O’Donnell’s Long Circuit
Archived: 19 October 2026
In 1475, Aodh Ruadh O’Donnell of Tír Chonaill led a major circuit through Breifne, Meath, Offaly and Connacht, combining armed pressure, alliance-building and peace-making. His host aided Brian O’Reilly, O’Farrell allies and Connacht friends, devastated parts of Meath, burned Delvin, and crossed the Shannon using local boats. Elsewhere, Réamonn MacMahon was defeated and captured in Oriel, while Henry O’Neill raided Fermanagh. Disputed successions in Annaly, castle transfers in Clanricard, and local battles revealed unstable lordship. Deaths of clerics, rulers and learned men, alongside monastic burials and literary remembrance, illustrate a politically connected, violent yet culturally resilient Ireland in the period.