Brian O'Connor Faly (; – 1560), also called Bernard, was an Irish noble and Lord of Offaly. O'Connor Faly raided

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 s ...

many times from the early 1520s to the mid-1540s, assuring his political position via alliances with the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

and

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

. However, his many attacks on the territories of his fellow Gaelic nobles estranged him from both Gaelic and English allies, and facing threat of starvation, he surrendered to the English in 1548. He escaped the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

c. 1552, but was recaptured and eventually died in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

Family background

Born in Ireland around 1490, he was the eldest son of Cathaoir (1474–1511), Lord of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) 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 honour of Philip II of Spain ...

. He had four brothers, one named Cahir. He was born into the O'Connor Faly family of the

Kingdom of Uí Failghe The kingdom of Uí Fháilghe, (early spelling) or (modern spelling), () was a Gaelic-Irish kingdom which existed to 1550, the name of which (though not the territory) is preserved in the name of County Offaly (), Ireland. County Offaly was ...

, which, by the start of the sixteenth century, had extended their territory westward as far as the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

. The people of Meath and Kildare paid a yearly

black rent Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...

to the O'Connor Falys. The suffix Faly () is used to distinguish them from other O'Connor families. In 1511, Cathaoir attempt to assert Offaly's independence from

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 1496 u ...

. The Earl's allies, Cathaoir's cousins Brian and An Calbhach, responded by assassinating Cathaoir. Cousin Brian seized rule of Offaly until his death in 1517, when he was succeeded by his brother An Calbhach. By 1520, Brian O'Connor Faly had become Lord of Offaly, and was "at the height of his power" - though it is uncertain whether he obtained the throne from his uncle An Calbhach by force or succeeded him naturally.

Raiding the Pale

In the early 1520s, O'Connor Faly, Maolruanaidh O'Carroll and

Lord of Laois Lord of Laois is a title that belonged to the historical rulers of the Kingdom of Laois in Ireland. It was held by the O'More family and later the More O'Ferralls who ruled the kingdom. The title is first recorded as existing in 1016, in the Ann ...

Connell O'More raided

.'''' The three men informed Thomas Howard,

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

, that their attack was on the orders of

Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare Gerard FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare (1487 – 12 December 1534; Irish: ''Gearóid Óg Mac Gearailt'', meaning "Young Gerald FitzGerald"), was a leading figure in 16th-century Irish history. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildar ...

. Howard retaliated by capturing Monasteroris, O'Connor Faly's stronghold in Offaly. After a time refusing to cooperate, O'Connor Faly eventually submitted. Monasteroris was given back to him and Howard invested him as Lord of Offaly.'''' However, upon Howard's departure, O'Connor Faly continued his raids. O'Connor Faly strengthened his alliance with the Earl of Kildare when married the Earl's daughter, Lady Mary FitzGerald, sometime between 1523 and 1526.'''' In 1528, during the Earl's detention in England, vice-deputy Richard Nugent, 7th Baron Delvin, attempted to withhold O'Connor Faly's black rents from Meath. On May 12, O'Connor Faly retaliated by persuading Nugent to the borders of Offaly - under the false impression of a parley - and taking him prisoner. He refused to release Nugent unless his demands were met. Thomas Boleyn,

Earl of Ossory Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

, made plans with Brian's brother Cahir to secure Nugent's release - but this was unsuccessful. Delvin was O'Connor Faly's prisoner until early 1529.

Alliance with Kildare

O'Connor Faly invaded the Pale in autumn 1529, under secret orders from the Earl of Kildare. He was subsequently pardoned shortly after the Earl's restoration. In 1534, O'Connor Faly was a staunch ally of

Silken Thomas {{Infobox noble, type , name = Thomas FitzGerald , title = The Earl of Kildare , image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , ...

, son of the recently deceased Kildare. It was from O'Connor Faly's castle that Thomas addressed

Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

Leonard Grey. O'Connor Faly felt betrayed by his brother Cahir's dealings with the English administration, and he expelled Cahir from Offaly. In May 1537, Grey forced O'Connor Faly from Offaly and appointed Cahir as Lord of Offaly instead. On 2 March 1538, O'Connor Faly made a "full and complete submission", renouncing his

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, eschewing back rents and agreeing to pay a yearly rent to the crown. He was pardoned, but his request to be created Baron of Offaly was apparently ignored.

Alliance with O'More

O'Connor Faly entered an alliance with Giolla Pádraig O'More, son of Connell. He encouraged a feud between O'More and his brother

Rory Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the /''Ruaidhrí'' and /''Ruaraidh'' and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", composed ...

, the then-Lord of Laois. Together, O'Connor Faly and O'More attacked the Pale in May 1540. Brian O'Connor Faly was in the favour of the Lord Deputy, Englishman Anthony St Leger. In March 1546, Lord Deputy St Leger faced charges of misgovernment. O'Connor Faly and O'More feared they could lose their patron, and invaded

Co. Kildare County Kildare () 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, which had a populat ...

in late 1546, attacking the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

settlements. When St Leger called Rory O'More to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, O'Connor Faly devastated

Laois County Laois ( ; ) 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 medieval kingdom. Hist ...

in his absence. Rory wrote to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, accusing St Leger of favouritism - St Leger detained Rory when he tried to leave Dublin. By 1546, O'Connor Faly was proclaimed a traitor throughout Ireland for siding with the English governance.''''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

'''' Following a string of losses,'''' O'Connor Faly and Giolla Pádraig O'More fled across the

into

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. They returned in early 1548, but none of their tribesmen would offer them protection. In May, St Leger was replaced as Lord Deputy by Sir Edward Bellingham. Having lost both

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

and

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

allies, the nobles faced starvation that winter.'''' In November, O'Connor Faly and O'More surrendered themselves to the English'''' under the "very poor" protection of an English lieutenant. The two men's lives were pardoned, but their territories were transferred to the King.''''

Imprisonment and death

O'Connor Faly and O'More were brought to England and imprisoned in the

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

, a London prison. O'More died during imprisonment in late 1548. O'Connor Faly was later incarcerated in the

. He escaped in late 1551 or early 1552, but was recaptured near the Scottish border, "while in the company of women". In September 1553, his fortunes briefly changed when St Leger was reappointed Lord Deputy. St Leger paid for O'Connor Faly's daughter Margaret to travel to England and petition for her father's release. O'Connor Faly's son Rory offered himself to the Dublin government in return for his father's freedom. Their petition was successful and he was released by Queen

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

. In 1554, he returned to Ireland with his daughter and Gerald FitzGerald, the 11th Earl of Kildare. However, later the same year, the Earl thwarted St Leger's plan by acknowledging Brian's son Donnchadh as the rightful lord. Consequently, Rory was freed, while Brian was recommitted to imprisonment in

. Brian O'Connor Faly died in Dublin Castle in 1560.

Family & legacy

Brian O’Connor Faly and Mary FitzGerald had at least ten recorded children - eight (possibly nine) sons and two daughters, including Cathal, Donnchadh, Calvach, Cormac, Margaret, Rory, Teige, Art, Rosse and Connor. Connor became the chief rebel leader in Offaly and was one of

Rory Oge O'More Rory Oge O'More (; – 30 June 1578) was an Irish noble and chief of the O'More clan. As the Lord of Laois, he rebelled against the Tudors' sixteenth-century conquest of Gaelic Ireland. Irish nationalists Patrick Pearse and Philip O'Sul ...

's most trusted captains. Cathal became a prominent rebel and fled to Spain in the 1580s to escape execution. In 1596, Cathal and his mother died in a shipwreck on the

2nd Spanish Armada The Second Spanish Armada also known as the Spanish Armada of 1596Wernham pp. 139–140 was a naval operation that took place during the Anglo–Spanish War. Another invasion of England or Ireland was attempted in the autumn of 1596 by King Phi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connor Faly, Brian 1490s births 1560 deaths Barons Offaly Prisoners in the Tower of London Irish lords Irish chiefs of the name People from County Offaly