Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim

Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim PC (Ire) (1615–1699) was a Catholic peer and military commander in Ireland. He fought together with his brother Randal on the losing side in the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653); and then, having succeeded his brother as the 3rd Earl of Antrim in 1683, fought in the Williamite War (1688–1691), on the losing side again. Twice he forfeited his lands and twice he regained them.

Alexander MacDonnell
Earl of Antrim
Tenure	1683–1699
Predecessor	Randal, 1st Marquess
Successor	Randal, 4th Earl
Born	1615
Died	June 1699
Buried	Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
Spouse(s)	1. Elizabeth Annesley 2. Helena Burke
Issue Detail	Randal & Mary
Father	Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl
Mother	Alice O'Neill

However, he may be known best for having been shut out of Derry by the apprentice boys in an episode preceding the Siege of Derry.

Birth and origins

Family tree

Alexander MacDonnell with his two wives, his parents, and other selected relatives.^[a] Sorley Boy MacDonnell d. 1590 Mary O'Neill Hugh O'Neill c. 1550 – 1616 Siobhan O'Donnell d. 1591 Randal 1st Earl 1769–1636 Alice O'Neill 1583–1665 Randal 1st Marquess 1609–1682 Elizabeth Annesley d. 1672 Alexander 3rd Earl 1615–1699 Helena Burke d. 1710 Randal 4th Earl 1680–1721 Rachel Skeffington d. 1739 Alexander 5th Earl 1713–1775 Anne Plunket d. 1755 Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls & marquesses of Antrim

Alexander was born in 1615,^[1] probably at Dunluce Castle, his parents' habitual residence. He was the second son of Randal MacDonnell and his wife, Alice O'Neill. His father, Lord of the Route^[2] and Constable of Dunluce Castle, had been knighted by Lord Deputy Mountjoy in 1602.^[3] His father would be created Viscount of Antrim in 1617 and advanced to Earl in 1620. His father's family, the MacDonnell of Antrim, were the Irish branch of the Scottish Clan Donald. The MacDonnels descended from the twelfth-century Scottish warlord Somerled and from Alexander MacDonald, 5th of Dunnyveg, a Scottish-Irish magnate, who was driven out of Scotland by James IV and fled to Ulster where the family was already established through marriages and owned much land in the north-eastern corner of Ireland facing Scotland across the North Channel. His Scottish lands were taken over by the rival Clan Campbell, although the MacDonalds continued to live there and looked towards the MacDonnell family for leadership. Recovering his Scottish lands remained an objective that his father pursued all his life without ever making any progress toward it.

Alexander's mother was described as "of good cheerful aspect, freckled, not tall but strong, well set, and acquainted with the English tongue."^[4] She was born in 1583^[5][6] as the daughter of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and his second wife, Siobhan (i.e. Johanna) O'Donnell.^[7][8][9][b] She was thus a member of the O'Neill dynasty, an ancient Gaelic family, the leaders of which were once kings and ruled all of Ulster. However, her father had left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls in 1607 and was then attainted by the Irish Parliament, losing his title and lands.^[10]

Alexander's parents were both Catholic. They had married in 1604 before the Flight of the Earls. He had one brother (Randall)^[11] and six sisters,^[12] who are listed in his father's article.

Early life

On 28 May 1618 King James I of England created Alexander's father Viscount Dunluce^[13] and in 1620 Earl of Antrim.^[14]

Glenarm inheritance

On 10 December 1636 Alexander's father died at Dunluce Castle and was buried at the Bonamargy Franciscan Friary.^[15][16] In his will he had divided his estate between his two sons. Alexander inherited the Barony of Glenarm,^[17] whereas the elder, Randal, inherited the title and the larger share of the land, consisting of the baronies of Dunluce and Kilconway.^[18] Alexander MacDonnell was precisely 21 at that time. He, therefore, entered immediately into the possession of his part of the estate.^[19] He made Glenarm Castle on the east coast of County Antrim his residence.

Irish Wars

After coming of age, Alexander MacDonnell spent three years travelling in Europe on his grand tour.^[20] He returned to Ireland just before the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, in which he sided with the rebels and commanded a regiment in what would soon become the Confederate Ulster army.^[21]

In November 1643 the Supreme Council appointed seven delegates, Muskerry, Alexander MacDonnell, Robert Talbot, Nicholas Plunkett, Dermot O'Brien, Geoffrey Browne, and Richard Martin,^[22] to submit grievances to the king ^[23] and negotiate a peace treaty. In January 1644 they obtained save-conducts from the Lords Justice, Sir Henry Tichborne and John Borlase. It must have been their last days in office as Ormond was appointed and sworn lord lieutenant of Ireland on 21 January 1644.^[24] The delegates arrived on 24 March 1644 at Oxford where the king held his court.^[25] Lord Muskerry was the leader of the delegation.^[26] He demanded free exercise of the Catholic religion, independence of the Irish Parliament from that of England, and oblivion for their rebellion.^[27][28] However, the arrival of a competing Irish Protestant delegation on 17 April 1644 prevented the King from making such concessions and no peace treaty was signed.^[29][30]

Colonel Alexander MacDonnell, as he now was, led the regiment throughout the Irish Confederate Wars until the Confederation surrendered to Cromwell in 1652. Unlike his brother Randal, Alexander respected and adhered to the peace between the Confederates and the Royalists negotiated by Ormond in 1648 and urged for a conciliatory approach. His lands were confiscated in 1652 in Cromwell's Act of Settlement^[31] and distributed among Cromwellian soldiers. In exchange he received 3,500 acres in Connacht.^[32] By 1656, he was living in England.

Restoration

At the Restoration in 1660, he was appointed custos rotulorum for Antrim. In 1668 Alexander MacDonnell was restored to his lands by Charles II.

Marriages

First marriage

In 1665, about 50 years old, MacDonnell married his first wife, Elizabeth Annesley. She was the second daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, a Protestant.^[33][34] The union was childless. She died on 4 September 1672.^[35][36]

Second marriage and children

After 1672 he married, secondly, Helena Burke, daughter of Sir John Burke of Derrymaclaughna (Doire-mic-Lachtna), County Galway.^[37]

Randal and Helena had two children (the birth order is unknown):

• Randal (1680–1721), succeeded as the 4th Earl;^[38]
• Mary, married Henry Wells of Bambridge in 1700.^[39]

Earl of Antrim

On 3 February 1683 his only brother, Randal, died childless. Randal had married twice, but both marriages were childless.^[40] The marquessate became extinct and Randal was therefore the first and last Marquess of Antrim of the 1645 creation. Alexander succeeded him in the earldom as the 3rd Earl of Antrim.^[41]

In 1685, Lord Antrim, as he was now, was invested as a Privy Counsellor^[42] and Lord-Lieutenant of Antrim shortly after the accession of King James II, as the new king followed a policy of replacing Protestant officials with Catholic ones throughout Ireland.

Williamite War

Main article: Williamite War in Ireland

At the outbreak of the Glorious Revolution, which replaced James II with William of Orange, Antrim was already in his seventies. He stayed loyal to James. When the Dutch invasion threatened, James ordered Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell, whom James had appointed viceroy of Ireland, to send reliable Irish troops to England. These units sailed to Chester in September and early October 1688.^[43] To replace these units, Tyrconnell ordered four new regiments to be raised, one for each Irish province. The Ulster regiment was to be raised by Antrim. He hired 1,200 Scottish mercenaries (i.e. redshanks), making sure they were all Catholics. The unit was supposed to be ready on 20 November, but delays occurred.

At that time Tyrconnell's remodelling of the Irish army had advanced so far that few units still had significant numbers of Protestant soldiers. One of those was the regiment of Viscount Mountjoy, a Protestant loyal to James. This unit was in the garrison at Derry. Tyrconnell considered this unit unreliable and on 23 November he ordered Mountjoy to march to Dublin, supposedly for embarking to England.^[44] Mountjoy's regiment was to be replaced by Antrim's,^[45] but that was not ready and Derry found itself without a garrison.

When Antrim finally got his troops on the way, he met Colonel George Philips, a Protestant, at Newtown Limavady, who immediately sent a messenger to Derry to warn the city. On 7 December 1688, with Antrim's regiment on the Waterside of Derry, ready to cross the Foyle River under the Ferryquay Gate,^[46] thirteen apprentices seized the city keys and locked the gates.^[47][48] With this Derry was in rebellion against Tyrconnell and James. Antrim was not strong enough to take the town by force and retreated to Coleraine.

 

MacDonnell's residence Glenarm Castle in County Antrim as it looks today.

When Tyrconnell heard that Antrim had been kept out of Derry, he stopped Mountjoy on his march to Dublin and sent him back to Derry. On 21 December Mountjoy reached Derry and struck a deal with the city, according to which two of his companies, consisting entirely of Protestant soldiers, would be let into town.^[49] The one was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Lundy, the other by Captain William Stewart.^[c] Both later swore allegiance to William. Mountjoy appointed Lundy as governor of the town in place of Philips.

Antrim sat in the House of Lords of James II's Patriot Parliament in Dublin.^[50]

James lost the Williamite War in Ireland with the fall of Limerick in 1691. Antrim, as a supporter of James, was one of the losers. Peace was signed with the Treaty of Limerick according to which all the members of the Irish landed gentry having served in the Jacobite Army who did not immediately swear allegiance to William and Mary would forfeit their title and lands. Antrim seems to have missed his chance in 1691 and not have sworn allegiance to William immediately after the signing of the treaty. However, he seems to have obtained a pardon at a later stage and did regain possession of his lands.^[51]

Death, succession, and timeline

Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim, died in June 1699 and was buried at Holywell, Flintshire, Wales.^{[52][53][54][d]} He was succeeded by his son Randal as the 4th Earl of Antrim.^[52]

Timeline
As only the year, but not the day, of his birth is known, all the ages could be a year younger than given.
Age	Date	Event
0	1615	Born.^[1]
3	1618, 28 May	Father created Viscount Dunluce.^[13]
5	1620, 12 Dec	Father created Earl of Antrim.^[14]
10	1625, 27 Mar	Accession of King Charles I, succeeding King James I^[55]
21	1636, 10 Dec	His father died at Dunluce Castle, and he inherited Glenarm.
26	1641, 23 Oct	Outbreak of the Rebellion^[56]
34	1649, 30 Jan	King Charles I beheaded.^[57]
45	1660, 29 May	Restoration of King Charles II^[58]
50	1665	Married as 1st wife Elizabeth Annesley.^[33]^[36]
57	1672, 4 Sep	1st wife died.^[36]
60	1675 estimate	Married 2ndly Helena Burke, daughter of Sir John Burke of Derrymaclaughna, County Galway.^[37]
65	1680	Son Randal born.^[38]
68	1683, 3 Feb	Succeeded his only brother as the 3rd Earl of Antrim.^[41]
70	1685, 6 Feb	Accession of King James II, succeeding King Charles II^[59]
70	1685	Became a member of the Privy Council of Ireland.^[42]
73	1688, 7  Dec	Shut out of Derry by the 13 apprentices.^[48]
74	1689, 13 Feb	Accession of William and Mary, succeeding King James II^[60]
74	1689, 12 Mar	King James II landed at Kinsale, Ireland^[61]
84	1699, June	Died and was succeeded by his only son.^[d]

Notes and references

Notes

1. Also see the lists of children in the text.
2. In the Dictionary of National Biography (DNB), Dunlop (1898) claims that Alice is a daughter of Hugh's fourth wife, but this seems impossible as her birth date falls into the time of Hugh's second marriage.^[8] In the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, an update to the DNB, Canny (2004) mentions neither Alice nor Randall MacDonnell.^[9]
3. William Stewart was the grandfather of the first Marquess of Londonderry.
4. Authors agree that the 3rd earl died in 1699, but differ on the month and day: 10 December^[52] or June.^[53][54] The latter is preferred.

Citations

1. Lodge 1789, p. 211. "Alexander, the third earl of Antrim, was born in the year 1615 ..."
2. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 16. "Randal Mac Sorley Mac Donnell of Dunluce, co. Antrim, 2nd but 1st surv. s. [surviving son] and h. [heir] of Sorley Boy Mac Donnell, Lord of the Route ..."
3. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 21. "He was knighted, 13 May 1602 by the Lord Deputy Mountjoy ..."
4. Webb 1878, p. 416, right column, line 23. as quoted
5. Webb 1878, p. [ 416, right column, line 20]. "Hugh's daughter Alice, born in 1583, married Sir Randal MacDonnell (1st Earl of Antrim)."
6. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 34. "[Alice] was living 19 Aug. 1663, and then aged 80."
7. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 29. "He [the 1st Earl] m. 1604 Alice, da. of Hugh (O'Neill), Earl of Tyrone [I. [Ireland]] by his 2nd wife, Johanna, da. of Hugh McManus O'Donnell"
8. Dunlop 1895, p. 196, right column, line 4. "She [Hugh's 4th wife] was the mother of ... several daughters, one of whom married Sir Randal MacDonnell, first earl of Antrim ..."
9. Canny 2004, p. 839, left column, line 19. "Dungannon [i.e. Hugh] formed further strategic alliances within Gaelic Ulster by negotiating marriages for ... his various daughters ..."
10. Meehan 1870, p. 402. "But the grand object for which this parliament met was not achieved till October 1614, when Sir John Everard ... brought in a bill for confiscating the vast territories of the fugitive earls ..."
11. Debrett 1828, p. 688, line 31. "... Randal, 2nd earl, who was advanced to the dignity of marquess of Antrim on account to his loyalty to King Charles I. 1644;"
12. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, line 53. "His Lordship [the 1st Earl] m. [married] 1604, Alice, dau. [daughter] of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and had issue ..."
13. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 23. "On 28 May 1618 he was cr. Viscount Dunluce, co. Antrim [I. [Ireland]] ..."
14. Cokayne 1910, p. 174, line 25. "... on 12 Dec. 1620 he [Randal McSorley] was cr. [created] Earl of Antrim [I. [Ireland]] ..."
15. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, line 68. "The [1st] Earl d. [died] 10 Dec. 1636, and was s. succeeded by his elder son ..."
16. Hill 1873, p. 246, line 9. "He died at Dunluce at the 10th of December, 1636, and his body, after lying for some time in state, was buried in the vault which he had built at Bunnamairge in 1621 ..."
17. Hill 1873, p. 247. "His younger son, Alexander, was bequeathed the barony of Glenarm,"
18. Hill 1873, p. 246, line 24. "His elder son, Randal, got the baronies of Dunluce and Kilconway,"
19. Hill 1873, p. 352, line 2. "This nobleman [Alexander], who was born in 1615, had exactly come of age at the date of his father's death in 1636."
20. Hill 1873, p. 212. "... travelled into France, Germany, Italy and other places ..."
21. Cokayne 1910, p. 175, line 28. "He commanded a regiment of Irish in 1641 ..."
22. Bagwell 1909, p. 64, line 19. "The persons chosen were Lord Muskerry, Antrim's brother Alexander Macdonnell, Sir Robert Talbot, Nicholas Plunkett, Dermot O'Brien, Geoffrey Browne, and Richard Martin."
23. Meehan 1882, p. 99. "... Muskerry, MacDonnell, Plunket, Sir Robert Talbot, Dermid O'Brien, Richard Martin, and Severinus Browne, formed the deputation, which reached Oxford at the beginning of April, when they laid before his majesty a statement of grievances ..."
24. Barnard 2004, p. 156, left column. "Ormond was rewarded by being named by the king as lord lieutenant, and was sworn on 21 January 1644."
25. Bagwell 1909, p. 64, line 26. "They landed in Cornwall and reached Oxford on March 24 [1644]."
26. Gardiner 1886, p. 393. "... Muskerry, the principal personage among the Irish agents ..."
27. Gardiner 1886, p. 392. "... asked for complete liberty for the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, and for complete independence of the Irish parliament."
28. Corish 1976, p. 311, line 18. "An act of oblivion for all offences committed ..."
29. Corish 1976, p. 311, line 9. "When this Protestant delegation arrived in Oxford on 17 April [1644] ..."
30. Bagwell 1909, p. 64, line 27. "As soon as it was known in Ireland that the King would be likely to receive the Confederate agents, the more zealous Protestants began to prepare for a counter-mission. Charles expressed himself ready to hear both sides."
31. Cokayne 1910, p. 175, line 29. "... was attainted by Cromwell but restored in 1660."
32. Hill 1873, p. 352. "his lands were set out to adventurers and soldiers, he receiving 3,500 acres in Connaught."
33. Ó Siochrú 2009, 3rd paragraph, 1st sentence. "In 1665 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st earl of Anglesey"
34. Burke 1866, p. 7, left column, line 38. "II. Elizabeth m. [married] to the hon. Alexander MacDonnell, 2nd son of the Earl of Antrim."
35. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, line 84. "His lordship [the 3rd Earl] m. [married] 1st Elizabeth Annesley, 2nd dau. [daughter] of Arthur, 1st Earl of Anglesey, by whom (who d. [died] 4 Sept. 1672) he had no issue."
36. Cokayne 1910, p. 175, last line: "He, m. [married] 1stly, Elizabeth, 2nd da. [daughter] of Arthur (Annesley) 1st Earl of Anglesey, by Elizabeth, da. and h. of Sir James Altham. She d. s.p. [died without issue], 4 Sep. 1672, and was bur. [buried] in St. John's Church, Dublin."
37. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, line 85. "He [the 3rd Earl] m. [married] 2ndly Helena 3rd dau. [daughter] of Sir John Burke, Knt. of DerryMaclaghtry, co. Galway, by whom (who d. [died] 7 Oct. 1710) he had issue."
38. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 116, left column, line 1. "Randal, 4th Earl of Antrim, b. [born] 1680, m. [married] Hon. Rachel, eldest dau. of Clotworthy, Viscount Massereene, and by her (who re-m. Robert Hawkins Magill, of Gill Hall, co. Down and d. 1739) had issue ..."
39. Lodge 1789, p. 212. "... one daughter, Mary, married in August 1700, to Henry Wells, of Bambridge, in the county of Southhampton, Esq., nephew to the late Lord Chancellor Wyndham."
40. Debrett 1828, p. 688. "... [Randal MacDonnell] was twice married but d. [died] without issue 3 Feb. 1682."
41. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, line 76. "He [the 1st Marquess] d. [died] 3 Feb. 1682, when the marquessate expired, but the other honours devolved on his brother ..."
42. Cokayne 1910, p. 175, line 30. "P. C. 1685."
43. Childs 2007, p. 3, line 14. "To strengthen his forces in the face of the Dutch threat, James ordered the better elements of the Irish Army into England. One regiment of dragoons, a battalion of Foot Guards, and Anthony Hamilton's and Lord Forbes's battalions of line infantry, a total of 2,964 men, sailed to Chester during September and early October."
44. Childs 2007, p. 3, line 23. "Tyrconnell, on the other hand, did not want an unreliable battalion in such a key post so, on 23 November, he ordered it to England via Dublin."
45. Macaulay 1855, pp. 143–144. "a regiment of twelve hundred Papists commanded by a Papist, Alexander Macdonnell, Earl of Antrim, had received orders from the Lord Deputy to occupy Londonderry."
46. Graham 1841, p. 268. "He was in the seventy-fourth year of his age when he appeared with his regiment at the waterside of Derry on the 7 December, 1688."
47. Macaulay 1855, p. 145. "seized the keys of the city, rushed to the Ferryquay Gate, closed it in the face of the King's officers, and let down the portcullis."
48. Joyce 1903, p. 213. "Lord Antrim marched to take possession of Derry; but while the aldermen and magistrates were hesitating, a few of the bolder young apprentices seizing the keys, locked the town gates on the 7th of December 1688, and shut out Antrim and his Jacobite forces."
49. Witherow 1879, p. 199. "in pursuance of an arrangement with Mountjoy of the 21st of December, the citizens of Derry had admitted a part of his regiment to garrison their town."
50. Cokayne 1910, p. 175. "He sat in the Irish Parl. of James II, 7 May 1689."
51. Hill 1873, p. 358. "... suffered forfeiture as an adherent of James II. He had now become old and was comparably unable to wrestle with the difficulties of his position, but he persevered in his efforts to regain the family estates, and was eventually fortunate in getting his case included in the articles of Limerick."
52. Burke & Burke 1915, p. 115, right column, last line. "The [3rd] Earl d. [died] 10 Dec. 1699 and was s. [succeeded] by his only son ..."
53. Cokayne 1910, p. 176, line 5. "He was bur. [buried] at Holywell, co. Flint, 11 June 1699, aged 84."
54. Ó Siochrú 2009, last paragraph, last sentence. "Antrim died in Holywell, Wales, in June 1699 ..."
55. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 16. "Charles I. ... acc. 27 Mar. 1625 ..."
56. Warner 1768, p. 6. "... the twenty-third October [1641] ... seized all the towns, castles, and houses belonging to the Protestants which they had force enough to possess;"
57. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 17. "Charles I. ... exec. 30 Jan. 1649 ..."
58. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 39. "Charles II. ... acc. 29 May 1660 ..."
59. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 46. "James II. ... acc. 6 Feb. 1685 ..."
60. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 45, line 11. "William III. ... acc. 13 Feb. 1689 ..."
61. Witherow 1879, p. 55, line 21. "On Tuesday the 12th of March, King James arrived at Kinsale from France ..."

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Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Randal McDonnell	Earl of Antrim 1682–1699	Succeeded by Randal McDonnell