Hugh Gavelagh MacShane O'Neill (Irish: Aodh Geimhleach mac Séan Ó Néill; c. 1562 – January 1590) was a sixteenth-century Irishman of the O'Neill dynasty, specifically the MacShane branch. He was executed on the orders of his cousin the Earl of Tyrone.
Family background
Gavelagh was one of the many sons of Gaelic chief Shane O'Neill. Shane had captured Catherine MacLean, wife of Calvagh O'Donnell, and made her his mistress. Their son gained the name Gavelagh, meaning "Fettered", because he was born while his mother was held captive in chains.
All of the MacShanes were fostered by the O'Donnelly clan, per Gaelic tradition.
Gavelagh's only full-brother was Art MacShane O'Neill. Art died from frostbite in early 1592, during his escape from imprisonment in Dublin Castle with Red Hugh O'Donnell and half-brother Henry MacShane O'Neill.
Succession dispute
The O'Neills were the most powerful Gaelic Irish clan of their time, but by the mid-to-late sixteenth century, they had fallen into internal conflict due to a succession dispute. The clan split into two major septs: the MacShanes (sons of Shane) and the MacBarons (sons of Matthew, Shane's reputedly illegitimate brother). Matthew was assassinated by Shane's followers in 1558; Shane was assassinated in 1567. Matthew's son, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, became a major rival to the MacShanes.
Career
Gavelagh and Art could call upon substantial military support. They had access to Scots mercenaries through their cousin Lachlan Mor MacLean of Duart. Prior to 1584, they spent two years in Scotland soliciting MacLean's aid.
In the late 1580s, he became an informant for Lord Deputy William FitzWilliam.
In February 1589, Gavelagh arrived from Scotland; later he proceeded to Dublin where he made allegations against his cousin the Earl of Tyrone. Gavelagh reported to FitzWilliam that Tyrone had made treasonous dealings with Spanish noblemen of the Duke of Medina's fleet, who had escaped from the Armada. Tyrone had sent them into Scotland with letters to the King of Spain, in which he offered a alliance against Elizabeth I. The Spaniards had told this to Gavelagh, mistakenly thinking he was in Tyrone's confidence.
FitzWilliam and the Irish Council set out from Dublin for Stradbally, Ulster to question Tyrone. Tyrone denied the charge, alleging that Gavelagh was dangerous and untrustworthy. Gavelagh claimed he was ready to prove himself in single combat, but both he and Tyrone were forbidden to fight. Instead, Gavelagh agreed to produce witnesses, and a date was set for their testimony. After Tyrone gave bail and was released, he prevented Gavelagh from prosecuting his enquiries.
Death
Gavelagh was captured by one of the Maguires, who then sold Gavelagh to Tyrone. The O'Donnelly clan offered large ransoms for their fosterbrother. They offered Tyrone 300 horses, and over 5,000 cows.
Tyrone disobeyed FitzWilliam's express command to send Gavelagh to Dublin as a prisoner, and in early January 1590, Gavelagh was executed on Tyrone's orders. Allegedly, O'Neill hanged MacShane over a tree with his bare hands. Conversely, Philip O'Sullivan Beare and William Parnell respectively claim the executioner was from Meath or Cavan - given that Tyrone's population still largely supported the MacShanes, no local man would agree to carry out the execution.
Tyrone anticipated the charges against him, and proceeded to London where he sufficiently defended himself against England's Privy Council. The justification Tyrone gave was that Gavelagh was guilty of various robberies and murders. Tyrone thus re-entered the good graces of Elizabeth I.
Tyrone was placed under house arrest but released by letters of commendation from FitzWilliam and the Dublin government.
Years later, it was claimed that William Warren had recommended Tyrone to hang Gavelagh.
Notes
- Hugh Gavelagh was born when his mother was kept in chains, which was between 1561 and 1564.
- Also spelt Gavelach and Gavelock.
References
Citations
- ^ Walsh, Micheline Kerney (1996). An exile of Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, Prince of Ulster. Dublin: Four Courts Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-85182-234-8.
- Morgan 1993, p. 86.
- ^ McNeill 1911b, p. 7.
- ^ O'Sullivan Beare 2008, pp. 64–65.
- Brady, Ciaran (October 2009). "O'Neill, Shane (Seaán)". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006966.v1. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ Morgan 1993, p. 92.
- ^ McNeill 1911a, p. 109.
- ^ "ORIGINAL LETTER FROM HUGH O'NEILL RELATING TO THE EXECUTION OF HUGH NA GAVELAGH". Duffy's Hibernian Magazine: A Monthly Journal of Legends, Tales, and Stories, Irish Antiquities, Biography, Science, and Art. 5 (28). London: 265–269. April 1864.
- ^ O'Faolain 1942, p. 142.
- Morgan 1993, p. 96.
- O'Sullivan Beare 2008.
- ^ Dorney, John (10 January 2019). "Hugh O'Neill and the Nine Years' War 1594–1603". The Irish Story. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019.
- Morgan, Hiram (13 May 2022). Hugh O'Neill with Dr. Hiram Morgan (Video). Retrieved 11 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- Morgan, Hiram (October 2005). "Gaelic lordship and Tudor conquest: Tír Eoghain, 1541–1603". History Ireland. 13 (5).
- Morgan 1993, p. 19. "In practice Conn was unable to pass on his earldom. Matthew, though supported militarily by the government, was killed by followers of Shane O'Neill, the tánaiste or successor under Gaelic custom."
- ^ Morgan, Hiram (September 2014). "O'Neill, Hugh". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006962.v1. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- Morgan 1993, p. 95.
- Morgan 1993, p. 100.
- Morgan 1993, p. 73-4.
- Morgan 1993, p. 107-108.
- ^ Morgan 1993, p. 75.
- Morgan 1993, p. 75, 107.
- O'Neill 2017, p. 23.
- Parnell, William. An Historical Apology for the Irish Catholics. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. p. 54.
- Morgan 1993.
- Morgan, Hiram (September 2014). "O'Neill, Hugh". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006962.v1. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- Morgan 1993, p. 108.
Sources
- Morgan, Hiram (1993). Tyrone's Rebellion. The Boydell Press. ISBN 0851156835.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: McNeill, Ronald John (1911a). "O'Neill". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 107–111.- One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: McNeill, Ronald John (1911b). "O'Donnell s.v. Calvagh O'Donnell". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–8.
- O'Faolain, Sean (1942). The Great O'Neill: A biography of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, 1550–1616. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pierce. OCLC 1379073.
- O'Neill, James (2017). The Nine Years War, 1593-1603: O'Neill, Mountjoy and the Military Revolution. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 9781846827549.
- O'Sullivan Beare, Philip (2008) . Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth. Translated by Byrne, Matthew J. College Road, Cork, Ireland: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. Retrieved 9 March 2024.