Conn Oge O'Donnell (died 1601) was a member of the

O'Donnell dynasty The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

. He was the youngest son of

Conn O'Donnell Conn O'Donnell (died 13 March 1583) was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty of Donegal. At various points in his turbulent career, Conn either opposed or allied himself with the English Crown, Shane O'Neill or Turlough Luineach O'Neill, as the si ...

, and grandson of

Calvagh O'Donnell Calvagh O'Donnell (Irish language, Irish: ''Calbhach Ó Domhnaill''; born c. 1515 - died 26 November 1566), eldest son of Manus O'Donnell, was an Irish King of Tyrconnell of the mid-16th century. He was Rí, king and chief of the O'Donnell dynas ...

who had ruled the O'Donnell lands of

Tyrconnell Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

. During the 1580s he supported the unsuccessful claims of his elder brother

Niall Garve O'Donnell Niall Garve O'Donnell ( ga, Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill; 1569 – 1626) was an Irish chieftain, alternately an ally of and rebel against English rule in Ireland. He is best known for siding with the English against his kinsman Hugh Roe O'Donnel ...

to the chieftainship of the O'Donnells. After initially supporting his rival and cousin the lord of Tyrconnell

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donne ...

and his ally

Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill (Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Neil ...

during Tyrone's Rebellion, Niall switched sides in 1600 to support the Crown forces, in particular the expedition landed under Sir

Henry Docwra Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore (1564 – 18 April 1631) was a leading English-born soldier and statesman in early seventeenth-century Ireland. He is often called "the founder of Derry", due to his role in establishing the city. Ba ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. Conn and two other brothers, Hugh Boy and Donal also defected bringing with them as many as a thousand warriors by some estimates. They assisted the Crown's capture of Lifford, a key O'Donnell stronghold, to the outrage of Hugh Roe who killed Niall Garve's young son (and Conn's nephew) in retaliation.McGurk p.93-95 Conn played an active role in the fight against Hugh Roe, most notably during the

Siege of Donegal The siege of Donegal took place in August 1601 during the Nine Years' War in Ireland, when a Gaelic Irish army led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell laid siege to the town of Donegal.McGurk p.113-16 The garrison of the town was a mixture of English troo ...

in 1601. It was a lengthy and hard-fought conflict during which

Donegal Abbey Donegal Abbey (Irish: ''Mainistir Dhún na nGall'') is a ruined Franciscan Priory in Donegal (town), Donegal in Ireland. It was constructed by the O'Donnell dynasty in the fifteenth century. It is sometimes referred to as Donegal Friary. It was ...

was wrecked by the explosion of barrels of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

which had been stored there. During the fighting Conn was fatally wounded. Although he had supported his elder brother Niall up to this point, he was in his own right an eligible candidate for the lordship of the O'Donnells.

References

Bibliography

* McGurk, John. ''Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder''. Four Courts Press, 2006. * Morgan, Hiram. ''Tyrone's Rebellion''. Boydell Press, 1999. 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people People from County Donegal Year of birth unknown 1601 deaths Conn Oge {{Ireland-bio-stub