Redmond O'Hanlon (outlaw)
Encyclopedia
Redmond O'Hanlon was a 17th-century Irish tóraidhe or rapparee
(guerrilla soldier-outlaw), and an important figure in the Irish Rebellion of 1641
.
, County Armagh
. Redmond O'Hanlon was the son of Loughlin O'Hanlon, rightful heir to the castle at Tandragee. As a young man he was sent for a "proper" education in England and later worked as a footboy to Sir George Acheson of Markethill
, but was dismissed for stealing horses.
, he joined the Irish Catholic rebel forces. He served under Owen Roe O'Neill
at the Irish victory at the Battle of Benburb
in 1646 but fled to France after the defeat of the Irish Confederation
in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
1649-53. O'Hanlon's family lands were confiscated under the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
. He spent several years in exile as an officer with the French army and was awarded the title of Count of the French Empire. It is not known when he returned to Ireland, but Dunford suggests it was around 1660, after the Restoration
of King Charles II of England
. After realizing there would be no restitution of his family's lands, he took to the hills around Slieve Gullion
and became a notorious highwayman or rapparee, as they were known then. Many other disposed Irishmen flocked to his banner.
, the truth is more complex. Protestant landlords, militia officers, and even Anglican and Catholic priests would work as informal members of the O'Hanlon gang, giving him information and casing sites for him to rob. He would also force the landlords and merchants of northern Ireland to pay protection money. If they paid, it was said that they would not even need to bar their doors, as no one would dare to rob them. A letter from the era states that the criminal activities of the outlaw Count were bringing in more money than the King's revenue collectors.
In 1674 the colonial authorities in Dublin put a price on his head with posters advertising for his capture, dead or alive. But according to the letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett, the Colonial militia sent after the O'Hanlon gang spent more time sacking and pillaging the peasantry than actively searching for the Count.
landowner Henry St. John
, who had been granted the traditional lands of the O'Hanlon clan, received Redmond's undying hatred when he began evicting the Count's clansmen in large numbers. St. John responded by waging a private war against the O'Hanlon Gang. The loss of his nineteen year old son while pursuing the Count only made Henry St. John increasingly brutal toward anyone suspected of aiding Redmond O'Hanlon. On September 9, 1679, St. John was riding on his estate with a manservant and the Reverend Lawrence Power, the Church of Ireland
Rector of Tandragee. A party of O'Hanlon's associates rode into view and seized him, warning that he would be killed if a rescue was attempted. Then, however, a group of the family's retainers rode into view and opened fire on the kidnappers. As a result, Henry St. John received two pistol balls in the forehead.
At the landlord's funeral, an outraged Reverend Power denounced the rapparees and those landowners who did business with them. The full text of his sermon was subsequently printed in London
under the name, "The Righteous Man's Portion." Outraged, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
, the Lord Deputy of Ireland
, ordered the assassination of Redmond O'Hanlon.
brother and close associate Art MacCall O'Hanlon at Eight Mile Bridge near Hilltown, County Down
on April 25, 1681. Art received a full pardon and two hundred pounds from the Duke of Ormond for murdering his leader. William Lucas, the militia officer who had recruited Art and arranged the killing, received a Lieutenant
's commission in the British Army
.
As was the custom, there were gruesome displays of his body parts including his head which was placed on a spike over Downpatrick
jail. According to legend, Redmond O'Hanlon's mother travelled to Downpatrick and composed a caoine (in English "keen" or lament) upon seeing her son's head spiked over the jail. His remains are believed to lie in a family plot in Conwal Parish Church
cemetery in Letterkenny
, County Donegal
, where his parents had fled from Henry St. John.
published Redmond Count O'Hanlon; The Irish Rapparee, a novel loosely based upon the life of the outlaw Count. Sir Walter Scott is alleged to have begun researching a novel of his own, but gave up after finding documentation too scanty.
In addition, the Gaelic football
team in his native Poyntzpass
is named "The Redmond O'Hanlons" in his honor.
Rapparee
Rapparees were Irish guerrilla fighters who operated on the Jacobite side during the 1690s Williamite war in Ireland. Subsequently the name was also given to bandits and highwaymen in Ireland - many former guerrillas having turned to crime after the war was over...
(guerrilla soldier-outlaw), and an important figure in 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...
.
Early life
The author of an anonymous pamphlet gives his birthdate as c.1640, but researcher Stephen Dunford writes that 1620 is more likely. The pamphleteer gives his birthplace as PoyntzpassPoyntzpass
Poyntzpass is a village on the border between County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1987 people....
, County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
. Redmond O'Hanlon was the son of Loughlin O'Hanlon, rightful heir to the castle at Tandragee. As a young man he was sent for a "proper" education in England and later worked as a footboy to Sir George Acheson of Markethill
Markethill
Markethill is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,292 people. It sits at the southern side of Gosford Forest Park...
, but was dismissed for stealing horses.
Rebel and Confederate soldier
After the Irish Rebellion of 1641Irish 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...
, he joined the Irish Catholic rebel forces. He served under Owen Roe O'Neill
Owen Roe O'Neill
Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...
at the Irish victory at the Battle of Benburb
Battle of Benburb
The Battle of Benburb took place in 1646 during the Irish Confederate Wars, the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought between the forces of Confederate Ireland under Owen Roe O'Neill and a Scottish Covenanter and Anglo-Irish army under Robert Monro...
in 1646 but fled to France after the defeat of the Irish 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"...
in 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...
1649-53. O'Hanlon's family lands were confiscated under the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest.-Background:...
. He spent several years in exile as an officer with the French army and was awarded the title of Count of the French Empire. It is not known when he returned to Ireland, but Dunford suggests it was around 1660, after the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of King Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. After realizing there would be no restitution of his family's lands, he took to the hills around Slieve Gullion
Slieve Gullion
Slieve Gullion is a mountain in the south of County Armagh in Northern Ireland. The mountain forms the core of the Ring of Gullion and stands as the highest point in the county with an elevation of 573 metres...
and became a notorious highwayman or rapparee, as they were known then. Many other disposed Irishmen flocked to his banner.
Outlaw
Although Redmond has often been compared to a real-life Robin HoodRobin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, the truth is more complex. Protestant landlords, militia officers, and even Anglican and Catholic priests would work as informal members of the O'Hanlon gang, giving him information and casing sites for him to rob. He would also force the landlords and merchants of northern Ireland to pay protection money. If they paid, it was said that they would not even need to bar their doors, as no one would dare to rob them. A letter from the era states that the criminal activities of the outlaw Count were bringing in more money than the King's revenue collectors.
In 1674 the colonial authorities in Dublin put a price on his head with posters advertising for his capture, dead or alive. But according to the letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett, the Colonial militia sent after the O'Hanlon gang spent more time sacking and pillaging the peasantry than actively searching for the Count.
Henry St. John
Anglo-IrishAnglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
landowner Henry St. John
Henry St. John
Henry St. John is the name of:*Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke , English politician and philosopher*Henry St. John , U.S. Representative from OhioHenry St...
, who had been granted the traditional lands of the O'Hanlon clan, received Redmond's undying hatred when he began evicting the Count's clansmen in large numbers. St. John responded by waging a private war against the O'Hanlon Gang. The loss of his nineteen year old son while pursuing the Count only made Henry St. John increasingly brutal toward anyone suspected of aiding Redmond O'Hanlon. On September 9, 1679, St. John was riding on his estate with a manservant and the Reverend Lawrence Power, the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Rector of Tandragee. A party of O'Hanlon's associates rode into view and seized him, warning that he would be killed if a rescue was attempted. Then, however, a group of the family's retainers rode into view and opened fire on the kidnappers. As a result, Henry St. John received two pistol balls in the forehead.
At the landlord's funeral, an outraged Reverend Power denounced the rapparees and those landowners who did business with them. The full text of his sermon was subsequently printed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
under the name, "The Righteous Man's Portion." Outraged, James Butler, 1st Duke of 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...
, the Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
, ordered the assassination of Redmond O'Hanlon.
Death
Count Redmond O'Hanlon was murdered in his sleep by his fosterFosterage
Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by the state to care for children with troubled family...
brother and close associate Art MacCall O'Hanlon at Eight Mile Bridge near Hilltown, County Down
Hilltown, County Down
Hilltown is a small village within the townland of Carcullion in County Down, Northern Ireland. Hilltown is the main village of the parish of Clonduff which also contains rural areas and another village named Cabra...
on April 25, 1681. Art received a full pardon and two hundred pounds from the Duke of Ormond for murdering his leader. William Lucas, the militia officer who had recruited Art and arranged the killing, received a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
's commission in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
As was the custom, there were gruesome displays of his body parts including his head which was placed on a spike over Downpatrick
Downpatrick
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...
jail. According to legend, Redmond O'Hanlon's mother travelled to Downpatrick and composed a caoine (in English "keen" or lament) upon seeing her son's head spiked over the jail. His remains are believed to lie in a family plot in Conwal Parish Church
Conwal Parish Church (Church of Ireland)
Conwal Parish Church is a Church of Ireland church located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. It is located opposite the Cathedral of St. Eunan and St Columba at the top of Church Street. The church dates back to the 17th Century.- Building :...
cemetery in Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, where his parents had fled from Henry St. John.
In popular culture
Redmond's popularity was immortalised in the pulp fiction of the era in addition to poems, ballads, and folktales which survive to the present day. In 1862 William CarletonWilliam Carleton
William Carleton was an Irish novelist.Carleton's father was a Roman Catholic tenant farmer, who supported fourteen children on as many acres, and young Carleton passed his early life among scenes similar to those he later described in his books...
published Redmond Count O'Hanlon; The Irish Rapparee, a novel loosely based upon the life of the outlaw Count. Sir Walter Scott is alleged to have begun researching a novel of his own, but gave up after finding documentation too scanty.
In addition, the Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
team in his native Poyntzpass
Poyntzpass
Poyntzpass is a village on the border between County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1987 people....
is named "The Redmond O'Hanlons" in his honor.
External links
- Redmond Count O'Hanlon, The Irish Rapparee (Google Books)
- "Redmond O'Hanlon - Outlaw or Folk Hero?" An Article Written for the South Armagh Genealogical Project
- "Bandit Country," A 2003 Magazine Article About the Outlaw Count
- "O'Hanlon Folkore," Containing Several Ballads About Count Redmond O'Hanlon
- The Heroic Outlaw in Irish Folklore and Popular Literature