Máire Rua O'Brien (1615/1616 – 1686) was an Irish aristocrat who married three times to retain family lands. Born into the MacMahon family of Thomond, her name, Máire Rua or Red Mary, derived from her

red hair Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of northern Europe, Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals Zygosity#Homozy ...

. First married to Daniel Neylon (O'Neillan) of

Dysert O'Dea Castle O'Dea Castle, also known as Dysert O'Dea Castle, is an Irish fortified tower house, loosely described as a castle at Dysert O'Dea (), the former O'Dea clan stronghold, from Corofin, County Clare.Conor O'Brien of

Leamaneh Castle Leamaneh Castle is a ruined castle located in the townland of Leamaneh North, parish of Kilnaboy, between the villages of Corofin and Kilfenora at the border of the region known as the Burren in County Clare, Ireland. It consists of a 15th-ce ...

. With her second husband, she backed the Royalist cause against Cromwell's forces during the

Eleven Years' War The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Ireland, England and Scotland, all then ruled by Charles I. The conflict caused an estimated 200,000 ...

. However, after her second husband was killed in 1651, she married a Cromwellian officer; in a reputed attempt to save her estate. Remaining on her estate at Leamaneh for several decades, her son Donough O'Brien moved the family seat to the larger

Dromoland Castle Dromoland Castle () is a castle, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, Ireland. It is operated as a five-star luxury hotel with a golf course, with its restaurant, the "Earl of Thomond", being awarded a Michelin star in 1995, ...

where she lived until her death in 1686. A sometimes notorious figure in Irish folklore, a number of exaggerated stories and legends are associated with her life.

Early life

Born in 1615 or 1616, and named Máire (Mary) MacMahon, she became known as Máire Rua or Red Mary due to her red hair. She was the daughter of lord of East Corcabaskin or

Clonderalaw Clonderalaw () is an historical Barony (Ireland), barony in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Baronies are geographical divisions of land that are in turn is divided into civil parishes in Ireland, civil parishes. Legal context Baro ...

, Sir Torlach Rua MacMahon and his wife Mary, the youngest daughter of

Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond also spelt Conor and called Groibleach, or the "long-nailed", (; 1535–1581) contended with his uncle Domhnall mac Conchobair Ó Briain, Donnell for the Chieftainship of Clan O'Brien dynasty, O'Brien from 15 ...

. Some sources have her place of birth as

Bunratty Bunratty (, meaning "mouth of the Raite") is a village in County Clare, Ireland, near Bunratty Castle. It is connected by the N18 road to Limerick and Galway. The Raite river defines the parish's eastern boundary and flows into the Shannon E ...

, but it is likely she was born at Clonderalaw. O'Brien family tradition gives her place of birth as Urlan More, but she may have been fostered rather than born there. In 1634, she married colonel Daniel Neylon who fought in the English army in the Spanish war, the marriage having been arranged. She lived with Neylon at the Dysert (O'Dea) Castle in County Clare, and had three sons with him; William, Daniel and Michael. She was widowed, while her children were still young, when Neylon died in 1639. She managed the large Neylon estate until her eldest son William came of age.

Life at Leamaneh Castle

Seven months after Neylon's death, she married her cousin, Conor O'Brien of Leamaneh. The couple extended the O'Brien tower house at Leamaneh, creating

. An inscription on the castle reads: "This was built in the year of Our Lord 1648 by Conor O'Brien and Mary ní Mahon alias Brien wife to the said Conor". The couple had eight children, the eldest of whom, Sir Donough O'Brien, was born in 1642. The other known children were Teige, Turlough, Murrough, Honora, and Mary, with two other daughters who are believed to have died during the plague which affected the area during the

Siege of Limerick (1650–1651) Limerick, in western Ireland was the scene of two sieges during the Irish Confederate Wars. The second and largest of these took place during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1650–51. Limerick was one of the last fortified cities ...

It is with Leamaneh Castle that some of the stories of O'Brien's claimed violent actions are associated. It is alleged she would hang servants who displeased her, that she victimised trespassers, and denied

rights of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

through her land. During the Confederate Wars in Ireland (1641–1653), her husband led and financed one of the five militia companies of Clare which raided tower houses of English settlers planted in the area during the preceding century. O'Brien is reported to have ridden with her husband during some raids. In depositions relating to the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, a man named Gregory Hickman stated that: "Conor O’Brien, gentleman, in a most rebellious manner seized upon the deponent's corn"; and, later, "Conor O’Brien, of Lemaneagh, accompanied by Mary Brien nd otherswith force of arms came to the deponent's house and took away fourteen English swine and a parcel of household stuff; also 400 sheep". Some of those raided by O'Brien reputedly perpetuated rumours that she was a witch. Conor O'Brien was commissioned as Colonel of Horse in 1650 in the army of Charles II. He died the "death of a hero" in 1651 from wounds he received fighting against

Edmund Ludlow Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source ...

at the pass of Inchecrogan. Some stories suggest that he was returned to Leamaneh by O'Brien's own troops, gravely wounded, and that she nursed her husband on his death bed. Other stories suggest that his body was returned by Cromwellian troops, and that, in order to avoid confiscation of her lands, she claimed that the dead man was not her husband and that she was already a widow. Lady Chatterton's account, in 1839, says that during the battle of the pass of Inchicronan,

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton (baptised 3 November 1611; died 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and a son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 165 ...

sent five of his best men to shoot Conor O'Brien, and one of them succeeded in wounding him. Mary captured and hanged the man, called her sons and advised them to surrender to the Cromwellian forces, and set off in her coach to Limerick. Travelling through all the devastation and sorrow of his death, she arrived at the Limerick camp of Henry Ireton. Here, dressed in blue silk and lace, she reportedly proclaimed that she was willing to marry any of the officers. Some sources suggest that she made this offer as proof of her husband's death. In other sources it is suggested that she may have wanted to marry a Cromwellian officer in an effort of secure her property and land from seizure. Some legends, described by antiquarian

Thomas Johnson Westropp Thomas Johnson Westropp (16 August 18609 April 1922) was an Irish antiquarian, folklorist and archaeologist. Career Westropp was born on 16 August 1860 at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. His relatives were landowners of Englis ...

as "less credible" and an attempt to present O'Brien as a type of "female

Blue Beard "Bluebeard" ( ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in . The tale is about a wealthy man in the habit of murdering his wives and the atte ...

", propose that O'Brien married between 12 and 25 Cromwellian officers. Folklorist sources suggest that these numbers relate to love affairs had by O'Brien. These apocryphal stories claim that after every marriage or love affair, she killed each suitor, including killing one with a kick to the stomach. In one such legend O'Brien challenged a local man, with whom she had a dispute, to ride to the

Cliffs of Moher The Cliffs of Moher (; ) are sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. They run for about . At their southern end, they rise above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and, to the north, the ...

on her wild blind stallion - with the expectation that he would be killed. The folklorist

Máire MacNeill Máire MacNeill (7 December 1904 – 15 May 1987) was an Ireland, Irish journalist, folklorist and translator. She is best known for her magisterial study of the Irish harvest festival, ''The Festival of Lughnasa'' (1962, 1983). Biography ...

describes parallels between some of these stories, such as challenging suitors to ride a wild stallion, and those of traditional Irish sovereign-goddess myths. Other stories claim that O'Brien had hung servants, who had displeased her, from the corbels of the castle; the males by the neck and the woman by the hair, and would cut off their breasts. According to historical texts, soon after her husband's death in battle, O'Brien petitioned Charles I's Lord Deputy in Ireland, Ulick Burke, to become the custodian of the O'Brien estate. She was able to secure the land for her children, but she could not retain Leamaneh Castle, which fell to the Cromwellian army and was turned into a garrison.

Later life

By 1653, Máire Rua O'Brien (then Cooper) is recorded as the wife of a former Cromwellian officer, Cornet John Cooper and was living with him in Limerick for a period after their marriage. She later stayed with her O'Brien cousins in Inchiquin Castle, before returning to Leamaneh during

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

. Cooper and O'Brien are believed to have had a son, Harry, and possibly a daughter. It is Cooper that O'Brien was alleged to have killed with a kick in the stomach, but sources show that they remained married until her death - although they most likely lived apart. Still an Irish Catholic but attending English Protestant mass, O'Brien reputedly had a dispute with the local rector, which resulted in her building Coad Church. For the rest of her life she reputedly attended Mass at this church. Legend suggests that she did this to upset the vicar and to show she could do what she liked. In her will, O'Brien left a large amount of money to both Ennis Abbey and Quinn Abbey. In 1662, O'Brien was indicted for the murder of a local English landlord, which related to her apparent involvement with her second husband's raiding parties during the early 1640s. These allegations were reputedly made by her cousins' political opponents in parliament. Although she received a royal pardon in 1664, the trial went ahead and she wrote in 1665 of her "extremitie & troubles in England". Her son, Donough, moved the O'Brien family seat to

in the 1680s, where she lived the final years of her life.

Death and subsequent legends

O'Brien is reported to have died an extraordinary death, with one legend stating that she was sealed into a hollow tree in the avenue of Carnelly Forest. Other legends state that she was flung from a horse into a forked branch of a tree where she choked, or hung by her own hair from a tree. In the

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The ...

, the entry for O'Brien records her death as "conventional", and that "in poor health" in her seventies she made a will. Signed on 7 June 1686, her will requested that she be buried at the abbey of Ennis, and though there is no marker, it is possible she is buried there alongside her second husband, Conor O'Brien. Others contend that she is buried at Coad Church in Kilnaboy parish, with two of her daughters. Folklore and legends claim that Lemenagh Castle is one of the most haunted castle ruins in Ireland, with O'Brien's ghost wandering the halls of the ruin, accompanied by the sounds of an evil laugh and the screams of her supposed victims. There are three known portraits of O'Brien, one held by the O'Brien family, and two in Dromoland Castle Hotel. The jewellery worn by O'Brien in one of these portraits, dating from the 1640s, includes a "curious" mermaid-shaped pendant. A

slip jig Slip jig () refers to both a style within Irish music, and the Irish dance to music in slip-jig time originating from England. The slip jig is in time, traditionally with accents on 5 of the 9 beats — two pairs of crotchet/quaver (quarter note ...

titled ''Mall Rua'', and associated with Máire Rua O'Brien, was cataloged in 1976 by

Breandán Breathnach Breandán Breathnach (1 April 1912 – 6 November 1985) was an Irish music collector and uilleann piper. In addition to collecting Irish music, he is known for his ''Ceol Rince na hÉireann'' (Dance Music of Ireland) series. Life Breathnach gr ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maire Rua 1610s births 1686 deaths 17th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish nobility