| Sir Niall Garbh O'Donnell*,
a dynastic competitor of Red Hugh's for power in Donegal,
was the last Celtic lord of the middle Valley of the Finn,
a position undoubtedly attained through his collaboration with
the British Crown. |
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Unlike Niall Garbh, his wife Nuala O'Donnell remained
faithful to Irish resistance. She cursed him for a traitor
and was among the passengers (100 people in all, headed by
the great Hugh O'Neill), the remnants of the Irish
resistance who sailed into exile from Portnamurray Bay
near Rathmullan, Co. Donegal, never to return. This sad incident
in Irish history is known as The Flight of the Earls.
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Portnamurray Bay
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| Perhaps Nuala O'Donnell's curse may indeed have
played some part in her estranged husband's ultimate fate! Through
much internal fighting and broken English promises, Niall Garbh
dithered between Ireland and the Crown. Eventually, in company
with his son, Neachtan (one time student of Trinity College),
he was imprisoned and executed in the Tower of London, leading
to the disposal of his estate under the Plantation of Ulster. |
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Did You Know?
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An inquisition taken in 1610 shows that
Niall Garbh O'Donnell's yearly rent from tenants in
the parishes of Glenfin and Stranorlar (then combined)
was "59 cows - all in calf"
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* = Pronounced "Garav"
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