Sir Hugh O'Donnell

Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill
Lord of Tyrconnell
Reign	October 1566 – April 1592
Predecessor	Calvagh O'Donnell
Heir	Hugh Roe O'Donnell
Born	c. 1520 Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
Died	7 December 1600 (aged 79-80) Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
Burial	Donegal Abbey, Ulster
Spouse	Nuala O'Neill Iníon Dubh
Issue	Numerous, including Donal, Siobhán, Hugh Roe, Rory, Nuala and Cathbarr
House	Uí Dhomhnaill
Father	Manus O'Donnell
Mother	Judith O'Neill

Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell (Irish: Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; c. 1520 – 7 December 1600) was an Gaelic Irish nobleman, best known as the father of Hugh Roe O'Donnell. He was clan chief of the O'Donnell clan and Lord of Tyrconnell during the Elizabethan era.

In 1561, O'Donnell imprisoned his half-brother and rival Calvagh with the assistance of Shane O'Neill. Under brehon law he succeeded as The O'Donnell upon Calvagh's death in 1566. A "wary politician",^[1] O'Donnell's lordship was marked by political indecision. He attempted to appease both pro- and anti-English factions in Tyrconnell, and thus alternated between varying alliances. His clan ultimately united with long-time enemies the O'Neills against the English – this alliance would continue into the Nine Years' War (1593–1603).

O'Donnell's health had heavily declined by the 1580s, leading to a major succession crisis which was compounded by the kidnapping of his son and tanist Red Hugh O'Donnell. His second wife, Scotswoman Iníon Dubh, organised his abdication in 1592, in favour of Red Hugh.