Into the shadows

During the 1700s with the appropriation of their land, the O’Boyles lost whatever power and influence they may have had. To the native Gaelic population of Donegal, the terms Gaill (foreigners) and Albanaigh (Scotsmen) were synonymous with Protestant, and this represented the ruling, land-owning class and its agents. In the territory that was formerly the patrimony of the O’Boyles, there were only small pockets of permanently resident Protestants, and though relationships at the individual and personal level could be harmonious and supportive[1], the sense of colonial grievance was never far away. For instance, a lament composed about 1800 for Donnchadh Ó Baoighill whose ancestors had dominated the district, asked rhetorically if it were not better for him that he was now dead and buried with his forefathers in Inishkeel than faoi chosa Gall, faraor, ag díol cíos leo, (under Protestants’ feet, alas, paying rent to them).[Mac Suibhne, 2017, p.53]

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Other families were sustained by links to family members who had prospered in continental Europe. The O’Donnell connection to Spain persisted for centuries. The successes of O’Rourkes, O’Reillys, McMahons and O’Dohertys, among many others, in military, political and commercial spheres across Europe and the colonies created opportunities for education and advancement and networks that supported a degree of prosperity at home, even though they had lost possession of their estates.

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However, there is no evidence that the O’Boyles had such a network. After 1700 they seem to have fallen below the level of prosperity that would, at least, have provided some records of their existence.

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Yet even in Ireland in Penal times, some descendants of the former Gaelic dynasties retained a degree of recognition and respect; the O’Donnells of Glashagh who prided themselves on their lineage also managed to reconcile themselves to the new regime. In return for using what influence they had to maintain order and manage dissent they were able to obtain some security of tenure and contracts for public works, act as bailiffs, and pursue business ventures, especially as innkeepers. “Ruari Rua O Domhnaill (1763-1841) rode to hounds with the county gentry and got himself made sub-constable of the barony of Boylagh, a post that brought a whiff of power sufficient to puff his O’Donnell pride and a stipend but gave an otherwise middling farmer means to live beyond.”[Mac Suibhne, 2017, p.54]

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We hear of few such status-enhancing activities for the Boyles, though some were making an effort. In 1784, the London-Derry Journal reported that an unfortunate merchant “by the name of Boyle, who came to this town from the Rosses to buy meal, was robbed or defrauded of 153 guineas, his watch and his greatcoat by a fellow who pretended to befriend him in his business in Derry.” At least he had 153 guineas to lose – a very substantial sum; unfortunately he did not recover it[Mac Suibhne, 2017, p.7].

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Various branches of the O’Donnells and Mc Sweeneys managed to retain some wealth and privilege and avoid the restrictions of the Penal Laws on Catholics owning property or entering the professions by conforming to the Established (Protestant) Church. The O’Donnells of Newport, descendants of those who had migrated to Mayo, did so and became members of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy (notwithstanding their heavy involvement in the smuggling trade  [ https://landedestates.ie/estate/33]

There is no evidence of any Boyles conforming to the Established Church in the Catholic Qualification and Convert Rolls. Later, when the penal restrictions were relaxed and it became sufficient to attest to one’s allegiance to the crown. only three Donegal Boyles are recorded as having done so.

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While a few people were succeeding in advancing within the new establishment and integrating into the wider economy, the vast majority were living in abject poverty.  Travellers’ accounts of the extent of degradation make harrowing reading but they are consistent in their descriptions of the state of the poorest class. Nevertheless, many remark on a degree of pride that belies their material poverty. A travel guide to North-West Donegal in the late 19th century describes them thus:

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[1] In the early 1800s, the Nesbitts, landlords of Ardara, maintained a ‘cordial friendship’ with Con O’Boyle the local parish priest, and had his portrait displayed in their house at Woodhill. (Mac Suibhne 2017 p.10)

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“(This is) perhaps the most congested district in Ireland. How human beings eke out a livelihood among the granite boulders of Templecrone surpasses human comprehension, yet here we have the very largest population in Donegal, living on land of the lowest value, and here, also, are to be seen the finest peasantry in Ireland. The names of the chief families in the Rosses at the present day are O'Boyles, O'Dohertys, O'Donnells, and MacSweeneys, the powerful physique of the men, being sufficient of itself to prove a descent from the warrior chieftains of Tyrconnell. The women, too, are fine specimens of the gentler sex, and exceedingly handsome, with dark rolling eyes and luxuriant tresses of the same colour, but many of them are red-haired.”[Harkin, 1898]

A pity, indeed, about that red hair!

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O'Donovan, the great scholar and antiquary, collected a vast amount of historical and legendary detail as he travelled the country as part of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. On visiting the Rosses in 1836, he mused on the degraded fates of the remnants of Donegal’s ancient Gaelic nobility:

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" The ancient Irish families here can yet be distinguished by their forms and features. The O'Donnells are corpulent and heavy, with manly faces and aquiline noses. The O'Boyles are ruddy and stout, pictures of health when well fed… The O'Dogherties are stout and chieftain like; stiff, stubborn, unbending, much degenerated in their peasant state, but have all good faces. The MacSwynes are spirited and tall, but of pale or reagh colour. Among them all the O’Boyles and O'Dogherties are the finest human animals."

Nonsense of course; these families had intermarried for centuries and would have had a thoroughly mixed-up gene pool and so could not be distinguished accurately on appearance. However, it does suggest that their identities remained intact.

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O’Donovan was assiduous in seeking out descendants of the old Gaelic nobility and recording their memories for posterity. In his annotations to his translation of the Annals of the Four Masters, he describes in some detail the current state of the principal noble families of Tír Conaill and identifies their current lineal descendants.  He met a travelling tinker named Eamon Mac Suibhne (Edward Sweeney) who could recite his genealogy and claimed direct descent from the last Chief of Doe.

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But with no evidence other than the old man’s memory and wishful thinking, even O’Donovan was sceptical of his claims.

With the O’Boyles he had no luck. He mentions "Turlough Chief of Boylagh, who was summoned to the parliament of 1585", as an illustrious ancestor, but he could find no sign of their former nobility: “this family are dwindled into petty farmers and cottiers.”

With this statement, O'Donovan confirms the disappearance of the family from the historical record, making it impossible for their later descendants to bridge the gap that separates us from them.

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