Manus O'Donnell (
Irish: ''Maghnas Ó Domhnaill'' or ''Manus Ó Domhnaill''; 1490 – 9 February 1563) was a
Gaelic Irish lord and
King of Tyrconnell. After his father
Hugh Dubh's death in 1537, Manus succeeded as
Tyrconnell's ruler.
[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (29 March 2024)]
"Manus O'Donnell"
''Encyclopedia Britannica
An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...
''. Archived fro
the original
on 3 September 2024. In 1555 he was imprisoned and deposed by his son
Calvagh, who effectively took over the kingdom's leadership. Manus died during his imprisonment in
Lifford.
Early life
Manus O'Donnell was born in 1490
into the
O'Donnell clan, a Gaelic Irish noble family which ruled
Tyrconnell, a kingdom geographically associated with present-day
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
. Manus's father,
Hugh Dubh (pronounced in
Ulster Irish
Ulster Irish ( or , ) is the variety of Irish language, Irish spoken in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. It "occupies a central position in the Goidelic languages, Gaelic world made up of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man". Uls ...
as 'Hugh Doo'), had been ''
Rí'' (king) of the O'Donnells during one of the bitterest and most protracted of the
feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
s between his
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
and the
O'Neills, which in 1491 led to a war lasting more than ten years. Hugh Dubh left Manus to rule
Tyrconnell, though still a boy, when he went on a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in about 1511. On his return from Rome (via England, where he was knighted by
King 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 six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
) in broken health after two years' absence, Manus, who had proved himself a capable leader in defending his country against the O'Neills, retained the chief authority.
According to the ''
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 ...
'', Manus was inaugurated by "the successors of St. Columbkille, with the permission and by the advice of the nobles of Tirconnell, both lay and ecclesiastical." When
Sir Hugh Dubh O'Donnell, as he was now, appealed for aid against his son to the Maguires, Manus made an alliance with the O'Neills, by whose assistance he established his hold over Tyrconnell. But in 1522 the two great northern clans were again at war.
Conn Bacagh O'Neill, ''An Ó Néill'' (who was created The 1st
Earl of Tyrone in 1542), was determined to bring the O'Donnells under his rule. Supported by
Munster
Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
and
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 ...
, and assisted also by English contingents and by the MacDonnells of
Antrim, O'Neill took the castle of
Ballyshannon
Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...
, and after devastating a large part of Tyrconnell he encamped at
Knockavoe, near
Strabane
Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...
. Here he was surprised at night by Sir Hugh Dubh and Manus O'Donnell, and routed with the loss of 900 men and an immense quantity of booty in the
Battle of Knockavoe. Although this was one of the bloodiest ever battles between the O'Neills and the O'Donnells, it did not end the war; and in 1531 O'Donnell applied to the
Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman Lords between 1177 and 1542. T ...
for protection, giving assurances of allegiance to
King 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 six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
.
Geraldine League
In February 1537,
The 10th Earl of Kildare (previously known as Lord Offaly, and better known to history as 'Silken Thomas') and his five uncles were executed at
Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...
for their rebellion in
Leinster
Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland.
The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
. Following their executions, the
English Crown made every effort to capture
Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, the new head of the
FitzGerald dynasty
The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...
and the new claimant to the
Earldom of Kildare, a boy of twelve who was in the secret custody of his aunt, Lady Eleanor McCarthy.
Lady Eleanor, in order to secure a powerful protector for the boy, accepted an offer of marriage from Manus O'Donnell, who on the death of Sir Hugh Dubh in July 1537 was inaugurated as "The O'Donnell".
Conn O'Neill (later
Earl of Tyrone) was a relative of the young Lord Kildare, and this event accordingly led to the formation of the short-lived
Geraldine League, a federation including the O'Neills, the O'Donnells, the O'Briens of
Thomond, and other powerful clans; the primary object of which was to restore young Lord Kildare to his lands, titles and properties, but which afterwards aimed at the complete overthrow of English rule in Ireland.
Chief of the O'Donnells
In August 1539, O'Donnell and Conn O'Neill were heavily defeated by the
Lord Deputy at
Lake Bellahoe, in
County Monaghan
County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...
, which crippled their power for many years. In the west Manus made unceasing efforts to assert the supremacy of the O'Donnells in north
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 ...
, where he compelled O'Conor Sligo to acknowledge his over-lordship in 1539. In 1542 he went to England and presented himself, together with Conn O'Neill and other Irish chiefs, became a Protestant, and recognised Henry VIII, who promised to make him Earl of Tyrconnell, though he refused O'Donnell's request to be made Earl of
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
. The assimilation process was known as "
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-Feudalism, feudal system under t ...
".
By the early 1500s, O’Donnell was a significant patron of the arts in Ulster, and he took a particular interest in the trade and customs of
the Continent. Rather than dressing in the ancient Gaelic styles, he adopted the fashion of contemporary Spanish noblemen. His dress was described in 1542 as “furnisht of other apparrail better than any Irishman, for at such time as he mette with me he was in a coat of crimoisin velvet with aiglettes of gold, twenty or thirty pair, over that a great doble cloke of right crimoisin satin, garded with black velvet, a bonnet with a feather set full of aiglettes of gold: that methough it strange to see him in so honorable an apparrail, and all the rest of his nacion that I have seen as yet, so vile”.
In his later years, Manus was troubled by quarrels between his sons
Hugh and
Calvagh; in 1555 he was imprisoned by Calvagh, who deposed him from all authority in Tyrconnell.
Manus died in
Lifford on 9 February 1563.
Manus O'Donnell, though a fierce warrior, was hospitable and generous to the poor and the Church. He is described by the Four Masters as "a learned man, skilled in many arts, gifted with a profound intellect, and the knowledge of every science." At his castle of Portnatrynod near Strabane, he supervised, if he did not actually dictate, the writing of the ''Life of
Saint Columbkille'' in
Irish, which is preserved in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
(Rawlinson B 514) at Oxford. He was also a poet and many of his poems, written in Irish, survive.
Family
Manus was married several times. His first wife, Joan O'Reilly, was the mother of Calvagh, and two daughters, both of whom married O'Neills; the younger, Margaret, was the wife of the famous rebel
Shane O'Neill. His second wife, Hugh's mother, by whom he was an ancestor of the Earls of Tyrconnell (see below), was Judith, sister of Conn Bacach O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone, and aunt of Shane.
Further reading
*
Betha Colaim Chille
*
See also
*
Cruithnechán
References
Citations
Sources
*
*Rev. Richard Henebry: The Life of Columcille (ascribed to Magnus O'Donnell).
[O'Donnell, M., Henebry, R., Schoepperle, G., O'Kelleher, A. (1918)]
Betha Colaim chille: Life of Columcille
Urbana, Ill.: The University of Illinois under the auspices of the Graduate school. Text from Rawlinson B. 514, with translation. (Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. III., IV., IX, XI, 1901–1917).
[Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie.](_blank)
Halle a. S., tc. M. Niemeyer tc.
*Four Masters, Annals of Ireland by the: Translated and Edited by John O'Donovan. Dublin, 1856.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, Manus
1564 deaths
Kings of Tír Chonaill
People from County Donegal
16th-century Irish people
Irish-language writers
Irish writers
1490 births