The O'Donels
The O' Donels were direct lineal descendants of the famous O'Donnel Donegal chieftains. Their branch of the family had remained in Ireland after the Flight of the Earls in 1609. They were transplanted to Mayo after the Cromwellian wars and made their fortune from trading and smuggling. Converting to Protestantism in 1763, allowed them to join the ranks of the landed gentry but they were proud of their Irish ancestry and retained Gaelic customs like fostering. They had a reasonably good relationship with their Catholic tenants (Mullowney, 2002) and were rumoured to have sheltered priests during the worst days of the Penal Laws. They built Newport House and constructed the quays at Newport harbour. They fought on the English side during the 1798 Rebellion. Sir Neal was involved in the arrest of Fr.Manus Sweeney (Ó Móráin, 1957), but allowed him to escape on the advice of the local Protestant curate, Rev Josiah Hern. When Fr. Manus was re captured, Sir Neal was involved in his trial and execution in Newport. He was also involved in the arrest of Newport rebels, though two of his sons, James and Conal, were court martialled in Castlebar for their alleged support for the rebels.
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James and another son Hugh, sat in Grattans Parliament and vehemently opposed the Act of Union. Mullowney quotes James O'Donel 'I will oppose the rebels in rich clothes as I have ever done the rebels in rags'. He insisted that Irishmen should assert their rights, that it was better to 'die as freemen rather than live as slaves' and was dismissed from the army because of his extreme political views Both these sons died tragically, one in a shooting accident and the other in a duel, probably over political issues, with one of the Binghams of Castlebar. The O'Donels seemed to have difficulties deciding whether they were Irish chieftains or Anglo Irish gentry.
Status was extremely important to the landed gentry. They had to maintain their estates and big houses, be active in the military and politics and their wives and daughters had to attend the season in Dublin and London, all very expensive pursuits. The O'Donels maintained big houses in Newport, Melcomb, Cong and Dublin. They had spent fortunes on dowries for their daughters, in litigation, on horses and on high living. By the nineteenth century, the O'Donels had lost most of their wealth and were deeply in debt. Click HERE for information on Land Tenure |