Henry Bagenal
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Sir Henry Bagenal PC (c. 1556 – 14 August 1598) was marshal 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 ci ...
during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
.


Life

He was the eldest son of
Nicholas Bagenal Sir Nicholas Bagenal or Bagenall or Bagnall (; 1509 – February 1591) was an English-born soldier and politician who became Marshal of the Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Army in Ireland during the Tudor era. Early life He was born the se ...
and Eleanor Griffith, daughter of Sir Edward Griffith of
Penrhyn Penryn is a Cornish word meaning 'headland' that may refer to: *Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom, a town of about 7,000 on the Penryn River **Penryn railway station, a station on the Maritime Line between Truro and Falmouth Docks, and serves the t ...
. His brother was
Dudley Bagenal Dudley Bagenal (1554–1587) was an Irish soldier and landowner of the Tudor era. Dudley was the son of the Staffordshire-born Sir Nicholas Bagenal who had settled in Ireland in the 1550s, creating a power base around Newry in Ulster thanks to ...
. Bagenal probably matriculated from
Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...
when he was 16 (in 1572 or 1573), but left without taking a degree in order to join his father Sir Nicholas who was then marshal of the army in Ireland. In May 1577, Sir Nicholas was appointed chief commissioner of Ulster, with Henry as his assistant. Bagenal was himself knighted in 1578. He was involved in some military disasters, such as a defeat at
Glenmalure Glenmalure () is a 20-kilometre long U-shaped glacial valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Glenmalure is an important base for climbing in the Wicklow mountains, and particularly accessing the massif of Lugnaquilla, and contains one of ...
on 25 August 1580 when Lord Grey led the troops (with Bagenal one of the commanders of the rear) into battle with
Fiach McHugh O'Byrne Fiach Mac Aodha Ó Broin (anglicised as Feagh or Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne) (1534 – 8 May, 1597) was Chief of the Name of Clann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) and Lord of Ranelagh during the Elizabethan wars against the Irish clans. Arms Backg ...
and
Viscount Baltinglass Viscount Baltinglass, in the County of Wicklow, was a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. The first came on 29 June 1541 in favour of Thomas Eustace, 1st Baron Kilcullen. He had already been created Baron Kilcullen, in the County ...
in the
Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
mountain passes. In 1584, Bagenal was colonel of the garrison at
Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...
when 1,300 of
Sorley Boy MacDonnell Sorley Boy MacDonnell ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Somhairle Buidhe Mac Domhnaill''), also spelt as MacDonald (c. 1505 – 1590), Scoto-Irish chief, was the son of Alexander Carragh MacDonnell, 5th of Dunnyveg, of Dunyvaig Castle, lord of Islay and ...
's Scots landed on Rathlin Island. Bagenal attacked but was ambushed at
Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmacreva ...
and had to retreat. In May 1586, Bagenal was sent by his father to the court to report. He sought measures to weaken
Hugh O'Neill, 2nd 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 ...
, an enhancement of the role of the marshal, and a presidency in Ulster with a shire hall and jail to dispense royal justice. Whilst on his visit, he wrote to
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (12 July 1549 – 14 April 1587) was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, whose titles he inherited in 1563. Life He was the eldest son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl o ...
(a relative of his wife) on 16 September 1586 to ask whether he had a parliamentary borough to spare; he was elected MP for both
Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...
and
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
and chose the latter. He returned to Ireland in September 1587 to deputize for his father. He succeeded his father as marshal of the army in Ireland and chief commissioner for Ulster in October 1590, and was sworn of the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
. His proposals for action were not accepted, as a decision had been taken to adopt a conciliatory attempt to O'Neill. To Bagenal's contempt, O'Neill asked for the hand of Bagenal's sister Mabel in marriage; he refused, but they eloped anyway. In May 1595, Bagenal led an army of 1,750 to relieve the garrison at
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...
. His forces were attacked by O'Neill and sustained heavy losses. Bagenal was forced to withdraw to
Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...
and had to be resupplied by sea as O'Neill had blocked the Moyry Pass. Bagenal managed to resupply the Armagh garrison in December 1598 and June 1597, but had more difficulty in resupplying a fort on the Blackwater In an attempt to do so, he was mortally wounded by O'Neill's forces during
Battle of the Yellow Ford The Battle of the Yellow Ford was fought in County Armagh on 14 August 1598, during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. An English army of about 4,000, led by Henry Bagenal, was sent from the Pale to relieve the besieged Blackwater Fort. Marching f ...
.


Family

He married Eleanor Savage, daughter of Sir John Savage and Elizabeth Manners, daughter of
Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, 12th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG (c. 1497{{snd20 September 1543), of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire (adjacent to the small county of Rutland), was created Earl of Rutland by King Henry VIII in 1525. Ori ...
. They had three sons and six daughters. The senior Bagenal line died out in 1712 with the death of
Nicholas Bagenal Sir Nicholas Bagenal or Bagenall or Bagnall (; 1509 – February 1591) was an English-born soldier and politician who became Marshal of the Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Army in Ireland during the Tudor era. Early life He was born the se ...
; the junior but better-known branch in
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
, who founded
Bagenalstown Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small t ...
, survived longer.


Legacy

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...
's play '' Making History'' turns largely on the marriage between Henry's sister Mabel and Hugh O'Neill. Mabel and another sister, Mary Barnewall, are major characters in the play. Henry himself is mentioned often but does not appear on stage.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagenal, Henry 1550s births 1598 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford English army officers English MPs 1586–1587 English knights Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales 16th-century English soldiers People of the Nine Years' War (Ireland) English military personnel killed in action