Dermot O Daly, was a
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
-Irish landlord, ancestor of
Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal
Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal, of Dunsandle in the County of Galway, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 6 June 1845 for James Daly, who had earlier represented Galway Borough and County Galway in the House of Commons.
...
, fl. 1574 – 10 November 1614.
Background
Dermot was the son of Teige, son of John O Daly, who built Killimor
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
during the reign of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. Nothing more is known for certain of his ancestry. Pedigrees considered dubious by recent historians claim his descent from the bardic
Ó Dálaigh
The Ó Dálaigh () were a learned Irish Bardic poetry, bardic family who first came to prominence early in the 12th century, when Cú Connacht Ó Dálaigh was described as "The first ''Ollamh'' of poetry in all Ireland" (''ollamh'' is the title g ...
.
James Noel Dillion speculates that "Dermot O’Daly was a ''chancer'', whose rapid advancement was due to the success of the Presidency of Connaught and his ability to turn opportunity to advantage. … he was an ardent crown supporter and the supposed stability which would accrue as a repercussion of adopting English customs and laws."
Active life
He was first recorded in the fiant of 1570, along with others of the name, located at Laragh in the parish of Killimordaly. He and his family were consistently listed as ''the
Earl of Clanricarde's men''. For services to the government, on 21 June 1578
Elizabeth I granted him "the entire Manor or Lordship of Lerra with all the towns and castles belonging". O Daly maintained his own militia, perhaps provided
coyne and livery
Coign and livery or coyne and livery ( ga, coinmheadh is buannacht) in Gaelic Ireland was the free entertainment which a chief exacted from his subjects for his servants and followers. Originally in Brehon law it took the form of a feast held when ...
for president of Connacht. The east road of Athenry known as the Laragh Road, points to the strategic significance of O Daly's castle. He is listed in 1581 among the gentlemen of
Connacht owning "arrearages of chief rent" to the sum of 96 pounds, 9 shillings and 1 penny.
His lands were devastated by
Hugh Roe Ó Donnell in January 1597, hundreds of cattle stolen, his tenants and neighbours killed, or afterwards died of starvation. He fought under Clanricarde on the side of the English at the
Battle of Kinsale in 1601.
After 1603
In the subsequent peace after the end of the war, O Daly adapted to English modes of agriculture, and attracted families with trades/skills to settle in his area. He promoted the techniques of drainage, quarrying, land cleared of scrub, and hay harvesting to reduce pastoralism in winter.
Children
* Teige of Killimor married Sisily Kelly of Gallagh and had children. They completed Killimor Castle in 1624, recorded on O Daly Marriage Stone, preserved at Killimor Church. Teige died in 1642.
* Dermot of Clonbrusk Castle, Athenry, married and left children.
* Donagh of Laragh, ancestor of the Raford and Dunsandle families
* Fergananim of Oughtercluny, Clonfert, married and had children.
* Godfrey of Newcastle, Athenry, ancestor of the Dalysgrove and Castle Daly families.
Descendants
*
Denis Daly (M.P.)
Denis Daly (1748 – 10 October 1791) of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle Castle, Loughrea, County Galway, was an Irish landowner and politician.
Biography
His father was James Daly of Carrownakelly and Dunsandle in County Galway, and his mother ...
, 1748-1791
*
St George Daly (1758-1829)
*
Robert Daly, D.D., 1783–1872
*
James Daly, 1st Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal
James Daly, 1st Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal (1 April 1782 – 7 August 1847) was an Irish politician.
Background
Daly was the eldest son of Denis Daly and Lady Henrietta, daughter of Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Farnham and Henrietta Cantillon, ...
(1782-1847)
*
Dominick Daly, 1798–1868
-
External links
* http://www.iol.ie/~mfinn/killimorcastle.html
References
* BLAKE, MARTIN J.
Families of Daly of Galway with Tabular Pedigrees” Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 13, no. 3/4 (1927): 140–140.
* ''As The Centuries Passed: A History of Kiltullagh 1500–1900'', ed. Kieran Jordan, 2000
** ''The life and times of Dermot O'Daly'', James Noel Dillon.
** ''The Killimor Dalys'', James Noel Dillon
* ''The Daly Chronicle'', Dermot Daly, in ''The Irish Genealogist''
volume 11 part i, 2002, pp. 3–12.
* ''Clare Bards, Galway Gentry'', Patrick Melvin, op. cit., pp. 13–15
{{DEFAULTSORT:O Daly, Dermot
People from County Galway
16th-century Irish people
17th-century Irish people
Irish landlords
17th-century Irish landowners