Captain Humphrey Willis was an English soldier in Ireland in the sixteenth century, his parents are unknown. Captain Willis was appointed Sheriff of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

and

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

by the Lord Deputy of Ireland William FitzWilliam. Captain Willis was a fluent speaker of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and enforced his authority with a detachment of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

. Willis' appointment in Donegal antagonised the local Gaelic lords the O'Donnells who had traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the Crown. Following his escape from his imprisonment in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...

, the young heir to the O'Donnell leadership

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 ...

drove Willis out of Donegal, one of the actions that anticipated the coming Tyrone's Rebellion. In 1593 Willis had a new role as Sheriff of Fermanagh. Again he clashed with a local Gaelic lord Hugh Maguire who drove him out of the area. Maguire entered into open rebellion in the crown; and in 1594 laid siege to Enniskillen, attempting to retake the castle and triggering an outbreak of fighting that became Nine Years of War in Ireland, culminating in the flight of the Earls from Ireland in 1607. He helped organise Sir Henry Docwra's expedition to Derry in 1600, where he liaised with local Gaelic figures who wished to ally themselves with the Crown against Hugh Roe O'Donnell 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'Nei ...

. Captain Humphrey Willis was killed in action in Ulster in 1602, a report to the Lord Deputy and Council & to the English Privy Council dated 14.7.1602 recorded the deaths of Sir John Barkley and Captain Willis during a campaign led by Mountjoy against Tyrone in Monaghan "to push him from the plains into the fastness where he now is." George Willis of Aghatirourke, who discovered the Florencecourt Yew, was a descendant.Irish Gardening, vol 3, 1908, pg 172

References

Bibliography

* McGurk, John. ''Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder''. Four Courts Press, 2006. * Morgan, Christopher. ''William Cecil, Ireland, and the Tudor State''. Oxford University Press, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Humphrey 16th-century Irish people People of Elizabethan Ireland English emigrants to Ireland English soldiers Irish soldiers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown