Page 63 - my-people-abbie-harris-beck

Death of the Last Ruling Chieftain

Cathaoir Rua(styled Sir Cahir by the English(1599-1608), who at the fight of the Earls of
Tyrone and Tirconnell in 1607, became the last ruling Gaelic chieftain in the north, and the
entire of Ireland. He was married in 1606 to Lady Catherine Mary Preston (1588-1642),
daughter of Lord Gormanstown and Lady Catherine FitzGerald. They had no male
descendent. At his death, all his possessions and those of his followers were confiscated
by the English Crown and transferred to foreign planters. While his head was exhibited
over Newgate Prison in Dublin, his other quartered remains were put on public display in
Derry (Londonderry) in a bid to create a deterrent-effect amongst the native Irish and
their other patriotic leaders. However, Cahir has become a popular Irish hero, as shown
by the following poem, one of many that were to keep his memory Evergreen.

SIR CAHIR O’DOHERJY

By Mary Eva Kelly }
. 1
By the Spanish plumed hat and costly attire^
And the dark eyes that’s blended of midnight and fire
And the bearing and stature so princely and tall,
Sir Cahir you'll know in the midst of them alii

Like an oak on the land, like a ship on the sea,
Like an eagle above, strong and haughty is he, j
In the greenness of youth - yet he’s crowned as his '
due,
With the fear of the false and the love of the true, j

Sir Cahir O'Doherty's Sword is preserved in Guildhall, Derry, Northern Ireland