Back Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill Esperanto Red Hugh O'Donnell Spanish Hugh Roe O'Donnell French Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill Irish Aodh Rua Ó Dónaill Scots/Gaelic Hugh Roe O'Donnell Galician Hugh Roe O'Donnell Italian О’Доннел, Аод Руад Russian
| Hugh Roe O'Donnell II | |
|---|---|
.png) 1934 depiction of O'Donnell by Richard King | |
| Lord of Tyrconnell | |
| Reign | 23 April 1592 – 30 August 1602 |
| Inauguration | 23 April 1592 |
| Predecessor | Hugh MacManus O'Donnell |
| Successor | Rory O'Donnell |
| Born | c. 20 October 1572 Tyrconnell, Ireland |
| Died | 30 August 1602 (aged 29) Simancas Castle, Crown of Castile |
| Burial | 30 August 1602[1] |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | None |
| House | O'Donnell dynasty |
| Father | Hugh MacManus O'Donnell |
| Mother | Iníon Dubh |
| Signature |  |
Hugh Roe O'Donnell II[a] (Irish: Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill; c. 20 October 1572 – 30 August 1602),[b][c] also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was an Irish clan chief and senior leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War. He was Lord of Tyrconnell from 1592 until his death in 1602.
He was born into the powerful O'Donnell clan of Tyrconnell (present-day County Donegal). By the age of fourteen, he was recognised as his clan's tanist and engaged to the daughter of the prominent Earl of Tyrone. The English-ruled Irish government feared that an alliance between Tyrone and the O'Donnell clan would threaten the Crown's control over Ulster, so in 1587 Lord Deputy John Perrot arranged for Hugh Roe's kidnapping. The government subsequently backed regime change in Tyrconnell. After four years' imprisonment in Dublin Castle, Hugh Roe escaped circa January 1592 with the help of Tyrone's bribery. At nineteen years old, he was inaugurated as clan chief at Kilmacrennan on 23 April [N.S. 3 May] 1592.
Along with his father-in-law Tyrone, Hugh Roe O'Donnell led a confederacy of Irish clans in the Nine Years' War, motivated to prevent English incursions into their territory and to end Catholic persecution under Elizabeth I. Throughout the war, O'Donnell expanded his territory into Connacht by launching raids against successive Lord Presidents Richard Bingham and Conyers Clifford. O'Donnell led the confederacy to victory at the Battle of Curlew Pass. In 1600, he suffered various military and personal losses.[d] His cousin Niall Garve defected to the English, which greatly emboldened commander Henry Docwra's troops and forced O'Donnell out of Tyrconnell.
After a crushing defeat at the Siege of Kinsale, O'Donnell travelled to Habsburg Spain to acquire reinforcements from King Philip III. The promised reinforcements failed to materialise, and whilst preparing for a follow-up meeting with the king, O'Donnell died of a sudden illness at the Castle of Simancas, aged 29. His body was buried inside the Chapel of Wonders at the Convent of St. Francis in Valladolid. O'Donnell's premature death disheartened an already withering Irish resistance; Tyrone ended the Nine Years' War in 1603 with the Treaty of Mellifont.
Fiercely patriotic and militarily aggressive, O'Donnell is considered a folk hero and a symbol of Irish nationalism. He has drawn comparisons to El Cid and William Wallace.[8] In 2020, an unsuccessful archaeological dig for his remains drew international media attention. Since 2022, the city has annually reenacted his 1602 funeral procession in period costumes.
- ^ Purcell 1966, p. 257.
- ^ O'Donnell, Francis Martin (10 August 2020c), What did they really look like? An Iconography of the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell: myth, allegory, prejudice, and evidence, Tyrconnell-Fyngal Publishing, pp. 1–12
- ^ Morgan, Hiram (1 April 2006). 'The Pope's new invention': the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in Ireland, 1583-1782 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
barryhughwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Connolly 2007, p. 423; Morgan 2009, 5th paragraph.
- ^ Clavin 2009, 5th paragraph.
- ^ Concannon 1920, p. 232.
- ^ Murray, Eavan (14 September 2022). "How an Italian clue could solve the mystery of Irish hero Red Hugh O'Donnell's final burial place". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
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