2. Fiachra Foltsnathach, i. e. of the flowing hair, son of King Eochaidh. — After the fall of Brian, the eldest son of King Eochaidh, as before recited, Fiachra, the second son, was set at liberty, and installed King of Connaught, and enjoyed that dignity for twelve years, during which period he was general of the forces of his brother Niall. His death happened in the following manner, according to the Lecan records: — He went on one occasion with the king's forces to raise tribute in Munster, but the inhabitants of that province, who detested him and his race, on account of the conduct of his mother in having poisoned the preceding monarch, who was of their own province and blood, refused to pay the tributes to King Niall, and defied him to battle. They met the king's forces in the territory of Caenraighe, now the barony of Kenry, situated in the county of Limerick, on the south side of the Shannon, where they were defeated, and obliged to give up hostages for their future allegiance. In this battle, however, Fiachra was severely wounded by Maighe Mescora, one of the warlike tribe of the Ernaans of Munster, and he set out in triumph for Tara; but when they had arrived in the territory of Hy-Mac Uais, in Meath, the Munster hostages found Brian unprotected and in a very feeble state from his wounds, and being suddenly actuated by motives of revenge, they seized upon his person and buried him alive in the earth! Thus fell Fiachra a victim to his own incautiousness, according to the Lecan records, which do not tell us a word about what his own chieftains were doing, when he was left thus barbarously unprotected. According to the this Fiachra had five sons, and if we can rely upon the order in which they are mentioned we should feel inclined to think that the monarch Dathi was the youngest. They are mentioned in the following order: — 1., Earc Culbhuidhe, i. e. of the yellow hair, so called because his hair was of the colour of pure gold, who was the ancestor of the men of Ceara; 2., Breasal, whose race became extinct; 3, Conaire, from whom a St Sechnall is said to have sprung; 4, Amhalgaidh, or Awley, King of Connaught (and ancestor of several ancient families in Tirawley and Erris, in the county of Mayo), who died in the year 449; for some account of whom the reader is referred back to pp. 5–13 of this volume. The seven sons of this Amhalgaidh, together with twelve thousand men, are said to have been baptized in one day by St Patrick, at Forrach Mac n-Amhalgaidh, near Killala — (See Jocelin's , c. 59, and Colgan, p. 141, col. 2); and, 5, Dathi, the youngest, but most illustrious, of the sons of Fiachra, and the ancestor of all the chiefs of the Hy-Fiachrach race.

3. Dathi, son of Fiachra Foltsnathach. — On the death of his father, Fiachra, this warlike chieftain became King of Connaught, and on the death of his uncle, Niall of the Nine Hostages, in the year 405 or 406, he became monarch of Ireland, leaving the government of Connaught to his less warlike brother Amhalgaidh, or Awley, who lived to receive the doctrines of Christianity from the lips of the Irish apostle, Patrick, and who is set down in all the lists of the kings of Connaught, as the first Christian king of that province. King Dathi, following the example of his predecessor, Niall, not only ventured to invade the coasts of Gaul, but forced his way to the very foot of the Alps, where he was killed, it is said, by a flash of lightning, leaving the throne of Ireland to be filled by a line of Christian kings. His body was carried home by his son Amhalgaidh, who took the command of the Irish forces after the death of his father, and by his four servants of trust, Dungal, Flanngus, Tuathal, and Tomaltach, who carried it to the royal cemetery at Cruachan, called Reilig na Riogh, where it was interred, and where, to this day, the spot is marked by a red pillar stone. — Vide supra, p. 24, note ⁹⁷.

After the death of King Dathi, Laoghaire, or Leary, the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, became monarch of Ireland, and enjoyed that dignity, as the states, for thirty years after the arrival of St. Patrick.

The monarch Dathi married three wives, but the Irish authorities differ much about their order; the fact therefore probably was that he had the three together; be this, however, as it may, the states that he married Ruadh, or Rufina, the daughter of Airti Uichtleathan, by whom he had Oilioll Molt, monarch of Ireland, and Fiachra Ealgach, the ancestor of O'Dowd; he married, secondly, Fia, the daughter of Eochaidh, by whom he had Eochaidh Breac, the ancestor of O'Heyne and O'Shaughnessy; and, thirdly, Eithne, the daughter of Orach, or Conrach Cas, who, according to some authorities, was the mother of his son King Oilioll Molt. But as it would be now idle to speculate on which of Dathi's sons were youngest or eldest, the Editor will here follow the authority of the , which states that Dathi had twenty-four sons, of whom, however, only twenty are given by name, and set down in the following order: — 1, Oilioll Molt: he succeeded as king of Connaught in the year 449, and after the death of the monarch Laoghaire, in 463, became monarch of all Ireland, and reigned twenty years. His two grandsons, Eoghan Bel and Oilioll Inbanna, became Kings of Connaught, but his race became extinct in his great grandsons; 2, Fiachra Ealgach, the ancestor of O'Dowd, and several other families; 3, Eochaidh Breac, i. e. Eochy the Freckled, the ancestor of O'Heyne, O'Shaughnessy, and many other families; 4, Eochaidh Meann; 5, Fiachra, who is said to have been detained as a hostage in the hands of King Niall of the Nine Hostages, and who is said to have left a family called Hy-Fiachrach, at a place called Cuil Fabhair, in Meath; 6, Earc; 7, Corc; 8, Onbecc; 9, Beccon; 10, Mac Uais; 11, Aengus the Longhanded; 12, Cathal; 13, Faelchu, from whom are descended the tribe of Hy-Faelchon; 14, Dunghal; 15, Conrach; 16, Neara; 17, Amhalgaidh, the son of Rufina, the daughter of Airtigh Uichtleathan, who was born on Inis Awley, in Lough Conn (Lib. Lec. fol. 247), from whom descended the tribe called Cinel Becon, in Meath, and the Mac Firbises of Lecan; 18, Blachadh; 19, Cugamhna, from whom descended the family called Mac Congamhna, who were located in Cinel Fechin, in the south of the now county of Galway: and, 20, Aedh, the ancestor of the Hy-Aedha, who were seated in Burren, in Thomond.

If the sons of Dathi be here set down according to their ages it will follow that Fiachra Ealgach was his second son, and that upon the failure of issue in the line of Oilioll Molt, the representative of Dathi is to be sought for in the line of Fiachra Ealgach. O'Flaherty, however, though he had the before him, says that Eochaidh Breac, the ancestor of the Hy-Fiachrach Aidhne, was the eldest son of Dathi, that Oilioll Molt, monarch of Ireland, was the second, and Fiachra Ealgach, the ancestor of the Hy-Fiachrach of the Moy, the third son. But, as already observed, it would be now idle to conjecture which is right, and the Editor has followed the , which, as being the local authority, is more likely to be correct in the genealogy of this race than any other manuscript.

4. Fiachra Ealgach, son of Dathi. — The Irish annals have preserved no memorial of this Fiachra, as the descendants of the monarch Oilioll Molt, the eldest son of Dathi, were dominant in Connaught in his reign, but the Lecan genealogical books inform us that he was detained as a hostage in the hands of the monarch Niall of the Nine Hostages, — which however is scarcely credible, — and that the territory of Tir Fiachrach Muaidhe, now the barony of Tireragh, on the east side of the river Moy, took its name from him. He had, according to these records, two sons, namely, 1, Amhalgaidh, or Awley, from whom descended several families formerly seated in the barony of Tirawley, among whom, according to some authorities, are to be reckoned the family of Mac Firbis, but this is very uncertain, as is every thing connected with the early history of that family. By this Amhalgaidh was erected the celebrated Carn Amhalgaidh, on which the chiefs of the northern Hy-Fiachrach were afterwards for ages inaugurated, concerning which see more in the article on the inauguration of the O'Dowds. Fiachra had, 2, Maoldubh, or Maolduin, the ancestor of the subsequent chiefs.

5. Maoldubh, or Maolduin, son of Fiachra Ealgach. — No memorial of this personage is preserved in the authentic Irish annals, nor in the genealogical books of the Mac Firbises, except that he is said to have given name to a fort called Dun Maolduibh, near the River Easkey, where he was born and fostered.

6. Tiobraide. — He was chief of Hy-Fiachrach in the time of St. Columbkille, to whom he granted a tract of land around the hill of Cnoc na Maili, now the Red Hill of Skreen, and on which the church of Skreen was afterwards erected by St Adamnan. He was the father of 7. Donnchadh Muirsce, i. e. Donogh of Muirisc, a district in the territory of Tir Fiachrach of the Moy. He was King of Connaught for four years, and was slain, according to the Four Masters, in the battle of Corann, in the year 681. A. D. 681. Donnchadh Muirsce ^{[son of Tiobraide]}, son of Maoldubh, King of Connaught, was slain in the battle of Corann, in which were also slain Colga, the son of Blathmac, and Fergus, the son of Maolduin, chief of the Cinel Cairbre. In this entry the Four Masters state that Donnchadh Muirsce was the son of Maoldubh, but we know from the most ancient and authentic lists of the Kings of Connaught, that he was the grandson of Maolduin, and the son of Tiobraide. He had two sons, Innreachtach, King of Connaught for two years, who had a son Oilioll, King of Connaught for eight years, who had a son Cathal mac Oiliolla, who became chief of Hy-Fiachrach, and died in the year 812, but of whose race no further account is preserved. The second son of Donnchadh Muirsce was Oilioll, the ancestor of O'Dowd, through whom the line of chiefs was continued.

8. Oilioll son of Donnchadh Muirsce. — No memorial of him is preserved in any of our records except the mere statement that he was the son of Donnchadh Muirsce, King of Connaught, and the brother of Innreachtach, King of Connaught, who was slain in the year 718.

9. Cathal, son of Oilioll. — No account of him is found in history, except that he is mentioned as the grandson of a King of Connaught, and the father of another, namely, of 10. Donncatha Mac Cathail. — In the authentic lists of the Kings of Connaught this Donncatha, who is called son of Cathal, son of Oilioll, son of Donnchadh Muirsce, is said to have governed Connaught for eighteen years; and his death is entered in the , at the year 768.

11. Connmhach. — In the time of this Connmhach the government of the kingdom of Connaught was transferred to the race of Guaire Aidhne, who resided in the south of the province, and soon after wholly to the Hy-Briuin, of whom the O'Conors of Connaught were the principal family; so that Connmhach did not figure among the conspicuous characters of his age, and the Irish annalists have therefore preserved no notice of him. The genealogical books of the Mac Firbises, however, inform us that he was the ancestor of all the succeeding chiefs of the Northern Hy-Fiachrach race, whose country, before the Anglo-Norman invasion, extended from the River Robe to the River Cowney, at Drumcliff, and from the coasts of Erris, eastwards, to the boundary of O'Rourke's country. He had two sons, Caomhan, the ancestor of the O'Caomhan family, who sunk into obscurity in the fifteenth century, and Dubhda, or Dowda, the ancestor of the O'Dowd, or O'Dowda family.

The genealogical books of the Mac Firbises contain some amusing stories, purporting to give a reason why the race of Caomhan, the eldest son of Connmhach, was set aside and the race of Dubhda put in their place as chiefs of the Northern Hy-Fiachrach, but as these have been already given from the text of Duald Mac Firbis, it is only necessary to remark here that whatever truth there may be in the seniority of Caomhan, his race was considered in later times the senior branch of the descendants of the monarch Dathi, and therefore their chief enjoyed many privileges which no other family of the race were entitled to; such as to take the first place at the banquet, to be the chief man at the inauguration of the O'Dowd, and to give out their first arms, or military weapons, to the youth of Hy-Fiachrach. How they first lost the chieftainship of the Hy-Fiachrach it would be now useless to inquire, but it may be remarked that they are not the only senior branch of a great race in Ireland who have been laid aside by more powerful junior rivals, and we cannot now admit any reason for O'Dowd's superiority to them than that his tribe became more numerous and more warlike, and compelled them to surrender all claims to the chieftainship of the Northern Hy-Fiachrach by force of arms.

12. Dubhda, the second son of Connmhach. He is the ancestor after whom the family of O'Dubhda, anglice O'Dowda, or O'Dowd, have taken their surname. The name Dubhda signifies a black complexioned or black-haired man, and the prefix O' denotes grandson, and, in a wider sense, a descendant in any degree, and is translated nepos by Adamnan in his ; so that O'Dubhda signifies nepos Doudai, or descendant of Dubhda, or Dowda, and the O' should be prefixed, not only to the name of the chieftain of the race, but also to that of each individual of the family, as well in all the collateral branches as in the direct line. The exact period at which this Dubhda, or Dowda lived, cannot now be satisfactorily ascertained, as the Irish annals preserve no memorial of him, but we have two periods fixed by the authentic annalists, between which he must have flourished, namely, that of his grandfather Donncatha, King of Connaught, who died in 768, and that of his own grandson Aodh, King of North Connaught, who died in the year 983, and by striking a mean between these two dates we shall have the year 876, which may therefore be considered the year about which this Dowda died. The genealogical books of the Mac Firbises do not give us the name of his wife, and the sum of what they have handed down respecting him is, that he had one son, namely, 13. Ceallach Mac Dubhda, of whom nothing is recorded, except that he was the father of 14. Aodh, or Hugh O'Dubhda, or O'Dowda, King of Lower Connaught, who died in the year 983, according to the Annals of Lecan, as quoted by Duald Mac Firbis. This Aodh, or Hugh, was the first who could have added the prefix O' to his surname, as being the O', nepos, or grandson of Dubhda, for his father would have been called Mac Dubhda. He seems also to have been the first who obtained sway over the descendants of Caomhan, his grandfather's eldest brother; for the Lecan records inform us that he granted to Aodh, or Hugh, the grandson of Caomhan, the district extending from Tuaim Da Bhodhar to Gleoir, and also the tract of land in Carra, called Tuath Ruisen, which till then had been in the possession of a sept of the Firbolgs, besides other tracts in the principality of Hy-Fiachrach, in consideration of Aodh, the grandson of Caomhan, having resigned to him and his race all claims to the chieftainship of the Hy-Fiachrach. The genealogical books of the Mac Firbises give him but one son, Maolruanaidh, the ancestor of all the branches of the O'Dowd family; but we learn from the that he had another son, Gebhennach, who died in 1005.

15. Maolruanaidh, or Mulrony, son of Aodh, or Hugh O'Dubhda. — According to Duald Mac Firbis this Mulrony, who was chief of Hy-Fiachrach Muirisce, died in the year 1005, and the Four Masters have the following notice of his death under the same year: — A. D. 1005. Maolruanaidh, son of Aodh O'Dubhda, lord of Hy-Fiachrach Muirisce, and his son Maolseachlainn, and his brother Gebhennach Mac Aodha, died.

This Maolruanaidh, or Mulrony, had, according to the Mac Firbises, two sons, namely, 1, Maoileachlainn, or Maolseachlainn, the ancestor of the greater number of the succeeding chieftains, and, 2, Domhnall, or Donnell, the ancestor of a celebrated sept of the O'Dowds, called the Clann Domhnaill, or Clandonnell of Lough Conn, of whom were many distinguished warriors, chiefs of Tirawley, and among others Cosnamhach Mor, anglice Cosney More, who, according to the Mac Firbises, was the last of the Irish race who was called the fighter of an hundred men, but who was killed in his own house at Inishcoe, on Lough Conn, by O'Gloinin, one of his own sub-chieftains, in 1162.

16. Maoilseachlainn, i. e. Melaghlin, or Malachy O'Dubhda. — He died in 1005, the same year in which his father and uncle also died. The Mac Firbises mention but one of his sons, namely, Niall

17. Niall, son of Maoilseachlainn O'Dubhda. — He had three sons; 1, Niall, ancestor of the Clann Neill O'Dowd, who made strong efforts to wrest their little territory from the family of O'Caomhain, but without success; 2, Taithleach, the ancestor of nearly all the subsequent chiefs, and 3, Aodh, the ancestor of several septs, but whose pedigrees are not carried down.

18. Taithleach, son of Niall O'Dubhda. — He had two sons, namely, 1, Ruaidhri Mear, or Rory the Swift O'Dubhda, who was lord of the country extending from the river Robe to Drumcliff, and who was murdered by Domhnall, or Donnell O'Quin, chief of Clan Cuain, whose daughter he had violated, and who renounced his allegiance to O'Dowd, and placed himself under the protection of Mac Dermot, chief of Moylurg. This must have occurred early in the twelfth century. He had, 2, Aodh, or Hugh O'Dowd, the ancestor of the subsequent chiefs.

19. Aodh, or Hugh, son of Taithleach O'Dubhda, father of 20. Muircheartach O'Dubhda, who was the father of 21. Aodh, or Hugh O'Dubhda. — He had three sons; 1, Taithleach, ancestor of the subsequent chiefs; 2, Brian Dearg, from whom the Clann Taithligh Oig [Clantahilly Og] O'Dowd are descended; and, 3, Muircheartach. He was probably the Aodh, son of Muircheartach O'Dubdha, lord of Tireragh and Tirawley, who died in 1143.

22. Taithleach, or Tahilly, son of Aodh, or Hugh O'Dubhda. — He seems to be the Taithleach O'Dubdha, lord of Tirawley and Tireragh, who was killed by his own two wicked grandsons in the year 1192. He had one son.

23. Aodh, or Hugh, son of Taithleach, who was father of the celebrated 24. Donnchadh Mor, or Donogh More O'Dubhda. — He appears first in the Irish annals at the year 1207, under which he is called by the Four Masters lord of Tirawley and Tireragh. In this year he joined Diarmaid, son of Maghnus O'Conor, Cormac Mac Dermot, and O'Hara, lord of Leyny, to oppose Cathal Carrach O'Conor, who had invaded and plundered Mac Dermott's country. A battle ensued between them, in which Cathal Carrach was defeated, taken prisoner, and deprived of his eyes, in order that by being maimed, he might have no further pretensions to chieftainship.

In the year 1213 he hired a fleet of fifty-six ships at the Hebrides, which he joined with his own, and sailed into the bay of Cuan Modh, now Clew Bay, where he landed on Inis Raithin, and compelled Cathal Croibhdhearg, or Charles the Redhanded O'Conor, King of Connaught, to give up to him his territory, extending from the river Robe to Drumcliff, free of tribute.

Having now carried the pedigree of this family down to a period at which their history becomes very certain, and pregnant with facts, the Editor will next glance back at the line of descent, to show that the genealogical books of the Mac Firbises have not preserved to us all the branches that sprang from the main trunk of the genealogical tree of this great race. This will be sufficiently obvious from the following passages in the :

A. D. 899. Joseph of Loch Con, abbot of Clonmacnoise, died. He was of the sept of the northern Hy-Fiachrach.

A. D. 1224. Seachnasach, the son of Giolla na naomh O'Shaughnessy, was slain by the Clann Cuilen ^{[the Mac Namaras]} and the bachall mor ^{[large crozier]} of St Colman of Kilmacduagh, was profaned by this deed.— .

A. D. 1224. Giolla na naomh Crom O'Shaughnessy, lord of the western half of Cinel Aodha na h-Echtghe, died.— .

A. D. 1240. Hugh, the son of Giolla na naomh Crom O'Shaughnessy, was slain by Conchobhar, son of Aodh, son of Cathal Croibhdhearg O'Conor and Fiachra O'Flynn.— .

A. D. 1248. Opichen Guer ^{[Hopkin Poer]} was slain by Giolla Mochoinne O'Cahill.— .

A. D. 1251. Giolla Mochainne, the son of Giolla Mochainne O'Cahill, was slain by Conchobhar, the son of Cathal Croibhdhearg O'Conor.— .

A. D. 1403. Mortagh Garve O'Seaghnosy, tanist of Tyre-Fiaghragh Ayne, was killed by those of Imaine.— , translated by Mageoghegan.

A. D. 1408. John Cam O'Shaughnessy was slain by the son of O'Loughlin, in a game on the green of Clonrode.— .

Seeing from these extracts (and we have no more), that it is now impossible to add dates to the pedigree of O'Shaughnessy given in the Genealogical Table, from Aodh, the ancestor of the Cinel Aodha, down to Sir Dermot, who was knighted in 1533 (No. 36 in the Genealogical Table), we must be content with illustrating this pedigree from this Sir Dermot down to the last acknowledged representative of the name, and adding a few observations to identify the present senior of the name.

36. Sir Dermot O'Shaughnessy was the son of William, who was the son of John Buidhe, son of Eoghan, son of William, son of Giolla na naomh, son of Ruaidhri, son of Giolla na naomh Crom, lord of the western half of Kinelea, who died in 1224, son of Raghnall, or Randal, son of Gealbhuidhe, who was slain at the battle of Ardee in 1159, son of Seachnasach, the progenitor after whom this family took the name of Ui Seachnasaigh, i. e. descendants of Seachnasach, now generally anglicised O'Shaughnessy, and pronounced in the original territory O'Shannessy, and by some corruptly anglicised Sandys.

The first notice of this chieftain is found on Patent Roll, 33–35, Henry VIII., from which it appears that the king, on the 9th of July, 1533, wrote to the Lord Deputy and Council of Ireland, saying, We have made the Lord of Upper Ossory, McNemarrowe, O'Shaftnes, Denys Grady and — — Wise, Knyghtes; and woll that by virtue and warraunt hereof youe shall make out unto McNemarrowe, O'Shaftnes and Denys Grady, several patentes of all soche lands as they nowe have.

By Letters Patent, dated 3rd December, 35 Henry VIII., A. D. 1543, the king granted to Sir Dermot Sheaghyn ^[Sheaghynes], knight, captain of his nation, in consideration of his submission, and pursuant to the king's letter, dated the 9th of June preceding, All the manors, lordshipps, towns and town-lands of Gortynchegory, Dromneyll, Dellyncallan, Ballyhide, Monynean, Ardgossan, Ballyegyn, Kapparell, Clonehaghe, Tollenegan, Lycknegarishe, Crege, Karrynges, Tirrelagh, Rathvilledowne, Ardmylowan, one-third part of Droneskenan and Rath; the moiety of Flyngeston, Ardvillegoghe, Dromleballehue, Cowle, and Beke, which lands, it is recited, the said Sir Dermot and his ancestors had unjustly possessed against the Crown, to hold to him and his heirs male in capite, by the service of one Knight's fee, with a clause of forfeiture in case of confederacy against, or disturbance to the Crown. Inrolled on the Patent Roll of the thirty-fifth year of Henry VIII. Dorso.

This Sir Dermot married Mor Pheacach, i. e. More the Gaudy, O'Brien, who died in 1569, at an advanced age. Her death is thus recorded in the :— A. D. 1569. Mor Pheacach (daughter of Brian, son of Tadhg, son of Toirdhealbhach, son of Brian of the Battle of Nenagh O'Brian) and wife of O'Shaughnessy (Diarmaid, son of William, son of John Buidhe), a woman celebrated for her beauty and munificence, died. By Mor Pheacach he had two sons, namely, Sir Roger, his successor, and Diarmaid, or Dermot Reagh, who went to England in his youth, and became servant or companion to the Earl of Leicester, as will presently be made appear from original documents.

37. Sir Roger, son of Sir Dermot.— This Sir Roger was generally called Giolla dubh, anglice Gilduff, or Gilliduff, i. e. juvenis niger, by the Irish, from his black complexion and the colour of his hair. He married the Lady Honora (daughter of Murrogh, first Earl of Thomond) who had been a professed nun and an abbess, by whom he had four sons, namely, 1, John, born four or five years before marriage, as were also two daughters, Joan and Margaret; and, 2, William; 3, Fergananim; and, 4, Dermot, who were all born in marriage. Sir Roger, who was called by the Irish Giolla dubh, died in the year 1569, as we learn from the , in which the following notice of his death is given:— A. D. 1569. O'Shaughnessy (Giolla dubh, son of Diarmaid, who was son of William, who was son of John Buidhe), pillar of support to the English and Irish who had sought his assistance, and a man who, though not skilled in Latin or English, had been greatly valued and esteemed by the English, died. His son John assumed his place.

After the death of Sir Roger, his brother, Diarmaid Riabhach, anglice Dermot Reagh, or Darby the Swarthy, O'Shaughnessy, who had been servant or companion to the Earl of Leicester, returned to Ireland, having first procured a letter from Queen Elizabeth to her Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, of which the following is a faithful copy although, by some unaccountable mistake, he is in it called the son of William.

Wher one Derby O'Shaghnes the youngest sonne, as he saith, of William O'Shaghnes, Lord of Kynally, in that our Realme of Ireland, hath by the meanes of his Lord and Master, our Coosen, the Erle of Leicester, humbly required us not onely to geve him leave to returne into his contry, but also to recomend his peticion unto yow for some order to be taken with hym upon the death of his brother named Roger O'Shaghnes as being next heire unto him, we being duely inforemed of his honest demeaner here and of his earnest desire to Serve us, have been content to accompt him to our Service, and do require yow to have favorable consideracion of his sute, and as you shall fynd it mete to place and settle him in the foresaid Contry, so the rather to incurrage him to persever in his fidelitie, to shewe him as muche favor as may accord with the good goverment of the same Contry.—

It is very extraordinary, that in this letter Dermot Reagh is supposed to have been the son of William O'Shaughnessy, which he most unquestionably was not, for we have the testimony of the Irish Annals, and of his cotemporaries, that he was the brother of Sir Roger, as he states himself, and as such he was not the son but the grandson of a William O'Shaughnessy, for Sir Roger was the son of Sir Dermot, and grandson of William. It would appear from the following entry in the that this Derby or Dermot was made chief of his name in 1571: A. D. 1571. John, son of Gilla dubh, who was son of Diarmaid O'Shaughnessy, who had been the O'Shaughnessy from the time of the death of his father until this year, was deprived of that title, and also of Gort Insi Guaire, by his paternal uncle Diarmaid Riabhach, the son of Diarmaid, for he was virtually the senior.

This Dermot Riabhach, or Reagh, as we are informed by the Four Masters, continued to be the chief of the O'Shaughnessys until the year 1573, when he and Ulick, the son of Richard Burke, slew Morogh O'Brien (the son of Dermot, who was son of Morogh), in revenge for which John Burke deprived O'Shaughnessy of Gort Inse Guaire. But he held considerable sway in the territory till the year 1579, when he laid a snare for his nephew William, the second son of Sir Roger, near Ard Maoldubhain, on which occasion a fierce combat took place between them, in which he slew his nephew, but though he did, he received such deep wounds himself that he died of them in less than an hour afterwards.

After the death of Dermot Reagh, John O'Shaughnessy, the eldest son of Sir Roger, but who had been born before marriage, was again set up as the O'Shaughnessy, but his brother Dermot, who having been himself born in marriage, looked upon John as a bastard, made strong efforts to depose him; and John finding that the laws of England were in favour of Dermot, fortified himself against him by conveying all the lands in O'Shaughnessy's country to Sir Geffrie Fenton, for the sole consideration of Sir Geffrie maintaining his title against Dermot, who continually disturbed him in his possession. Both appeared at the parliament convened at Dublin in the year 1585, after which we have no more of John, or any of his descendants; but Sir Dermot appears to have been chief of his name till his death in 1606.

The following abstract of Depositions will throw much light upon the genealogy and rank of the O'Shaughnessy family at this period:

Abstract of Depositions in a cause in the Chancery of Ireland, wherein Fulk Comerford was Plaintiff, and Roger O'Shaghnes of Gort-Inchigorye, in Galway Co., Defendant, touching the town and lands of Cappafennell, or Capperell, in that Co. A. D. 1615.

Donnell O'Holloran of Gilloconry, in Galway County, husbandman, deposed that Sir Roger O'Shaghnes was son and heir of Sir Dermott— that Sir Roger was married to Honora ny Brien, by whom he had four sons: 1, John, born about four or five years before marriage, as were also two daughters, Joan and Margaret; and, 2, William; 3, Fergananym; and, 4, Dermott, born in marriage— that William was married, but died without male issue, and Fergananym died unmarried— that John O'Shaghnes conveyed all the lands in O'Shaghnes' Country to Sir Geffrie Fenton, for the sole consideration of Sir Geffrie maintaining the title of John against Dermott— that John was continually disturbed in his possession by Dermott, the Defendant's father— that Dermott, after the death of his two brothers, and in the life-time of John, enjoyed the greatest part of the lands of which Sir Roger had died seised, and that John was always reputed to be a bastard— that Sir Roger, the Defendant's grandfather, enjoyed these lands (viz. Cappafennell) and had tillage there, having had at one time fourteen score of reapers in harvest cutting, of whom Deponent was one.

Depositions to the same effect were made by the following persons, viz.:

Knougher Crone O'Hyne of Ledygane, gent., 100 years old and upwards.

Richard Bourke of Rahaly, in Galway county, 64 years old or thereabouts, who added, that he had seen an order of Council made by Sir Henry Sydney between Dermott and William, brother and son of Sir Roger, ordering that William should enjoy O'Shaghnes' lands to him and his heirs male, remainder to Dermott, Sir Roger's brother.

Margaret Countess Dowager of Clanrickard, 80 years old and upwards, sister to Honora, wife of Sir Roger, who added that they were married by a dispensation from Rome.

Manus Ward Dean of Kilmackoweth ^{[Kilmacduagh]}, 80 years old or thereabouts, who added that he knew of the controversy between Dermott and William O'Shaghnes, as above mentioned, wherein Dermott endeavoured to prove Sir Roger's sons bastards, because their mother was abbatissa and could not be wife.

Sir Tirrelagh O'Brien of Dowgh, in Clare Co., Knight, nephew of Honora ny Brien.

Donell O'Heyne of Killaveragh, freeholder, aged 80 years.

Richard Lord Brimigham, Baron of Athenrye, nephew to Sir Roger by his mother.

Tirlagh Roe Mc Mahowne of Clare county, Esq., 44 years old, who added, that he knew the Defendant's father, Dermott, to have been in suit with John O'Shaghnes, and to have held Gort-Inshygory, the Newton, and Ardemoylenan, during John's lifetime, as heir of the body of Sir Roger.

Nehemias Folan of Balladowgan, in Galway county, Esq., 60 years old, who added that Dermott Reogh O'Shaghnes, brother to Sir Roger, being servant to the Earl of Leyster, having come from England after Sir Roger's death, brought in question the legitimacy of Sir Roger's sons by the Lady Honora, at which time, during Sir Henry Sydney's Government, it appeared that the said Honora was a professed nun when the said Sir Roger had the said John by her, and that afterwards a dispensation was procured from Rome for their marriage.

38. Sir Dermot O'Shaughnessy, the fourth son of Sir Roger. He died on the eighth of July, 1606, seised of the territory of Kinelea, alias O'Shaughnes's country, leaving Roger, otherwise called Gilleduffe, his heir (who was then aged twenty-three and married), and Shyly Nyn Hubert, his widow. He had also two other sons, viz. Dathi and William, the latter of whom had four sons, namely, William, Edmond, Roger, and Dermot, of whose descendants no account has been discovered. This Sir Dermot had also three daughters, namely, 1, Joan, wife of Sir William Burke, Knight, who was by him the mother of Richard Burke, sixth Earl of Clanrickard— (See , p. 277); 2, Julia, the wife of Teige O'Kelly of Gallagh; and, 3, Honora, the wife of Johnock Burke of Tully.

39. Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy, son and heir of Sir Dermot. He married two wives: 1, Elis, daughter of — — Lynch, by whom he had Sir Dermot, his son and heir, of whom presently, and one daughter, who married Daniel O'Donovan of Castle Donovan, chief of Clancahill in the county of Cork. This daughter of Sir Roger is not mentioned in any pedigree of O'Shaughnessy that the Editor ever saw, but she is mentioned in Monsigneur Laine's , and in the family papers of the late General Richard O'Donovan of Bawnlahan, near Castletownshend, in the county of Cork, as the daughter of Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy, Knight, and also in an ode addressed, in 1639, to her husband Daniel O'Donovan, by Muldowny O'Morrison, in which he thus praises him and his wife: Ua Donnabháin na n-déigh-bheart, tuilliomh garma a ghnáth-oighreacht, Cuinge ceart d'á fhréim roimhe, a theacht 'san réim rioghroidhe; Uachtaran iarthair Mumhan, urra an chirt do chothughadh, Flaith amhra d'ár g-crú Cuirc-ne, tarla an chlu fá a chomuirce. Buadh n-dealbha d'a dreich fosaigh, fuair inghion I Seachnosaigh, Réidhe gan chumga g-croidhe, úmhla, féile, is foistine. Pailm toruidh do threibh Dáithi, inghion réidh-chroidheach Ruaidhri, Fuair airghe na n-glún ór' chin, ag tnúth le h-oidhbhle an oinigh. Teist bhuan na ríoghraide roimpe, ni léig uaithe ar imirce, Tug ar ainm Ghuaire ór chin, an ghairm is buaine braithfidh. Fiu an treabh ór tuismheadh Síle, buaidh feile ar a prímh líne, Da coimhdhe ag maicne an mhíodh-óil: roighne aicme Eireamhóin. The offspring of Donovan of the good deeds, hereditary deserver of dignity, A worthy representative of the stock he sprung from, has come into the regal succession. Superintendent of the west of Munster, prop for supporting justice, Illustrious chieftain of our Corcnian blood, under whose protection our fame is placed. The palm for beauty of her sedate aspect O'Shaughnessy's daughter has obtained. Meekness without narrowness of heart, humility, generosity, firmness. A fruitful palm-tree of the race of Dathi, the kind-hearted daughter of Rory, Who inherits the attributes of the sires she sprung from, in longing to indulge the flame of hospitality. The undying character of the kings before her she has not suffered to pass away, But has reflected on the name of Guaire that lasting lustre she had derived from him. The race from whom Sheela has descended deserved the palm for hospitality, Of which the drinkers of metheglin boast: they are the choice of Heremon's race.

Sir Roger married, 2, Julia, the daughter of Cormac Mac Carthy, lord of Muskerry, but had no issue by her. He was living in the year 1647, as appears by a curious letter written by him to his daughter Gylles in that year, and now preserved at Bawnlahan, in the possession of Major Powell, who succeeded to the property of the late General O'Donovan in 1832. It is as follows: For my verie loveinge Daughter Mrs. Gyles Donovane, at Castledonovane, theise. DAUGHTER,

I have received yours of the eighteenth of ffebruarie last, and as for your troubles you must be patient as well as others, and for my parte I taste enough of that fruite; God mend it amongst all, and send us a more happie tyme. As for the partie lately comaunded to the countree of Kiery, who may be expected to return that way, they are conducted by my Nephew (your Cuossen) Lieut. Collonell William Bourke, to whom I have written by the bearer in your behalfe. I am most Confident he will not suffer any wrong to be don unto your Dependants, Tenants, or yourself. And If in gase ^{[in case]} you should expect the whole Armey, you may certifie me soe much with speed, and I shall take that Course that shal be befittinge. In the meane tyme beseeching God to bless and keepe you and yours,

The arms on the seal of this letter are a tower crenelled in pale between two lions combatant. The crest, an arm embowed holding a spear.

This Gylles, who was living in May, 1676, had four sons, as appears from the O'Donovan records, namely; 1, Daniel, who was a colonel in the service of James II. and who was the great grandfather of the late General O'Donovan of Bawnlahan; 2, Cornelius; 3, Morogh; and 4, Richard, all living in 1655, but of whose descendants the Editor has not as yet discovered any satisfactory account, but believes that they are all extinct.

According to the pedigree of O'Shaughnessy given in the O'Clery MS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, this Sir Roger, or Gilla-dubh O'Shaughnessy, died in the year 1650. There is a portrait of him dressed in armour preserved among the muniments of Ormond Castle, Kilkenny.

40. Sir Dermot O'Shaughnessy.— He married Joan, daughter of Lord Barrymore, and had by her two sons, Roger, his successor, and Cormac, or Charles. He died in 1673.

The following abstract of his Will, which is preserved in the Prerogative Court, Dublin, is well worthy of a place here, as throwing light not only on this pedigree, but upon the manners and customs of the times: Abstract of Will of Sir Dermot O'Shaughnessy of Gort-Inchigorey

I order my bodie to be buryed in the Cathedral Church of Kill McDuagh, in the tomb where my ancestors were buryed— I doe order, that my son and heir shall cause fyve hundred and fower skore Masses to be said or celebrated for my soule immediately after my death; and I bequeath £29 to be given to those who shall without delay celebrate those Masses, allowing 1s. for every Masse aforesaid, and that each of the abbye's and convents mentioned hereafter do say the office of the dead for my soul and 15 masses besides,— I order 100 of my Ewes for my son Charles O'Shaughnessy, and bequeath to my eldest son and heir Roger O'Shaughnessy all my plate and household stuff, and I do charge my said sonnes to live during their lives in brotherly affection amongst themselves without animosity or contention— I bequeath to my son Charles the £20 mortgage I have from I. Prendergast, of the 60 acres he had in Ballinekelly, provided he shall cause 200 masses to be said for my soule— I order and leave my stuffe suite with gold buttons and my rapier for my son Charles— I leave the piece of grey frize to Edmond O'Heyne. I leave the piece of grey broad-cloth to father John Mullowny, he sayinge as many masses, for my soule, as the said cloth is worth— I leave one of my shirts to John Butler, one more to Edmond Heyne, one more to my servant Lawrence Donovane, and another to Edmond M'Hugh— I leave one of my best halfe shirts and my scarlett wastcoate to Dermott Clorane— I order the gold diamond ring I have in pawne from James Devenisse, for himselfe, he saying one hundred rosaryes for my soule— I leave my white gowne to Lawrence Donovan, and the rest of all my clothes to my son and heir Roger— I leave my white horse to my daughter in law Hellean Shaughnessy, I leave three young cowes and three great cowes, with four garrans, to my daughter Gyles Salcan, and my hatt to John Buttler— I order my son Roger to pay Eight pieces of Eight towards James Dowley his ransome— I leave two cowes and a mare to my neice Nell Donovan—

41. Roger O'Shaughnessy, Esq., the son of Sir Dermot.— He married, in 1688, Helena, the daughter of Conor Mac Donogh O'Brien of Ballynue, by whom he had one son, Colonel William O'Shaughnessy, and one daughter, Helena, who married Theobald Butler, and was the mother of Francis, John, and Theobald Butler, living in 1784. Roger joined King James's forces, and was engaged at the battle of the Boyne, from which he returned home sick, though not wounded, and died in the castle of Gort on the 11th of July, 1690. His property was declared forfeited on the 11th of May, 1697, and King William granted all his estates, in custodiam to Gustavus, the first Baron Hamilton; but he having soon after obtained a grant of other lands, the king, by letters patent, dated 19th June, 1697, granted to Thomas (afterwards Sir Thomas) Prendergast, in consideration of his good and acceptable services (the discovery of the assassination plot, &c.), all the estate, real and personal, of Roger O'Shaughnessy, Esq., deceased, in Gort-Inchigorie, and several other lands in the barony of Kiltartan and county of Galway. By a subsequent patent, dated 20th September, 1698, reciting the foregoing grant, and also that his Majesty was informed that the estates were then annually worth five hundred pounds, but that they had since proved very deficient of that sum; and it being the real intention that five hundred pounds a year should have been granted, several other lands of the clear yearly value of £334 )s. 2 1/2d., situate in the several counties of Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon, and Westmeath, were granted accordingly.— 10 William III.

42. Colonel William O'Shaughnessy.— He died in exile in France in 1744, without issue.

41. Cormac, or Charles O'Shaughnessy, the second son of Sir Dermot.— The Editor has not been able to discover the name of his wife, but it appears from De Burgo's , p. 505, and a pedigree compiled by Peter Connell in 1784, for a Cornet Butler, that he had three sons, namely, Colman O'Shaughnessy, Titular Bishop of Ossory; Robuck, or Robert O'Shaughnessy, Esq., and Joseph, who had a daughter Mary, the mother of a Cornet Butler, who was living in 1784. He had also a daughter Mary, who, according to Peter Connell, became the wife of Mortogh Cam MacMahon, Esq. After the death of his cousin german, Colonel William O'Shaughnessy, in France, in 1744, Bishop Colman instituted proceedings at law against Sir Thomas Prendergast, the son of the patentee, for the recovery of the estate of Gort, and these proceedings were continued after his decease in September"1748, by his brother Robuck O'Shaughnessy, Esq. and after his death by his (Robuck's) son, Joseph O'Shaughnessy, Esq. living in the time of De Burgo, 1762, who has the following curious notice of this family:

F. Colmanus O'Shaughnessy, S. Theologiae Magister, Alumnus Athenriensis Caenobii, oriundus e praeclarissima Familia de Gort, in Galviensi Agro Conaciae, cujus Nobilitatem, Antiquitatem, et Integritatem, qui non novit, Hiberniam non novit. Lovanii in Ordinem Fratrum Praedicatorum ex Officiali Militari Cooptatus, ibidem Studia confecit, atque docere incepit Anno 1706. Missionibus Apostolicis Hiberniae maturus, eoque profectus, laudabiliter se gessit, Sermone, et peculiari Morum Candore, in plurimis Conaciae Regionibus, ingenti cum Animarum Fructu praedicans. Die 30 Aprilis 1726 in Comitiis Dublinii celebratis electus fuit Provincialis in locum Stephani nostri Mac-Egan, Episcopi tunc Clonmacnoisensis, nuperrime laudati Anno 1736 a Clemente XII., Pontifice Maximo, renunciatus fuit. Episcopus Ossoriensis, vulgo Ossory, in Lagenia, sub Metropoli Dubliniensi atque Dublinii in Monialium nostrarum Aedibus Sacris consecratus a D. Joanne Linegar, ejusdem Urbis Archipraesule, assistentibus F. Stephano Mac-Egan, mox laudato, Midensi, et F. Michael Mac-Donogh Kilmorensi Episcopis, ex ordine nostro, ut ex nuper dictis liquet, assumptis. Anno 1744 defuncto Patruele suo, Tribuno Gulielmo O'Shaghnussy, in Galliarum Partibus, quo pater ipsius Rogerius Regem Jacobum secutus fuerat Anno 1691, eam ob Causam Castro suo Allodiali Gortensi, amplissimisque circumjacentibus Praediis, ultra Summam bis Mille, et quinquies centum Librarum Sterlingarum, id est, decies Mille Scutorum Romanorum, annuatim valentibus, privatus a Principe Arausicano, nuncupato Gulielmo III., qui eadem concessit Equiti Thomae Prendergast, durante duntaxat Vita laudatorum Rogerii, et Gulielmi O-Shaghnussy; isto, inquam, Gulielmo defuncto, Colmanus noster O-Shaghnessy, etsi jam Episcopus, Litem inchoavit, qua Familiae suae Primipilus, Dublinii, in Curia Communium Placitorum, contra tunc, et adhuc existentem Equitem Thomam pariter Prendergast, primo dicti filium, ad Bona illa haereditaria recuperanda; atque Praesule nostro e vivis sublato, in jure successit Germanus ipsius Frater, Robocus O-Shaghnussy, Armiger, hujusque nunc succedit Filius Josephus O-Shaghnussy, Armiger. Eques autem Thomas Prendergast acriter se defendit, non quidem Justitia Causae suae, sed Pecunia, et Potentia, unus quippe est e Senatoribus Regni in Parlamento sedens, insuperque Regi a Sanctioribus Consiliis, ad Differentiam Domini O'Shaghnussy, qui Fidei Catholicae est Cultor, suisque haereditariis Bonis exutus.— pp. 505, 506.