Ellis MacDonnell, Countess of Antrim

Ellis was born in 1583[1] the third daughter of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and his fourth wife Catherine Magennis. Her father was the leading Gaelic figure in Ireland. Ellis's mother was Hugh's fourth wife, Catherine Magennis, daughter of Sir Hugh Magennis.

Her marriage to Randal MacDonnell was a dynastic match that brought Tyrone into alliance with the MacDonnells, the dominant family in northern County Antrim who also had strong connections in Scotland. Tyrone's other children made similar marriages with leading families across Ulster. During Tyrone's Rebellion (1594-1603) Randal supported his father-in-law, but in the closing stages of the conflict he changed sides. Despite being a Gaelic Catholic, Randal was a strong supporter of settling Scottish Protestants along the Eastern Ulster coastline, anticipating the Ulster Plantation which took place in six of the more western counties of the province.[2] Ellis's husband became the foremost Gaelic aristocrat in Ulster following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, when her father fled into exile in Continental Europe.

Alice married Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim in 1604 before the Flight of the Earls.[3]

The marriage produced two sons, both of whom followed their father as earls:

1. Randal MacDonnell, a leading courtier under Charles I known for his involvement in the War of the Three Kingdoms.
2. Alexander MacDonnell succeeded to the title in 1683, and is best known as a Catholic leader during the Williamite Wars who had the city gates shut on him at the beginning of the Siege of Derry in 1688.

—and six daughters[3] of which five are known by name:

1. Ann, married firstly Christopher, Lord Delvin, and secondly William Fleming, Baron of Slane;[4]
2. Mary, married firstly Lucas, 2nd Viscount Dillon, and secondly Oliver, 6th Lord Louth;[5]
3. Sarah, married firstly Neile-Oge O'Neill of Killileagh in County Antrim, secondly Charles O'Conor Sligo, and thirdly Donald Macarthy More;[6]
4. Catherine, married Edward Plunkett of Castlecor;[7]
5. Rose, married Colonel Gordon, commander of a regiment in Robert Munroe's army.[8]

On 12 December 1620 her husband was created Earl of Antrim[9] and Alice thereby became a Countess.

Her husband died in 1636. Ellis outlived him by almost 30 years, dying in 1665.[10][11]

• Burke, Bernard (1949), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (99th ed.), London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. (for Antrim)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1910), Gibbs, Vicary (ed.), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 1 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Ab-Adam to Basing (for Hamilton family tree)
• Hill, Rev. George (1873), An Historical Account of the MacDonnells of Antrim, Belfast: Archer & Sons
• Lodge, John (1789), The Peerage of Ireland, 1, Dublin: James Moore – Blood royal, dukes, earls (for Antrim)
• Ohlmeyer, Jane H (2001) [1993], Civil War and Restoration in the Three Stuart Kingdoms: The Career of Randal MacDonnell, Marquis of Antrim, Dublin: Four Courts Press, ISBN 978-0521419789 (Snippet view)

• Bardon, Jonathan. The Plantation of Ulster. Gill & MacMillan, 2012.

• Genealogy of Alice O'Neill on The Peerage website