Henry Hovenden

Henry Hovenden (fl. 1585–1616) was an Anglo-Irish secretary. He was foster-brother and chief advisor to Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone during the Irish Nine Years' War.

Historian John Marshall described Hovenden as O'Neill's "captain, councillor, and confidant". He was commonly known as Harry. It also appears he was sometimes known as Henry O'Hagan.

Family background
The Hovenden family have roots in Kent, England. Henry's parents were Giles Hovenden, an English settler in Laois, and Elizabeth Cheevers, daughter of Sir Walter Cheevers. He had five siblings – John, Peter, Richard, Walter and Joanne – all born and raised in Ireland.

Early life
Sometime after 1558, young brothers Hugh and Brian, grandsons of Irish Gaelic nobleman Conn O'Neill, were moved into the Hovenden family's care. Their father Matthew had been killed in a succession dispute, and the Crown sought to keep the children safe from harm. Ultimately, their aim was to raise Hugh and Brian in the English manner, so that they would be more sympathetic to the English administration once they came of age and took their places in the Gaelic nobility.

To this end, Giles acquired the lease to a property in Balgriffin formerly belonging to Conn, via an arrangement made with the Crown. This is the residence where Henry grew up.

Working for O'Neill
Henry Hovenden and Hugh O'Neill remained close throughout the rest of their lives, and Hovenden became his secretary and advisor. One of the first records of their professional association is from June 1585, when Hovenden is mentioned as a messenger and ambassador to the English Privy Council from O'Neill.

Henry and his brother Richard commanded O'Neill's troops in the late 1580s. Circa late 1588, they organised the largest single massacre of Spanish Armada survivors in Inishowen. On 14 September 1588, writing from Dungannon, Henry Hovenden reported to Lord Deputy William FitzWilliam that "they with 150 men attacked the Spaniards at Illagh, the O'Docartaig town, and the second day took them prisoners. Pray for a warrrant for their victualling &c, to Dublin. One of the prisoners has commanded over 30,000 men."

Hovenden took part in the Flight of the Earls in 1607, leaving Ireland for Continental Europe. After O'Neill's death in July 1616, Hovenden settled disputes over the late Earl's will.

In media
Hovenden is a character in Brian Friel's play Making History.