that Kingdom'', 1692 * ''Macariae Excidium'', ed. by Count Plunkett and Rev. Edmund Hogan, SJ, called The Jacobite War &c. his edn. substitutes real historical names, Tyrconnell, etc.(Sealy, Bryers, & Walker 1894; 2nd ed. also 1894), 12o, paper.

References

* ''Galway Authors'', Helen Mahar, 1976

External links

* http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/history/chapter35.html {{DEFAULTSORT:OKelly, Charles 1621 births 1695 deaths Irish writers People from County Galway Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Irish MPs 1689 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies

See also

Bibliography

References

External links