Rory Caoch O'More

Rory Caoch O'More (Ruaidhrí Caoch Ó Mórdha; c. 1515 – 1547) was an Irish noble. He ruled as Lord of Laois until his death in 1547 at the hand of his brother Giolla Pádraig O'More.

Early life
Born about 1515, O'More was the son of Connell O'More (d. 1537) and Gormflaith O'Carroll. His brothers were Lysaght, Kedagh, Giolla Pádraig and Conall.

According to historian William Arthur Jobson Archbold, O'More "early acquired the character of a violent and successful chieftain." O'More's first wife was the daughter of Tadhg O'Dunne.

In October 1537, O'More was subpoenaed to the king's court in Kilkenny to give evidence. He irreverently tossed the writ into mud and stepped on it, much to the dismay of the official who delivered it.

Power struggle
Upon Connell's death in 1537, a dispute broke out between Rory, Lysaght, Kedagh, and their uncle Peter, who was the Tanist in line to head the family. Peter seized the title with the support of Piers Butler, 1st Earl of Ossory. The three brothers refused to accept Peter's lordship, and led by Lysaght (the eldest brother and Lord of Slemargy), they declared war in late 1537. 

Peter O'More was for the time a friend of the Butlers - consequently, Lord Deputy Leonard Grey supported Connell's sons. Lysaght was killed by the gallowglass in 1537. Kedagh and Rory continued fighting against Peter. 

On 14 January 1538, Grey negotiated a peace between Rory, Kedagh and Peter. This was short-lived, and Grey later encouraged the brothers to attack Peter. In June 1538, in the presence of the local army commander, Rory attempted to kill Peter at Athy, County Kildare. The commander arrested Peter for his own safety. 

Once again, Grey assembled a meeting in Dublin between the brothers and their uncle.  This was all a ruse - Grey imprisoned Peter and led him about in chains for some time.  He allowed Kedagh and Rory to return to Laois and resume their attacks. Peter was eventually released in August 1538, still the Lord of Laois. 

Kedagh secured the chieftainship that year, and the two brothers exiled Peter from Laois. 

O'More vs O'Connor
In the early 1540s, Rory O'More's brother Giolla Pádraig set about his plan to seize the lordship of Laois. He entered an alliance with Rory's rival, Brian O'Connor Faly, by marrying O'Connor Faly's daughter.

Giolla Pádraig and O'Connor Faly were favoured by the new Lord Deputy, Anthony St Leger. In September 1540, St Leger forced the submission of the O'More brothers. Kedagh and Rory attempted to garner goodwill from St Leger and they were pardoned on 27 June 1541.

In 1542, Kedagh was killed in Carlow by Gaelic warlord Domhnall MacMurrough Kavanagh. Rory succeeded him via election.

Lordship
On 13 May 1542, he took part in the surrender and regrant process, under the anglicised name "Rory O'More of Lex".

O'More responded to Giolla Pádraig's hostility by allying with James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond; he married Margaret Butler, the Earl's niece, between 1543 and 1544.

St Leger forced O'More and his brother to submit to the authorities, bringing them to Dublin in hopes of stopping their bloodshed. In O'More's absence, O'Connor Faly devastated Laois, and St Leger detained O'More in his attempts to leave Dublin. O'More wrote to Henry VIII, accusing St Leger of favouritism.

Death
In 1547, O'More faced another revolt from his brother Giolla Pádraig. O'More was initially successful and forced Giolla Pádraig to retreat. However, Giolla Pádraig returned with O'Connor Faly's troops, and O'More was killed during the attack.

Legacy
O'More had three recorded sons, including Calvagh O'More and Rory Oge O'More. Upon his death, his widow Margaret apparently left Ireland with his young sons.

Giolla Pádraig seized the lordship of Laois. He died around 1548 in the Marshalsea, and the lordship passed to his brother Conall Óg O'More, then finally Rory Oge O'More.

Rory Caoch O'More's brother Kedagh left a son, who, in 1565, petitioned the privy council in Dublin to be restored to his father's inheritance. In a grant afterwards made to his eldest son, his services to King Edward VI are spoken of; but an order of 15 March 1550-1 forbade any of the name of O'More to hold land in Laois.

Through his son Calvagh, O'More is a direct ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and, by extension, her son William. The prominent Moore family of Carolina in the United States claimed patrilineal descent from Rory Caoch O'More through his grandson of the same name.