Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell

The Earl of Tyrconnell
O'Donnell at Albert VII's court, c.1615, by Peter Paul Rubens or his workshop
Earl of Tyrconnell
Tenure1608 – 28 October 1614
PredecessorRory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell
SuccessorTitle attainted in 1614
BornHugh O'Donnell
c. October 1606
Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland
Died1 July 1642 (aged 35)
Off the coast of Barcelona, Crown of Aragon
Spouse(s)
Anna-Margaret de Hénin
(m. 1632; died 1634)
FatherRory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell
MotherBridget FitzGerald

General Hugh Albert O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell (c. October 1606 – 1 July 1642), was an Irish-Spanish nobleman, descended from the O'Donnell clan of Tyrconnell, who served in the Spanish military. The only son of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, he was eleven months old when he participated in the Flight of the Earls, leaving Ireland never to return. He was naturalised as a Spanish subject in 1633 and fought in the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659).

After his extended family settled in Catholic Europe, O'Donnell was raised at St Anthony's College in the Spanish Netherlands. He assumed the name Albert for his confirmation in honour of the Archduke of Austria, and was a page to the Infanta Isabella. As O'Donnell matured, he took on a leadership role amongst his family of refugees. He began a military career and in 1625 he was made a captain of a company of Spanish cavalry. O'Donnell was a key supporter of a proposed Spanish invasion of Ireland in 1627, but the invasion plans fell apart. His duties to Spain also prevented him from participating in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He died in July 1642 when his ship, the Magdalena, was attacked and sunk by French forces off the coast of Barcelona.

In addition to the earldom, O'Donnell held the title Baron of Donegal from birth. Both titles were attainted in 1614 but he continued to use them throughout his life. O'Donnell was a nephew of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, the last undisputed chief of the O'Donnell clan.