Brian Oge O'Rourke (Irish:Brian Óg na Samhthach Ó Ruairc;c. 1568 – 28 January1604), was the penultimate king ofWest Breifne, from1591 until his overthrow in April1603, at the end of theNine Years' War. Due to the successive deaths of both his older brother Eoghan in 1589 and his fatherBrian O'Rourke, who was executed in London in 1591, Brian Oge was thrust into the leadership of his kingdom at just 23 years old. In 1599, O'Rourke's forces fought alongside those ofHugh Roe O'Donnell at theBattle of Curlew Pass, during the Nine Years' War. His forces, along with those ofHugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, were still sufficiently menacing to QueenElizabeth I that she was persuaded to agree to a peace in Ireland - theTreaty of Mellifont.

O'Rourke was the last Irish king to be defeated in the war, roughly a month after the others had surrendered. He never surrendered, but was ousted by his brotherTeigue, who had defected to the English during the war and with their support invaded his kingdom in March 1603.

He fled to Galway where he died of fever on 28 January 1604.^[1]

In accordance with his wishes, O'Rourke was buried in the cloister of theRoss Errilly Friary. He was succeeded by his brother, Teigue.

Brian Oge O'Rourke was a founding member of the Irish confederacy.^[2]

• Annals of the Four Masters atCELT (University College Cork)
• Burke, Oliver J.The Abbey of Ross, its History and Details, Dublin, 1869.

• 1560s births
• 1604 deaths
• 16th-century Irish monarchs
• 17th-century Irish monarchs
• Irish lords
• People of Elizabethan Ireland
• People from County Leitrim
• Nobility from County Galway
• People of the Nine Years' War (Ireland)

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