Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim
Encyclopedia
Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim
Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim , having been fostered in the Gaelic manner on the Scottish island of Arran by the Hamiltons, was the 4th son of Sorley Boy MacDonnell, and of Mary, daughter of Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone.He fought at first against the English government, participating...
. He was also chief of Clan MacDonnell of Antrim
Clan MacDonnell of Antrim
The MacDonnells of Antrim, also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the primarily Scotland-based Clan Donald...
. He is best known for his involvement, mostly on the Royalist side, in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
.
He travelled abroad, and on his return in 1634 went to court, next year marrying Katherine Manners, widow of the 1st duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG , an English nobleman, great grandson of King Edward III on his mother's side, was best known as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and in the Wars of the Roses....
, and living on her fortune for some years in great splendour. In 1639, on the outbreak of the Scottish war
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
, he initiated a scheme of raising a force in Ireland to attack Argyll in Scotland and recover Kintyre (or Cantire), a district formerly possessed by his family; but the plan, discouraged and ridiculed by Strafford, miscarried (Strafford's Letters, ii. 300).
Soon afterwards he returned to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and sought in 1641 to create a diversion, together with Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
, for Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
against the parliament. He joined in his schemes Lord Slane and Sir Phelim O'Neill
Felim O'Neill of Kinard
Sir Felim O'Neill of Kinard , also called Phelim MacShane O'Neill or Féilim Ó Néill , was an Irish nobleman who led the Irish Rebellion of 1641 in Ulster which began on 22 October 1641. He was a member of the Irish Catholic Confederation during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, where he fought under...
, later leaders of the rebellion, but on the outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
in the autumn he dissociated himself from his allies and retired to his castle at Dunluce (now in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
).
His suspicious conduct, however, and his Roman Catholicism, caused him to be regarded as an enemy by the English party. In May 1642 he was captured at Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle
Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim , and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland...
by the Scottish Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
general Robert Monro, and imprisoned at Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
. Escaping thence he joined the queen at York; and subsequently, having proceeded to Ireland to negotiate a cessation of hostilities between the English Royalists and Irish Catholic rebels, he was again captured with his papers in May 1643 and confined at Carrickfergus, thence once more escaping and making his way to Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic confederation
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
.
He returned to Oxford in December with a scheme for raising 10,000 Irish for service in England and 2000 to join Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
in Scotland, which through the influence of the duchess of Buckingham secured the consent of the king. On 26 January 1644 Antrim was created a marquess. He returned to Kilkenny in February, took the Irish Confederate oath of association, and was made a member of the council and lieutenant-general of the forces of the Catholic confederacy. The confederacy, however, giving him no support in his projects, he threw up his commission, and with Ormonde's help despatched about 1600 men under his kinsman Alasdair MacColla
Alasdair MacColla
Alasdair Mac Colla was a Scottish soldier. His full name in Scottish Gaelic was Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich Mac Domhnuill . He is sometimes mistakenly referred to in English as "Collkitto", a nickname that properly belongs to his father. He fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, most notably...
in June to Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
's assistance in Scotland, sparking a Scottish civil war. Antrim subsequently returned to Oxford and being sent by the king in 1645 with letters for the queen at Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
.
He proceeded thence to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and fitted out two frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s with military stores, which he brought to the Prince of Wales at Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. He visited Cork and afterwards in July 1646 joined his troops in Scotland, with the hope of expelling Argyll from Kintyre; but he was obliged to retire by order of the king, and returning to Ireland threw himself into the intrigues between the various factions.
In 1647 he was appointed with two others by the Irish confederacy to negotiate a treaty with the Prince of Wales in France, and though he anticipated his companions by starting a week before them, he failed to secure the coveted lord-lieutenancy, which was confirmed to Ormonde. He now ceased to support the Roman Catholics or the king's cause; opposed the treaty between Ormonde, and the confederates; supported the project of union between O'Neill and the parliament; and in 1649 entered into communications with Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, for whom he performed various services during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
, though there appears no authority to support Carte
Thomas Carte
Thomas Carte was an English historian.-Life:Carte was born near Clifton upon Dunsmore...
's story that Antrim was the author of a forged agreement for the betrayal of the king's army by Lord Inchiquin
Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin
Murrough McDermod O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin and 6th Baron Inchiquin , was known as Murchadh na dTóiteán ....
(Life of Ormonde, iii. 509; see also Cal. of State Papers, Ireland, 1660-1662, pp. 294, 217; Cal. of Clarendon St. Pap., ii. 69, and Gardiner's Commonwealth, i. 153). Subsequently he joined Ireton
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
, and was present at the siege of Carlow.
He returned to England in December 1650, and in lieu of his confiscated estate received a pension of £500 and later of £800, together with lands in County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. At the Restoration Antrim was excluded from the Act of Oblivion on account of his religion, and on presenting himself at court was imprisoned in the Tower, subsequently being called before the lords justices in Ireland, In 1663 he succeeded, in spite of Ormonde's opposition, in securing a decree of innocence from the commissioners of claims. This raised an outcry from the adventurers who had been put in possession of his lands, and who procured a fresh trial; but Antrim appealed to the king, and through the influence of the queen mother obtained a pardon, his estates being restored to him by the Irish, Act of Explanation in 1665
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
(Hallam, Const. Hist., iii. 396 (ed. 1855)).
Antrim is described by Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
as "of handsome appearance but of excessive pride and vanity and of a marvellous weak and narrow understanding." He married secondly Rose, daughter of Sir Henry O'Neill, but had no children, being succeeded in the earldom by his brother Alexander, 3rd Earl of Antrim
Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim
Alexander MacDonnell, 3rd Earl of Antrim was an Roman Catholic peer and military commander in Ireland. He was the son of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim and his wife, Alice O'Neill .After coming of age, MacDonnell spend three years abroad in Europe before returning to Ireland just before the...
.