The History of the O’Dogherty.

The History of the O’Dogherty.

The O’Dogherty clan of Inishowen consists of more than 400,000 families distributed throughout the world, with many in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, France, etc. The ancient legends describe in a remote past the origin of the Celtic race, which was established in the north of Spain, with a King Breoghan, who founded Betanzos, Brihuega and Brigantia, and built the Tower of Hercules in Galicia. His sons from this tower saw through the Atlantic mists the British Isles, and decided to organize an expedition to conquer them.

Pharaof Nectonechus and his wife, Scota

Chief of Irish clan


Members of the Irish clan


Ships vikingos invade Ireland



Cahir O´Dogherty 1608


Celtic shield of golden bronze

In a twelfth century book, “Leabhald Ghabhald”, also called “The book of the invasions”, the vicissitudes of Milesius, a Spanish king are described. He travelled to Egypt, married Scota, daughter of the pharaoh Nectonebus, with whom he collaborated. He then returned to Galicia, and his uncle organized an expedition with 150 warriors and several ships to Ireland. There they conquered the Tuatha of Danaan who had their palace in Grianan of Aileach. Thus successive Celtic kings constituted the Milesian dynasties which so provided the Art right or High Kings of Ireland during the millennium before the Christian era.

Inishwoen Irish Celtic soldiers

In the Annals of Ulster, an outstanding leader was ‘Niall the Great’, also known as ‘Niall of the Nine Hostages’, a High King, (378 – 405), a blue –eyed warrior who fought and conquered the Picts, the Britons, the Saxons and other peoples, and invaded Armorica in French Brittany. He is said to have taken nine princes as prisoners, but one of these killed him on the banks of the Loire. His sons Eoghan and Conall Gulban shared the province of Ulster, and a direct descendent of Conall Gulban was called DOCHARTAGH, Lord if Inisowen and the founding prince of that dynasty, (in Gaelic, Ui – Daher – Teagh, Lord of the house of the Oaks.) There followed a long period of clan warfare which is described in ‘The Annals of the Four Masters’, followed by the tyranny of English dominance which made any coexistence impossible. Due to such persecution, Irish nobles procured ships to find elsewhere the peace which was impossible in Ireland, leading to what was called ‘The Flight of the Earls’, from Rathmullan in Donegal to Europe.

Irish Celtic soldiers



Derry's city


Culmore castle

In 1608 the Lord of Inis Owen, Sir Cahir O’Dogherty, who was married to Mary Preston, daughter of Lord Gormanston was involved in an altercation with the governor of Derry George Paulet, who insulted him with dishonorable and intolerable words. Cahir, along with MacSweeny and other companions attacked the city and in the ensuing battle Paulet died. They set fire to the city and set free the Catholic bishop, who was being held a prisoner. The blackened walls of the city still standing can be seen today. Cahir, whom the English called ‘The daring traitor’, continued his fight against the pursuing troops, until he died from a bullet wound at Kilmacrenan near Don Roc. His body was quartered and hung near the city gates. His head was considered a trophy and was bought to Dublin.

English ships in Gravelina

The Scot who shot Cahir left the city on horseback, and stopped for the night at an inn owned by a Gallagher. He in turn managed to get the Scot drunk and robbed him of the sack containing the head, so claiming the payment. The head of Cahir was placed in a niche of the church of St. Adouan, where he remained until 1954 when it disappeared, possibly blown away by the wind. Cahir’s sword is conserved in O’Dogherty’s Tower, a museum in Derry. It is made of Spanish steel, inscribed ‘made by Andres Ferrera’. Tradition holds that it was given as a gift to John Mor, Cahir’s father by Alonso de Luzon, when he was shipwrecked on the Trinidad Valencera in 1585. All these possessions from Inis Owen were taken by Lord Chichester.

Pascual O´Dogherty I
















Pascual O´Dogherty II



Ramón O´Dogherty













Pascual O´Dogherty III

The descendents of Sir Cahir suffered many hardships, and with the continued persecution of the Penal Laws, finally the three O’Dogherty brothers, under the protection of their Uncle Henry, decided to emigrate to Spain. The uncle had been studying medicine in the Sorbonne before switching to theology, in which he graduated as doctor and was ordained in the diocese of Meath.

Continuing his work, Brother Henry prepared a document of one hundred pages in parchment, which contained a description of the peninsula of Inis Owen and all the possessions of O’Doghertys, including the rivers, lakes, fisheries, farms, villages etc., with Royal grant, and the signatures of the Irish clergy, bishops, archbishops and of the parochial clergy of the island. It concluded with the coat of arms of the four grandparents. In this way the noble state of the three young men, John, Henry and Clinton Dillon was confirmed. This genealogical document so achieved their entry into the Spanish armed forces.

Clinton Dillon, called Carlos in Spain, had a brilliant career as a naval lieutenant in the corvette ‘Batidor’, when he took part in the capture of an English corvette in 1797. In 1804 he captured an English frigate the ‘Enriqueta’ in a naval battle in the river Plate. In a letter to the admiral, his captain praised his actions, and as a stimulus to his companions, he was promoted by Royal Decree on the 2nd April, 1804. He died at the early age of 28 years on the 2nd February, 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Henry also was outstanding for his zeal and enthusiasm. He died on the 3rd. May, 1803, aged 27, in the Royal hospital of San Carlos of Veracruz in Mexico.

John distinguished himself in numerous naval battles in the Atlantic, in the Pacific, in the Malvinas and in the Mediterranean, and acquired a great renown as the hero in the battle of river Sampayo in 1809 against the Napoleonic forces attempting to invade Vigo. John prepared cannon launches, and with these cut off the arches of the bridge, producing a round defeat for the French forces. So Vigo was saved and the invasion of Portugal prevented.

The importance of this triumph was such that historians named it the “Spanish Waterloo”. Afterwards a commemorative medal was struck on which is illustrated the destroyed bridge. It is interesting to note that only the relatives of the heroes of the bridge Sampayo can wear this decoration.

John O’Dogherty married Maria Josefa Macedo, whose father had been shot by the French. Their children were Carlos-Enrique, born 1809, died in his infancy, Juan, (1813 – 1845), army officer, Federico, (1815 – 1864) who died young, Enrique II, (1825 - ), and two daughters, Aurora and Ramona.

The local city hall conceded the construction of a pantheon in the name of John O’Dogherty as “Hero of the Bridge of Sampayo”, which also permits the burial of indirect family members not named O’Dogherty.

His son Juan, (1813 – 1845), an army officer, married in 1835 Joaquina Navajas, resident of Redondela in Galicia. They had three children, Ramon, (1835 – 1902), Ulpiano, who emigrated to the U.S. leaving no trace, and Jose, who died young.

Ramon was left an orphan at the age of nine and had a turbulent career. When he was fifteen, he joined the navy as a volunteer, and took part in American wars in Cuba, Santa Domingo and Mexico. He was decorated for his valour and was promoted to sergeant. When he left the navy, he travelled to Ireland to involve himself in the lost properties there originally belonging to his grandfather. In 1871 he presented a lawsuit to Queen Victoria on behalf of himself as a direct inheritor of his grandfather, and also on behalf of his cousins Adelaide and Petronila Seoane, daughters of his aunt Aurora O’Dogherty and other relations descended from John O’Dogherty. The English court recognized his rights over some of the lands in Co. Cavan, which were then sold and the proceeds shared amongst the litigants who were not in agreement and had been in family dispute. Ramon married Isabel Sanchez (1860 – 1934) in 1883 and they had two children, Juana, (1884 – 1960) and Pascual (1886 – 1964).

Pascual was left an orphan when he was fifteen years old, and he is an example of a man who made his way in life, tenaciously involved in the world of mathematics. He set up an academy to prepare young men for entry to military careers, and with such success that the ‘O’Dogherty Academy’ was known throughout Spain. Entire generations of leaders and officers are to be found in the lists thanks to the effort and dedication of his teaching methods. Pascual stated “You have to teach what they don’t know, and at times it is necessary to teach what is not known, dedicating oneself to try and resolve certain difficult problems. His work and his charitable spirit have been recognized by the San Fernando town council, who named a street after him. In the Cadiz newspaper, ‘El Diario’, the editor published a eulogy to him on the occasion of his death entitled “BEFORE GOD WITH FULL HANDS”.

Photo with mayor of derri, john Davis

Pascual in July 1918 married Cayetana Sanchez Zuazo (1895 – 1980) and they had two sons, Ramon, (b.30th April, 1919), Pascual (b.28th August, 1920), and four daughters, Concepcion, (b. 1922), Cayetana, (b.1924), Carmen, (b.1930), and Isabel, 89b.1933).

Ramon, the first born, is a doctor of medicine, specialized in biopathology. He studied in the universities of Cadiz and Madrid, and gained his diploma in the treatment of infectious diseases in the hospital ‘Rey de Madrid’. In 1966 he was recognized as specialist in Clinical Analysis, obtaining his diploma in the technical laboratories of the National School of Medicine in Madrid. He is the academic founder of the Royal Academy of San Romualdo of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and in 2007 was distinguished as “Honorable Academic”. By written examination he was elected as Academic of the Royal Society of Medicine of Palma Majorca. He is also a member of the Supreme Council of Hospital Knights of San Juan Bautista.

In 1990 Ramon O’Dogherty was officially recognized by the Irish government as a member of the Standing Council of Irish chieftans. In a solemn ceremony the Chief Herald of Ireland, Fergus Gillespie, proclaimed him Chief of the O’Dogherty Clan of Inishowen.

In 1952 Ramon married Catalina Fabra Marin, (b.1924), Dame Hospitalaria of San Juan Bautista, and they have three offspring: Cristina Eugenia, (b. 1958), Ramon, (b.1959), and Begonia, (b.1963).

Pascual O’Dogherty is an admiral in the navy from 1974, having trained in the Hidrographic Institute and in the Naval College of scientific studies in the universities of Durham and of Madrid. His studies included hydrographia, naval architecture, marine engineering, and naval construction. He is also a representative on international technical committees on the subjects of hydrodynamic stability, naval armaments; he also a member of executive international committees. His contributions to the study of ship stability, mathematical calculations on hulls, and all the various themes of naval engineering have brought him to every part of Europe, and to conferences in Japan. He is a member of the Royal Academy of San Romualdo, to the Knights Hospitalaria of San Juan Bautista, and is also a Knight Esquivias. He is possessor of diverse national and foreign decorations, the naval Order of Merit of Brazil, the Naval Cross of Hermenegildo, and two gold medals from the Spanish Association of naval architects.

He has a full history of the O’Doghertys ready for publication, and also numerous articles on themes of naval engineering.

Pascual married Elvira Carame on the 17th July, 1948.

Angel O’Dogherty studied at the University of Seville and qualified as Doctor of Spanish-American History. He moved to Mexico to develop his thesis, and was named as Director of the Spanish-American Institute of Culture. He was also cultural attaché at the Spanish embassy in Mexico (1975 -1991). He has been decorated as Knight-Commander of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, Knight-Commander of Mexican Order of Merit of Aguila Azteca.

In 1956 he married Hortensia Madrazo.

In 1996 has had our countryman Peter C. Doherty receive the high honor of being named Nobel Prize of Medicine for their works in [inmunologia] in [colabration with the Dr Rolf Zinkernagel carried out in the laboratories del John Curtin shool some fundamental discoveries for the treatment of the cancer and other illnesses in Camberra (Australia) and he/she/it/you in Spain also was homenajeated in the University of Barcelona like Dr Honoris Cause, in the year 2,000. Also has distinguished the publicist, editor and Irish historian, Fiombarra O'Dochartaigh, author of hundred of works in defense of the civil rights ,nominated like Academico correspondiente of the Royal Academy of San Romualdo.of letters, arts and science. There are others peoples that have collaborated with their efforts to the planning of the Clan, like Pat Doherty and their son Cameron on Michigan and James Doherty, a personality of Derry and Dr Honoris Cause of the University- of Magee.

Act of delivery of the Nobel prize to Peter C. Doherty