The Fighting Prince of Donegal

The 1966 Walt Disney film, The Fighting Prince of Donegal was a bright memory for those of us who saw it first run in 1966. My friends and I bought the book upon which the film was based. It was an opportunity to consider Irish history not told in the encyclopedia and the junior high textbooks available in our town. We followed the acting career of Susan Hampshire as far as we could.

For extra fun, We wrote short fictional stories and scenes to embellish parts we liked. We also wrote new fiction time travel stories based using these historic Irish settings. It was a lot of fun.

I write this to say that we hope someday to find the film, hope to buy it, and see it again. Should anyone be listening, this is a film that should be brought back out for sale.

American audiences tended to get only the glorified English version of the Tudor period in films...so this vastly pleasing piece of swashbuckling came as a breath of fresh air, telling the story from the Irish viewpoint for a change. The Disney studios had earlier tried their figurative hand at Scots history with Rob Roy; the Highland Rogue, an interesting but less successful and flawed attempt. It wasn't until the 1995 films of Rob Roy and Gibson's Braveheart that we got a better idea of the other side. Peter McEnery, at that time a great favorite Romantic lead from the previous Disney hit "Moonspinners" opposite Hayley Mills, had just proved in the French film "La Curee" that he was ripe for more mature roles. The Irish prince Red Hugh O'Donnel turned out to be arguably his best and most sympathetic role to date, a truly dashing and romantic swashbuckling hero. If you like costume epics, don't miss this one!

Almost good, but 'The Fighting Prince of Donegal' just falls short.

It goes through too many peaks and troughs to be classed as enjoyable, but I do like the vibe of the film and the idea of the premise; which begins slowly, hits a purple patch before frustratingly reverting back immediately; quite literally given how the plot 'progresses'.

The casting, meanwhile, is solid if not perfect. Peter McEnery (Hugh) and Susan Hampshire (Kathleen) both do impressive things in earlier 1960s productions 'The Moon-Spinners' and 'The Three Lives of Thomasina' respectively, but they don't work together here; I sense zero chemistry between them or their characters. Gordon Jackson (Capt. Leeds) is my pick of the rest.

Should've been better. 6*.

Walt must have been thinking of tying into the "young rebel" trend of the '60s. This is a tale of a generic young Irish nobleman during the Elizabethan era, rebelling against a generic English colonial master (this was made just before the modern troubles broke out.) He gains generic friends and allies, is imprisoned, escapes, leads a generic merry chase all over Ireland, and rescues his generic lady fair from the generic castle.

All that's missing is Herbie the Love Bug! Not once is anyone in any terror of bloodshed. Even Snow White had her frights but Walt, in his dotage, must have been losing his taste or his nerve.

The one real bright spot is the cast full of gonna-be's of British Stage and Screen, including Gordon Jackson, Susan Hampshire, Donal McCann and Maurice Roëves. If nothing else, the director had an eye for serious talent.

Certainly Walt Disney took liberties with the story of Hugh O'Donnell in order to make it more appealing to to the teen magazine culture of the 60's but his history is not that far off the mark. Much of the music is based on traditional Irish themes, most notably, "O'Donnell Abu" the marching song of the O'Donnell clan. Interestingly, the main cast though playing Irish figures, were English (McEnery, Hampshire, Adams).

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Red Hugh O'Donnell (1571 - 1602)

In the early 1500's the Irish families and clans were still warring amongst themselves - O'Donnell's own grandfather was imprisoned by Hugh's half-uncle who warred with Hugh's father.

In the mid-1500's some chieftains, most notably, the O'Donnell, were working to unify the Irish clans.

Sir John Perrot (English deputy), in order to check the rising power of the O'Donnells planned to capture Hugh. A ship with a cargo of Spanish wine came into Lough Swilly, and the seventeen year old Red Hugh and two companions were invited on board where Hugh was captured. He was taken to Dublin Castle where he was imprisoned.

Three years later at Christmas time, Hugh, Henry & Art O'Neill escaped. It was their second attempt. Enduring a freezing three-day march across the snow-covered Wicklow Mountains they became separated. Art died of exposure but Hugh, aided by countrymen, made it to his father's castle in Donegal. Hugh lost at least two toes to frostbite and was said to limp after.

After his escape, his father made Hugh "the O'Donnell" and retired to a monastery. In 1598 he, with the O'Neills, defeated the English in the battle of the Yellow Ford. After a defeat at Kinsale a few years later Hugh went to Spain for help. He was received by Philip III but fell ill in 1602, possibly of poisoning at the hand of an English spy. He was 31 and left no heirs. He was buried in Spain but the church no longer exists and his burial site is lost forever.