O'DONNELL, FAMILY.** - A powerful and ancient Irish family, originating in the 11th century, lords of the county of Tyrconnell (present-day Donegal).

It was frequently at war with England and with the rival family O'Neill. Its power declined in the 17th century, when, the direct line having died out, a cadet, RODRIGO, having transplanted himself to the continent, gave rise to the Spanish and Austrian branches of the family.

In the struggle for the independence of the island and the defense of Catholicism, Hugh Roe distinguished himself, count of Tyrconnel from 1592. Having risen against the English government, he defeated its governor at Enniskillen (1594), occupied Connaught and, having allied himself with the O'Neills and the Spanish army that had landed in Ireland, defeated the army of Queen Elizabeth at Blackwater (1598), earning the congratulations of Clement VIII. However, in 1601 the Spanish and Irish were beaten at Kinsale and Hugh Roe had to take refuge in Spain. His brother Rory, having succeeded to the command of the Irish troops, swore an oath of fidelity to the English government, but, having fallen under suspicion, he fled with O'Neill to Rome, where he died in 1608.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: R. I. Mc. Neill, s. v. in Enc. Britann., XX, pp. 6-8; R. Dunlop, Hugh Roe O' D., in Dictionary of national biography, XIX, pp. 811-85; Pastor, XI, pp. 368-71.

Piero Sannazzaro

@incollection{ec9_o_donnell_famiglia, author = {Sannazzaro, Piero}, title = {O' Donnell, famiglia}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IX}, pages = {75--76}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1952}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/o-donnell-famiglia} }

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O'Donnell, Family

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