O'Donnell of Tyrconnell

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The House of O'Donnell of Tyrconnell is the dynastic Royal House of the former Kings and Princes of Tyrconnell in Ireland. The dynastic and clan motto is In Hoc Signo Vinces, derived from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great.

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It is a branch of Clan Dálaigh of the people known as the Cenél Conaill, or descendants of Conall, after whom the territory Tyrconnell, or Tír Conaill, meaning Country of Conall, is called. The Cenél Conaill were a sub-branch of the Heremonian Dynasty of the High-Kings of Ireland, the last from whom they descend being Niall of the Nine Hostages. Heremon was a son of Milesius.

The head of the dynasty was traditionally also called "The O'Donnell", and inaugurated as Chieftain in an elaborate ceremony, under the Laws of Tanistry, part of the ancient Brehon Code of Law. Since the collapse of Gaelic Rule, the succession of the chieftancy has followed the principle of male primogeniture.

The Royal Household was known in Gaelic as "Lucht Tighe" and comprised several offices that were performed on a hereditary basis by the heads and members of particular other families, for over four centuries.

  • Lector & Inaugurator of the Chieftancy - O’Friel (Ui Firghil)
  • Gallowglass Marshalls & Standard –Bearers - McSweeney (Mac Suibhne)
  • Commanders of Cavalry - O’Gallagher (Ui Gallchobhair)
  • Custodians of the Cathach of St. Columba - McRoarty (Mac Robhartaigh)
  • Historians and Scribes - O’Clery (Ui Cleirigh)
  • Brehons or Judges - Breslin (Ui Breisléin)
  • Bards & Poets - Ward (Mac a’Bháird)
  • Physicians - Dunleevy (Mac Duinnshléibhe)
  • Stockmen/Cattle Drivers - Timoney (Ui Tiománaigh)

The current incumbent in the line of Chiefs of the Name, and head of the Clan is Fr. Hugh O'Donel, O.F.M, an Irish Franciscan missionary priest living in Zimbabwe. His Tánaiste (deputy or heir apparent) is S.E. Don Hugo O'Donnell, Duke of Tetuan, a Grandee of Spain and Count of Lucena, and Knight of Malta, his closest male relative by male primogeniture.

  • The Life of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell (Beatha Aodh Rua O Domhnaill) by Lughaidh O'Cleirigh. Edited by Paul Walsh and Colm Ó Lochlainn. Irish Texts Society, vol. 42. Dublin: Educational Company of Ireland, 1948 (original Gaelic manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin).
  • Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) by the Four Masters, from the earliest period to the year 1616, compiled during the period 1632-1636 by Brother Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, translated and edited by John O'Donovan in 1856, and re-published in 1998 by De Burca, Dublin.
  • Vicissitudes of Families, by Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, published by Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, Paternoster Row, London, 1861. (Chapter on O’Donnells, pages 125-148).
  • A View of the Legal Institutions, Honorary Hereditary Offices, and Feudal Baronies established in Ireland, by William Lynch, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Paternoster Row, London, 1830 (O’Donnell: page 190, remainder to Earl’s patent).
  • The Fate and Fortunes of the Earls of Tyrone (Hugh O’Neill) and Tyrconnel (Rory O’Donel), their flight from Ireland and death in exile, by the Rev. C. P. Meehan, M.R.I.A., 2nd edition, James Duffy, London, 1870.
  • The Fighting Prince of Donegal, A Walt Disney Film, made in 1966 about the life of Prince Red Hugh O’Donnell (i.e. Hugh Roe), starring Peter McEnery, Sudan Hampshire, Gordon Jackson, and Andrew Keir.
  • Erin’s Blood Royal – The Gaelic Noble Dynasties of Ireland, by Peter Berresford Ellis, Constable, London, 1999, (pages 251-258 on the O’Donel, Prince of Tirconnell).
  • Blood Royal - From the time of Alexander the Great to Queen Elizabeth II, by Charles Mosley, published for Ruvigny Ltd., London, 2002 (O'Donnell listed as Baron, page v) [ISBN 0-9524229-9-9]
  • History of Killeen Castle, by Mary Rose Carty, published by Carty/Lynch, Dunsany, County Meath, Ireland, April 1991 (ISBN 0-9517382-0-8) - page 18 refers to Elizabeth O'Donnell as 1st Countess of Fingall (Fingal). She was a daughter of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.
  • Vanishing Kingdoms - The Irish Chiefs and Their Families, by Walter J. P. Curley (former US Ambassador to Ireland), with foreword by Charles Lysaght, published by The Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2004 [ISBN 1-84351-055-3 & ISBN 1-84351-056-1]. (Chapter on O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, page 59).
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