Conor O'Brien ( ga, Conchubhar Ó Briain) (died 1603) of Leameneagh was an Irish nobleman and land-owner in County Clare.

Life

He was the son of Donough O'Brien and his wife Slaney McNamara. Hugh Roe O'Donnell raided Thomond in 1599 and again in 1600 to punish the O'Briens for their adherence to the English and to avenge himself on the family of

Murrough O'Brien, 4th Baron Inchiquin Murrough MacMurrough O'Brien, 4th Baron of Inchiquin (1562 – 24 July 1597) was the son of Murrough McDermot O'Brien, 3rd Baron Inchiquin and Margaret Cusack, daughter of Sir Thomas Cusack of Cussington, Meath, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his ...

who, with

Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron Ibrickan, PC (Ire) (died 1624), was a Protestant Irish nobleman and soldier. He fought for Queen Elizabeth during Tyrone's Rebellion and participated in the Siege of Kinsale. He obtained the tran ...

had invaded

Tír Chonaill 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 ...

in 1597 under Sir

Conyers Clifford Sir Conyers Clifford (c. 1566 – 1599) was an English politician and military commander. Life and career He was the son of George Clifford, esq., of Bobbing Court in Kent, by his wife Ursula, daughter of Roger Finch. His elder brother, Henry ...

. In his first foray into the territory, Hugh sent his lieutenant Aodh Maguire with a detachment to scour the lands of Kilnaboy where he wounded and captured Conor O'Brien, and brought him back to Inchiquin Castle which was given over to Maguire. Conor O'Brien was at this point acting as a guardian to

Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron Inchiquin Dermod McMurrough O'Brien, 5th Baron Inchiquin (October 1594 – 29 December 1624) was an Irish baron. cites Biography Dermod, who was born in October 1594, was the son of Murrough O'Brien, 4th Baron Inchiquin (1562 – 24 July 1597), the son ...

who was only 4 years old, and was also in charge of Inchiquin Castle, since the death of the boy's father in 1597.

Spanish Armada Table

According to tradition of the Barons Inchiquin, Boetius Clancy, then

High Sheriff of Clare The High Sheriff of Clare was a High Sheriff title. Records show that the title was in existence from at least the late 16th century, though it is not used today in the modern Republic of Ireland. The title existed within County Clare in the west ...

, presented to Conor the Spanish Armada table in 1588, made from parts of the wrecked

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

which had landed in

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. The family were then living at Leamaneh Castle, and it was brought to

Dromoland Castle Dromoland Castle ( ga, Drom Ólainn) is a castle, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, Ireland. It is operated as a five-star luxury hotel with a golf course, with its restaurant, the "Earl of Thomond", being awarded a Michel ...

when Conor's great grandson

Donough The Irish surname Donough originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Donough, which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donagh, a personal name composed of the elements donn meaning ‘brown-haired’ or "dark" from Donn a Gaelic God; and chadh, meaning ...

had moved there in 1685 and was stored there for over 300 years before being sold at auction in 2018 by

Lord Inchiquin Baron Inchiquin () is one of the older titles in the Peerage of Ireland. It was one of two titles created on 1 July 1543 for Murrough O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, who was descended from the great high king Brian Boru. The grant of the English ti ...

Family

He married Slaney O'Brien, daughter of Sir Turlogh O'Brien, the son of

Domhnall mac Conchobair Ó Briain Domhnall mac Conchobair Ó Briain, known in English as ''Sir Donnell O'Brien'' (died 1579) was a Gaelic Irish leader from Thomond in the Kingdom of Ireland. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Spancel Hill, against his nephew who w ...

. He had a son,

.See page 202 "History of the O'Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945"

Death

He died on 2 January 1603 (as recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters) and was buried at the monastery of Ennis Abbey.History of the O'Briens from Brian Boroimhe, AD. 1000 to AD. 1945, by Donough O'Brien, 1949, Batsford, page 201/202, https://archive.org/details/historyofobriens00obri/page/n235/mode/2up, https://archive.org/details/historyofobriens00obri/page/202/mode/2up

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Conor

Conor Conor is a male given name of Irish origin. The meaning of the name is "Lover of Wolves" or "Lover of Hounds". '' Conchobhar/Conchubhar'' or from the name ''Conaire'', found in Irish legend as the name of the high king Conaire Mór and other hero ...

People from County Clare 1570 births 1603 deaths Year of birth uncertain