Sir Hugh O'Donnell

Hugh McManus O'Donnell
Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill
King of Tyrconnell
Reign1566–1592
PredecessorCalvagh O'Donnell
HeirHugh Roe O'Donnell
Bornc. 1520
Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
Died1600 (aged 79-80)
Tyrconnell, Ulster, Ireland
Burial
SpouseNuala O'Neill
Iníon Dubh
IssueNumerous, including Donal, Siobhán, Hugh Roe, Rory, Nuala and Cathbarr
HouseUí Dhomhnaill
FatherManus O'Donnell
MotherJudith O'Neill

Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell (Irish: Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill; c. 1520 – 1600)[1] was an Irish Gaelic lord. He was The O'Donnell of his clan, and king of Tyrconnell in Tudor-era Ireland.

A "wary politician",[2] 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. His second wife, Scotswoman Iníon Dubh, organised his abdication in 1592, in favour of their eldest son Red Hugh O'Donnell.

  1. ^ O'Byrne, Emmett (October 2009). "O'Donnell (Ó Domhnaill), Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006332.v1.
  2. ^ Dunlop 1894, p. 436.