One evening the lovers left the castle together, for a stroll by the river side, towards Belleek. Here, while Helen was singing to her harp, O’Neill, who had followed them, broke in upon their happiness. Maguire drew his sword to defend the lady, but he was no match for the great chief from whom he quickly received his death wound. O’Neill placed the fainting form of the fair Helen before him on his horse, and, with a few followers, rode to Dungannon Castle. Her father at once called his forces together, and followed to revenge the injury. The end of the story has several variations, but the most probable seems to be that O’Neill, finding the beautiful girl irreconcilable to the loss of her handsome lover, returned her to her father. The world had, however, lost its charm for her, and the rest of her short life was spent in seclusion.
In 1597 the first determined attack was made on Ballyshannon. Sir Conyers Clifford, Governor of Connaught, with four thousand men, foot and horse, marched on the stronghold, accompanied by Donough, the son of Connor, Murragh, Baron of Inchiquin, and other Irish nobles. O’Donnell having all the fords guarded, they were obliged to cross the river about half a mile west of Belleek. Here the Baron of Inchiquin was shot through his armour, while his horse was standing in the deep water below the ford, where he was encouraging the soldiers and saving them from drowning.
The ordnance was landed by water and planted against the castle. The siege lasted three days, but when the little garrison were thinking of surrendering, help arrived from Tyrone, and the English were driven off with great loss. The defenders of the castle numbered only eighty men, and were commanded by a Scotchman named Owen Crawford.
During Red Hugh’s absence in Spain in 1602 the English took the opportunity to again attack the fortress. The warders, seeing no hope of relief, fled, after the walls had been battered by a big gun, and Captain Digges took “that long desired place.”
Ballyshannon, with 1,000 acres, was reserved to the King in 1603, and five years later Sir Henry Folliot was appointed Governor. In this year the plot to seize the King’s castle of Ballyshannon was one of the charges in the indictment against the Earls of Tyrone and Tirconnell. In 1610 the castle, lands, and fishings were granted to Sir H. Folliot for twenty-one years. He was raised to the peerage under the title of Baron Folliot of Ballyshannon, 1619.