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Hugh Albert O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell (Irish: Aodh Ailbhe mac Rudhraighe Uí Dhomhnaill; October 1606 – August/September 1642[1]) was titular King of Tír Conaill, and son of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell whose title was however attainted in 1614.[a] In adult life, he used the style Earl of Tyrconnell, Baron of Donegal and Lifford, Lord of Sligo and Lower Connaught, and Knight Commander of the Order of Alcántara.[2]
Hugh Albert O’Donnell | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell | |
 Hugh Albert O’Donnell, at 10 years of age as a page at the court of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria | |
| Tenure | 1608–1642 |
| Predecessor | Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell |
| Born | October 1606 Ireland |
| Died | August/September 1642 (aged 35) At sea |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Noble family | O'Donnell dynasty FitzGerald family |
| Spouse(s) | Anna-Margaret de Hénin |
| Father | Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell |
| Mother | Bridget FitzGerald |
He was born about October 1606,[3] the only son of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and his wife Bridget FitzGerald.[4] His paternal grandparents were Irish Gaelic lord Hugh McManus O'Donnell and Scottish noblewoman Fiona "Iníon Dubh" MacDonald.[5] His maternal grandparents were Irish peer Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare,[4] and English noblewoman Frances Howard.[6]
Hugh Albert had a mixed ancestry of various noble families. His father's paternal family were the Gaelic Irish O'Donnell clan of Tyrconnell, who claimed descent, via Conall Gulban of the Cenél Conaill, from High King Niall of the Nine Hostages.[7] He was also a descendant of the first six Scottish Chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, as well as being descended from Robert the Bruce via Robert II.[8][9] His mother was descended from the Hiberno-Norman FitzGerald dynasty and the English Howard family.[citation needed]
His father's branch of the O'Donnell clan had ruled Tyrconnell since 1566.[10] The Irish confederacy's defeat in the Nine Years' War (which ended three years before his birth) marked the beginning of the end for Gaelic Irish society.[citation needed] Although Rory had fought against the English during the war, he managed to secure favour with King James I and was made 1st Earl of Tyrconnell in 1603.[11][5] The government thus recognised Rory as Tyrconnell's rightful landlord,[11] though Rory's cousin and rival Niall Garve had himself inaugurated per the traditional ceremony in 1603.[12][11][13]
Hugh Albert's parents married around Christmas 1606.[5]
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In September 1607, due to increasing hostility from the government, Rory and his wartime ally Hugh O'Neill fled from Ireland along with ninety of their followers. Hugh Albert accompanied his father on the flight,[14] but in the haste, his pregnant mother Bridget was left behind in Maynooth.[15][16] Hugh Albert O'Donnell's younger sister Mary was born around 1607.[17][3] Bridget remarried to Irish peer Nicholas Barnewell.[15][18]
Hugh Albert was three weeks shy of his first birthday when he sailed from Lough Swilly during the Flight of the Earls. He accompanied his father to Rome, where his father and uncle Cathbarr O'Donnell died of fevers. His aunt Rosa, the wife of Cathbarr, met and married Owen Roe O'Neill, and it is probable that O'Donnell was in her care, because both he and his cousin, also named Hugh O'Donnell, received a modest pension from Archduke Albert, governor of the Low Countries, from 1615,[b] and were raised in Leuven where they were educated by Franciscan colleagues of Archbishop Conry.[19][20] He was a page to the Infanta Isabella, daughter of King Philip III of Spain.[19][21] A portrait exists of Hugh Albert O'Donnell as a young page. This portrait is the only authentic and contemporary portrait of the last regnant O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell.[22][c]
In October 1610, Hugh Albert and his cousin Hugh were given over to Hugh MacCaughwell, the Franciscan superior of the Irish College in Leuven.[23]
He was made a knight of Alcántara in 1625.[24] Hugh Albert became 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell after his father's death.[14]
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In time O'Donnell joined the service of King Philip, and was commissioned colonel of a tercio in 1632.[20] He was killed in action when his ship engaged a French vessel in August or September 1642 and caught fire.[citation needed] In 1642, he drowned in the Mediterranean whilst fighting against the French.[14] According to historian Eunan O'Donnell, Hugh Albert O'Donnell died on 1 July 1642 in Barcelona.[25] He had no issue.[19][25] His death was announced by his aunt Rosa in an Irish letter written at Leuven dated 16 September 1642.[26]
O'Donnell left no immediate heirs, although the Earldom, were it not attainted in 1614, would have passed by remainder to his uncle Cathbarr O'Donnell, whose line was extinct by then, and thence, to his 1st cousin Donal Oge O'Donnell, according to the terms of the letters patent.[27]
As Hugh had never recognised James I as his monarch, he had no hope of being recognised as the 2nd Earl, under the principle of the "Fount of honour". He had an undoubted claim to the title, but took no steps in 1614 to defend it when it was debated in the Irish House of Lords. He would at least have had to submit to King James to take his place in the House of Lords, and until then he did so the title was "in abeyance".[citation needed]
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Around 1635, O'Donnell married Anna-Margaret, daughter of Maximilien II de Hénin, 5th Count of Bossu, Knight of the Golden Fleece (died 8 December 1625) and Alexandrine Franeoise de Gavre; and a near kinswoman of the last eccentric Charles, Duke of Guise.[19][28][d]
| Ancestors of Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell |
|---|
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- He was also equally styled Hugh-Albert or Albert-Hugh O'Donnell (Burke 1866, p. 410).
- The "Conde de Tyrconnell" and Don Hugo O'Donnell were in the receipt of a modest pension from Archduke Albert. As both boys were called Hugh, Conde de Tyrconnell was given the additional name of Albert, after Archduke Albert, his protector, and who was in all likelihood his godfather in confirmation, which is the reason why Tyrconnell was known as Hugh-Albert or Albert-Hugh (Burke 1866, p. 410).
- Maximilian de Hennin, Baron of Liederkerke, Viscount of Brussels, Count of Bossut, etc., Knight of the Golden Fleece (Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society 1866, p. 461).
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