Mary Stuart O'Donnell

Lady Mary Stuart O'Donnell (Irish: Máire Stíobhartach Ní Dhomhnaill; c. 1607 - in or after 1639)^[1] was an English-born Irish noblewoman. Her father, the 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, left her pregnant mother behind in Ireland during the Flight of the Earls. Born in England, Mary and her mother survived on a pension from James VI and I and she grew up in Ireland as a Catholic.

Due to her strong-willed nature and devout Catholicism, she became estranged from her mother's Protestant family, and after breaking into a London prison to free Irish fugitives, she fled to Brussels with her boyfriend Dualtach O'Gallagher. She faced further issues when her brother and his allies sought to use her as a marital tool to unite their noble families.

Mary and O'Gallagher escaped to Italy, where they married and had at least one child. The circumstances of her death are unknown - she was last recorded living in Rome in 1639.

Mary O'Donnell was the daughter of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and his wife Bridget FitzGerald, daughter of the 12th Earl of Kildare.^[2][3]

Rory was tanist to his elder brother Hugh Roe O'Donnell during the Nine Years' War (1593-1603).^[4][5] Rory succeeded Hugh Roe when the latter died in 1602, but was unable to secure an Irish victory. In December he surrendered to English forces at Athlone. Rory was forced to renounce claims of land, and was bitterly discontented with his newfound financial difficulties and reduced status.^[4]

Rory married Bridget FitzGerald around Christmas 1606.^[4] Their only son, Hugh Albert, was born in October 1606.^[2] Due to increasing hostility from the English nobility,^[6][4] Rory fled Ireland in September 1607 whilst Bridget was pregnant with their second child.^[3][7] It was apparently a "snap decision",^[8] and as Bridget was staying at her paternal grandmother's Maynooth estate at the time, far away from the point of departure in Rathmullan, she was left behind.^[3] Rory was joined by about ninety people - his extended family (including Hugh Albert), the family of wartime ally Hugh O'Neill, and various followers.^[7]

When Bridget learned of her husband's departure, she was expected to deliver the baby within two weeks. Rory did not intend to abandon her, assuming she would reunite with him in Continental Europe at a later time.^[3] According to Rory's messenger Owen MacGrath, "[Rory's flight was not] for want of love... if [he] had known sooner of his going, he would have taken [Bridget] with him."^[9] Nevertheless, nineteen-year-old Bridget was distressed^[3] and furious by her husband leaving with no warning.^[10]

MacGrath attempted to persuade Bridget to leave Ireland a few weeks after the flight, though she refused.^[9] Bridget's mother, Lady Kildare, had advised her to cooperate with the English.^[9][11][12] Bridget never saw her husband or son again;^[13] Rory died of a fever in 1609.^[14]

Mary Stuart O'Donnell was born in England^[15][12] around 1607.^[2][16] As an infant, she was presented by Bridget at the English court with a personal appeal to King James VI and I. Bridget sufficiently roused the King with an emotional telling of her plight and financial troubles, and he granted Bridget a pension of £200 from Tyrconnell's escheated estates.^[13] He also gave the infant the name "Mary Stuart" after his mother the Queen of Scots,^[17] and placed her under royal protection.^[13] As the daughter of an earl, she was styled as 'Lady Mary'.^{[citation needed]}

In 1609, Bridget returned to her family's estates in Kildare.^[17] Mary was raised there by her mother^[15][17] as a Catholic.^[18][17]

Mary's pension was decreased by £50 after her mother's second marriage (1619).^[13]

In 1619, her mother remarried,^[12] and Mary went to live in England with her maternal grandmother for the next few years.^[15][18][17] She received a generous dowry from the King.^[17]

Lady Kildare attempted to anglicise the young girl and proposed to leave Mary her substantial inheritance.^[15][12] However, within a few years, the strong-willed Mary had dismayed her mother's family due to her Catholicism and her failure to marry. Additionally, her pension was often not paid on time, leading to financial troubles.^[18][17] Much to the consternation of her mother's family, she increasingly associated with the young, disaffected Irish Catholics of London.^[17]

Lady Kildare had thought that a Protestant husband would resolve Mary's insolent behaviour,^[18] but Mary objected to the favoured suitor exactly because of his Protestantism.^[15] She was also already in a relationship with Catholic man Dudley "Dualtach" O'Gallagher.^[17]

In the summer of 1626,^[17] Mary and several friends broke into a London prison^[a] and freed her half-brother Caffar "Con" O'Donnell and her first cousin Hugh O'Rourke,^[17][19] who had recently been incarcerated for refusing to revoke their claims over planted land in Ireland.^{[citation needed]} Following this incident, she was ordered to appear before the royal court. She instead opted to go into hiding, then flee London with O'Gallagher during the latter months of 1626.^[17]

Disguised as a man^[15][20] named Ralph,^[12] and wearing a sword, she got clear of London and after many wanderings arrived in Bristol. She was accompanied by a maid,^[15] Anne Baynham,^{[citation needed]} similarly disguised, and by a young "gentilhomme son parent" (most likely O'Gallagher).^[15]

At Bristol her sex was suspected; but, according to a Spanish panegyrist, who likens her to various saints, she bribed a magistrate, offered to fight a duel, and made fierce love to another girl. Two attempts were made to reach Ireland, but the ship was beaten back into the Severn. At last Mary got off in a Dutch vessel, and was carried with her two companions to La Rochelle. She retained her doublet, boots, and sword, and at Poitiers made love to another lady.^[15] She may have taken a ship to Cádiz, then moved on to France and finally Brussels.^[21]

It took Mary six weeks to reach Brussels, and her trip was recorded by a man named Alberto Enriquez. In all likelihood, his account was written to portray Mary heroically to Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, to whom Mary was appealing for financial support. Enriquez's account described Mary as a devout Catholic seeking safety on the Continent. Enriquez does not mention O'Gallagher's presence - the fact that Mary was travelling with a man of lower status was seen by some as a reason for scandal.^[21]

On her arrival at Brussels in January 1627,^[17] Pope Urban VIII wrote her a special congratulatory letter.^[15][22] He praised her "heroic" character and defiance against Protestantism.^[22][17]

Mary met her elder brother, Hugh Albert, for the first time in Brussels.^[15][22] Through his influence, she was received by Isabella's court.^[22][17] Isabella granted her a pension.^[17]

However, Mary faced difficulties with her new compatriots when Archbishop of Tuam Florence Conry arranged for her to be married to Shane O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone,^[17] an Irish nobleman who had become a decorated officer in the Spanish army.^[23] The relations between the O'Neills and the O'Donnells had become strained after the war's end, and Conry hoped a unifying marriage would allay hostilities between the noble families.^[17][22] Hugh Albert had hoped to unite the families in preparation for a planned invasion of Ireland in 1627.^{[citation needed]}

Mary, who had kept her relationship with O'Gallagher secret, anticipated conflict if she rejected the marriage. She secretly wrote to Lord Conway, English Secretary of State, defending her flight from authorities, and proposing that with the right guarantee, she could return to England, and with her, bring Shane into the King's service. This plan came to naught. Historian Jerrold Casway believes that this saga exposes "the hopelessness of her position".^[22][17]

Around 1629, Mary became pregnant, and her relationship with O'Gallagher was exposed.^[17] The disgraced couple once again fled, this time from Brussels to Italy.^[22][17] They arrived in Rome in 1630, where she was greeted with admiration as the daughter of the late 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.^{[1][citation needed]}

Mary and O'Gallagher married in Rome. The couple unsuccessfully petitioned the pope for financial help. They later settled in Genoa, where Mary gave birth to a boy.^[22][17][15]

By this time, her relationship with the Catholic Church and the O'Donnell family had irrevocably broken down. The Church was unwilling to support Mary,^[22] and Hugh Albert claimed that Mary was an imposter pretending to be his sister.^[17][22] She had also estranged her elder brother by continuing to seek adventures in men's clothes.^[15] Mary and O'Gallagher had to survive on a subsidy from Archduchess Isabella.^[22]

The couple found refuge in Vienna,^[17][24] where they were treated warmly by Irish Franciscans.^[17] In February 1632 Mary wrote to Cardinal Barberini, saying that another child was expected.^[15] In 1635, O'Gallagher became a captain in the imperial army, but was killed during his service.^[17][24] Her infant son fell ill and died shortly after her husband's passing.^{[citation needed]}

Beset by grief and estranged from her family, she travelled Europe once again before eventually settling down in Rome.^{[citation needed]} By 1639, Mary was living in Rome,^[25][17] married to "a poor Irish captain".^[17]

Nothing more is known of her life after 1639.^[17][25]

• Bagwell, Richard (1895). "O'Donnell, Rory" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 444–447.
• Casway, Jerrold (2003). "Heroines or Victims? The Women of the Flight of the Earls". New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua. 7 (1): 56–74. ISSN 1092-3977. JSTOR 20557855.
• Casway, Jerrold I. (2004). "O'Donnell, Lady Mary Stuart (b. 1607?, d. in or after 1639)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20557. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Dunlop, Robert (1895). "O'Neill, Hugh, third Baron of Dungannon and second Earl of Tyrone 1540?–1616". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XLII. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 188–196. OCLC 8544105.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: McNeill, Ronald John (1911). "O'Neill". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 107–111.
• O'Neill, James (2017). The Nine Years War, 1593-1603: O'Neill, Mountjoy and the Military Revolution. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 9781846827549.
• Silke, John J. (May 2006). "O'Donnell, Rury , styled first earl of Tyrconnell (1574/5–1608)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20559. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

• Burke, Sir Bernard (1866), A Genealogical History of the Dormant: Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, Harrison, p. 410