JOURNAL OF TilE! COUNTY DONEGAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY nells of Donegal Castle, and we1 e universally acknowledged as such. It is said t;hat at the time of the Confiscation of Ulster there li\•ed at Ballinamore a great and wealthy landowner, a person of much inft.uence, one, Gearailt O'IDoherity. It is generally contended that he was a brother of Sir Cahir O'Doherty, of Inishowen, but investigation r'.lisproves this. Rev. Father Mehan has reproduced a very interesting Pedigree of the O'Doherity:3 .in his "The Fate a.nd Fortunes of Hugh O'!Nelll, Ea~1 o:f Tyrone, and Ro1ry. O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell."' The document, which was found in the Genealogical Office archives, ' had been certified .by the Ulst~r King of Arms, an Archbishop, two Bishops and Lord Fingall, in 1790. From it it appears that Sir Cahii: left no son. He had, however, two brothers, Rory and John. The former took service with the Archdukes and died in Belgium. rl'he latter, who was the elder, married the daughter Of QrCahan Of ~erry and died in 1638. There was no Gea,riailt, nor is the nan:s t'::· ,(:.; found among any of the desc1~ndants. I have also consulted the O'Doherty P.edigree that farms part of the QtDonovan's Annexe to the Four Masters with similar results. At the particular time that Gearai1t O'Doherty ftouri1shed 8-:J. O'Donnell returned to Donegal. T1herie is :mu'C!h ;S(peculation as :to where he came from, some ~ay Scotland, others France, but the most popular and proibably the most correct is Spain. His identity too is unknown. Several theories have been put forward. One suggestion is that he was Conn. the brotJheir .af Manus Biall Dearg O'Donnell. He would thus be a descendant of Aodh Ruadh's brother, Caffar, who had fled to the Continent. .'However, upon visiting Donegal he found the Castle in alien hands, the lands confiscated and his kinsfolk scattered. The only person of any importance left was Gearailit O'IDo:herty. He aclOG cordingly directed his steps towards Ballinamore. Henry Morris says in his ''Dha Chead de C€oltaibh Ulaidh" that Gea.railt must have Uv2d three or four generations after Sir Gahir O'Doherty and estimates that he was in his prime around 1700. This agrees with certain local tradition that the coming of the stranger took place in the time of Searlas Og, wl10 is more popularly known as "Bonny !Prince Charlie.'' This claimant to the Throne of England made an abortive landing in Scotland in 1745, and :finally escaped to France. There is strong evidence to show that after the defeat of Culloden Moor, the Young Pretender made his way to Ireland and hid f~r some time in the mountains west of Killy:begs, eventually taking boat from there to the Continent. It is possi..ble, therefore, that O'Donnell was a follower of his and reached this country by Wq,y of Scotland. This might a~ count for the belief that he hnd come from there. At all events, he was mad2 very welcome at Ballinamore, and in due course mar· ried his host's daughter. Much of the O'Do'hc:rty in!f1uence ,and prosrpsrity that wia1s to ible:come a c:har3ic.,~ eristic o:f this \branch of the O'::Donnens, we1r1e .there!by inher~ted by him. .His wife was given the Glassagh as. part of her marriage portion, and there the Teach MGr was built and occupied by their descendants right down to Famine times, when it. became vacant, fell into decay and finally crumbled; I was told that one wall of it still remains. Their place of residence has 1given them the name of "The Glassagh O"Donnells." Three aor;s were born of the union-iPadai na Glaisi1ghe, Domini1c Ruadh na Glads.i·ghe, a-nd a third whose n~me has not come down to us. Doim1nic R:uadh appears to ha¥e· beE•n ~he most distinguished of the three. He is the subject of a poem· by "Tiomanaidhe an Adha." He was father of Biighid that Manus met at Garton. His sons Wf'Te
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