The Kidnapping and lmpris_onment of Red Hugh (BY '.\'lORWENNA DONNELLY) THE kid~apping of Red Hugh was 1 his second son, I:ory, and the eldest the climax to a long struggle I sons of MacSwiney Doe and MacSwibetwe2n O'Donnell and Sir John Per- 1 ney. Fanad. Red Hugh . commented rot and was far from being an unher- I drily some years later that his fathe::: alded bolt from the blue. The fi::.·st act "haply (through extremity) consented in this struggle took place in Septem- t give more than he could perform.': ber, 1584, when O'Donnell signed an In fact, neither the pledges, nor the agreement with Perrot at Dunluce, un- delivery of the seven hundred "good,. de::taking to maintain a number of fatt and lardge" beeves materialised, footmen in Tirconnell for as long as either that year or the next (1587). the Queen's pleasure demanded. This Perrot had been deeply vc:xec1 b~ garriso,n turned out to be an undiscip- O'Donnell's hauteur over the removal fined rabble. The commander, a Cap- of the garrison and .he was affront.ed tain William Boyne, ·ransomed the by this failure to honour an-·admit.,. pledges gi·ven to him by O'Donnell and j tedly grossly unjust-agreement. When ~ent others to Dublin. He handed over I the alarm of a possible Spanish landing the four towns which O'Donnell had I made it necessary to ensure the quiesgiven him for the relief of his forces cence of the Ulster lords, he determinto Hugh MacDeaganach O'Donnell, ed to bring O'-Donnell to heel, not only O'Donnell's nephew and "utter enemy," by extracting pledges from him t·o p1rewith the result that Tirconnell was · vent him drawing in Scots, but by .en.,. soon in an uproar against O'Do11ne1l 1 <'ouraging .his enemies, n9t,~b}y. H}-1,gh and in danger of bejng wasted. To I M'Edegany. .. - make matters worse, Alexander 1 This iC·2gitimate son ()f Cal:v_a,gh MacDonnell, Ineendubh O'Donnell's l O'Donnell had always had the govern.,.. first cousin, was slain in an encounter ment's blessing and in March, 1587, he between the English and Hugh /was sent to court . with a special letter M'Edegany. of recommendation to the Q·ueen. He O'Donnell made strong ·reprcsenta- l returned to Ireland flaunting his favtions in Dublin and was finally allow- our and, tacitly backed by the governed to revoke his o:i;iginal indenture on ment, .proceeded to waste Tirconnell. condition that he paid seven hundred 1 By this policy Perrot hoped to get hi~ bes·ves a year and sent in as pledges [hands on Tirconnell, as Fitzwilliams
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQxNzU3