Sir Hugh Dubh O'Donnell (Irish: Sir Aodh Dubh Ó Domhnaill) was a leading figure in Gaelic Ireland during the Tudor era. He was part of the ruling O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell. In Ulster Irish, Sir Hugh Dubh is pronounced as 'Sir Hugh Doo'.
He was the son of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, King of Tyrconnell from 1461 to 1505 except for a brief period when his son Con O'Donnell, Hugh's eldest brother, came to power. Hugh succeeded his father in 1505, reigning till his death in 1537. He was succeeded by his own son Manus O'Donnell.[1]
Like his father, Sir Hugh was a strong ruler who was able to keep the rival O'Neills in check and expanded O'Donnell power into northern Connaught.[2] His rule saw the gradual development of an alliance between the O'Donnells and the Crown which would last for most of the century. Hugh fought alongside The 8th Earl of Kildare in Munster in 1510 (and may have taken part in the earlier Battle of Knockdoe). In 1511 he went on a pilgrimage to Rome, and was knighted by Henry VIII in London on the return journey.[3] On 6 May 1531 he formally submitted to Henry VIII's representative in Ireland, Lord Deputy Sir William Skeffington, at Drogheda.[4]
Amongst his great-grandchildren were Hugh Roe O'Donnell and Rory, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, known for their roles in Tyrone's Rebellion and the Flight of the Earls respectively. He had at least five wives: at least one of them, Margery Darcy, daughter of Sir William Darcy of Platten, belonged to an Anglo-Irish family of the Pale.