DEBATE has arisen in Donegal as to where the remains of Red Hugh O’Donnell, King of Tyrconnell should be buried if they are confirmed found in the former Franciscan Monastery in Valladolid, Spain.
Proinsias Mag Fhionnghaile, McGinley Clan Chieftain and Historian, who is a Curator at Ballyshannon Museum has called for the remains, if found, to be brought back to Ballyshannon which he claims was where the main castle of the O’Donnell’s was located. He also maintains a clans of the greater Cineál Chonaill should decide jointly.
“If the remains were to be found and repatriated to Ireland, then Ballyshannon would be the logical and only location. Ballyshannon and the River Erne was his base for his massive European trade also, so much so that he earned the name “King of the fishes”.
“Therefore, this is not an O’Donnell question but a question for the native Gaels of County Donegal. As the chieftain and historian for one of the clans within the Cineál Chonaill, the McGinleys, I fully support Ballyshannon as the only realistic destination. If repatriation is an option, Ballyshannon will fight tooth and nail to bring him home to ‘his town’,” Mr McGinley stated in his letter to this paper.
However, Francis (Frank) Martin O’Donnell who has spent 30 years researching and written extensively in his book ‘The O’Donnells of Tyrconnell – A Hidden Legacy’ that the O’Donnells built, occupied or conquered and took as their own no less than twenty-one better-known castles or fortresses during their sovereignty of Tyrconnell, and these and their fate are listed in his book (pages 49-50).
“It is true that Sir Hugh received his son, Red Hugh in Ballyshannon Castle in 1592, and Red Hugh sojourned there for some time, as this is where his two big frost-bitten toes were amputated and he took a long time to recover. Donegal Castle had by then been seriously damaged by Red Hugh’s mother in her war against her husband.
“In contrast to the semi-renovated Donegal castle, Ballyshannon Castle was completely demolished in 1720 to build a British Cavalry barracks, and which is now a market yard. Unlike Donegal town, there is therefore no suitable historic venue left in Ballyshannon that would authentically receive Red Hugh’s remains for burial, nor is there sufficient precedent to do so.
“During its prime from 1474 to 1600, the Franciscan Donegal Abbey became the recognized principal burial place of the ruling O’Donnell dynasty. It was also the preferred burial place of the chieftains of the Maguires of Fermanagh, and of distinguished members of the families of O’Neill, O’Boyle, O’Brien, O’Duignan, and O’Mulconry, and their burials there are listed in various Irish annals,” Mr O’Donnell said.
He added that the ‘O’Donnell Clan Association‘ (ODCA) has been created on three different occasions, and for the past seven years, ever since he sat on the board of Clans of Ireland, at the request in 2013 of the then–Secretary of the O’Donnell Clan Association (ODCA), Vincent O’Donnell (who lately relinquished his involvement), he has consulted with representatives of the main branches of the ODCA on a Constitution. By 2015 he had put forward a revision to make it “fit for purpose”, and in line with the guidance from the Charities Regulator.
“Unfortunately, the anonymous “Committee” that should review it has failed. The ODCA is practically non-functioning – compared to other robust new clans – and its current 1997 “Constitution” (which its Committee does not abide by) was a one-pager that Vincent says he drafted in a hurry to avail of a grant.
“So, on the current matter of Red Hugh, I have been consulting with the closest relatives, who apart from my own direct family, the O’Donnells of Ardfert, are the descendants of Red Hugh’s cousin Niall Garbh, in Austria and Spain. But I have also made the case in public that this is not just a family matter, nor even just clan, but a national one. So, I believe Proinsias Mag Fhionnghaile has got it wrong on that score too,” Mr O’Donnell concluded.
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