Máire Rua O'Brien
Máire Rua O'Brien (1615/1616 – 1686) was an Irish aristocrat who married three times to retain family lands. Born into the MacMahon family of Thomond, her name, Máire Rua or Red Mary, derived from her red hair. First married to Daniel Neylon (O'Neillan) of Dysert O'Dea Castle in north County Clare, after his death in 1639, she married Conor O'Brien of Leamaneh Castle. With her second husband, she backed the Royalist cause against Cromwell's forces during the Eleven Years' War. However, after her second husband was killed in 1651, she married a Cromwellian officer; in a reputed attempt to save her estate. Remaining on her estate at Leamaneh for several decades, her son Donough O'Brien moved the family seat to the larger Dromoland Castle where she lived until her death in 1686. A sometimes notorious figure in Irish folklore, a number of exaggerated stories and legends are associated with her life. Early life Born in 1615 or 1616, and named Máire (Mary) MacMahon, she became known as Máire Rua or Red Mary due to her red hair. She was the daughter of lord of East Corcabaskin or Clonderalaw, Sir Torlach Rua MacMahon and his wife Mary, the youngest daughter of Connor O'Brien, 3rd Earl of Thomond. Some sources have her place of birth as Bunratty, but it is likely she was born at Clonderalaw. O'Brien family tradition gives her place of birth as Urlan More, but she may have been fostered rather than born there. In 1634, she married colonel Daniel Neylon who fought in the English army in the Spanish war, the marriage having been arranged. She lived with Neylon at the Dysert (O'Dea) Castle in County Clare, and had three sons with him; William, Daniel and Michael. She was widowed, while her children were still young, when Neylon died in 1639. She managed the large Neylon estate until her eldest son William came of age. Life at Leamaneh Castle Seven months after Neylon's death, she married her cousin, Conor O'Brien of Leamaneh. The couple extended the O'Brien tower house at Leamaneh, creating Leamaneh Castle. An inscription on the castle reads: "This was built in the year of Our Lord 1648 by Conor O'Brien and Mary ní Mahon alias Brien wife to the said Conor". The couple had eight children, the eldest of whom, Sir Donough O'Brien, was born in 1642. The other known children were Teige, Turlough, Murrough, Honora, and Mary, with two other daughters who are believed to have died during the plague which affected the area during the Siege of Limerick (1650–1651). It is with Leamaneh Castle that some of the stories of O'Brien's claimed violent actions are associated. It is alleged she would hang servants who displeased her, that she victimised trespassers, and denied rights of way through her land. During the Confederate Wars in Ireland (1641–1653), her husband led and financed one of the five militia companies of Clare which raided tower houses of English settlers planted in the area during the preceding century.