Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond

Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron of Ibrickan (died 5 September, 1624) was an Irish nobleman and soldier noted for his loyalty to the Kingdom of Ireland. His long-term objective, achieved after decades, was to obtain an official acknowledgment that County Clare, where his possessions were situated, was part of the province of Munster, to free it from the jurisdiction of the Connaught government under which it had been placed.

Donnchadh(Donogh) mac Conchobhair Ó Briain, was the eldest son of Conor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond, and his second wife, Una, daughter of Turlough Mac-i-Brien-Ara. Donogh was brought up at Elizabeth's court. There he was residing in 1577, when he was mentioned as Baron of Ibrickan in the new patent granted on 7 October to his father. On his father's death in 1581 he succeeded him as Earl of Thomond; by 1582 he had returned to Ireland.

Thomond was assiduous in his attendance upon the lord-deputy in 1583 and 1584. Albert Pollard, who wrote the biographical entry for Thomond in the Dictionary of National Biography, states that his main object was to obtain an acknowledgment that the county of Clare, where his possessions were situated, was part of Munster, and thus to free it from the jurisdiction of the Connaught government, under which it had been placed previous to his father's death; but it was many years before he succeeded.

In 1584 he was one of the commissioners who established the agreement that tanistry and the law of partible succession should be abolished in Connaught, and a tax of ten shillings a quarter be paid on land. Next year he attended the parliament held at Dublin in April. In 1589 he was active in subduing rebellious Irish in the mountains; and when Tyrone's rebellion broke out in 1595, he played a major part in its suppression. In command of a large force, he passed the River Erne in July and invaded Hugh Roe O'Donnell's country, but retreated in August when a truce was signed. In the following September he was detached by Sir William Russell, with five companies of foot and 145 horse, for the defence of Newry. In 1597 he served in Thomas Burgh, 5th Baron Borough's campaign, but early next year went to England, arriving in London on 19 January 1598; there he remained most of the year as a courtier.

...
Wikipedia