Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond

Donogh O'Brien,^[a] 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron Ibrickan, PC (Ire) (died 1624), was a Protestant Irish nobleman and soldier. He fought for Queen Elizabeth during Tyrone's Rebellion and participated in the Siege of Kinsale. He obtained the transfer of County Clare, where most of his lands lay, from the Province of Connacht to that of Munster. He was made president of Munster in 1605.

Donogh O'Brien
Earl of Thomond
Detail. See full portrait further down
Tenure	1581–1624
Predecessor	Conor, 3rd Earl
Successor	Henry, 5th Earl
Died	5 September 1624 Clonmel
Spouse(s)	1. Helen Roche 2. Elizabeth FitzGerald
Issue Detail	Henry, Barnabas, & others
Father	Conor, 3rd Earl of Thomond
Mother	Una O'Brien-Arra

Birth and origins

Donogh was born in the 1560s.^[b] He was the eldest son of Conor O'Brien, and his second wife, Una O'Brien-Arra.^[5] His father was the 3rd Earl of Thomond. His father's first wife had died in 1560.^[2] His father's family, the O'Briens, were a Gaelic Irish dynasty that descended from Brian Boru, medieval high king of Ireland.^[6]

Donogh's mother was a daughter of Turlough O'Brien of Arra, County Tipperary.^[7] This Arra is in the north of the Owney and Arra barony around the Arra Hills.^[8] His mother's family was a cadet branch of his father's family. His parents married in or after 1560 as his father's first wife died in that year.^[2]

Donogh had two brothers and three sisters, who are listed in his father's article.

Family tree

Donogh O'Brien with his two wives, his parents, and other selected relatives.^[c] Donogh 2nd Earl d. 1553 Helen Butler d. 1597 Maurice Roche 6th Viscount Fermoy d. 1600 Conor 3rd Earl c. 1535 – 1581 Una O'Brien- Arra d. 1589 Gerald FitzGerald 11th Earl Kildare 1525–1585 Helen Roche d. 1583 Donogh 4th Earl d. 1624 Elizabeth FitzGerald d. 1617 Charles 1st Viscount Muskerry d. 1641 Margaret O'Brien m. 1590 Henry 5th Earl c. 1588 – 1639 Barnabas 6th Earl c. 1590 – 1657 Donough 1st Earl Clancarty 1594–1665 Eleanor Butler 1612–1682 Henry 7th Earl 1620–1691 Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls of Thomond XXX Viscounts Muskerry & Earls of Clancarty

Early life

O'Brien was brought up at Elizabeth's court^[13] and therefore became a Protestant. He was already living there when he was mentioned as Baron Ibrickan in the patent granted to his father on 7 October 1577.^[1][3]

First marriage and daughter

O'Brien married, first, Ellen, or Any, or Eveleen, daughter of Maurice Roche, 6th Viscount Fermoy.^[14] Her family was Old English and Catholic.

Donogh and Ellen had one daughter:^[15]

• Margaret, married Charles MacCarthy, 1st Viscount Muskerry and was mother of Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty^[16]

His first wife died in 1583.^[17]

Thomond

On his father's death in 1581 he succeeded as 4th Earl of Thomond.^[18] By 1582 Thomond, as he now was, had returned to Ireland.^[19]

Thomond was assiduous in his attendance upon the lord-deputy in 1583 and 1584. In 1584 he was one of the commissioners who established the agreement that tanistry and the law of partible succession should be abolished in Connaught, and a tax of ten shillings a quarter be paid on land.^[20]

He attended the Irish parliament 1585–1586 where he quarrelled with Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde over precedence.^[21]

Second marriage and children

In or before 1588 Thomond married secondly Elizabeth, fourth daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and his wife Mabel Brown.

Donogh and Elizabeth had two sons:

1. Henry (1588–1639), succeeded his father as the 5th Earl of Thomond^[22]
2. Barnabas (died 1657), succeeded his brother as the 6th Earl of Thomond^[23]

His second wife died on 12 January 1617.

Tyrone's Rebellion

in 1595 Tyrone's rebellion, also called the Nine Years' War, broke out. Thomond played a major part in its suppression. In command of a large force, he passed the River Erne in July and invaded Hugh Roe O'Donnell's country, but retreated in August when a truce was signed. In September he was detached by Sir William Russell, Lord Deputy of Ireland since 16 May 1594, with five companies of foot and 145 horse, for the defence of Newry. Russel was succeeded in March 1597 as lord deputy by Thomas Burgh, 5th Baron Borough and Thomond served in 1597 in his campaign, but early next year went to England, arriving in London on 19 January 1598; where he stayed most of the year at Queen Elizabeth's court.^[24][25]

 

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin

He therefore was absent at the Battle of Yellow Ford in August 1698,^[26] where Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone defeated and mortally wounded Sir Henry Bagenal, marshal of the Royal Irish Army. The defeat was followed by the spread of disaffection into Thomond's country. Teige O'Brien, Thomond's next brother, entered into communication with Tyrone's son, and joined the rebels. This left the defence of the land in the hands of the youngest brother Daniel. In 1599 O'Donnell invaded Clare, ravaging the country, capturing most of the castles, and taking Daniel prisoner.^[27] Thomond's second brother, Teige, was long imprisoned in Limerick on account of his rebellion, but was released on protesting his loyalty; after another imprisonment he joined in Hugh Roe O'Donnell's second invasion of Clare in 1599, and was killed during Thomond's pursuit of the rebels.^[28]

Thomond returned from England, and after spending three months with his kinsman, the Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, in collecting forces, he invaded Clare to revenge his brother's imprisonment and recover his possessions. He procured ordnance from Limerick, and laid siege to the castles that resisted, capturing them after a few days' fighting; at Dunbeg, which surrendered immediately, he hanged the garrison in couples on trees. The invaders were completely driven out of Clare and the neighbouring country, and the loyalists had their strongholds restored to them. During the rest of 1599 Thomond accompanied Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex on his progress through Munster, but left him at Dungarvan and returned to Limerick, being appointed governor of Clare on 15 August, and made a member of the privy council on 22 September.^[29]

During 1600 Thomond was constantly occupied in the war.^[30] In April he, Sir George Carew, and Ormond attended a parly with Owen McRory O'More, the son of Rory O'More. A quarrel broke out. He and Carew narrowly escaped capture while Ormond was taken captive.^[31] Thomond saved Carew's life and cut a way for both of them through their enemies, though he was wounded.^[32]

He was present at an encounter with Florence MacCarthy Reagh and assisted at his submission in May. In June he was commanding in Clare and opposing O'Donnell's raids. He entertained the lord-deputy at Bunratty and marched out to oppose Tyrone's progress southwards, but no battle was fought, and Tyrone returned without having even seen an enemy. Next year, after holding an assize at Limerick in February, at which sixteen men were hanged, Thomond again went to England, probably with the object of obtaining the governorship of Connaught and of securing the union of Clare with Munster. He delayed there, then set out by Bristol, and, landing at Castlehaven on 11 November 1601, proceeded to Kinsale, where he took a prominent part in the siege. After the surrender of Kinsale he proceeded through Munster, and established himself in Bere Island. He was in command at the siege of Dunboy and hanged fifty-eight of the survivors.^[33]

Until June 1602 Thomond was constantly with the army. He then again visited England, and, as a recompense for his services, his request for the transfer of Clare was granted, though the lord-deputy and privy council of Ireland were opposed to the measure. He returned in October. In 1603 he became a member of the Irish Privy Council.^[34] On 30 July 1604 he was appointed constable of Carlow, and on 6 May 1605 he became President of Munster.^[35]

Late life, death, and timeline

In 1613 Thomond attended the House of Lords of the Irish Parliament of 1613–1615. He strongly upheld the Protestant party in its opposition to the recusants in the disputes about the election of the speaker of the House of Commons.^[35]

On 17 May 1619 he was reappointed governor of Clare. He became one of the sureties for Florence MacCarthy Reagh, who had been imprisoned since his surrender in 1600, and who dedicated to Thomond his work on the antiquity and history of Ireland.^[36]

He died on 5 September 1624, at Clonmel, and was buried in Limerick Cathedral, where a monument with an inscription was erected to his memory.^[37]

Pollard (1895b) concludes that he was one of the most influential and vigorous of the Irish loyalists; and, though his devotion and motives were sometimes suspected, Carew wrote that "his services hath proceeded out of a true nobleness of mind and from no great encouragement received" from the court.^[38]

Timeline
As his birth date is uncertain, so are all his ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1560, estimate	Born^[b]
13	1573, 23 Feb	Fitz Maurice submitted to John Perrot, Lord President of Munster, at Kilmallock^[39]
17	1577	Mentioned as baron Ibrickan (courtesy title) in his father's new patent^[3]
21	1581	Succeeded as 4th Earl of Thomond^[18]
28	1588	Son Henry born
30	1590, about	Daughter Margaret married Charles MacCarthy, 1st Viscount Muskerry^[4]
34	1594, 16 May	William Russell, appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland ^[40]
37	1597, 5 Mar	Thomas, Lord Burgh, appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland^[41]
38	1598, 14 Aug	The Irish defeated Henry Bagenal at the Battle of the Yellow Ford^[26]
39	1599, 12 Mar	Robert, Earl of Essex, appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland^[42]
41	1601, 23 Sep	The Spanish landed at Kinsale^[43]
43	1603, 30 Mar	The Treaty of Mellifont ended Tyrone's Rebellion.^[44]
43	1603, 24 Mar	Accession of King James I, succeeding Queen Elizabeth I^[45]
44	1604, 15 Oct	Sir Arthur Chichester, appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland^[46]
45	1605, 6 May	Appointed President of Munster
64	1624, 5 Sep	Died in Clonmel

Notes

1. His first name is also spelt "Donough".^[1]
2. Donogh's birth date is bracketed by the death of his father's first wife in 1560^[2] and his first mention in 1577.^[3] His birth should be in or shortly after 1560 as his daughter Margaret married about 1590.^[4]
3. This family tree is based on genealogies of the earls of Thomond.^[9][10] and the earls of Clancarty.^[11][12]

References

Citations

1. Cunningham 2009, 2nd paragraph, 2nd sentence. "Donough was created baron of Ibrackan, a move perhaps designed to signal his right of succession to the earldom."
2. Dunlop 1895, p. 310, left column. "Conor O'Brien married first Ellen or Eveleen, daughter of Donald MacCormac MacCarthy Mór and widow of James fitzjohn FitzGerald, fourteenth earl of Desmond. She died in 1560 and was buried in Muckross Abbey;"
3. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 2. "There (London) he was residing in 1577, when he was mentioned as Baron of Ibrickan in the new patent granted on 7 October to his father."
4. Cokayne 1893, p. 425, line 29. "He [Charles MacCarty] m. [married] firstly, about 1590, Margaret, da. [daughter] of Donough (O'Brien), 4th Earl of Thomond ..."
5. Cokayne 1896, p. 392, line 11. "1st s. and h. [son and heir] by second wife ..."
6. Cokayne 1896, p. 391, Note b. "They [the O'Briens] were descended from the celebrated Brien Boroihme, principal king of Ireland (1002–1004) through his grandson Turlogh ..."
7. Cokayne 1896, p. 391, line 42. "He [Conor] m. secondly Una, or Ownye, da. of Turlogh O'Brien, of Arragh, co. Tipperary."
8. O'Hart 1892, p. 171, footnote. "'Ara' is a small mountain tract, south of Lough Dearg and north of the Keeper Hills."
9. Burke 1866, pp. 405–406Genealogy of the earls of Thomond
10. Cokayne 1896, pp. 391–395Genealogy of the earls of Thomond
11. Burke 1866, p. 344Genealogy of the earls of Clancarty
12. Cokayne 1913, pp. 214–217Genealogy of the earls of Clancarty
13. McGurk 2004, p. 360, right column, line 32. "He was educated at Elizabeth's court and described as 'as truly English as if he had been born in Middlesex.'. "
14. Cokayne 1896, p. 392, line 5. "He [Donogh] m. [married] firstly Helen or Any, da. [daughter] of Maurice (Roche) Viscount Roche of Fermoy [I. [Ireland] ] (who d. [died] 1600) but by which of his two wives is uncertain. She d. s.p.m. [without male issue]."
15. Pollard 1895b, p. 314, left column, line 17. "... by her he had one daughter, married to Cormac, son and heir of Lord Muskerry."
16. Burke 1866, p. 406, left column, line 61. "[Donough] m. [married] 1st Ellen dau. [daughter] of Maurice, Lord Viscount Roche, of Fermoy, and had a dau., Margaret, m. to Charles MacCarthy, 1st Lord Viscount Muskerry."
17. McGurk 2004, p. 361, right column, line 42. "Thomond married twice, first to Eveleen or Ellen (d.1583), daughter of Maurice Roche, Viscount Fermoy."
18. McGurk 2004, p. 360, right column, line 41. "O'Brien succeeded his father as fourth earl of Thomond in 1581 ..."
19. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 6. "... by 1582 he [Donough O'Brien] had returned to Ireland."
20. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 9.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
21. Cunningham 2009, 2nd paragraph, 6th sentence. "He was a member of parliament convened in 1585 in Dublin, where he became involved in a dispute over precedence with Ulick Burke, third earl of Clanrickarde."
22. O'Donoghue 1860, p. 258. "Henry, earl of Thomond, the fifth of that title, dying without male issue, was succeeded by Sir Barnabas, his brother."
23. Pollard 1895a, p. 305.
24. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 38. "... arriving in London on 19 January 1598; there he remained most of the year as a courtier."
25. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 18.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
26. Hayes-McCoy 1976, p. 124. "The earl, O'Donnell, and Maguire attacked Bagenal on the march at the Yellow Ford, between Armagh and the Blackwater, on 14 August [1598], and defeated him ... "
27. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 46. "In 1599 O'Donnell invaded Clare, ravaging the country, capturing most of the castles, and making a prisoner of Thomond's youngest brother, Daniel O'Brien, afterwards first Viscount Clare, who had been left to defend it."
28. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, line 42.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
29. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, left column, bottom.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
30. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, right column, line 10.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
31. Edwards 2009, last paragraph, 2nd sentence. "... in April 1600, seeking to parley with O'More rebels on the Kilkenny/Laois frontier, he [Ormond] was tricked and taken hostage."
32. McGurk 2004, p. 361, left column. "In April while in a parley with Owen McRory O'More, which ended in a mêlée, he and Carew narrowly escaped capture ..."
33. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, right column, line 17.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
34. McGurk 2004, p. 361, right column, line 24. "In September 1603 his governorship of co. Clare was confirmed and he was appointed to the Irish privy council."
35. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, right column, near bottom.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
36. Pollard 1895b, p. 313, right column, penultimate line.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
37. Pollard 1895b, p. 314, left column, line 5.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
38. Pollard 1895b, p. 314, left column, line 9.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
39. McCormack 2009, 4th paragraph. "... and eventually (23 February 1573) he submitted to the lord president at Kilmallock ..."
40. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 32. "1594, 16 May / 11 Aug / William Russell, L.D. [Lord Deputy]"
41. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line33 . "1597, 5 Mar /22 May / Thomas, lord Burgh, L.D. [Lord Deputy]"
42. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 37. "1599, 12 Mar / 15 April / Robert Devereux, 2nd e. of Essex, L.L. [Lord Lieutenant]"
43. Joyce 1903, p. 172. "On the 23d of September, 1601, a Spanish fleet entered the harbour of Kinsale with 3,400 troops ... "
44. Augusteijn 2004, p. 373. "Mellifont, treaty of (30–1 Mar. 1603), ending the Nine Year's War."
45. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 44, line 1. "James I ... acc. 24 Mar. 1603 ..."
46. Fryde et al. 1986, p. 168, line 46. "1604, 15 Oct. / 3 Feb. / Sir Arthur Chichester, L.D. [Lord Deputy]"

Sources

• Augusteijn, Joost (2004). "Mellifont, treaty of". In Connolly, Sean Joseph (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Irish History (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 373–374. ISBN 0-19-280501-0. – (for timeline)
• Burke, Bernard (1866). A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (New ed.). London: Harrison. OCLC 11501348.
• Cokayne, George Edward (1893). Complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. V (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180836840. – L to M (for Muskerry)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1896). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Vol. VII (1st ed.). London: George Bell and Sons. OCLC 1180891114. – S to T (for Thomond)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1913). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. Vol. III (2nd ed.). London: St Catherine Press. OCLC 228661424. – Canonteign to Cutts (for Clancarty)
• Cunningham, Bernadette (October 2009). "O'Brien, Donough". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
• Dunlop, Robert (1895). "O'Brien, Conor, third Earl of Thomond (1534?–1581)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLI. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 309–310. OCLC 8544105.
• Edwards, David (October 2009). McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). "Butler, Thomas". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
• Fryde, Edmund Boleslaw; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology. Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, No. 2 (3rd ed.). London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-86193-106-8. – (for timeline)
• Hayes-McCoy, Gerard Anthony (1976). "Chapter IV: The Completion of the Tudor Conquest and the Advance of the Counterreformation". In Moody, Theodore William; Martin, F. X.; Byrne, Francis John (eds.). A New History of Ireland. Vol. III. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 94–141. ISBN 978-0-19-820242-4. – 1534–1691
• Joyce, Patrick Weston (1903). A Concise History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1837 (12th ed.). Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. OCLC 815623752.
• McCormack, Anthony M. (October 2009). McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). "FitzGerald, James fitz Maurice". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
• McGurk, J. J. N. (2004). "O'Brien, Donough, fourth earl of Thomond (d. 1624)". In Matthew, Colin; Harrison, Brian (eds.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 360–362. ISBN 0-19-861391-1.
• O'Donoghue, John (1860). Historical Memoir of the O'Briens. Dublin: Hodges Smith & Co. OCLC 316665132.
• O'Hart, John (1892). Irish Pedigrees: Or, the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. Vol. I (5th ed.). Dublin: James Duffy & Co. OCLC 7239210. – Irish stem
• Pollard, Albert Frederick (1895a). "O'Brien, Barnabas, sixth Earl of Thomond (d.1657)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLI. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 305–306. OCLC 8544105.
• Pollard, Albert Frederick (1895b). "O'Brien, Donough, Baron of Ibrickan and fourth Earl of Thomond (d. 1624)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLI. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 312–314. OCLC 8544105.

Attribution

•   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Pollard, Albert Frederick (1895). "O'Brien, Donough (d.1624)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 312–314.

Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Connor O'Brien	Earl of Thomond 1581–1624	Succeeded by Henry O'Brien
	Baron Ibrickane (descended by acceleration) 1581–1613