Sir Cahir O’Doherty (1587–5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Chief of the Name of Clan O’Doherty and Lord of Inishowen, in what is now County Donegal. O’Doherty was a noted loyalist during Tyrone’s Rebellion and became known as the Queen’s O’Doherty for his service on the Crown’s side during the fighting.
After the war, O’Doherty had ambitions to become a courtier and applied for a position in the household of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, but he increasingly came into dispute with Irish-based officials such as the Viceroy Sir Arthur Chichester and the Governor of Derry Sir George Paulet. In 1608 he launched a rebellion, seizing Derry from Paulet and burning it to the ground. O’Doherty was subsequently killed in a battle at Kilmacrennan, and the rebellion swiftly collapsed.
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