Nuala O'Donnell (

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 ...

: ''Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill''; ''c.'' 1565 - 1630) 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 ...

in sixteenth century Ireland who took part in the 1607

Flight of the Earls The Flight of the Earls ( ir, Imeacht na nIarlaí)In Irish, the neutral term ''Imeacht'' is usually used i.e. the ''Departure of the Earls''. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí' and is sometimes seen. took place in Sep ...

Biography

Nuala was the daughter of

Sir Hugh O'Donnell Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell (Irish: ''Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill''; died c. 1600) was an Irish Gaelic lord. He was ''The O'Donnell'' of his clan, and king of Tyrconnell in medieval Ireland. Biography O'Donnell's second marriage was to I ...

, the

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 ...

lord 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 ...

and head of the O'Donnells. Her siblings include her full brother Sir

Donnell O'Donnell Sir Donal O'Donnell (Irish: ''Sir Domhnall Ó Domhnaill'', died 1590) was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell in modern-day County Donegal. He was the eldest son of Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell, the Lord of Tyrconnell for much of the rei ...

and her half-brothers

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 ...

Rory O'Donnell Rory O'Donnell (; 1575 – 30 July 1608), younger brother of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, was the last King of Tyrconnell and 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.An apparent original of the letters patent of the Earldom were in the possession of Count Maximilian Ka ...

and

Cathbarr O'Donnell Cathbarr O'Donnell ( ga, Cathbarr Ó Domhnaill, died 1608) was an Irish nobleman (a member of the O'Donnell dynasty of Donegal). Biography Cathbarr was the son of Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the ruler of Tyrconnell during the Elizabethan era. His mother ...

. She was also a sister-in-law of

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 ...

due to his marriage with her sister

Siobhán Siobhán is a female given name of Irish origin. The most common anglicisations are Siobhan (identical to the Irish spelling but omitting the acute accent over the 'a'), Shevaun and Shivaun. A now uncommon spelling variant is Siubhán. It is de ...

. Much of her family became engulfed in the violent O'Donnell succession dispute of the 1580s and 1590s, as various claimants attempted to secure the right to succeed her father even while Sir Hugh was still alive. Her elder brother Donnell was killed in battle in 1590 by Scottish redshank mercenaries hired by her stepmother

Iníon Dubh Finola MacDonald, styled after her marriage as Dame Finola Ó Domhnaill or Finola, Lady Ó Domhnaill, and better known by the Irish nickname ''Iníon Dubh'' (pronounced in both Scots Gaelic and Ulster Irish as 'In-neen Doo'), was queen conso ...

, allowing her half-brother Hugh Roe to emerge victorious by 1592. Nuala made a dynastic marriage with

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 ...

, a cousin and a rival claimant to the O'Donnell lordship. After the marriage Niall Garve became an ally of Hugh Roe and joined him after he took part in the 1594 Siege of Enniskillen, triggering the nine-year Tyrone's Rebellion. However Niall Garve, along with three of his brothers and many followers, dramatically switched sides and began assisting Crown forces under the English commander 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 ...

who were operating out of Derry. He led forces during the Crown victories at the

Battle of Lifford The Battle of Lifford was fought in County Donegal in October 1600, during the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War in Ireland. A mixed Anglo-Irish force under Sir John Bolle and the Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic leaders Niall Garve O'Donnell a ...

and

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 ...

, and had troops of the

Royal Irish Army Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

placed under his command. Niall's ambition was to have himself declared the Gaelic lord of Tyrconnell. When Nuala heard of her husband's defection, Nuala left him and returned to live with her brother Hugh Roe, taking some of her children with her. In a furious reaction to Niall Garve's betrayal, Hugh Roe reportedly beat his infant son (and his own nephew) to death.McGurk 2006, pp. 93–95. Nuala subsequently divorced Niall. Following her brother Hugh Roe's death in 1602, she joined the household of his successor Rory, who was made

Earl of Tyrconnell Earl of Tyrconnell is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created in 1603, for Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, formerly king of Tyrconnell, along with the subsidiary title Baron Donegal. The 1s ...

following the

Treaty of Mellifont The Treaty of Mellifont ( ga, Conradh na Mainistreach Móire), also known as the Articles of Mellifont, was signed in 1603 and ended the Nine Years' War which took place in the Kingdom of Ireland from 1594 to 1603. End of war Following the Engl ...

which made peace with the Crown. In 1607 she took part in the

which took several Gaelic nobles, including her brother Rory, into

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

exile. She played a role in the raising of Rory's son

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, whose mother had remained behind in Ireland. She appears to have died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Her surviving child with Niall Garve, Grania O'Donnell, had accompanied her into Italian exile.

Family tree

References

Bibliography

* McGurk, Johnv (2006). ''Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder''. Four Courts Press. * Morgan, Hiram (1999). ''Tyrone's Rebellion''. Boydell Press. * * Swords, Liamv(2007). ''The Flight of the Earls: A Popular History''. Columba.

External links

Women in Flight
at

History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Nuala 1660s births 1630 deaths 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people People of Elizabethan Ireland Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from County Donegal

Nuala Nuala ( , ) is an Irish female given name, derived from Irish mythology - being either a diminutive form of Fionnuala ("fair shoulder"), the daughter of Lir, or an alternate name for Úna (perhaps meaning "lamb"), wife of Finvarra, king of the fa ...

Emigrants from the Kingdom of Ireland to Italy