Nuala O'Donnell

Nuala O'Donnell (Irish: Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill; c. 1565 - 1630) was a member of the O'Donnell dynasty in sixteenth century Ireland who took part in the 1607 Flight of the Earls.[1]

Biography

Nuala was the daughter of Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the Gaelic lord of Tyrconnell and head of the O'Donnells. Her siblings include her full brother Sir Donnell O'Donnell and her half-brothers Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Rory O'Donnell and Cathbarr O'Donnell. She was also a sister-in-law of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone due to his marriage with her sister Siobhán. Much of her family became engulfed in the violent O'Donnell succession dispute of the 1580s and 1590s, as various claimants attempted to secure the right to succeed her father even while Sir Hugh was still alive. Her elder brother Donnell was killed in battle in 1590 by Scottish redshank mercenaries hired by her stepmother Iníon Dubh, allowing her half-brother Hugh Roe to emerge victorious by 1592.[2]

Nuala made a dynastic marriage with Niall Garve O'Donnell, a cousin and a rival claimant to the O'Donnell lordship. After the marriage Niall Garve became an ally of Hugh Roe and joined him after he took part in the 1594 Siege of Enniskillen, triggering the nine-year Tyrone's Rebellion. However Niall Garve, along with three of his brothers and many followers, dramatically switched sides and began assisting Crown forces under the English commander Sir Henry Docwra who were operating out of Derry. He led forces during the Crown victories at the Battle of Lifford and Siege of Donegal, and had troops of the Royal Irish Army placed under his command. Niall's ambition was to have himself declared the Gaelic lord of Tyrconnell.

When Nuala heard of her husband's defection, Nuala left him and returned to live with her brother Hugh Roe, taking some of her children with her. In a furious reaction to Niall Garve's betrayal, Hugh Roe reportedly beat his infant son (and his own nephew) to death.[3] Nuala subsequently divorced Niall. Following her brother Hugh Roe's death in 1602, she joined the household of his successor Rory, who was made Earl of Tyrconnell following the Treaty of Mellifont which made peace with the Crown.

In 1607 she took part in the Flight of the Earls which took several Gaelic nobles, including her brother Rory, into Continental exile. She played a role in the raising of Rory's son Hugh, whose mother had remained behind in Ireland. She appears to have died in Rome. Her surviving child with Niall Garve, Grania O'Donnell, had accompanied her into Italian exile.

Family tree

Sir Hugh O'Donnell (Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; died 1600)[lower-roman 1]
- Married first: an unnamed Irish woman
  - Donnchadh (Scaite)
  - Donnell (Domhnall d.1590
    - Wife: daughter of Turlough O'Neill
      - Dómhnall Óg[lower-roman 2]
  - Ruadhri (died 1575)
  - Siobhán, or Joan (died 1591)[lower-roman 1]
    - Married: Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.[lower-roman 3]
      - Hugh (1585–1609)[lower-roman 3] He was known as the baron of Dungannon, died in Rome and was buried in San Pietro di Montorio.[lower-roman 4]
      - Henry O'Neill (1586?–1617×21)[lower-roman 3] He became a colonel of an Irish regiment in Archduke Albert's army.[lower-roman 4]
      - Margaret, who married Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret.[lower-roman 4]
  - daughter (fl. 1579)
  - Nuala (fl. 1592)[lower-roman 1]
    - Married Niall Garbh O'Donnel(1569–1626)
      - Grania
- Second marriage: Fionnghuala "Inghean Dubh" Ní Seamus MacDonnell (married Aodh in 1569)
  - Aodh Ruadh (1571–1602).[lower-roman 1]
  - Rudhraighe (died 1608).[lower-roman 1]
    - - Elizabeth[lower-roman 5]
        Husband: Luke Plunket later 1st Earl of Fingall survived Elizabeth and married twice more.
    - Wife: Brigid daughter of Earl of Kildare
      - Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell.[lower-roman 5][lower-roman 2]
        Married: Anna-Margaret, daughter of Maximilian de Hennin, Count de Bossut.[lower-roman 6]
      - Mary Stuart O'Donnell (1607–1649?).[lower-roman 5]
  - Maghnus alive 1608
  - Mairghead died 1662
  - Máire (died 1662)
    - Married: Tadhg Ó Ruairc, King of West Breifne (died 1605)
  - Cathbarr (dead by September 1608)
    - Wife: Rosa (c.1588–1660) the daughter of Sir John O'Doherty — married secondly Owen Roe O'Neill (c. 1585–1649) who she met in the Low Countries
      - Hugh O'Donnell (died 1625), became a captain in the Spanish Army, serving in Flanders in the regiment of his stepfather (Owen Roe O'Neill). He was killed during the Siege of Breda.[lower-roman 7]

Notes:

Burke 1866, p. 409.
If the Earldom of Tyrconnell had not been attained, then next in line as 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell would have been Dómhnall Óg son of Sir Donnell O'Donnell (an elder half brother of the 1st Earl)
Canny 2008
Dunlop 1895, p. 196
"Hugh Albert O'Donnell, born [to Rory and Brigid] about October 1606, was the only son of this marriage, Mary Stuart O'Donnell being born about a year later. Some authorities give an eldest child, Elizabeth, probably illegitimate, who became first wife of Luke Plunkett, first earl of Fingall" (Silke 2006).
Burke 1866, p. 410.
Casway 1984, pp. 27–28.

Sources:

Burke, Sir Bernard (1866), A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, Harrison, pp. 409–410
Canny, Nicholas (January 2008) [2004], "O'Neill, Hugh , second earl of Tyrone (c.1550–1616)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20775 (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Casway, Jerrold (1984), Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland, University of Pennsylvania Press
Dunlop, Robert (1895), "O'Neill, Hugh (1540?-1616)" , Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 42, pp. 188–196
Silke, John J. (May 2006) [2004]. "O'Donnell, Rury , styled first earl of Tyrconnell (1574/5–1608)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20559. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

References

Swords 2007 p. 14.
Morgan 1999, p. 130.
McGurk 2006, pp. 93–95.

Bibliography

McGurk, Johnv (2006). Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder. Four Courts Press.
Morgan, Hiram (1999). Tyrone's Rebellion. Boydell Press.
O’Donnell, Francis Martin (2018), The O'Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy, Washington, D.C.: Academica Press LLC, ISBN 978-1-680534740
Swords, Liamv(2007). The Flight of the Earls: A Popular History. Columba.

External links

Women in Flight at History Ireland

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[Burke_1866,_p._409-4] Burke 1866, p. 409.

[3rd_Earl_of_Tyrconnell-5] If the Earldom of Tyrconnell had not been attained, then next in line as 3rd Earl of Tyrconnell would have been Dómhnall Óg son of Sir Donnell O'Donnell (an elder half brother of the 1st Earl)

[Canny,_2008-6] Canny 2008

[Dunlop,_1895-7] Dunlop 1895, p. 196

[Silke_2003-8] "Hugh Albert O'Donnell, born [to Rory and Brigid] about October 1606, was the only son of this marriage, Mary Stuart O'Donnell being born about a year later. Some authorities give an eldest child, Elizabeth, probably illegitimate, who became first wife of Luke Plunkett, first earl of Fingall" (Silke 2006).

[9] Burke 1866, p. 410.

[10] Casway 1984, pp. 27–28.

[1] Swords 2007 p. 14.

[2] Morgan 1999, p. 130.

[3] McGurk 2006, pp. 93–95.

Flight of the Earls
Journey	Rathmullan A Coruña Quillebeuf-sur-Seine Leuven Colmar Milan Ravenna Rome
General	Battle of Kinsale Nine Years' War Treaty of Mellifont O’Neill-O’Cahan disputes Arthur Chichester John Davies O'Doherty's Rebellion Ulster Conspiracy of 1615 Plantation of Ulster
Exiles	Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell Catherine Magennis, Countess of Tyrone Shane O'Neill Hugh O'Donnell Nuala O'Donnell Cathbarr O'Donnell Rosa O'Doherty Cuchonnacht Maguire Donagh O’Brien Tadhg Ó Cianáin Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
Remained	Cormac MacBaron O'Neill Conn O'Neill Bridget FitzGerald, Countess of Tyrconnell (pregnant) Mary Stuart O'Donnell