Henry Bagenal

Henry Bagenal (also spelt Bagnal) was born in England around 1556. He was the eldest son of Staffordshire soldier Nicholas Bagenal and his wife Eleanor Griffith of Penrhyn, Wales.^[1][2] Nicholas was appointed Marshal of the Army in Ireland in 1547.^[3]

Henry Bagenal was named after his godfather Henry Sidney.^[2] His brother was Dudley Bagenal.^[4] Henry Bagenal probably matriculated from Jesus College, Oxford when he was 16 (in 1572 or 1573), but left without taking a degree in order to join his father Nicholas.

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In May 1577, Sir Nicholas was appointed chief commissioner of Ulster, with Henry as his assistant. Bagenal was himself knighted in 1578. He was involved in some military disasters, such as a defeat at Glenmalure on 25 August 1580 when Lord Grey led the troops (with Bagenal one of the commanders of the rear) into battle with Fiach McHugh O'Byrne and Viscount Baltinglass in the Wicklow mountain passes. In 1584, Bagenal was colonel of the garrison at Carrickfergus when 1,300 of Sorley Boy MacDonnell's Scots landed on Rathlin Island. Bagenal attacked but was ambushed at Glenarm and had to retreat.^[5]

In May 1586, Bagenal was sent by his father to the court to report. He sought measures to weaken Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, an enhancement of the role of the marshal, and a presidency in Ulster with a shire hall and jail to dispense royal justice. Whilst on his visit, he wrote to Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (a relative of his wife) on 16 September 1586 to ask whether he had a parliamentary borough to spare; he was elected MP for both Grantham and Anglesey and chose the latter. He returned to Ireland in September 1587 to deputize for his father. He succeeded his father as marshal of the army in Ireland and chief commissioner for Ulster in October 1590, and was sworn of the Privy Council. His proposals for action were not accepted, as a decision had been taken to adopt a conciliatory attempt to O'Neill. To Bagenal's contempt, O'Neill asked for the hand of Bagenal's sister Mabel in marriage; he refused, but they eloped anyway.^[5]

On 17 August, the council dismissed Bagenal's claim that O'Neill had conferred with Cormac MacBaron O'Neill and Hugh Roe O'Donnell before the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits. Bagenal's claims were proven correct by the testimony from captured woman Joan Kelly, who was present at the confederate camps.^[6][7]

In May 1595, Bagenal led an army of 1,750 to relieve the garrison at Monaghan. His forces were attacked by O'Neill and sustained heavy losses. Bagenal was forced to withdraw to Newry and had to be resupplied by sea as O'Neill had blocked the Moyry Pass. Bagenal managed to resupply the Armagh garrison in December 1598 and June 1597, but had more difficulty in resupplying a fort on the Blackwater.^[5] In an attempt to do so, he was fatally wounded by O'Neill's forces during Battle of the Yellow Ford in County Armagh. As Bagenal approached O'Neill's trenches, a bullet struck his forehead through his raised visor.^[9][10][11]

In September 1586, Bagenal married Eleanor Savage of Cheshire, daughter of Sir John Savage of Savage Rock and cousin of Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland. Bagenal had at least three sons and six daughters, either with his wife or in later relationships.^[12][13] His three sons were:

• Arthur Bagenal; mentally handicapped and became a ward of his uncle Patrick Barnewell^[13]
• Dudley Bagenal; founded the County Carlow branch of the Bagenal family^[13]
• Ambrose Bagenal^[13]

Henry Bagenal's daughters married wealthy Palesmen.^[13]

The senior Bagenal line died out in 1712 with the death of Henry's grandson Nicholas Bagenal; the junior but better-known branch in Carlow, who founded Bagenalstown, survived longer.^{[citation needed]}

Brian Friel's play Making History turns largely on the marriage between Bagenal's sister Mabel and Hugh O'Neill. Mabel and another sister, Mary Barnewall, are major characters in the play. Bagenal himself is mentioned often but does not appear on stage.^[14][15]

In 2021, Irish actor Aidan Gillen was attached to portray Bagenal in the TV series The O'Neill. As of 2024, the series is unproduced.^[16]