Rory O'More, also known as Rory Oge O'More ( ga, Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha) (died

1578 __NOTOC__ Year 1578 (Roman numerals, MDLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 31 – Battle of Gembloux (1578), Battle of Ge ...

), was the Irish lord of what became

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

Family background

Rory O'More was the second son of Ruairí Ó Mórdha, Captain of Leix, and Margaret, daughter of Thomas Butler and granddaughter of Piers Butler, eighth earl of Ormonde. His family were

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

s of one of the most important of the

Irish clan Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

s. Ruairí Caoch Ó Mórdha (fl. 1554), his father, was the son of Connell Ó Mórdha (d. 1537), and early acquired the character of a successful chieftain. On the death of Connell a dispute broke out between his three sons – Lysaght, Kedagh, and Ruairí – and their uncle Peter, who was the

Tanist Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist ( ga, Tánaiste; gd, Tànaiste; gv, Tanishtey) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ir ...

, in line to head the family. Peter was for the time a friend of the Butlers. Consequently, the Lord Deputy of Ireland,

Lord Leonard Grey Leonard Grey, Lord Deputy of Ireland (1479/149228 July 1541), known as Lord Leonard Grey prior to 1536, served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1536 to 1540. Family Leonard Grey was a younger son of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset and Cecily ...

, supported the sons; and, although Peter was acknowledged chief, Grey got hold of him by a ruse, and led him about in chains for some time. Lysaght was killed; Kedagh secured the chieftainship, but died early in 1542, and Ruairí, the third brother, succeeded. Ruairí Caoch on 13 May 1542 took part in the

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English l ...

process, under the anglicised name "Rory O'More of Lex". Kedagh had left a son of the same name, who long afterwards, in 1565, petitioned the privy council in Dublin to be restored to his father's inheritance. In a grant afterwards made to his eldest son his services to King

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour ...

are spoken of; but an order of 15 March 1550-1 forbade any of the name of Ó Mórdha to hold land in

Leix County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

. At some time between 1550 and 1557 Ruairí Ó Mórdha was killed, and was succeeded by Connell Ó Mórdha, who may be the Connell Oge O'More mentioned in 1556 in the settlement of Leix . He was put to death in 1557. In 1556 Queen Mary approved an Act "..whereby the King and Queen's Majesties, and the Heires and Successors of the Queen, be entituled to the Counties of Leix, Slewmarge, Irry, Glinmaliry, and Offaily, and for making the same Countries Shire Grounds." This

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

d the new counties of Queen's County (now

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

) and King's County (now

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

), thereby dispossessing the rest of Clan O'More and starting the

Plantations of Ireland Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...

Ruairí Óge and Callagh

Rory left two sons, Callagh and Ruairí Óge. Callagh, who was brought up in England, was called by the English 'The Calough,' and, as he describes himself as of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1568, he may be the John Callow who entered there in 1567 (Foster, Reg. of Gray's Inn, p. 39). In 1571 Ormonde petitioned for the Calough's return, and soon afterwards he came back to Ireland, and was granted an estate at Balyna, near Moyvalley,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

in 1574. In 1582 he was thought a sufficiently strong adherent to the English to receive a grant of land in Leix. . Callagh was the father of

Rory O'Moore Sir Rory O'Moore ( ga, Ruaidhrí Ó Mórdha) (c. 1600 – 16 February 1655), also known Sir Roger O'Moore or O'More or Sir Roger Moore, was an Irish landowner of ancient lineage, and is most notable for being one of the four principal organizer ...

, ''alias'' Sir Roger Moore, who was a leader of the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

Rebellion

Ruairí Óge Ó Mórdha, the second son, was constantly engaged in rebellion. He received a pardon on 17 February 1565-6, but in 1571 he was claimed to be dangerous, and in 1572 he was fighting the Earl of Ormond and Queen Elizabeth, being favoured by the weakness of the forces at the command of

Francis Cosby Francis Cosby (1510–1580) was an English soldier and settler in Ireland. He has been implicated in the Massacre of Mullaghmast. Life He was the second son of John Cosby of Great Leake, Nottingham. He settled in Ireland in the reign of Henry VI ...

, the seneschal of Queen's County, and the temporary absence of Ormond in England. The Butlers and the Fitzgeralds were united against him; but when, in November 1572, the Earl of Desmond escaped from Dublin, it was Ruairí Óge Ó Mórdha who escorted him through Kildare and protected him in Laois. He was involved in the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

's plans in 1574, and was taken prisoner by the English in November. However, he quickly escaped captivity. The man who would order his killing,

Sir Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received ...

, called O'Mordha 'an obscure and base varlet'. When on his tour in 1575, Sidney wrote of him:

Submission and war

When Sidney came into his territory, O'Mordha went to meet him in Kilkenny Cathedral (December 1575), and 'submitted himself, repenting (as he said) his former faults, and promising hereafter to live in better sort (for worse than he hath been he cannot be)'. A new pardon was granted to him on 4 June 1576 (ib. p. 179). On

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

1577, a massacre of a group of Gaelic gentry by Sir Henry Sidney's troops took place at

Mullaghmast Mullaghmast ( ga, Mullach Maistín), (modern spelling in English is Mullamast) is a hill in the south of County Kildare, Leinster, near the village of Ballitore and near the borders with Wicklow, Laois and Carlow. It was an important site in p ...

. Sidney invited all of the Clan Chiefs and their

derbhfine The derbfine ( ; ga, dearbhfhine , from ''derb'' 'real' + ''fine'' 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.vderbḟine/ref>) was a term for patrilineal groups and po ...

from Laois and Offaly to a

peace conference A peace conference is a diplomatic meeting where representatives of certain states, armies, or other warring parties converge to end hostilities and sign a peace treaty. Significant international peace conferences in the past include the follo ...

. They arrived unarmed and were killed with their whole families by Sidney's troops, who had surrounded the castle. Estimates of the dead range from 40 (the number of Gaelic lords there) to hundreds. O Mordha vowed to avenge the deaths of his relatives. He kidnapped two Englishmen called Harrington and Cosby, relatives of important people. Ó Mórdha's wife and all but Ó Mórdha himself and one of those who were with him were killed. Ó Mórdha managed to fight his way out, and 'hacked and hewed’ Harrington so that Sidney saw Harrington's brains moving when his wounds were being dressed. Ó Mórdha rushed between a soldier's legs and escaped practically naked. He hoped for help from Spain, and, with the backing of his friend, John Burke, he prepared to retaliate for the

Massacre of Mullaghmast The massacre of (or at) Mullaghmast ( ga, ár Mhullach maistean) refers to a summary execution of Irish gentry by the English Army and Tudor officials in Ireland. It may have occurred at the end of the year 1577 or beginning of 1578. There is ...

. He allied himself with the Clan O'Connor, and gathered an army. On 18 March 1576-7 the

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

for Queen's County was ordered to attack Ruairí Óg and the Clan O'Connor with fire and sword. But that same month, Clans O'More and O'Connor avenged Mullaghmast with a raid into

the Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

. Sidney wrote to the council the same month: "''Rory Oge O'More and Cormock M'Cormock O'Conor have burnt the Naas. They ranne thorough the towne lyke hagges and furies of hell, with flakes of fier fastned on poles ends.''"

Death

The Queen's agents had put an enormous reward for the time, £1,000, on his head, as was their practice with Irish clan chiefs who resisted. In an attempt to entrap

Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 2nd Baron Upper Ossory Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 2nd Baron Upper Ossory (1535? – 11 September 1581), was educated at the court of Henry VIII of England with Edward, Prince of Wales. While he was in France, he corresponded regularly with King Edward VI. He was activ ...

, into his hands, he was killed by members of the Fitzpatrick family in June 1578, and his head was brought to

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 se ...

, which at the time was ringed by the decapitated heads of major 'rebels'.

Descendants

O'More left a son, Eoghan mac Ruairí Ó Mórdha. John Burke, son of the

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde (; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 191 ...

, took charge of Eoghan. The English captured him after some difficulty, and he returned and recovered almost all Laois. He was killed in a skirmish near Timahoe on 17 August 1600. English travel writer

Fynes Moryson Fynes Moryson (or Morison) (1566 – 12 February 1630) spent most of the decade of the 1590s travelling on the European continent and the eastern Mediterranean lands. He wrote about it later in his multi-volume ''Itinerary'', a work of value to ...

called him 'a bloody and bold young man', and Irish chroniclers the Four Masters 'an illustrious, renowned, and celebrated gentleman'. After his death, the O'Mores as an

were doomed. Colonel

Rory O'More Rory O'More, also known as Rory Oge O'More ( ga, Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha) (died 1578), was the Irish lord of what became Laois. Family background Rory O'More was the second son of Ruairí Ó Mórdha, Captain of Leix, and Margaret, daughter of ...

(in Irish: Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha; c.1620-c.1653), principal organiser of the

, was his nephew. The sole descendants of the O'More family that survive to this day are those "house of More O'Ferrall". The hereditary title of “Lord of Laois” was passed down through O’More’s descendants; the current bearer of the title is the head of the More O’Ferralls. The More O’Ferralls also hold the title of “Prince of Annally”, a title that was passed to them through the O’Ferrall family.

Family tree

Melaghlin mac Owny mac Gilla Padraigh Ó Mórdha, died 1502. , , ____________________________________________________________________________________ , , , , Connell Ó Mórdha (died 1537) Pierce/Peter an Tainiste, fl. 1537. , , ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ , , , , , , , , , , Lysaght (d. 1541?) Kedagh Roe (d. 1542) Ruairí Caoch Ó Mórdha, fl. 1554. Gilla Padraigh Connell Óge, d. 1557. , =Margaret Butler d. 1548. , , Kedagh/James? , ____________________________ fl. 1584? , , , , Ruairí Óge, d. 1578. Calvagh/Callagh of Ballina, d. 1618. =? =Margaret Scurloug , , , , __________________________________________________ Uaithne (Owney), d. 1600. , , , , , , , ,

Lysaght Margaret dau. =Jane Barnewall (issue) (issue) (issue) (issue)

References

;Attribution Endnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Omore, Rory 1578 deaths People of Elizabethan Ireland 16th-century Irish people People from County Laois O'Moore family Year of birth unknown