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Rudhraighe or Rory O'Donnell was one of nine known children of Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill, better known as Sir Hugh O'Donnell, who reigned from 1566 until he abdicated in favour of his eldest son, Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill , in 1592. In 1602, Rory succeeded his recently deceased brother Hugh as King of Tír Conaill and head of the clan O'Donnell. Having submitted in London to the new King, James I , he was knighted and created 1st Earl of Tyrconnell (which meant that James recognised his position in Irish society) and made Sheriff of Donegal . Soon afterwards, he married Bridgid FitzGerald, daughter of the Earl Of Kildare , by whom he had three children: Elizabeth, Aodh (Hugh) and Mary. There was much fury in Ireland and England that he and Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl Of Tyrone had been treated so gingerly after committing treason, but time was on the side of the authorities. On September 14 , 1607 , with the discovery that he and O'Neill were to be arrested and imprisoned, both Earls set sail from Lough Swilly with their families and followers for eventual exile in Rome (see Flight Of The Earls ). Rory died there in 1608. PARENTS AND SIBLINGS Rory's father had at least nine known children by at least two different women. The eldest was Rory's sister, Siobhan, who married Hugh O'Neill in 1574 and died in January 1591, about the same time that her brother Hugh was escaping from in 1592; when he sided with the English during the Nine Years War , she abandoned him and subsequently joined Rory on the Flight Of The Earls with her daughter, Grania. Maghnus and Cathbharr are known to have being dead by September 1608, while a poem written in the same month addresses Mairghead and Máire. Nothing is known of Mairghead beyond this. However, Máire had married Sir Donnell Ó Cathain before 1598 but they divorced and she married Tadgh O Ruairc, who died in 1605, leaving her with two sons. She herself died in 1662. CHILDREN OF RORY Elizabeth was born in 1604, about a year after Rory became Earl of Tyrconnell, and while she seems to have survived the journey to Rome, it is uncertain what became of her. His only son, Aodh (Hugh), was three weeks shy of his first birthday when the Earls sailed from Lough Swilly, and was raised in Rome. In time he joined the service of the King of Spain, and was killed in action when his ship engaged a french vessel in August or September 1642 and caught fire. It is not known if he had any offspring, legitimate or illigitimate. Rory's youngest child, Mary, left a more lasting impression on posterity. Born in England in 1608 after her father's death, for some reason King James I gave her the name Stuart, hence she was known as Mary Stuart O'Donnell. She was raised by her grandmother, Lady Kildare, suggesting that her mother too had died. She seems to have been raised in England, where Lady Kildare made an unsatisfactory (to Mary) match for her. Mary donned male attire, and with her maid and a manservant, escaped to Ireland. It is said that ''"Whenever her disguise aroused any suspicion, she allayed it by making passionate love to a girl, or offering to fight a duel!"'' She made her was to Brussels and from there to Genoa where she married a Mr. O'Gallagher (like her, a descendant of the Cenél Conaill . What exactly became of her seems to be a mystery; it is said that ''"When she was expecting her second child she wrote in great distress to Cardinal Barberini"'' and was ''"last heard of this remarkable woman was that she was a widow living in Prague"'', seemingly around 1649. A NOTE ON THE NAME RUDHRAIGHE Rudhraighe's name has been anglicised as Rory, but should be written and pronounced as ''Rury''. CLANN AODH Ó DOMHNAILL Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill/Sir Hugh O'Donnell, died 1600. =? = Fionnghuala "Inghean Dubh" Ní Seamus MacDonnell (married Aodh in 1569) | ||||||||||||
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