Dundrum’s Captive Hostages
Archived: 18 October 2026
Abstract
In 1517 Gerald FitzGerald, ninth earl of Kildare and lord deputy, demonstrated both the reach and limitations of Tudor authority in Ireland. After convening a Dublin parliament, he campaigned in Ulster, destroying Dundrum Castle, seizing Félim Magennis’s family and hostages, and burning Dungannon. Yet O’Donnell also raided Tír Eoghain and destroyed Dungannon amid O’Neill succession rivalries, showing regional politics remained autonomous. Elsewhere, inaugurations, killings, cattle raids and castle warfare reshaped local lordships. A severe frost disrupted travel, while a boat from Tory Island vanished at sea. The year reveals a connected but politically fragmented island, rather than unified crown rule.