Rory O'Moore (Irish noble)

For the professor and Healthcare Informatics expert, see O'Moore Medal.

Rory O'Moore or Roger O'Moore (Irish: Ruairí Ó Mórdha) (c, 1600 – 16 February 1655), titular King of Laois, was an Irish noble and principal organizer of the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

Life

He belonged to an ancient Irish noble family claiming descent from the mythical Conall Cernach. He was born in Laois around 1600, but the exact date is unknown.

His uncle Ruairí Óge Ó Mórdha, King of Laois, had fought against the English. After having over 180 family members killed by English forces at a feast at Mullaghmast, County Kildare in 1577, in an effort to pacify the native Septs of Laois, Rory Oge became an enemy of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It led to the downfall of the O'Moore family and left them destitute.

Little is known of his personal exploits. Charles Gavan Duffy thought highly of Rory's individual significance for the rebels' achievements:

"Then a private gentleman, with no resources beyond his intellect and his courage, this Rory, when Ireland was weakened by defeat and confiscation, and guarded with a jealous care constantly increasing in strictness and severity, conceived the vast design of rescuing the country from England, and even accomplished it; for, in three years, England did not retain a city in Ireland but Dublin and Drogheda, and for eight years the land was possessed and the supreme authority exercised by the Confederation created by O'Moore. History contains no stricter instance of the influence of an individual mind."^[1]

His final years are mysterious. He fled Inishbofin, County Galway after it fell in 1652. St. Colmans Church on the island once bore a tablet with the inscription:

• "In memory of many valiant Irishmen who were exiled to this Holy Island and in particular Rory O'More a brave chieftain of Leix, who after fighting for Faith and Fatherland, disguised as a fisherman escaped from his island to a place of safety. He died shortly afterwards, a martyr to his Religion and his County, about 1653. He was esteemed and loved by his countrymen, who celebrated his many deeds of valour and kindness in their songs and reverenced his memory, so that is was common expression among them; "God and Our Lady be our help and Rory O'More".

Descendants

Many historians believe he was the father of James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina and therefore an ancestor of American General Robert Howe. His grandson, Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan led Jacobite forces in Ireland. The Rory O'More Bridge in Dublin was named after him.

Family tree

    Melaghlin mac Owny mac Gilla Padraigh Ó Mórdha, died 1502. 
    |
    |____________________________________________________________________________________
    |                                                                                |
    |                                                                                |     
    Connell Ó Mórdha (died 1537)                                              Pierce/Peter an Tainiste, fl. 1537. 
    |                                                                                  
    |________________________________________________________________________________________________________                                 
    |                     |                       |                                    |                   | 
    |                     |                       |                                    |                   | 
    Lysaght (d. 1541?)    Kedagh Roe (d. 1542)    Ruairí Caoch Ó Mórdha, fl. 1554.     Gilla Padraigh      Connell Óge, d. 1557. 
                          |                      =Margaret Butler                        d. 1548. 
                          |                       |
                          Kedagh/James?           |____________________________
                           fl. 1584?              |                         |
                                                  |                         |
                                               Ruairí Óge, d. 1578.   Calvagh/Callagh of Ballina, d. 1618.
                                                 =?                        =Margaret Scurloug
                                                  |                         |
                                                  |                   ______|______________________________________________  
                                         Uaithne (Owney), d. 1600.   |                       |                 |          |
                                                                     |                       |                 |          |
                                                                     |                       |                 |          |
                                                                     Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha  Lysaght           Margaret   dau.
                                                                    =Jane Barnewall         =Mary O'Reilly    (issue)   (issue)
                                                                       (issue)               |
                                                                                             |
                                                                                         Anthony O'Moore
                                                                                        =Anne Hope

March of the King of Laois

An Irish air, The March of the King of Laois, commemorates O'Moore's exploits in the 1641 rebellion.^[2] It was made famous by The Chieftains in the 1970s.^[3]

Film

A short film entitled Rory O'More was made by the Kalem company in 1911. Sidney Olcott directed. It sets O'More's rebellion in 1798 rather than the 17th century and moves the action to the Lakes of Killarney. Trinity College Dublin has archived the film: http://www.tcd.ie/irishfilm/silent/rory-o-more.php .

References

•  "O'More, Rory (fl.1620-1652)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. 
• http://www.inishbofin.com/modern_church.html

Notes

1. ^ Charles Gavan Duffy (editor). 1845. The Ballad Poetry of Ireland
2. ^ The Fiddler’s Companion, accessed 6 March 2009
3. ^ The Claddagh Years: The March of the King of Laois (Ruairí Óg Ó Mordha), Artist Direct, accessed 6 March 2009

Persondata
Name	O Mórdha, Rory Óg
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1620
Place of birth
Date of death	1655
Place of death