Tibbot MacWalter Kittagh Bourke
Tibbot MacWalter (Theobald Fitzwalter) Kittagh Bourke (Irish: Tiobóid mac Walter Ciotach Búrca) (English: /bɜːrk/; BURK; c. 1570 – in or after 1602) was the 21st and final Mac William Íochtar and was created 1st Marquess of Mayo in Spanish nobility.
Tibbot MacWalter Kittagh Bourke
(Tiobóid mac Walter Ciotach Búrca)
1595–1602
(disputed reign)
Richard Bourke (d. 1601)
Title Abolished
c. 1570
Ardnaree, County Mayo, Ireland
In or after 1602
Most likely Spain
identity unknown
Walter Bourke
Meyler Bourke (d. 1595)
John Burke (?)
Walter Kittagh Bourke
Mary O'Donnell
Bourke was inaugurated in Kilmaine by Hugh Roe O'Donnell in December 1595 during the Nine Years' War to consolidate control of Mayo for the rebel Irish Alliance. His tenure faced strong opposition from many Bourke nobles, especially his main rival, the loyalist chief Tibbot na Long Bourke. The struggle for dominance over the MacWilliam Lordship, which corresponds to modern-day County Mayo, was intense and the control of the region frequently changed hands. After fleeing to Spain in 1602 and being created Marquess of Mayo, Kittagh's departure marked the end of the MacWilliam chieftainship. Subsequently, Tibbot na Long was appointed Viscount Mayo.
Family[edit]
Born in Ardnaree, near modern-day Ballina, County Mayo, Tiobóid was the eldest child of Walter Kittagh Bourke (died 1591), the High Sheriff of Sligo, and eldest but illegitimate son of Seaán mac Oliver Bourke (Sir John Bourke), 17th Mac William Íochtar and first Baron Ardenerie (d.1580). His mother was Mary O'Donnell, a seemingly distant relation to the Lord of Tyrconnell. Kittagh had four brothers – Thomas (d. 1597), Richard (d. 1589), Meyler and Walter, as well as four sisters – Mary, Cecilia, Sabina and the youngest sister whose name is unknown.[1] The second youngest sister, Sabina, would marry the chief of Mac Sweeney Banagh.
While it is known that Kittagh was married, the identity of his wife and family is largely unknown. He had at least two children, Walter and Meyler.[2] It is also suspected that John Burke, who was made commander of the Connacht forces during the Irish Confederate Wars in 1642, was also a son of Kittagh's, having been born in County Mayo yet spending "30 years in the service of Spain". John would have been about 10 at the time of Kittagh's journey to Spain.[3]