John Connill (original) (raw)

John Connill (sometimes Connell) was a soldier noted for his service in Ireland during the late sixteenth century. His background is uncertain. His name may be an anglicisation of the Irish name O'Connell. In 1589 Connill was despatched by the Lord Deputy of Ireland William FitzWilliam with a force of Irish Army troops to the recently established County Donegal. This was part of the Tudor reform programme in Ireland which sought to bring the Gaelic areas under English law, thereby reducing levels of violence within them. Connill allegedly secured the position by bribing Fitzwilliam with two gold chains that had been recovered from the wreck of the Spanish Armada in Ireland.