Donnchadh mac Eoghan Ó Duinnshléibhe,
anglicised as Donough MacOwen O'Donlevy (died 30 September 1527) was an Irish
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. He was the ''ollam leighis'' (official physician) 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
...
from at least 1497 to 1527.
Background
Born in the fifteenth century to a father named Owen, Ó Duinnshléibhe became known for his wealth.
The
Ó Duinnshléibhe family were formerly the ruling dynasty of the over-kingdom of
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...
.
By the mid-fifteenth century, they were a
hereditary medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
family of physicians to the
O'Donnells, based in
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 ...
. Some members of the family went by the surname Ultach, named after Ulaid.
In 1497, Con O'Donnell (son of
Chief 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 ...
) was defeated in battle by Teige Mac Dermot of
Moylurg
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda, Anglicised as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day County Roscommon, Ireland. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of Connacht from c. 956–1585. ...
. As the O'Donnell's physician, Ó Duinnshléibhe was taken prisoner by Mac Dermot.
Death and legacy
The ''
Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...
'' contains Ó Duinnshléibhe's obituary:
* ''1527 - The physician O'Donlevy (Donough, son of Owen), a Doctor of Medicine, and learned in other sciences, a man of great affluence and wealth, who kept a house of general hospitality, died on the 30th of September.''
Ó Duinnshléibhe had a son,
Owen Ultach, who succeeded him as the O'Donnell's ''ollam leighis''.
See also
*
Irish medical families
*
Owen Ultach, his son, Irish physician, died 1586
*
Muiris mac Donnchadh Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe, Irish cleric, fl. 1602-1630s
*
Muiris mac Seaán Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe
Muiris mac Seaán Ulltach Ó Duinnshléibhe, aka Father Muiris Ulltach, fl. 1602-1630s.
Spain
Ó Duinnshléibhe was one of two Donegal men named Father Muiris Ulltach who attended Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (d. 1602) on his death-bed in Simancas ...
, Irish cleric, fl. 1602-1630s.
*
Cormac Mac Duinnshléibhe
Cormac Mac Duinnshléibhe (anglicized as Cormac MacDonlevy) was an Irish physician and scribe, fl. c. 1460. He was an influential medieval Irish physician and medical scholar of the Arabian school educated at universities on the Continent. He is ...
, Irish physician and scribe, fl. c. 1460
*
Niall Ó Glacáin
Niall Ó Glacáin, or Nellanus Glacanus (c. 1563–1653) was an Irish physician who worked to treat victims of bubonic plague outbreaks in various places throughout Europe.
Early life and education
Ó Glacáin's date of birth is uncertain. So ...
, physician to the O'Donnells in the early seventeenth century
References
External links
* http://celt.ucc.ie/publishd.html
16th-century Irish medical doctors
Medical doctors from County Donegal
1527 deaths
Year of birth unknown
{{Ireland-bio-stub