Donal II O'Donovan
Encyclopedia
Donal II O'Donovan The O'Donovan
of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill (died 1639), was the son of Ellen O'Leary
, daughter of O'Leary of Carrignacurra, and Donal of the Skins, The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail.
After his elder brother Diarmaid O'Donovan was hanged by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare in 1581 following a raid urged by Elizabeth I into O'Sullivan
territory, Donal became heir to the lordship. Inaugurated with the White Rod by the MacCarthy Reagh
, his father-in-law Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
, he held the Lordship of Clancahill
in 1584, and was later recognized by the Lord Chancellor Adam Loftus
in 1592, defeating an attempt by his younger brother Teige, who alleged Donal to be a bastard
, to depose him. He was the last of his line so inaugurated in the ancient Gaelic manner.
Following his adherence to Philip III of Spain
during the Nine Years' War
, in 1608 Donal surrendered his territory to James I of England
, in an effort to preserve it for his descendants, receiving a regrant of the entire estate in 1615. A series of inquisitions from 1599 to 1636 show his to have been the greatest lordship during that period in Carbery after the territories of the MacCarthy princes, although how this came about is a matter of some controversy.
is known from a complicated lawsuit filed essentially against the both of them by O'Donovan's younger brother Teige sometime previous to February 12, 1592. The surviving document from that date contains a summary of the case and the decision of the Lord Chancellor Adam Loftus
on the matter. In this Teige alleges that Donal was born before his father Donal I and mother Ellen O'Leary were married, and thus that he was in fact (according to Teige) illegitimate
or a bastard and had no rights to the Lordship of Clancahill, with Teige even managing to hint that Donal might not be a son of his father at all.
According to Teige, Donal owed his entire position to Owen MacCarthy Reagh, a man of great wealth and influence and to whose daughter Johanna Donal was joined in marriage, and whom Teige alleges was not himself even the legitimate MacCarthy Reagh
(Prince of Carbery) but an "intruder," the rightful ruler supposedly being Donal of the Pipes, Owen's nephew. Loftus decided completely in Donal II O'Donovan and MacCarthy Reagh's favour, declaring them legitimate and rightful, with Teige getting nothing, however it is possible there were related events back in Carbery because Owen was deposed by his nephew later that year. MacCarthy Reagh was not popular in all circles, and influencing Loftus' decision was the testimony of another son-in-law, O'Donovan's brother-in-law Sir Fineen O'Driscoll, who was widely popular with the English and Crown government. O'Driscoll bore witness that O'Donovan "was born many years after the marriage [of his mother and father] solemnised at Dromale".
Scholars of Gaelic Ireland
frequently mention or refer to the case. First of all, it verifies the report made a century later by Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet in 1690 that the O'Donovans were considered one of the four families in Carbery of royal extraction, because the White Rod or slat, mentioned in the case as received by O'Donovan from MacCarthy Reagh, was for a king
or Rí
of some grade in origin, in this case a vassal princeps
(prince
) or petty king, in the Irish understanding, receiving his rod from his superior or overking. Also one of very last known uses of the slat in Irish history, as found in the lawsuit "its citation as formal evidence of legitimate holding of lordship and lands" is considered by Elizabeth FitzPatrick to be the strongest evidence of its symbolizing "legitimate authority" even at this late date in Gaelic Ireland. Returning to the relationship between the MacCarthy Reagh and O'Donovan, it has been pointed out that the O'Donovan family in Carbery apparently had a privileged position because the head paid to his superior a significantly smaller rent than the other leading families enjoyed, possibly originating from the O'Donovans' close association with Fínghin Mac Carthaigh in the 13th century and their certain support given to him at the Battle of Callann
in 1261.
Donal II is the last of his family known to have received the rod. Curiously, in spite of Crown policy, which forbid the use of Gaelic titles, Loftus refers to Donal II by his, simply O'Donovan (meaning the head of his dynasty and thus Lord of Clancahill, etc.), confirming it is rightly his in the final paragraph of the document. This recognized O'Donovan as Chief of the Name or Captain of his Nation.
, William Lyon
. Not only was the new palace rather ostentatious, but Lyon was also accused of stealing and selling priceless gold and silver artifacts from the early period of the church. It is possible, however, that O'Donovan was guilty of burning the whole town of Ross or Rosscarbery
itself, and his men appear to have killed one of Lyon's daughters in the attack.
Although not among the major figures of his time, Donal II was in their company and active in Munster
affairs during the Nine Years' War, being one of the few southern lords to support Hugh O'Neill. In March of 1599 pledges of loyalty to the English Crown were received from all the lords in Carbery except for O'Donovan and some MacCarthys, and because of this Sir Thomas Norris
"... caused their castles and houses to be taken and razed, and their people and lands to be spoiled", as he wrote to the Privy Council
. But a year later O'Neill was both widely regarded and acting as virtual King of Ireland, or much of it, and was acknowledged by his supporters in Munster as such, including O'Donovan, wisely because those who refused had their lands wasted. In 1600 Donal joined Florence MacCarthy
, whom O'Neill was acknowledging the MacCarthy Mór and King of Desmond, and Owen Mac Egan in O'Neill's camp at Inniscarra near Cork city, in writing an appeal to Donogh Moyle MacCarthy, one of Owen MacCarthy Reagh's sons and thus O'Donovan's brother-in-law, to join them. The letter was intercepted, and for his part and signature Donal's people were "pacified" savagely by the English forces under the command of Captain George Flower, who related:
The plan was that O'Donovan and Florence's brother, Dermod Maol MacCarthy, would invade a number of territories to the north of Carbery, but it is uncertain if this was ever accomplished. In any event, not long after, when Philip III of Spain
sent his forces to Munster, 100 men out of the 700 were assigned to Donal's command, fully equipped and paid for, to supplement his own forces. According to Philip O'Sullivan Beare
, he was one of the principal men of the relief army led by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (slayer of his brother Diarmaid) to support Pedro de Zubiaur
at Castlehaven
in early December of 1601, which led to what was according to O'Sullivan Beare a small but spectacular victory for the Spaniards and Irish:
However the English also claimed victory and moderns scholars are very divided on whom should be considered the winners. Two months later, an apparently poorly informed or otherwise motivated Sir George Carew wrote to the English Government on February 15, 1602:
But this was only true in the sense that they were not all present at the final Battle of Kinsale itself in late December/early January, almost a month after Castlehaven, although O'Donovan may have made an appearance earlier in the siege. Changing allegiance after this ruinous event, O'Donovan joined Owen's sons Finghin and Donogh Maol, and O'Driscoll, in siding with the English, and O'Sullivan Beare wasted the territory of Clancahill after hearing of it, probably in an attempt to win him back to his side.
A tragic event occurred shortly after when some of O'Donovan's men, under the command of Finghin, killed Dermod Maol MacCarthy in a cattle-raid into one of the remaining "rebel" territories, apparently by accident. Dermod Maol was regarded as the chief threat after Florence to the English in Munster (now along with O'Sullivan Beare, who joined the cause late), but was actually on his way to finally making peace when he was killed. He and O'Sullivan Beare had been joined in continuing against the English by Cornelius O'Driscoll, son of Sir Fineen who was now opposing them. After a period Finghin and Donogh Maol MacCarthy may have gone back to the rebel side but O'Donovan is believed to have retired to focus on his lands.
After the war O'Donovan fared particularly well and ended up in control of more territories than he began with, the result a combination of the government granting him lands seized from septs of the MacCarthys and others, and his own aggressive efforts. He was one of those accused by Florence MacCarthy of occupying some of his lands while the prince was being held in the Tower of London
. Little of Donal II's later life to his death in 1639 is known, besides what the inquisitions offer, but he was of considerable age by that time.
and James FitzRichard de Barry, Lord Ibane and Viscount Buttevant, and by her had 1) Donal III O'Donovan
; 2) Conogher, entered the Austrian Army and never returned to Ireland; 3), 4) possibly two other sons. He married secondly Joanna MacCarthy Reagh, daughter of Ellen O'Callaghan and Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
, and by her had sons 1) Teige, for whom see below; 2) Capt. Murrough, royalist killed in command of a company of foot in the Battle of Rathmines
; 3) Donough; 4) Dermot; 5) Capt. Richard, royalist, slain in foreign parts; 6) Keadagh. Of his three daughters 1) Honora became the second wife of Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy
, Lord of Glean-na-Chroim; 2) m. MacCarthy of Mourne (junior sept of MacCarthy of Muskerry
); 3;) m. O'Mahony
Fionn (senior sept of O'Mahony, Prince of Raithlin).
From his eldest son Donal III descended the Lords of Clancahill through Richard II O'Donovan
(d. 1829), after whom the chiefship passed to the cadet line descending from 2) Teige above, who still hold it to this day. The first known male line descendant of Teige with a military career was Morgan William II O'Donovan
.
The famous scholar and topographer John O'Donovan
claimed descent from Donal II's possible additional son Edmund, whom he incorrectly believed to have been the eldest.
. Both Donal and the Lady Joanna are mentioned in the poem, where her grief for the harper is described (12th stanza):
Also mentioned is Dáire Cerbba
, 4th century progenitor of the Uí Fidgenti
and more famous Uí Liatháin
. The O'Donovans belong to the former.
O'Donovan
O'Donovan or Donovan is an Irish surname, as well as a hereditary Gaelic title. It is also written Dhonnabháin in certain grammatical contexts, and Donndubháin, being originally composed of the elements donn, meaning lord or dark brown, dubh, meaning dark or black, and the diminutive suffix án...
of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill (died 1639), was the son of Ellen O'Leary
O'Leary
O'Leary is an Irish name, an anglicized version of the original Gaelic patronym Ó Laoghaire or Ó Laoire.The Uí Laoghaire clan, today associated with the Uibh Laoghaire parish in County Cork, is considered by scholars to have originated on the south-west coast, in the area of Ros Ó gCairbre , of...
, daughter of O'Leary of Carrignacurra, and Donal of the Skins, The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail.
After his elder brother Diarmaid O'Donovan was hanged by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare in 1581 following a raid urged by Elizabeth I into O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan or simply Sullivan is an Irish surname, associated with the southwestern part of Ireland, originally found in County Tipperary before the Anglo-Norman invasion, then in County Cork and County Kerry, which due to emigration is also common in Australia, North America and Britain...
territory, Donal became heir to the lordship. Inaugurated with the White Rod by the MacCarthy Reagh
MacCarthy Reagh
The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
, his father-in-law Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
Owen MacCarthy Reagh was the 12th Prince of Carbery from 1576 to 1592. He belonged to the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. Owen is commonly called "Sir" Owen MacCarthy in the English records but this may have been only for convenience, for the MacCarthys Reagh were foreign princes at this time, if...
, he held the Lordship of Clancahill
Irish nobility
This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion...
in 1584, and was later recognized by the Lord Chancellor Adam Loftus
Adam Loftus (Archbishop)
thumb|right|200px|Archbishop Adam LoftusAdam Loftus was Archbishop of Armagh, and later Dublin, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1581. He was also the first Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.-Early life:...
in 1592, defeating an attempt by his younger brother Teige, who alleged Donal to be a bastard
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
, to depose him. He was the last of his line so inaugurated in the ancient Gaelic manner.
Following his adherence to Philip III of Spain
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
during the Nine Years' War
Nine Years' War (Ireland)
The Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the...
, in 1608 Donal surrendered his territory to James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, in an effort to preserve it for his descendants, receiving a regrant of the entire estate in 1615. A series of inquisitions from 1599 to 1636 show his to have been the greatest lordship during that period in Carbery after the territories of the MacCarthy princes, although how this came about is a matter of some controversy.
Inauguration and lawsuit
Donal II's inauguration in 1584 by his father-in-law Owen MacCarthy ReaghOwen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
Owen MacCarthy Reagh was the 12th Prince of Carbery from 1576 to 1592. He belonged to the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. Owen is commonly called "Sir" Owen MacCarthy in the English records but this may have been only for convenience, for the MacCarthys Reagh were foreign princes at this time, if...
is known from a complicated lawsuit filed essentially against the both of them by O'Donovan's younger brother Teige sometime previous to February 12, 1592. The surviving document from that date contains a summary of the case and the decision of the Lord Chancellor Adam Loftus
Adam Loftus (Archbishop)
thumb|right|200px|Archbishop Adam LoftusAdam Loftus was Archbishop of Armagh, and later Dublin, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1581. He was also the first Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.-Early life:...
on the matter. In this Teige alleges that Donal was born before his father Donal I and mother Ellen O'Leary were married, and thus that he was in fact (according to Teige) illegitimate
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
or a bastard and had no rights to the Lordship of Clancahill, with Teige even managing to hint that Donal might not be a son of his father at all.
According to Teige, Donal owed his entire position to Owen MacCarthy Reagh, a man of great wealth and influence and to whose daughter Johanna Donal was joined in marriage, and whom Teige alleges was not himself even the legitimate MacCarthy Reagh
MacCarthy Reagh
The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
(Prince of Carbery) but an "intruder," the rightful ruler supposedly being Donal of the Pipes, Owen's nephew. Loftus decided completely in Donal II O'Donovan and MacCarthy Reagh's favour, declaring them legitimate and rightful, with Teige getting nothing, however it is possible there were related events back in Carbery because Owen was deposed by his nephew later that year. MacCarthy Reagh was not popular in all circles, and influencing Loftus' decision was the testimony of another son-in-law, O'Donovan's brother-in-law Sir Fineen O'Driscoll, who was widely popular with the English and Crown government. O'Driscoll bore witness that O'Donovan "was born many years after the marriage [of his mother and father] solemnised at Dromale".
Scholars of Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
frequently mention or refer to the case. First of all, it verifies the report made a century later by Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet in 1690 that the O'Donovans were considered one of the four families in Carbery of royal extraction, because the White Rod or slat, mentioned in the case as received by O'Donovan from MacCarthy Reagh, was for a king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
or Rí
Rí
Rí, or very commonly ríg , is an ancient Gaelic word meaning "King". It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings and those of similar rank. While the modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish it is Rìgh, apparently derived from the genitive. The word...
of some grade in origin, in this case a vassal princeps
Princeps
Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person."...
(prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
) or petty king, in the Irish understanding, receiving his rod from his superior or overking. Also one of very last known uses of the slat in Irish history, as found in the lawsuit "its citation as formal evidence of legitimate holding of lordship and lands" is considered by Elizabeth FitzPatrick to be the strongest evidence of its symbolizing "legitimate authority" even at this late date in Gaelic Ireland. Returning to the relationship between the MacCarthy Reagh and O'Donovan, it has been pointed out that the O'Donovan family in Carbery apparently had a privileged position because the head paid to his superior a significantly smaller rent than the other leading families enjoyed, possibly originating from the O'Donovans' close association with Fínghin Mac Carthaigh in the 13th century and their certain support given to him at the Battle of Callann
Battle of Callann
The Battle of Callann was fought in 1261 between the Normans, under John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond, and the Gaelic forces of Fínghin Mac Carthaigh, King of Desmond, ancestor of the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. MacCarthy was victorious...
in 1261.
Donal II is the last of his family known to have received the rod. Curiously, in spite of Crown policy, which forbid the use of Gaelic titles, Loftus refers to Donal II by his, simply O'Donovan (meaning the head of his dynasty and thus Lord of Clancahill, etc.), confirming it is rightly his in the final paragraph of the document. This recognized O'Donovan as Chief of the Name or Captain of his Nation.
Career
O'Donovan is first noted in 1586 for burning to the ground the newly built palace of the Protestant Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and RossBishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the Province of Dublin....
, William Lyon
William Lyon (bishop)
-Life:He educated at Oxford, probably either at Oriel College or St, John's College, he went to Ireland about 1570. He became vicar of Naas in 1573, and in 1580 Elizabeth I gave him the additional vicarage of Bodenstown in Kildare. In 1577 he had license to enjoy the profits of his parish even when...
. Not only was the new palace rather ostentatious, but Lyon was also accused of stealing and selling priceless gold and silver artifacts from the early period of the church. It is possible, however, that O'Donovan was guilty of burning the whole town of Ross or Rosscarbery
Rosscarbery
Rosscarbery or Roscarbery is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay.-History:...
itself, and his men appear to have killed one of Lyon's daughters in the attack.
Although not among the major figures of his time, Donal II was in their company and active in Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
affairs during the Nine Years' War, being one of the few southern lords to support Hugh O'Neill. In March of 1599 pledges of loyalty to the English Crown were received from all the lords in Carbery except for O'Donovan and some MacCarthys, and because of this Sir Thomas Norris
Sir Thomas Norris
Sir Thomas Norris was an English soldier, made Lord President of Munster in Ireland.-Life:He was the fifth son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys of Rycote, and matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1571, aged 15, graduating B.A. on 6 April 1576...
"... caused their castles and houses to be taken and razed, and their people and lands to be spoiled", as he wrote to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. But a year later O'Neill was both widely regarded and acting as virtual King of Ireland, or much of it, and was acknowledged by his supporters in Munster as such, including O'Donovan, wisely because those who refused had their lands wasted. In 1600 Donal joined Florence MacCarthy
Florence MacCarthy
Finnian or Fínghin mac Donnchadh Mac Cárthaigh , known to the English as Florence MacCarthy, was an Irish prince of the late 16th century and the last credible claimant to the MacCarthy Mór title before its suppression by English authority...
, whom O'Neill was acknowledging the MacCarthy Mór and King of Desmond, and Owen Mac Egan in O'Neill's camp at Inniscarra near Cork city, in writing an appeal to Donogh Moyle MacCarthy, one of Owen MacCarthy Reagh's sons and thus O'Donovan's brother-in-law, to join them. The letter was intercepted, and for his part and signature Donal's people were "pacified" savagely by the English forces under the command of Captain George Flower, who related:
The plan was that O'Donovan and Florence's brother, Dermod Maol MacCarthy, would invade a number of territories to the north of Carbery, but it is uncertain if this was ever accomplished. In any event, not long after, when Philip III of Spain
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
sent his forces to Munster, 100 men out of the 700 were assigned to Donal's command, fully equipped and paid for, to supplement his own forces. According to Philip O'Sullivan Beare
Philip O'Sullivan Beare
Philip O'Sullivan Beare was an Irish soldier who became more famous as a writer.He was son of Dermot O'Sullivan and nephew of Donal O'Sullivan Beare, Prince of Beare. He was sent to Spain in 1602, and was educated at Compostela by Vendamma, a Spaniard, and John Synnott, an Irish Jesuit.He served...
, he was one of the principal men of the relief army led by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (slayer of his brother Diarmaid) to support Pedro de Zubiaur
Pedro de Zubiaur
Pedro de Zubiaur, Zubiaurre or Çubiaurre was a Spanish soldier and sailor of the Anglo-Spanish War who started his naval career in 1568 and won several victories over the English for Philip II of Spain, the most famous of them during the relief of Blaye...
at Castlehaven
Castlehaven
Castlehaven is a civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. It is located some 75 km south west of Cork City on the coast and is made up of two key towns: Union Hall and Castletownshend....
in early December of 1601, which led to what was according to O'Sullivan Beare a small but spectacular victory for the Spaniards and Irish:
However the English also claimed victory and moderns scholars are very divided on whom should be considered the winners. Two months later, an apparently poorly informed or otherwise motivated Sir George Carew wrote to the English Government on February 15, 1602:
But this was only true in the sense that they were not all present at the final Battle of Kinsale itself in late December/early January, almost a month after Castlehaven, although O'Donovan may have made an appearance earlier in the siege. Changing allegiance after this ruinous event, O'Donovan joined Owen's sons Finghin and Donogh Maol, and O'Driscoll, in siding with the English, and O'Sullivan Beare wasted the territory of Clancahill after hearing of it, probably in an attempt to win him back to his side.
A tragic event occurred shortly after when some of O'Donovan's men, under the command of Finghin, killed Dermod Maol MacCarthy in a cattle-raid into one of the remaining "rebel" territories, apparently by accident. Dermod Maol was regarded as the chief threat after Florence to the English in Munster (now along with O'Sullivan Beare, who joined the cause late), but was actually on his way to finally making peace when he was killed. He and O'Sullivan Beare had been joined in continuing against the English by Cornelius O'Driscoll, son of Sir Fineen who was now opposing them. After a period Finghin and Donogh Maol MacCarthy may have gone back to the rebel side but O'Donovan is believed to have retired to focus on his lands.
After the war O'Donovan fared particularly well and ended up in control of more territories than he began with, the result a combination of the government granting him lands seized from septs of the MacCarthys and others, and his own aggressive efforts. He was one of those accused by Florence MacCarthy of occupying some of his lands while the prince was being held in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Little of Donal II's later life to his death in 1639 is known, besides what the inquisitions offer, but he was of considerable age by that time.
Marriages and issue
O'Donovan firstly married Helena de Barry, daughter of ? and William de Barry, son of Ellen MacCarthy ReaghMacCarthy Reagh
The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
and James FitzRichard de Barry, Lord Ibane and Viscount Buttevant, and by her had 1) Donal III O'Donovan
Donal III O'Donovan
Donal III O'Donovan , The O'Donovan of Clancahill, born before 1584, was the son of Helena de Barry and Donal II O'Donovan, The O'Donovan of Clancahill...
; 2) Conogher, entered the Austrian Army and never returned to Ireland; 3), 4) possibly two other sons. He married secondly Joanna MacCarthy Reagh, daughter of Ellen O'Callaghan and Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
Owen MacCarthy Reagh, 12th Prince of Carbery
Owen MacCarthy Reagh was the 12th Prince of Carbery from 1576 to 1592. He belonged to the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty. Owen is commonly called "Sir" Owen MacCarthy in the English records but this may have been only for convenience, for the MacCarthys Reagh were foreign princes at this time, if...
, and by her had sons 1) Teige, for whom see below; 2) Capt. Murrough, royalist killed in command of a company of foot in the Battle of Rathmines
Battle of Rathmines
The Battle of Rathmines was fought in and around what is now the Dublin suburb of Rathmines in August 1649, during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
; 3) Donough; 4) Dermot; 5) Capt. Richard, royalist, slain in foreign parts; 6) Keadagh. Of his three daughters 1) Honora became the second wife of Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy
Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy
Teige-an-Duna MacCarthy , Lord of Glean-na-Chroim, was the last hereditary Prince of the Dunmanway branch of the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty of Carbery "who exercised the rights of his position." He was Prince from 1618 to 1648, dying the following year on 24 May 1649...
, Lord of Glean-na-Chroim; 2) m. MacCarthy of Mourne (junior sept of MacCarthy of Muskerry
MacCarthy of Muskerry
The MacCarthy dynasty of Muskerry is a branch of the great MacCarthy Mor dynasty, the Kings of Desmond. Their branch descends from Dermod Mor MacCarthy, 1st Lord of Muscry , second son of Cormac MacCarthy Mor , King of Desmond....
); 3;) m. O'Mahony
O'Mahony
O'Mahony or O'Mahoney, or simply Mahony or Mahoney, without the prefix, is an Irish surname, and may refer to:The O'Mahonys were Cenél nÁeda princes of the ancient Eóganacht Raithlind...
Fionn (senior sept of O'Mahony, Prince of Raithlin).
From his eldest son Donal III descended the Lords of Clancahill through Richard II O'Donovan
Richard II O'Donovan
General Richard O'Donovan II, The O'Donovan of Clancahill, born 1764 or 1768, was the son of Jane Becher, daughter of John Becher, and Daniel V O'Donovan, The O'Donovan of Clancahill....
(d. 1829), after whom the chiefship passed to the cadet line descending from 2) Teige above, who still hold it to this day. The first known male line descendant of Teige with a military career was Morgan William II O'Donovan
Morgan William II O'Donovan
Morgan William II O'Donovan , The O'Donovan, held the position of The O'Donovan from 1890 to his death in 1940. He was the son of Henry Winthrop O'Donovan, The O'Donovan, and Amelia O'Grady, daughter of Gerald de Courcy O'Grady, The O'Grady, and Anne Wise...
.
The famous scholar and topographer John O'Donovan
John O'Donovan (scholar)
John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...
claimed descent from Donal II's possible additional son Edmund, whom he incorrectly believed to have been the eldest.
Harper
Belonging to Donal's household was the blind harper Conchubhar Mac Conghalaigh, for whom the lament Torchoir ceól Cloinne Cathoil was composed by the bardic poet Tadhg Olltach Ó an CháinteTadhg Olltach Ó an Cháinte
Tadhg Olltach Ó an Cháinte, Irish poet, fl. c. 1601.A member of the Ó an Cháintighe bardic family, and a relative of Fear Feasa Ó'n Cháinte, Tadhg Olltach is probably to be identified with 'Teige on Canty, of Clansheane', mentioned in a fiant of Elizabeth I dated 14 May 1601, along with his wife,...
. Both Donal and the Lady Joanna are mentioned in the poem, where her grief for the harper is described (12th stanza):
Also mentioned is Dáire Cerbba
Dáire Cerbba
Dáire Cerbba was an Irish dynast of uncertain origins, named in many early and late sources as the grandfather of the semi-mythological Mongfind and Crimthann mac Fidaig, and the most frequently named early ancestor of the historical Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti...
, 4th century progenitor of the Uí Fidgenti
Uí Fidgenti
The Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
and more famous Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
. The O'Donovans belong to the former.
Ancestry
See also
- Chief of the Name
- Surrender and regrantSurrender and regrantDuring the Tudor conquest of Ireland , "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English legal system...
- Gaelic IrelandGaelic IrelandGaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
- Gaelic nobility of Ireland