Hugh Roe O'Donnell (died 1505)
Quick Facts
Biography
Hugh Roe O'Donnell was a leading figure in Gaelic Ireland, ruling the lordship of Tyrconnell in Ulster from 1461 to 1505. He was part of the O'Donnell dynasty that ruled over what is now County Donegal.
O'Donnell visited Dublin in 1464 to submit to the royal authorities. He remained a strong supporter of the Yorkist cause, and supported the claims of the pretender Perkin Warbeck against the Tudors. By 1496 he was eager to repent his actions, along with other Gaelic leaders who had supported Warbeck.
He died in 1505 and was succeeded by his son Hugh Duff O'Donnell, who was also considered a strong ruler who increased O'Donnell power into northern Connaught and enjoyed the support of the Crown authorities in Dublin. Together their reigns are sometimes considered a "golden age" of the O'Donnell's, when compared to the violent succession disputes that followed in the later sixteenth century.
He should not to be confused with the later Hugh Roe O'Donnell, who was his great, great-grandson.