of the Parliamentarians, joined them-re- | minor operations of the ensuing winter. solved to destroy O'Neill and turn Rinuc- In May 1650, with 1,500 Ulstermen cini out of Ireland. On 28th May 1648, he stubbornly defended Clonmel against the Nuncio, from Maryborough, excom- Cromwell. He ultimately drew off semunicated the abettors of the peace, and cretly, after the Parliamentarians had lost put under interdict all towns that should some 2,500 before the place. One of Cromreceive it; 2,000 of Preston's troops there-well's officers admitted in a letter that they upon joined O'Neill, and the approach of a "found in Clonmel the stoutest enemy force under Inchiquin alone prevented him this army had ever met in Ireland. from sacking Kilkenny. O'Neill then There was never so hot a storm of so long turned aside into Thomond, stormed the a continuance, and so gallantly defended, castle of Nenagh and the fortresses gar- either in Ireland or England." In the risoned by Inchiquin's soldiery, and occu- autumn of the same year (1650) he was pied a fortified position at Ballaghmore. appointed Governor of Limerick, and for Rinuccini left Ireland in March 1649, and weeks sustained a siege against Ireton and it became O'Neill's only object to keep his Ludlow. The latter, in his Memoirs, gives army together, in the hope of Continental a fearful account of the sufferings endured assistance. At one time he even entered by the inhabitants. Upon one occasion into a treaty with General Jones, and in at least, a crowd of famine-stricken return for a herd of 2,000 cattle, raised the wretches, endeavouring to leave the city, siege of Londonderry, where Coote, who were beaten back. Limerick capitulated on held that city for the Parliament, was shut the 27th October, on the humiliating conup. After Ormond's defeat at Rathmines, dition that O'Neill, the Mayor, the Bishops and in the face of Cromwell's arrival, all of Limerick and Emly, Major-General the principal Irish parties sank their dif- Purcell, and some twelve of the principal ferences and showed willingness to com- inhabitants should be exempted from bine against the common enemy. Owen pardon. As the garrison marched out Roe detached 6,000 men to join Ormond, several dropped dead of the plague. The in the vain effort to withstand the Parlia- Bishop of Emly, Major-General Purcell, mentary army before Wexford, and was and others of the exempted persons were himself hastening south, when he was executed. Hugh O'Neill, after giving attacked with an old complaint-acute Ireton the keys of the place, and showing gout-at Londonderry. For some days he him round the fortifications, was conwas carried in a horse-litter at the head demned to die. But Ireton, resolving to of his army; but at length resigned the hear him, demanded of him what he had command to his nephew Major-General to say for himself. His defence, according Hugh O'Neill, and getting worse and to Ludlow, was "That the war had been worse, died at Cloughouter Castle, the long on foot before he came over; that he residence of his brother-in-law, Philip came upon the invitation of his countryO'Reilly, 6th November 1649, aged about men; that he had always demeaned him50. He was interred in the abbey of self as a fair enemy; and that the ground Cavan. Carte says, Owen Roe O'Neill was of his exception from the articles, being "a man of few words, cautious and phleg- his encouraging to hold out, though there matic in his operations, a great adept in was no hope of relief, was not applicable concealing his feelings the imitator to him, who had always moved them to a of Fabius." His widow, Rosa, survived timely surrender; as indeed he made it until 1st November 1660. She died at appear; and therefore hoped that he Brussels, and was buried in the convent should enjoy the benefit of the articles; of the Franciscans at Louvain, where her in confidence of which he had faithfully tomb may still be seen. His son Henry delivered up the keys of the town, with was taken prisoner by Coote at the battle all the arms, ammunition, and provisions of Scarriffholles [See MACMAHON, HE- without imbezzlement, and his own person BER], 21st June 1650, and notwithstanding also, to the Deputy. But the blood forpromise of quarter, was executed in cold merly shed at Clonmel . . had made blood. His other sons-Bryan, Con, and such an impression on the Deputy, that John (a priest)-ultimately reached the his judgment, which was of great weight Continent; but no further record remains with the court, moved them a second time of them. 161 170 174 1861 269 295 340 to vote him to die; though some of us earnestly opposed it." Ireton having carried his point, a third time remitted the case to the consideration of his officers, reserving his own opinion, and O'Neill's life was spared. That he lived ten years O'Neill, Hugh, Major-General, served with distinction in the War of 1641-252. in the autumn of 1649 he succeeded his uncle, Owen Roe O'Neill, in the command of his army, and took part in some of the after this, and assumed the title of Earl-ignoring even the passages in plays in of Tyrone, appears by a letter from him (dated from Madrid, 27th October 1660) to the Marquis of Ormond, soliciting the restoration of his family to royal favour. This appeal was supported by the English Ambassador, Henry Bennett, in a letter in which he set forth Hugh's lineal succession to the title. 52 80 92 215 2199 O'Neill, Elizabeth (Lady Becher), a celebrated actress, was born in Drogheda | in 1791. Her father was manager of a small theatrical company. About 1812, says the Athenæum, "father and daughter were doing very ill in Dublin, half-starving, while they waited for luck, when it came to the latter all of a sudden. Miss Waldstein, the theatrical heroine of the hour, refused to act unless at an advanced salary. The manager was in despair, when he heard of the priceless pearl that was to be had for nothing. Miss O'Neill was forthwith attached to the Dublin Theatre, where she excited such sensations of delight, that the Irish capital was beside itself. Forthwith, Covent Garden obtained her services. In October 1814, Miss O'Neill made her debut as 'Juliet,' and London acknowledged a new charm. Her grace, sweetness, delicacy, refinement, were things that London playgoers had long been strangers to. In her first season she ran through a line of characters which filled the town with admiration and poor Mrs. Siddons with disgust. She may be said to have united the old stage with the new. She played, as the great Mrs. Barry did, 'Belvidera,' 'Isabella,' 'Monimia,' and 'Calista.' She was also the 'Bianca' of Milman's 'Fazio,' and the original heroine of Sheil's stilted and now forgotten plays, but plays which included in their caste Young, Charles Kemble, Macready, and Miss O'Neill. Her last season was the last in which Mrs. Siddons acted, that lady returning to the stage for a night, to play 'Lady Randolph' for her brother Charles's benefit." In December 1819, after a theatrical career as brief as it was brilliant, she relinquished a profession at which she was said to be making £12,000 a year, and married Mr., afterwards Sir William W. Becher, of Ballygiblin, County of Cork. The statement that after her marriage she was ashamed of her old calling, and never referred to it which she had been most effective-is probably exaggerated. She died at Ballygiblin, 20th October 1872, aged 81, having survived her husband twenty-two years. In private life she was as remarkable for her benevolence and practical kindness as during her professional career she was for her talents. 7 15 39 O'Reilly, Alexander, Count, a Spanish General, was born at Baltrasna, in the County of Meath, in 1722. He entered the Spanish service as a lieutenant in the Irish Brigade, and served in Italy, where he received a wound which lamed him for life. In 1757 he passed into the Austrian army, and distinguished himself against the Prussians at Hochkirchen, in 1758. The following year he entered the French service and assisted at the battle of Bergen (1759), and the taking of Minden and Corbach. War having broken out between Spain and Portugal, he re-entered the Spanish service, was made a lieutenant-general, and defeated the Portuguese before Chaves, in 1762. The advent of an English army, under Burgoyne, checked the Spanish successes, and the Peace of Paris (February 1763) deprived O'Reilly of active military employment. In 1765 he saved the life of Charles III. in a popular tumult in Madrid. He remodelled the Spanish army, and introduced the German discipline. Promoted to be Field-Marshal, he was sent to Havannah as second in command, and in June 1768 took possession of Louisiana, which had been ceded to Spain by France. On his return he was made Governor of Madrid and Inspector-General of Infantry. His selection for the command of an expedition against Algiers excited some jealousy amongst the Spanish officers, and caused the failure of the enterprise. Charles III. not daring to reinstate him in the government of Madrid, made him Governor of Cadiz and Captain-General of Andalusia. In April 1786 he was deprived of all his employments, and obliged to retire on a small pension. He must, however, have been still wealthy, as in 1790 he paid an Irish gentleman 1,000 guineas for preparing his pedigree. He died near Chinchilla, 23rd March 1794, aged 72. 34 42 134 O'Reilly, Andrew, Count, an Austrian Field-Marshal, was born in Ireland in 1740. When young he entered the Austrian service, and soon distinguished himself. Under Maria Theresa he served in the Seven Years' War, and under Joseph II., in the campaign against the Turks. He was a major when war broke out between Austria and France, in April 1792 He signalized himself at Marchiennes, became a general officer, and served at the battle of Amberg in 1796, and at Ulm the same year. When the French, commanded by Moreau, passed the Rhine at Kehl (April 1797), and routed the Austrians, O'Reilly was wounded and taken prisoner. He was soon exchanged, and filled positions of trust in the Austrian dominions. At Austerlitz (2nd December 1805) he commanded a body of cavalry. In 1809 he served under Archduke Maximilian, and was made Governor of Vienna, which he was compelled to surrender to the French, 12th May 1809, after a short bombardment. The rest of his life was passed in retirement: he died at Vienna in 1832, aged 92. 34 O'Reilly, Edward, Archbishop of Armagh, was born in Dublin in 1606, and was educated chiefly on the Continent. He entered the Church, acted as VicarGeneral of the diocese of Dublin from 1642 to 1648, when he was deprived of his office through the influence of his opponent, Dr. Walsh. After suffering imprisonment for a time, he was driven into banishment. In April 1657 he was consecrated Archbishop of Armagh. The framework of the Catholic Church was then sadly disjointed in Ireland. The clergy of every grade and order had been driven into banishment: and harbouring a priest was punishable with death, and total forfeiture of property; but one bishop remained in Ireland, and for sixteen years Leinster and Munster had no resident Catholic bishops. He was able to visit his diocese only furtively and at long intervals. In June 1666, while attending a conference of the clergy in Dublin, he was arrested, suffered a rigorous imprisonment in England, and was deported to Belgium. The few remaining years of his life were chiefly occupied in looking after the interests of the Irish seminaries on the Continent. He died at Saumur, in France, March 1669, aged 63. 74 128† O'Reilly, Edward, author of an IrishEnglish Dictionary (Dublin, 1817); A Chronological Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers (Dublin, 1820), and other works relating to Ireland, was for some time Assistant-Secretary to the IbernoCeltic Society. O'Curry, in his Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, points out many inaccuracies in his writings. He deserves a much fuller notice than it is possible to construct out of the information that can be discovered concerning him. He was latterly engaged at a miserably low rate of remuneration in the historical department of the Irish Ordnance Survey, and died in 1829. A new edition of his Dictionary, with a supplement compiled by John O'Donovan, was published in Dublin in 1864. 190*(1861) O'Reilly, Hugh, a barrister, born in the County of Cavan, was Master in Chancery, and Clerk of the Council under James II. in Ireland, and after his removal with that king to France, in 1690, received the honorary appointment of Lord-Chancellor of Ireland. About 1693 he published Ireland's Case briefly Stated; or a Summary Account of the most Remarkable Transac tions of the Kingdom since the Reformation. Harris's Ware says: "The author represents matters wholly in the favour of the Irish, and falls foul on King Charles II., whom he severely condemns for his ingratitude to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, who had faithfully served him. Nor does he excuse his master, King James, who was so offended at his free treatment of him, that he took away his small salary, and turned him out of his titular office, the loss of which lay so heavy upon his spirits that he died soon after, about the year 1694. It is said King James restored him to his pension a short time before his death." 339 Ormond, Countess of, Lady Margaret FitzGerald, daughter of the 8th Earl of Kildare, was married in 1485 to Pierce Butler, afterwards 8th Earl of Ormond. She is described by Stanihurst as "manlike and tall of stature, verie liberall and bountifull, a sure friend, a bitter enimie, hardlie disliking where she fansied, not easlie fansieng where she disliked: the onelie meane at those daies whereby hir husband his countrie was reclaimed from sluttishnesse and slouenrie, to cleane bedding and ciuilitie." She is sometimes styled the "Great Countess of Ormond." Her husband died in 1539, and she survived him three years. Mr. Graves thus writes of her in his History of St. Canice's Cathedral: "Margaret, Countess of Ormonde and Ossory, the fairest daughter' of the Earl of Kildare, was unquestionably one of the most remarkable women of her age and country. Large as is the place filled by the 'Red Earl' in the history of Ireland, it is a singular fact that in the traditions of the peasantry of Kilkenny his existence is utterly forgotten, whilst his consort stands vividly forth as the Countess,' or oftener as plain 'Mairgread Gearoid,' forming with 'Cromwell' and the 'Danes' a triad to whom almost everything marvellous, cunning, or cruel is attributed. She is the traditional builder, as Cromwell is the traditional destroyer, of nearly every castle in the district; and by ORM the peasant's fireside, numberless are the tales told of her power, her wisdom, and -truth compels us to add her oppressions." 1551 202 Ormond, Sir James, known as "Black James," illegitimate and only son of the 5th Earl of Ormond, was a valiant but quarrelsome man. In 1492 he was made Lord-Treasurer. In June of the same year a dispute with the Earl of Kildare, resulting in a skirmish, may be said to have commenced the feuds between the Butlers and the FitzGeralds. A striking incident in Sir James's life was his interview with his opponent, the Earl of Kildare, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, in 1512. It was thought the sanctity of the place would ensure decorum; but ere long their retainers came to blows, and several arrows and darts struck the images. [In expiation of this insult to the Church, occurring within the limits of their jurisdiction, the Lord-Mayors of Dublin for many years walked bare-footed through the streets of the city on the anniversary of the tumult.] In the confusion, Sir James took refuge in the chapter-house. Matters were finally adjusted by the Earl of Kildare and Sir James shaking hands through a hole, cut for the purpose, in the chapter-house door. Sir James was killed in a skirmish near Kilkenny, 17th March 1518. 271 Orr, William, a United Irishman, was born in 1766, at Farranshane, in the Parish and County of Antrim, where his father was a farmer and bleach-green proprietor in comfortable circumstances. William Orr was a member of the Society of United Irishmen, and in 1797 was arraigned, tried, and convicted at Carrickfergus, on the charge of having sworn in a soldier. Although the only witness against him was proved to have perjured himself, and several members of the jury were drunk when they brought in their verdict, he was condemned to die, and his execution was hurried forward with a view to deter others from joining the organization. His speech before sentence contained the words: "I trust that all my virtuous countrymen will bear me in their kind remembrance, and continue true and faithful to each other, as I have been to all of them." He was hanged at Carrickfergus on the 14th October 1797, in his thirty-first year, most of the inhabitants leaving town on the day of execution, to show their detestation of the judicial murder. Orr is described as having been a perfect model of symmetry, strength, and grace-his coun"Retenance open, frank, and manly. member Orr," became a watchword during the insurrection; and the "Wake of | OSS William Orr," by Drennan, was one of the 308 331 Ossian, or Oisin, a renowned bard, son of Finn MacCumhaill, was born in Ireland in the 3rd century. The locality of his birth-place, "Cluain Iochtair," has not been identified. Although his name is constantly to be met in the legends of the time, there is very little definitely known concerning him. Eugene O'Curry writes: "The first class [of Fenian poems and tales] is ascribed directly, in ancient manuscripts, to Finn Mac Cumhaill; to his sons Oisín and Fergus Finnbheoill (the eloquent); and to his kinsman Caeilte. The poems ascribed upon anything like respectable authority to Finn MacCumhaill are few indeed, amounting only to five, as far as I have been able to disThe only cover; but these are found in manuscripts of considerable antiquity. poems of Oisin with which I am acquainted, that can be positively traced back so One far as the 12th century, are two, which are found in the Book of Leinster. of these is valuable as a record of the great battle of Gabhra [Skreen, near Tara], which was fought A.D. [281 or] 284, and in which Oscar, the brave son of Oisin, and Cairbre Lifeachair, the Monarch of Érinn, fell by each others' hands. . . A perfect and very accurate copy of this poem was published . the Ossianic of Oisin, in the year 1854 by The second poem Society. preserved in the Book of Leinster, is of much greater extent than the first." (A free metrical translation of the latter, by Dr. Anster, appeared in the University Magazine for 1852.) O'Curry says that but one genuine piece by Fergus remains and Ossian himone by Cailte MacRonain. self fought at Gabhra, where the Fenian power was entirely broken. He is fabled after the battle to have been spirited away to Tir na Og (the land of perpetual youth), and not to have appeared again on earth until the days of St. Patrick. One of the Fenian lays (published with a translation by the Ossianic Society in 1857)-The Lamentation of Oisin after the Feniansgives an account of his interview with the Saint, his longings for the great pagan past, his grief at the loss of his heroic Fenian companions, and his contempt for Christianity and its professors. In 1760 Dr. James Macpherson, a Scotch writer, published the first of a series of poems purporting to be translations from Ossian, which were enthusiastically received by the public. The question as to whether they were translations from ancient manuscrips, or literary forgeries, has been scarce423 ly yet decided, but the balance of opinion is decidedly against Macpherson. Johnson denounced the poems as impostures, and in our own day O'Curry says: "In no single instance has a genuine Scottish original been found, and that none will ever be found I am very certain." 171 260 261 272 2729 O'Sullivan Beare, Donnell, Lord of Dunboy, in the County of Cork, was born about 1562. [The O'Sullivans originally occupied a territory in the present County of Tipperary. Dispossessed by the Anglo-Normans, they moved south, and pressed out the weaker tribes in the vicinity of Bantry and Glengarriff.] In 1581 the Four Masters recount Donnell's defeat of a body of native auxiliaries of Captain Zouch, one of Queen Elizabeth's lieutenants; yet in 1593, his uncle, the rightful O'Sullivan Beare, was dispossessed by order of the Irish Council, and he was put in possession of the lands and stronghold of Dunboy, on Bantry Bay. On the arrival of the Spanish fleet under Don Juan d'Aguila, in September 1601, Hugh O'Neill and O'Donnell appointed him to the chief command in the south, "for, he was, say the Four Masters, "at this time the best commander among their allies in Munster for wisdom and valour." O'Sullivan_gladly received a Spanish garrison into Dunboy; but when Kinsale capitulated in January, and he found that the terms included the surrender of all the Spanish garrisons in the south, he, partly by stratagem and partly by force, repossessed himself of it, and with a garrison of 143 men (chiefly Irish, with a few Spaniards, under his Constable MacGeoghegan), determined to hold it to the last. The place was speedily invested both by land and sea by Carew with a force of some 4,000 men, many of them Irish, under Irish chiefs. Its defence of twenty-one days, in May and June 1602, one of the most interesting episodes in Irish history, is detailed in Pacata Hibernia. Every nerve was strained and every engineering resource was resorted to both by besiegers and besieged. The place was at length taken by assault on 18th June, and the small remnant of the garrison (some fifty men) were mercilessly hanged by the President. MacGeoghegan, the Constable, was despatched in the vault of the castle, as, mortally wounded, he was dragging himself, with a lighted torch in his hand, towards a barrel of gunpowder. A few days before the assault and capture, O'Sullivan had left temporarily to meet a vessel with supplies from Spain. When news reached him of the disaster, he gathered together his followers and entrenched himself in Glengarriff. There he held out for some months in the hopes of Spanish assistance; but his heart failed him on receipt of the news of O'Donnell's death. Winter was upon him; the mountains were covered with snow; his resources were exhausted; and he was cooped up in the glen, with a crowd of helpless people, the aged and infirm, women and children, with only a few hundred fighting men to protect them. He at length resolved to leave his wife and younger children in concealment in the glen, under the care of his foster-brother MacSweeny, and to fight his way northward to Ulster, conveying the women and children, the aged, sick, and wounded of his clan. With 400 fighting men, and 600 non-combatants, he secretly quitted Glengarriff early in January 1603. On the following morning the English found the camp deserted by all but those who were too ill or too severely wounded to be moved--"whose paines and lives by the souldiers were both determined." O'Sullivan and his band passed by way of Ballyvourney, Duhallow, Ardpatrick, Solloghod, Ballynakill, Latteragh, and Loughkeen. The annalists say: "He was not a day or night during this period without a battle, or being vehemently and vindictively pursued; all which he sustained and responded to with manliness and vigour." His principal enemies were Irish chieftains and their followers-anxious to ingratiate themselves with the Government. They stopped two nights to rest in a wood on the banks of the Brosnach, near Portland; and then crossed the Shannon in the face of their enemies, in eleven boats made of osiers covered with the raw hides of their horses. Passing on through Connaught they were attacked at Aughrim by a large party of Anglo-Irish under Sir Thomas Burke and Captain Malby, who were both killed in the engagement that ensued. With varying fortunes-sometimes finding the people friendly and at other times bitterly hostile, they proceeded by Slieve Mhuire, Ballinlough, over the Curlew Hills to Knockvicar, and at length (on 16th January) found an asylum and rest with Brian O'Rourke at his castle of Leitrim. The party of one thousand, who set out from Glengarriff were reduced by famine, fatigue, desertion, and the sword to thirty-five. Amongst the survivors were his brother Dermot, an old man of seventy, the former lord of Dursey Castle, with his delicate wife. His nephew, in his Historia Catholicæ Compendium, gives interesting particulars of this retreat. O'Sullivan remained with O'Rourke for some days; and after various adventures in Ulster, went to England, after the acces |