Catherine O'Neill | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Tyrone | |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Born | Catherine Magennis Before 1574 Ulster, Ireland |
| Died | 15 March 1619 Naples, Italy |
| Spouse(s) | Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone |
| Issue | Shane (John) O'Neill Brian O'Neill Conn O'Neill |
| Father | Hugh Magennis, Baron of Iveagh |
| Mother | Annabel Reilly |
Catherine O'Neill, Countess of Tyrone (before 1574 - 15 March 1619) was an Irish aristocrat. Born Catherine Magennis, she was the fourth[1][2] and final[3] wife of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, a leading Gaelic lord in Ireland during the late Elizabethan and early Stuart eras.
Catherine was part of the Magennis dynasty, a powerful family in County Down which enjoyed favour from the Crown. Refined and well-educated, she was betrothed to O'Neill in a political marriage during the Nine Years' War.
Due to increasing hostility against her husband and his allies,[4] Catherine reluctantly fled to mainland Europe in 1607. She was separated from her children and settled with her husband in Rome, receiving minimal support from Philip III of Spain and Pope Paul V. After her husband's death, Catherine faced major financial difficulties and constantly petitioned the Spanish government for their assistance. She died in Naples, in poor health and with many payments in arrears.[5]
Historian Jerrold Casway has characterised Catherine's life as being "reduced to loneliness, deprivation and dependence." Her fate highlights the extreme dependency faced by the Irish refugees and embodies the high-risk politics typical of her husband's marriages.[6]
- ^ Casway 2003, p. 57.
- ^ Walsh 1930, p. 20.
- ^ Casway 2016, p. 69.
- ^ McGurk, John (August 2007). "The Flight of the Earls: escape or strategic regrouping?". History Ireland. 15 (4).
- ^ Knox 2002, p. 26.
- ^ Casway 2016, p. 77.
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