1589 - 1590 AD
1589 AD
Finghin
Riabach Mac Carthy
the
Heberian Eoghanacht Chaisil Chief
in the Munster Province who was skilled in
Irish,
Latin, English and
Spanish, wrote a History of
Ireland from
the Anglo - Norman Invasion until
1626 AD,
Due
to the continuing turmoil in relation to who would be the
future leader of the
Cenel Conaill O Donnell's
in their kingdom and territory in Co. Donegal in
the west of the Ulster Province
the
English
Military garrison
under
Willis was still holding on
in the
Donegal Friary
raiding the surrounding region. The young
Aed
Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell's older
half - brother,
Donnell O
Donnell was continuing to rally his supporters to try and
eventually gain
his father's, the "aged," Aed Dubh O
Donnell's "The O
Donnell" (the son of Manus O Donnell),
leadership position if he should suddenly die, and among these were
English / foreign allies.
"The
O Donnell’s"
second wife,
Fionnuala
/ Ineen
Dubh, who was the mother of the young Aed Ruadh O Donnell
and his brother, Rory O Donnell had
already burnt down their
Donegal Castle to
stop the English Militia from taking
it over, and she had then gone personally over to
Scotland
to hire galloglasses (young foreign mercenary warriors) to assist them to
take on the English Military forces, who were now also becoming more established in
their Dal Cuinn
"northern" Ui Niaill
Cenel Conaill
kingdom of Tir Conaill
/ Tyrconnell / Co. Donegal, (Fort of the Strangers) and
she was to return to Ireland in the
late Summer. Among t
September:
Felim O Toole the Heremonian Ui Laoghaire
Ui Lughaidh Cu Corb
Ui Dunlainge Chieftain,
in Southern Leinster came to
the Dublin Castle to notify the young imprisoned
Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell that his
older half - brother,
Donnell O
Donnell had recently been killed by
Mac Sweeney
Doe's men
during an internal O Donnell battle in Co. Donegal near
Doire Leathain, that had occurred
between his followers and the galloglasses in the service of his mother,
Fionnuala /
Ineen Dubh.
Another Christmas of
imprisonment was to
pass, which was to be the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell's
third year in English captivity in
the
Dublin Castle (The Devil's 1/2 acre), then another
Easter, and
then
another Summer.
Brian O Rourke "The O Rourke" the Heremonian Dal Cuinn Ui Briuin Breifne King in their kingdom and territory of West Breifne in Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht had also by now crossed over the bogs to escape from English captivity.
Elizabeth 1st's
favourite, Sir
Walter Raleigh
was also now, once again, back in
Ireland in the
Munster Province.
1590 AD
The Old / English / Anglo -
Irish also came out in
rebellion this year, against
Elizabeth 1st's continuing ethnic and religious repression
when
the
Kilcolman Castle, now
held by Edmund Spencer, that was situated
2 mile west of
Doneraile on the
River Awbeg,
was attacked by Fitz Gerald
the Earl of Desmond, who was
also trying to reclaim back his previously confiscated Estates and
126.Aed
Gavelach
O Niall,
who was
a son of
125.Shane O Niall
-
the Proud
the previously murdered "The O Niaill" and
Catherine Mac Lean the
previous wife
of
Calvagh O
Donnell, was now also executed who was a brother to
126.Art O Niall, and a
younger half - brother
to
126.Henry O Niall, who
both were to be able to escape later on from
out of the Dublin Castle
(The Devil's 1/2 acre)
also, with the young
Aed Ruad / Red Hugh
O Donnell.
In the meantime
126.Aed Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall
the English appointed second Earl of Tyrone continued to petition the
English authorities in Dublin Castle for the release of
the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell
to no avail. So
he sent
Richard Weston with letters and a silken rope wrapped around his body to
assist him
to physically try to escape himself from out of the Dublin Castle, and
although Lord
Fitz William checked the
letters, he failed to notice that
Richard Weston was now so well built. He then advised
the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell that many
others were to come to see him and they too would carry more of the same rope until he finally had enough to
escape from the grip of the English authorities in the Dublin Castle. Later
on he
came to see him twice again,
and he was then to be followed by
Fergus O Farrell the
Gaelic Milesian Irian King and two of his
sons, who had their kingdom and territory in
Co. Longford in the north - west of
Northern
Leinster
just below the
Ulster Province.
On the second occasion of
Richard
Weston's visit he informed the young Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell that should he be able to escape he
was to head
south to the Vale of
Glenmalure, to
the territory of
Fiacha mac Hugh O Byrne the Heremonian Cu Corb
Ui Dunlainge
King.
After
3 years
of
permanent imprisonment,
as an English hostage in the Dublin Castle to ensure his physical removal and
influence over his "aged" father,
Aed Dubh /
Black Hugh O Donnell
"The O Donnell"
he was able to escape from the clutches of the English and the
confinement of the Dublin Castle.
The young
Art Cavanagh / Kavanagh and
Hugh O Toole,
his 2
companions, who were both from the Heremonian Cu
Corb Septs in Southern Leinster were able to escape with him, and they were met by
Donnell
Cormac O Hanley
who was a
kern / foot soldier who was acting for
Fergus O Farrell the
Gaelic Milesian
Irian King from Co. Longford in
Northern Leinster, who also carried a stave to put in the door
- ring to aid in their escape, and four swords to use if it became necessary. They
fled out of Dublin town through the night and headed south, and passed by
St. Werburgh’s Church towards the little bridge over the
River Poddle, and from
there they carried on towards the
Wicklow Mountains, where they continued walking all night,
going higher up into the mountains towards
Ballinacor, which was
Fiach mac Hugh O Byrne’s
stronghold in
Glenmalure in
Co. Wicklow
in the south - east.
The
young, Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell's
feet
were by then badly cut up, and he soon found that he could not walk any further, so they
decided that
Donnell
O Hanley would stay with him, while
Hugh O Toole
set out for
Castle Kevin, which was
the stronghold of
his brother,
Felim O Toole,
which was only a mile away.
Donnell Cormac O Hanley and Art
Cavanagh / Kavanagh decided to push on to
Glenmalure to bring back
Fiach mac Hugh O Toole
himself, while
the young
Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh
O Donnell stayed there on his own,
until
Hugh and
Felim O Toole
returned and took him
physically back to
Castle Kevin. To protect himself from the repercussions of the
English appointed Lord Deputy,
Felim
O Toole sent off word to Dublin
Castle that he had captured
the young
Aedh Ruadh
/ Red
Hugh O Donnell, and his
own brother,
Hugh O Toole, and to tell
Fiach mac Hugh O Byrne to
pretend to attack
Castle Kevin and carry
off
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell to
Glenmalure,
before the English
were to arrive to take them into custody.
Unfortunately on this night the
River Annamoe
flooded and blocked all access to
Glenmalure, and
this allowed
Sir
George Carew
the English appointed Lord Deputy,
to arrive in
time to take the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell back to
Dublin
Castle (the Devil's 1/2 acre) where he was put in the
dungeon
and tortured to get him to reveal those who had assisted him to escape and
also the whereabouts of his other companions, but no matter what they did to him, he
continued to resist all of their efforts to do so.
126.Henry
O Niall and
126.Art O Niall who were
both sons of the previously murdered
125.Shane O Niall
-
the Proud who had been "England’s Greatest
Fear" and "The O Niall"
in his own right, were now also put in to Dublin Castle with the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell,
and as 126.Art
O Niall had also escaped previously, both of the
O Niall brothers were also put in
leg irons and
Meanwhile the "aged" Aedh Dubh mac Aedh O Donnell, the elected Tanaiste / heir - apparent under the Brehon Law, for the O Donnells, who had his territory in the west of the Ulster Province, was making preparations in readiness should his own nephew, Niall Garbh O Donnell carry out an attack against him personally, if he too was to endeavour to gain this most important position for himself.
In
Co. Monaghan in Southern
Ulster
the English Military
forces were continuing to use their "switching"
method, playing one Irish Sept against the other, and
during these conflicts
Aed Ruadh
- of Red Complexion
Mac Mahon
the
Heremonian
Dal Cuinn Colla Da Crioch
King
and
126.Aed
Gavelach
O Niall, the son of
125.Shane O Niall
the Proud
"The O Niall,"
had
already been executed.
The "aged," Aed Dubh O Donnell's "The O Donnell" daughter, Siobhan O Donnell who had married 126.Aed Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall the English appointed second Earl of Tyrone, who was the older half - sister to the young boys, Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell and Rory O Donnell had died.
Another of the O Byrnes, who was a kinsman to Fiach mac Hugh O Byrne the Cu Corb Ui Dunlainge King in Co. Wicklow in the south - east of Southern Leinster, now came to visit the young Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell with another plan to attempt to escape from the Dublin Castle again.
Christmas Eve:
It had been nearly 12
months
since the young Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh
O Donnell had previously escaped
from Dublin Castle and a file was now smuggled in to him, which they used to remove the leg irons from the two
O Niaill
brothers,
and the three of them then escaped down the privy shaft, courtesy of a further
rope they had also supplied and
126.Henry O Niall took off on his
own as he was the heir apparent / Tanaiste of 125.Shane O
Niaill the previous "The O Niall"
and he feared what
126.Aed Dubh / Black Hugh
O Niall
the English appointed second Earl of Tyrone
might have in mind for him. as he was well aware that
Fiach mac Hugh O Byrne acted on
his behalf.
The young
Aed Ruadh
/ Rd Hugh
O Donnell
and 126.Art O Niaill
with their guide headed off once again towards
Glenmalure in Co. Wicklow
in the south - east of Southern Leinster, but
126.Art O Niaill collapsed
along the way,
so they put him
in a cave where the young
Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell stayed with him, with their guide going on to
Ballinacor. By the time the rescuers arrived
126.Art O
Niall had not only been badly frost bitten
but he had been frozen to death, and the young
Aed Ruadh / Red Hugh O Donnell was also in a
very bad way, so they took him back to
Ballinacor in
Glenmalure, the
stronghold of
Fiach mac Hugh O Byrne. Turlogh
Buidhe
- of the Yellow Hair
O Hagan
came down from
126.Aed Dubh
/ Black Hugh O Niall’s
stronghold at Dungannon in the Ulster Province to take
the young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell
home to
Co. Donegal
safely, and they rode back to the north passing by
Dublin via
Dundrum Castle
with
Walter
Reagh
Fitz Gerald, (who was
Fiach mac
Hugh O Byrne’s son - in - law) acting as their guide until
they came to the
River Boyne along with
Fiach’s
men. They then had to also by - pass
Drogheda in Co. Louth in the north -
east of
Northern Leinster by crossing the
River Boyne by boat, with the boatmen then rowing back
and taking their horses through the town to meet up with them on the other side
and from there they made it to
Mellifont Abbey, which was also in
Co. Louth, which was
then the home of
Sir
Garrett Moore, were they
stayed over, and two days later they arrived at
Dundalk, where they had no choice but to ride straight through the
town as the English forces were
patrolling the countryside. (This region was then the northern boundary for
the
English Pale.)
They finally arrived at
126.Aed Dubh
/ Black Hugh O Niaill's Dungannon Castle
in Ulster, were young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell
met
up with
126.Aed Dubh / Black
Hugh
O
Niall’s
daughter,
127.Rois O Niall
for the first time, who was to dress his swollen feet.
Meanwhile, due to the ongoing conflict
among the Heremonian Dal Cuinn
"northern" Ui Niaill
Cenel Conaill Ui Domhnaill Septs because of
the
lack of any real overall leadership at this time, due to the depreciating physical and mental state of
the "aged"
Aed Dubh / Black Hugh
O Donnell "The O Donnell" the
English Militia under their
commander,
Willis were still
in
Donegal Friary
in Co. Donegal in the O
Donnell's territory in the west
of the Ulster Province, continuing to carry out
their raids on the surrounding countryside there, from
Loch Erne to
Glen Columbcille.
The young
Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh
O Donnell
was taken onto
Hugh Maguire
"
The Maguire"
the Heremonian Dal Cuinn
Colla Da Crioch
Chief, at
Enniskillen Castle,
who was also his cousin, who carried out a great celebration in honour
of his escape from the English authorities in the Dublin Castle (The
Devil's 1/2 acre).
Hugh Maguire
had previously personally dared the
English appointed Lord Deputy to send a
sheriff to his territory in
Co. Fermanagh
in the south - west of the
Ulster Province,
providing he told him his “blood
price” first, as he was sure to be killed by the
Irish
Septs there.
Hugh Maguire then had
the young Aed Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell rowed
across
to the other side of Loch Erne were he was greeted by
his previous young companion,
Eogan O Gallagher, who escorted
him on to
Ballyshannon
to
Mac Dunleavy the
Dal Fiatach
physician,
who advised him not to stand on his feet at all, as he may lose them all
together.
His other previous young companion, Donnell
Gorm
Mac Sweeney
then also came to see
him, advising him that his father,
the "aged"
Aed Dubh /
Black Hugh O Donnell "The O Donnell" was virtually a prisoner in what was left of
Donegal Castle, and
his mother,
Fionnuala / Ineen Dubh had
fled to the protection of
Mac Sweeney
Doe. There were by now
many
factions in the O Donnell's territory who were being stirred on by the
English
authorities in the Dublin Castle who were ready to make a move on the Cenel Conaill
kingdom and territory in
Tir Conaill / Tyrconnell
/ Co. Donegal and he told him he would have to act now, or less it will be too late to do so, but he
was afraid if he lost the use of his feet he would
not be accepted under the Brehon Law as the future
"The O Donnell."
Donnell
Gorm
Mac Sweeney told him that
O Boyle and
Donough
Mac Sweeney
Banagh
and every other Irish Chieftain
south of
Bearnas Mor were
ready to support him as The O Donnell, as something had to be done about
Willis and the
English
Militia garrison in
the Donegal Friary,
who were being allowed to do as they pleased and were also holding many hostages
there.
Meanwhile Donogh
Mac Sweeney
Banagh
had
already camped before the walls of
the Donegal Friary
trying to make his own personal stand against the English Militia there, and the young
Aed Ruadh
O Donnell
then
road up to meet him, and they shook hands, and
the young
Aed Ruadh O Donnell then advised him that he wanted to
starve them out instead of
a direct attack, as this would save all their
lives, including those of the English
Militia and their hostages, which would stop the
English in the the
The Pale
around Dublin
calling for any retaliation against the Irish Septs
in Ulster.
Donogh Mac Sweeney Banagh was not too happy
about this approach, and as the days dragged on he was becoming more disturbed about it,
until finally Willis broke and sent out a messenger to seek terms, and
the young
Aed
Ruadh
/ Red Hugh O Donnell
told him to leave all the property and the cattle he had secured, and
to make sure the hostages were unharmed, and the
English Militia could then leave
unharmed
also, to which he agreed.
Rathfran Dominican Abbey in the north of Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, which was previously given to Thomas Essex was burnt down by Sir Richard Bingham the English officious Governor in Connacht, but the friars were to continue to stay there in the surrounding district still for another 100 years. Bingham also constructed a fortress between Loch Key and Loch Arrow, where the region there was separated by a mile strip of land, to try and contain the Heremonian Dal Cuinn "northern" Ui Niaill Cenel Conaill O Donnells in the north - west of Ireland.
John Mac Coghlan the son of Art the son of Cormac, the Heberian Dal gCais Prince of Delvin in Co. Offaly, died, and was to be succeeded by his son, John Oge - the Younger Mac Coghlan who was to be the last of the Sept who would be in an alliance with Aodh Dubh / Black Hugh O Niall the King of Ulster in 1598 AD.