Sir Fineen O'Driscoll (died 1629) was an Irish clan chief who was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. He was more commonly known as The Rover and also known as Fineen of the Ships. He was married to Eileen, daughter of Sir Owen MacCarthy Reagh the 16th Prince of Carbery, whose grandmother Eleanor was a daughter of

Gearóid Mór 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 un ...

. His eldest son, Connor (or Conor), was the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

Castlehaven Castlehaven () is a civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork, approximately 45 miles south-west of Cork City on the coast. The civil parish includes the town of Castletownshend and the hamlets of Rineen and Tragumna. Th ...

. His daughter Eileen married Richard Coppinger, a brother of Sir Walter Coppinger with whom he had numerous disputes over land that continued up to O'Driscoll's death. Another son Fineen was born in 1585. His daughter Mary () was captured by a pirate named Ali Krussa and sold into the

Barbary slave trade The Barbary slave trade involved the capture and selling of European slaves at slave markets in the largely independent Ottoman Barbary states. European slaves were captured by Barbary pirates in slave raids on ships and by raids on coastal ...

. He also had an illegitimate son, Gilly Duff (or (), also known as Black Gilly Duff). Fineen was also brother-in-law to

Donal II O'Donovan Donal II O'Donovan (), The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill ( – 1639), was the son of Ellen O'Leary, daughter of O'Leary of Inchigeelagh, Carrignacurra, and Donal of the Skins, The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail. He is most commonly r ...

and the two together with Owen MacCarthy Reagh's family are all noted in collaboration on numerous occasions. The O'Driscolls were a rich and powerful clan and their landholdings stretched over much of south Cork, from Cape Clear and the nearby islands, through Baltimore to Castlehaven. Much of their wealth was attributed to "

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 ...

", a form of both

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

or private sector taxation paid to Clan O'Driscoll by foreign ship owners and crews who wished to use the clan's territory for both

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

and the salting down of herring. Ships who traded or fished in clan territory without paying were considered both trespassers and fair game for acts of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

by O'Driscoll

war galley A galley is a type of ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fi ...

s. Like other Irish and

Scottish clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

s of the same era, however, Sir Fineen would have been honour bound to use the money gained to provide for and feed his clansmen and their families. Sir Fineen died in 1629 in his main stronghold, An Clochán, located on an island in Loch Oighinn. His son, Donogh, succeeded as Chief of the Name, and whose descendant was the same Kate O'Driscoll known to have married the MacCarthy Reagh family of Dunmanway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ODriscoll, Fineen 1629 deaths Irish chiefs of the name Irish pirates People from County Cork 17th-century Irish people Year of birth unknown