The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: "Ó Néill") is a lineage ultimately all of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As Kings of Cenél nEógain, they are historically the most prominent family of the Northern Uí Néill, along with the O'Donnell and O'Doherty. The O'Neill's hold that their ancestors were kings of Ailech during the Early Middle Ages, as descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Two of their progenitors were High Kings of Ireland, Niall Glúndub (from whom they take their name) and Domnall ua Néill. From 1185 until 1616, the O'Neill were sovereign kings of Tír Eógain, holding territories in the north of Ireland; particularly around modern County Tyrone, County Londonderry and County Antrim, all in modern Northern Ireland.
Introduction
O'Neill dynasty
O'Neill dynasty | Introduction
Yes, they were Kings of Cenél nEógain. Yes, territories in the north of Ireland. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Yes.
the wolf and the lion game of thrones episode
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Fifth episode
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can you mention any characters from this episode?
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Lord Eddard Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Catelyn Stark
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can you mention any actor from this episode?
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Finn Jones, Kate Dickie, Lino Facioli, Brendan McCormack were some of them.
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where was the episode shot?
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The Paint Hall studio, Shane's Castle, Fort St Angelo (Maltese town of Vittoriosa).
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the castle that you just mentioned, is it a real castle?
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Yes, it is a ruined castle near Randalstown in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
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when was it built?
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1345
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by whom?
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A member of the Clandeboy O'Neill dynasty.
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has it served as the filming location for any other works?
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Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
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what are the origins of the dynasty that you just mentioned?
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Irish Gaelic origin
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were they rulers?
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Most recently the Parliament in Dublin reversed the legal attainments against O'Neill chiefs dating back to 1569. Three of the ancient O'Neill dynasties or principalities, are still represented by direct descendants of the once independent kings, the O'Neills of Clannaboy, the Fews, and the McShane O'Neills of Tyrone. The chiefships pass under the elective derbfine system of Irish Brehon law, but many incumbents were also granted further titles that are inherited under primogeniture by various Roman Catholic kingdoms in Europe and by the British crown who today possess and use titles in Ireland, Spain, France, Scotland, Portugal, England, Australia, South Africa and the Americas.
O'Neill dynasty | Today
After this the two rival dynasties contested for control over Tír Eoghain until the battle of Caimeirge in 1241, where the O'Neills wiped out the MacLoughlin leadership.
O'Neill dynasty | Origins
The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: "Ó Néill") is a lineage ultimately all of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As Kings of Cenél nEógain, they are historically the most prominent family of the Northern Uí Néill, along with the O'Donnell and O'Doherty. The O'Neill's hold that their ancestors were kings of Ailech during the Early Middle Ages, as descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Two of their progenitors were High Kings of Ireland, Niall Glúndub (from whom they take their name) and Domnall ua Néill. From 1185 until 1616, the O'Neill were sovereign kings of Tír Eógain, holding territories in the north of Ireland; particularly around modern County Tyrone, County Londonderry and County Antrim, all in modern Northern Ireland.
O'Neill dynasty | Introduction
After their realm was merged with the Kingdom of Ireland and the land was caught up in the Plantation of Ulster, they were involved in a number of significant events, such as Tyrone's Rebellion, the Flight of the Earls, the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the Irish Confederate Wars.
O'Neill dynasty | Introduction
The O'Neills had strong family relationships with the FitzGerald dynasty, both the Earls of Kildare and Earls of Desmond; the Earl of Pembroke via de Clare's marriage to the Irish house of Diarmuid, King of Leinster; and the MacDonnells, Bissetts, MacLeans, and Campbells. In 1171, King Henry II of England came to Ireland to remove the authority of the English lords in Ireland. He met the leading Irish kings and received the pledge of fealty from them. During the Middle Ages, the O'Neills were active politically and militarily throughout Ireland, occasionally sending nobility to fight within Ireland and in campaigns in Europe.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Tyrone
Like the family of O'Neill, that of O'Donnell of Tyrconnell was of the Uí Néill, i.e. descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland at the beginning of the 5th century; the O'Neill, or Cenél nEógain, tracing their pedigree to Eógan mac Néill, and the O'Donnells, or Cenél Conaill, to Conall Gulban, both sons of Niall. Conall was baptised by St. Patrick.
O'Donnell dynasty | Origins
The O'Neill lineage claims descent from Niall Glúndub, a 10th-century king of Ailech as well as High King of Ireland. Niall descended from the Cenél nEógain branch of the Northern Uí Néill. The first to adopt the patronymic surname was Niall Glúndub's great-grandson, Flaithbertach Ua Néill. The lineage does not receive a mention in non-Irish recorded history sources between the 1080s and 1160s, from which they emerge from a "very murky background". In 1167, King of Ireland Ruaidri Ua Concobhair marched north and divided the kingdom of Ailech into two. The portion north of Slieve Gallion, was given to Niall Mac Lochlainn (McLaughlin), with the portion south of Slieve Gallion, given to Áed Ua Néill.
O'Neill dynasty | Origins
Hugh was elected as their chief, and that O'Neill branch has since forth taken on the "MacShane" surname as an honorific for their loyalty to Shane O'Neill and to his battling sons. Hugh McShane O'Neill reigned as chief until 1622 and his sons and grandsons served as the chieftains of the family and were active in the wars and politics of Ulster, Ireland, and Spain for the next two centuries. Some of Shane's surviving son's were given sizable land after the flight of the earls that had previously belonged to Hugh O'Neill. Henry was given land in Orior, Con was given the estate of Clabbye, and Brian was given land in Clinawly, Fermanagh.
O'Neill dynasty | MacShane O'Neills
After 1241, the O'Neill lineage dominated and displaced other lineage, using the disruption of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 to their benefit and were able to consolidate. The Bruce Invasion of Ireland devastated the Norman Earldom of Ulster, which held sway over eastern Ulster and most of its north coast all the way to Derry. Its collapse in 1333 allowed a branch of the O'Neill that had been on good terms with the Normans, Clandeboye, to step into the power vacuum and take control over large parts of eastern Ulster. The dominant Gaelic and Norman-Irish leaders were in tune with their contemporary peers of the Middle Ages in terms of education, international trade, and diplomacy.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Tyrone
The head of the dynasty was traditionally also called "The O'Donnell", and inaugurated as Chieftain in an elaborate ceremony, under the Laws of Tanistry, part of the ancient Brehon Code of Law. Since the collapse of Gaelic Rule and the Brehon legal system, the putative succession of the "Chiefs of the Name" has followed the principle of male primogeniture. On the basis of the information available at the time, the Chief Herald of Ireland recognized John O'Donel of the Larkfield branch as Chief of the Name, and he was so gazetted on 11 September 1945 in "Iris Oifigiuil", bearing the courtesy title of "The O'Donnell".
O'Donnell dynasty | Succession
In 1368 the king of Uí Tuirtre, Thomas O'Lynn, died. After this the O'Lynn's appear to have been removed from the kingship. O'Neill reigned until his own death in 1395 and was succeeded by his son Brian Ballagh O'Neill. Another son, Henry Caoach O'Neill, would unsuccessfully contend for the lordship after Brian's death in 1425. O'Neill's nickname "ceannfada" (English: "Kennedy") meant long-headed or prudent.
Muirchertach Ceannfada O'Neill | Introduction
The grandson of Jorge and present Prince of Clanaboy, Hugo, has not pressed his senior claim to the entire House of O'Neill out of respect for his O'Neill chief cousins and their own histories.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neill Descendants in France, Spain, and Portugal
The O'Donnell dynasty ( or "Ó Domhnaill," "Ó Doṁnaill" "or Ua Domaill;" derived from the Irish name Domhnall, which means "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval and early-modern Ireland.
O'Donnell dynasty | Introduction
Bold indicates a supposed High King of Ireland.
Uí Néill | Uí Néill family tree
This is a list of rulers and office-holders of Ireland.
Lists of rulers of Ireland | Introduction
Although the O'Neill had allied himself against the English with the Scottish MacDonnell clan, who had settled in Antrim, Queen Elizabeth I, on succeeding to the English throne in 1558, was inclined to come to terms with the O'Neill, who after his father's death functioned as "de facto" head of the dynasty. She accordingly agreed to recognise his claims to the lordship, throwing over Brian O'Neill, son of the assassinated Feardorcha, Baron of Dungannon, if the O'Neill would submit to her authority and that of her deputy. O'Neill refused to put himself in the power of the Earl of Sussex, Thomas Radclyffe, without a guarantee for his safety; and so Elizabeth decided to establish Brian in his place.
Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) | Relationship with the English
The dynasty were initially based on the plains of Kildare around Naas, (Devane, 2005, believes that they were based at Carbury Hill) but were forced east over the Wicklow Mountains by the invasions and conquests by the Uí Néill in the first half of the 6th century. An ogham stone from south of Slane in County Meath points to a connection with that area. They became a politically unimportant people, situated between the Dal Messin Corb and the Ui Dega, on the coast of County Wicklow, based around Arklow. In the 11th century, their rulers adopted the surname Ua Fiachraige, now rendered as O'Fieghraie, O'Feary and Feary.
Uí Enechglaiss | Background
They were given an army of more than 2000 Scots to return to Ulster to attempt to retake their father's estate and title. When they invaded the brothers took the English and the O'Neill chiefs by surprise and created a large sphere of control in eastern Ulster, allied with the MacDonald's of Antrim. In an attempt to characterize them, the English began to refer to the group of brothers as "the Mac-Shanes" which in Gaelic meant "the sons of Shane". For seven years they battled Sir Turlough O'Neill, the recognized O'Neill Mor at the time, and the rising Baron Dungannon and eventually Earl of Tyrone, Hugh Rua O'Neill.
O'Neill dynasty | MacShane O'Neills
Art was unable to elevate his son to the kingship, but his grandson was Sir Turlough Luineach O'Neill, The O'Neill Mor 1567–1593, the Earl of ClanConnell, and de jure King of Tyrone for a rocky period during the 1570s. On his deathbed he passed his chiefship to his cousin Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone. That family, after Sir Turlough's death, remained hostile to the Earl and often sided with the English when in conflict with the rest of the Tyrone O'Neills.
O'Neill dynasty | Slight-Arte O'Neills
The lineage he established remained senior among the O'Neill's, becoming semi-independent with a distinct territory. Having helped the Anglo-Normans barons in a rebellion against their fellow Norman lord, the Earl of Ulster, the family was granted land outside the North, in Ulster within what is now south County Antrim. That was the official establishment of the Lordship of Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, or the O'Neills of Clandeboye, though the English retained lordship over the much-reduced Earldom of Ulster. The family fought on both sides of the wars that racked Ireland from the 1530s to 1690s, whose end result was a significant loss of territory and influence due to political alliances and an influx of new families flowing in from Scotland and England.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Clanaboy
The O'Neill dynasty descends from Niall Glundub, High King of Ireland in the tenth century; since the twelfth century, their rulers, whom the English called "the O'Neill", have been chosen from two families: the O'Neills of Antrim, descended from Aodh Meth ("Aodh the Fat"), King of Ailech from 1196 to 1230, and the O'Neills of Tyrone (including the Earls of Tyrone), descended from his brother, Niall the Red. The family of Aodh Meth take their name from Aodh Buidhe ("Aodh the Yellow"), Aodh Meth's grandson, the last King at Ailech from 1263 to 1283; they settled and named Clanaboy or Clandeboye in Antrim.
Count of Tyrone | Earls of Tyrone
The Uí Néill ( , "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405.
Uí Néill | Introduction
From 1312 to 1318, their kings were staunch supporters of King Robert the Bruce and his brother Edward Bruce. They sent troops and supported Edward in his attempt to become King of Ireland in 1315. In 1394 Richard II of England deemed King Niall Mór "Le Grand O'Neill" upon a friendly hosting of the two kings. In the 14th century Edward III of England called Tyrone "the Great O'Neill" and invited him to join a campaign against the Scots, and another O'Neill prince accompanied the English king on a crusade to the Holy Land. In 1493, Henry VII of England referred to Henry O'Neill, King of Tyrone, as "the Chief of the Irish Kings" and gave him a gift of livery.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Tyrone
Not until the 1540s did the ruling O'Brien dynasty accommodate with English rule.
Thomond | Introduction
The O'Brien dynasty (Classical Irish , (Modern Irish "Ó Briain", ), genitive "Uí Bhriain", ) is a royal and noble house founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais or Dalcassians. After becoming King of Munster, through conquest he established himself as "Ard Rí na hÉireann" (High King of Ireland). Brian's descendants thus carried the name Ó Briain, continuing to rule the Kingdom of Munster until the 12th century where their territory had shrunk to the Kingdom of Thomond which they would hold for just under five centuries. In total, four Ó Briains ruled in Munster, and two held the High Kingship of Ireland (with opposition).
O'Brien dynasty | Introduction
Brian was the son of Niall Roe ("Ruadh"), and grandson of Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc. His wife was Nuala O'Connor ("Ní Conchobair"), a daughter of Rory O'Connor the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion. Therefore, through his mother, he would have been descended from Brian Boru. After Brian's death the kingship of the Cenel Owen and with it Tyrone was taken by his cousin's son, Hugh Boy O'Neill, ancestor of the Clandeboye O'Neill's, who also had the support of the earldom of Ulster. Upon Hugh's death in 1283 Brian's son Donnell seized the kingship, which until 1295 was highly contested between him and his second-cousin Niall Culanach and Hugh Boy's son Brian, until he won outright control by killing his opponents.
Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland) | Lineage and successors
In fact both Sir Henry and his daughter Rose willed the Shane's Castle estate to the descendants of Prince Con mac Brian. While Charles Henry assumed the title, the Clandeboye O'Neill estate was passed to William Chichester through his grandmother Mary O'Neill – a move highly disputed. Charles Henry O'Neill had his first and only child, a daughter named Elizabeth Catherine Theresa Mary O'Neill, in 1845, during the Great Hunger, and had no further issue. From the death of Charles Henry O'Neill until Jorge O'Neill assumed the chieftainship the family had no chief.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Clanaboy
Hugh O'Neill (Irish: "Aodh Ó Néill") was a king of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. A son of Niall Mór O'Neill, he succeeded his father to the kingship of Clandeboye after his death in 1512. He reigned until his own death in 1524, after which he was succeeded by his brother Brian Ballagh II O'Neill.
Hugh O'Neill (d. 1524) | Introduction
This article lists the rulers of Tyrone (Irish: "Tír Eoghain") from 1185 to 1616. They are listed from their date of accession to date of death, unless otherwise stated. Prior to this, the ruling dynasty - the Cenél nEógain - were most of the kings of Ailech. During the tenth and eleventh centuries, two main septs within the dynasty emerged; the Meic Lochlainn and the O'Neill. The latter family pushed aside the Meic Lochlainn, and from 1241 onwards the kingdom was ruled exclusively by members of the Ó Néill family. For the offshoot Clandeboye O'Neill kingdom, distinct from Tyrone, that was ruled by the descendants of Hugh Boy O'Neill, see List of rulers of Clandeboye.
List of rulers of Tyrone | Introduction
Hugh Boy, son of Donnell Og O'Neill, grandson of Aodh Meith O'Neill (Hugh the Fat), and great-grandson of Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc, all kings of Cenél nEógain of the Northern Uí Néill, was the eponymous ancestor of the O'Neill Clandeboye, line. He had come to an arrangement with the Norman Earls of Ulster which allowed his sons, particularly Brian, to consolidate O'Neill power within The North at the expense of the O'Donnells. Hugh Boy was married Eleanor de Nangle, a kinswoman to his nominal enemy, Walter de Burgh, the Earl of Ulster and Jocelyn de Angulo; Hugh died in 1283.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Clanaboy
It was created in 1868 for the musical composer The Reverend William O'Neill. Born William Chichester, he succeeded to the estates of his cousin John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill, in 1855 (on whose death the viscountcy and barony of O'Neill became extinct) and assumed by Royal licence the surname of O'Neill in lieu of Chichester in order to inherit the lands of his cousin, despite not being descended in the male line from an O'Neill, daughter of Henry O'Neill of Shane's Castle. Lord O'Neill was the patrilineal great-great-great-grandson of John Chichester, younger brother of Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Shane's Castle
In 1230 Hugh O'Neill ("Aedh Ó Néill"), king of Tyrone, died and was succeeded by Donnell MacLaughlin. MacLaughlin however was removed in 1238 by the Justiciar of Ireland, Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly, and Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, who installed "the son of O'Neill", presumed to have been Brian, and took the hostages of the Cenel Owen and Cenel Connell. However it may have been Brian's cousin Donnell, who afterwards was killed by MacLaughlin. After this O'Neill claimed the kingship of the O'Neill dynasty as well as Tyrone, possibly with the aid of Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster.
Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland) | Rise to Power
All of this was granted under Letters Patent issued by the English College of Heralds. Later, the Ulster and Norroy King of Arms granted him the undifferenced arms as the head of the House of O'Neill. Upon that Letters Patent, Pope Leo XIII, the King of Spain, and the King of Portugal all recognized Jorge O'Neill as the Prince of Clanaboy, Tyrone, Ulster, as the Count of Tyrone, and the Head of the Royal House of O'Neill and all of its septs. It was from this grant that the Chief Herald of Ireland recognized the family as the Princes of Clannaboy in 1945.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neill Descendants in France, Spain, and Portugal
This is another branch of the Tyrone O'Neills which started in the mid 15th century. The name translates to "of the sept of Art". Eoghan Mór O'Neill (Owen the Great), King of Tír Eoghan (Tyrone) from 1432 to 1456 had four sons who each started independent lines. His eldest, Henry, was King of Tyrone from 1455 to 1489 and was the grandfather of Conn Bacach. Aodh, his second son started the line of the Fews. Art, his third son, was King of Tyrone 1509–1514. This branch of the family held its lands in western Tyrone and was typically at a distance from those O'Neills centered on the traditional capitol of Dungannon.
O'Neill dynasty | Slight-Arte O'Neills
Later they became the chief princes underneath their close kinsmen the MacCarthy dynasty in the small but powerful Kingdom of Desmond, successor of Cashel/Munster. The last independent ruler of the clan was Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, defeated in the Nine Years' War of 1594–1603.
O'Sullivan | Introduction
"The Fews" is an area in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, that was a sub-territory under the O'Neills of Tyrone. This O'Neill branch is related to the O'Neill of Tyrone through King Eoghan Mor, circa 1432–1436. The king's younger son Aodh (Hugh) pushed into the territory known as the Fews and founded a lordship there based largely on the unlawful confiscation of considerable amounts of land belonging to the archbishop of Armagh. In the rebellion of 1642, Sir Henry O'Neill, a member of the Fews O'Neills, sided with the English crown while his sons and brothers played a prominent part in the rising.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of the Fews
Donnell Claragh O'Neill (Irish: "Domhnall Clarach Ó Néill", died 1509), was a member of the O'Neill Dynasty of Tír Eoghain, Ulster in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Con O'Neill, and a half-brother Henry Oge O'Neill. He succeeded Henry as chief of the O'Neills, and ruled from 1498-1509. He was in turn succeeded by a cousin Art O'Neill. As a sign of the growing influence of the English Crown in Gaelic society, Donnell's election as chief was dependent on the support of the Lord Deputy of Ireland Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare.
Donnell Claragh O'Neill | Introduction
After the defeat of the Jacobite forces, the family was "attainted" as Irish rebels in 1693, and Brian "Og" left with the Army of King James II and went into exile in France. The eventual heir, Owen McHugh O'Neill, completely dropped any association with the O'Neill name, and just took McShane as a surname due to the Irish Penal Laws, in an attempt to hold his father's small estate. After the fall of the O'Neill kingship, many MacShanes followed their cousins into military service in Spain and France and even served in the Irish regiments with their family and former enemies, the descendants of Hugh Rua O'Neill, the 2nd Earl.
O'Neill dynasty | MacShane O'Neills
Gofraidh Ó Domhnaill, the first chieftain, was son of Domhnall Mór Ó Domhnaill. In 1257, Gofraidh was victorious when he went to battle at Creadran-Cille against Brian Ua Néill. Upon Gofraidh's death, subsequent to wounds incurred during battle against Ó Néill, he was succeeded in the chieftainship by his brother Domhnall Óg, who returned from Scotland in time to withstand successfully the demands of Ó Néill. Over time, the O'Donnell King of Tyrconnell became known as the "Fisher-King", on the Continent, ostensibly due to the export of fish traded for wine in La Rochelle.
O'Donnell dynasty | Ascendancy
In 1896 Jorge O'Neill of Portugal submitted his genealogy to the Somerset Herald in London. Five years later, Sir Henry Farnham Burke, KCVO, CB, FSA, Somerset Herald stated in 1900 that "the only Pedigree at present on record in either of the Offices of Arms showing a lineal male descent from the House of O'Neill, Monarchs of Ireland, Kings of Ulster, and Princes of Tyrone and Claneboy, is the one registered in the fifty-ninth year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Victoria, in favor of His Excellency Jorge O'Neill of Lisbon". He then recognized him as the Representative of the House of O'Neill and as the Representative of the Earldom created in 1542 for his kinsman Conn Baccagh O'Neill.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neill Descendants in France, Spain, and Portugal
Today the head carries the title of Prince of Thomond, and depending on succession sometimes also Baron Inchiquin. Throughout the time that the Ó Briains ruled in medieval Ireland, the system of tanistry was used to decide succession, rather than primogeniture used by much of feudal Europe. The system in effect was a dynastic monarchy but family-elected and aristocratic, in the sense that the royal family chose the most suitable male candidate from close paternal relations—"roydammna" (those of kingly material) rather than the crown automatically passing to the eldest son. This sometimes led to bitter quarrels and in-family warring. Since 1542, the head of the Ó Briain house adopted primogeniture to decide succession of noble titles instead.
O'Brien dynasty | Introduction
By the end of the 17th century, the Earl's line failed in exile, and the "Mac Shane" line legally inherited the chiefship and title. This line is presently in remainder to the Gaelic Principality and Earldom of Tyrone, the Viscountcy of Montjuich, and various lordships around Ulster. Further, with the Oireachtas act of March 2015, which reversed the Attainder of Shane O'Neill from 1569, the family have the recognized legal rights to the historical legacy and incorporeal property of Conn Bacach O'Neill, Shane the Proud, and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
O'Neill dynasty | MacShane O'Neills
The Royal Household was known in Gaelic as ""Lucht Tighe"" and comprised several offices that were performed on a hereditary basis by the heads and members of particular other families, for over four centuries.
O'Donnell dynasty | Royal Household
These legends seem to originate (or to have been written down) in the 17th century, centuries after the red hand device was first used by O'Neill families.
O'Neill dynasty | Coats of arms
Several Scottish families may descend from an O'Neill dynast named Anradhán. According to "Leabhar Chlainne Suibhne", Anradhán, son of Aodh Athlamháin, quarrelled with his elder brother, Domhnall, ancestor of the O'Neills, and left Ireland for Scotland. This source states that Anradhán won extensive lands by conquest, and married the daughter of the King of Scots. Anradhán, who does not appear in contemporary sources, was apparently an 11th-century dynast, son of Aodh Athlamháin, King of Aileach (died 1033). Although "Leabhar Chlainne Suibhne" states that Anradhán gained his lands through conflict, it is possible that he secured these lands in Argyll through marriage to their heiress.
O'Neill dynasty | Anradhán kindred of Scotland/Scottish and Irish Clans related to Uí Neill Dynasty
Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: "Aodh Ruadh mac Néill Gairbh Ó Domhnaill") was a leading figure in Gaelic Ireland, ruling as king of Tyrconnell in Ulster from 1461 to 1505. He was then head of the O'Donnell dynasty.
Hugh Roe O'Donnell (died 1505) | Introduction
Brian's son Edmond was granted control of Lisdawericke, Megin, Cnoghan, Tollohiny Dirrilghta, Knockmcgallcrum & Gortnesillagh. Henry's son Cormocke (Cormac) was given land. This spread the clan throughout the province and lessened their influence. Brian, son of Hugh, the Chief of the McShane O'Neills led the clan in the 1642 Rising, the Irish Confederate Wars, and fought against Oliver Cromwell's Army through the death of his 2nd cousin Owen Roe O'Neill in 1649 and the victory of Cromwell in 1653. Brian remained in Spanish exile until 1666. Two decades later, his son the new Chief, Brian Og (the Younger) led the clan in service of the O'Neill regiments supporting King James II.
O'Neill dynasty | MacShane O'Neills
The ruling dynasty took its name from King Diarmait Finn of Connacht (died 833), and the territory in turn was named after them. It seems to have been created by the Uí Briúin in the ninth century during a wave of expansion under his grandson, Uatu ua Diarmada. Its kings appeared regularly in the annals from 971 onwards
Uí Díarmata | Origins
Nevertheless, the dynasty of the Uí Néill had become firmly established in the centre of Ireland and they proclaimed themselves the Kings of Tara and Kings of Uisnech. The Uí Néill dynasty subsequently divided into two septs, the Northern Uí Néill who remained in Ulster, and the Southern Uí Néill who now ruled over several small, disjointed kingdoms established throughout modern-day Meath, Westmeath and Dublin. Following the split, a series of internecine conflicts erupted between members of the Uí Néill septs. The feud was eventually resolved, and as part of the resolution it was decided that the position of King of Tara would alternate between the northern and southern Uí Néill septs.
County Meath | Kingdom of Meath
Brian Ballagh O'Neill (Irish: "Brian Ballach Ó Néill") was a king of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. He succeeded his father, Muirchertach Ceannfada O'Neill, to the kingship of Clandeboye after his death in 1395. He reigned until his own death in battle in 1425, after which he was succeeded by his son Murtagh Roe O'Neill who had to contend with his uncle Henry Caoch O'Neill for it. O'Neill's nickname "ballach" meant "freckled". A younger son, Hugh Boy II O'Neill, would also become lord of Clandeboye. O'Neill was the common ancestor of the Clandonnell O'Neills and Killetra O'Neills, via his sons Hugh Boy and Conladh respectively.
Brian Ballagh O'Neill | Introduction
They continued to rule this land until the 16th century.
Ó Flaithbheartaigh | Introduction
Today the ancient O'Neills flourish in Ireland, Europe, and the New World. Clan organizations and meetings are held regularly, and the family organization is recognized by every possible Irish historical governing body. The O'Neills are represented, and are the current Presidents of, the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains. They are members of the Clans of Ireland, and hold status with the Councils of each County in Ulster. And before the Irish Republic's government stopped recognizing Chiefs, they were one of the original chiefly families recognized in 1945 by the Chief Herald of Ireland. They still maintain good relations with the government in Dublin and have hosted the President in Ulster twice.
O'Neill dynasty | Today
(The) Great Macarthy or Ó Néill Mór, lit. (The) Great O'Neill. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland several Hiberno-Norman families adopted Gaelic customs, the most prominent being the De Burgh dynasty and FitzGerald dynasty; their use of Gaelic customs did not extend to their titles of nobility, as they continuously utilized titles granted under the authority of the English monarchy.
British nobility | Irish and Gaelic nobility
Máel Sechnaill belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He was the grandson of Donnchad Donn, great-grandson of Flann Sinna and great-great-grandson of the first Máel Sechnaill, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. The Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland had for centuries alternated between the various Uí Néill branches. By Máel Sechnaill's time this alternating succession passed between Clann Cholmáin in the south and the Cenél nEógain in the north, so that he succeeded Domnall ua Néill in 980. This system had survived previous challenges by outsiders including the kings of Ulster, Munster and Leinster, and the Viking invasions.
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill | First reign as High King
All subsequent rulers until the early modern period were direct descendants of Domhnall Óg.
Donnell Óg O'Donnell | Family and legacy
Phelim Bacagh O'Neill (Irish: "Feidhlimidh Bacach Ó Néill") was a lord of Clandeboye in 15th-century medieval Ireland. A son of Niall Mór O'Neill, he succeeded his brother Brian Ballagh II to the lordship after his death in 1529. He reigned until his own death in 1533, after which he was succeeded by his brother Niall Oge O'Neill. O'Neill had at least three sons one of whom was Brian McPhelim O'Neill who would become lord of Lower Clandeboye. Another was Hugh, whose son Hugh Óg McHugh O'Neill would become lord of a quarter of Lower Clandeboye. O'Neill was the ancestor of the Lords O'Neill of Shane's Castle.
Phelim Bacagh O'Neill | Introduction
For the duration of the 15th century, royal power in Ireland was weak, the country being dominated by the various clans and dynasties of Gaelic (O'Neill, O'Brien, MacCarthy) or Cambro-Norman (Burke, FitzGerald, Butler) origin.
Monarchy of Ireland | Lordship of Ireland: 1198–1542
The succession to the chieftainship becomes obscured, with the main source for the next hundred years, "Araile do fhlathaibh Ua nDubhda", listing the length of reigns of chiefs, rather than by year. Some of these chiefs were rulers in opposition to each other, and almost none are noted in the annals. The last one listed, Cathal Dubh mac Conchabhar Ó Dubhda, appears to have lived in the 1550s, by which time the family begin to appear regularly in Irish State Papers.
Brian Ó Dubhda | Succession
Henry O'Neill (Irish: "Enrí Ó Néill") was a king of Tyrone and lord of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. He was the son of Brian O'Neill, and a grand-son of Hugh Boy O'Neill. O'Neill succeeded his kinsman Donnell O'Neill as king of Tyrone in 1325. In 1338 O'Neill as part of a peace treaty was granted a war-ravaged region of south Antrim, from where would be founded the lordship of Clandeboye. In 1345 the Justiciar of Ireland, Ralph de Ufford, deposed O'Neill as king of Tyrone in part for his role in the Anglo-Norman rebellion against William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster.
Henry O'Neill (d. 1347) | Introduction
In 2013 they established a historical relationship with the Priory at Benburb, they met in 2015 to promote the O'Neill Summer School from Shane's Castle, in 2016 in Rome to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of the 2nd Earl, Hugh O'Neill, and in October 2017 they established a library and museum at the Priory in Benburb, presenting a historical writings collection previously in private hands out of Ireland for centuries.
O'Neill dynasty | Today
However, in 1896 Jorge O'Neill of Portugal submitted his genealogy to the Somerset Herald in London. Five years later, Sir Henry Farnham Burke, KCVO, CB, FSA, Somerset Herald stated in 1900 that "the only Pedigree at present on record in either of the Offices of Arms showing a lineal male descent from the House of O'Neill, Monarchs of Ireland, Kings of Ulster, and Princes of Tyrone and Claneboy, is the one registered in the fifty-ninth year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Victoria, in favor of His Excellency Jorge O'Neill of Lisbon". He then recognised him as the Representative of the House of O'Neill and as the Representative of the Earldom created in 1542 for his kinsman Conn Baccagh O'Neill.
Chief of the Name | Gaelic Irish titles
Henry O'Neill of this line was King of Ulster from 1325 to 1344; Art O'Neill from 1509 to 1514.
Branches of the Cenél nEógain | Clann Aodha Bhuidhe
Despite his fall in position Máel Sechnaill would become one of Brian's most important allies. Eventually the northern Uí Néill branch would accept Brian's rule as well, unusually for the time this was done peacefully, their submission to Brian was negotiated by the clergy rather than forced in battle. With the most powerful Kings in Ireland now accepting Brian as the High King it was a much easier task for Brian to force the remaining Kings to submit to his rule and though it may have been tenuous he eventually was acknowledged as High King by all the rulers in Ireland.
O'Brien dynasty | Rise of Brian Boru
There were at this time three powerful contemporary members of the O'Neill dynasty in Ireland – Shane O'Neill himself, Sir Turlough and Brian, 1st Baron of Dungannon. Turlough had been elected "tánaiste" or Tanist (second-in-command and successor) when Shane was inaugurated as the O'Neill, and hoping to supplant him. During Shane's absence in London, Turlough assassinated his principal rival, Mathew's eldest son Brian, during the O'Neill's absence when rumours of his imprisonment began to circulate. On return to Ireland, the O'Neill quickly re-established his authority, and, in spite of Sussex's protestations, renewed his battle with the O'Donnells and the MacDonnells to force them to recognise O'Neill hegemony in Ulster.
Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) | War in Ulster
Phelim Caoch O'Neill (Irish: "Feidhlimidh Caoch Ó Néill") (1517 to 1542) was a prince of the Cenél nEógain. The eldest son of King Conn Bacach O'Neill. The then O'Neill, Conn's dynasty held lordship over significant parts of Ulster. Phelim's mother, Lady Alice Fitzgerald, was a daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare. Phelim's father and maternal grandfather were among the most powerful men in Ireland in early sixteenth-century Ireland.
Phelim Caoch O'Neill | Introduction
FitzGerald in 1252 had built a castle at Caoluisce, on the banks of Lough Erne, near modern-day Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, however in 1258 it was the site where O'Neill, in the presence of his ally O'Connor, was inaugurated as "King of the Gael of Erin". Whilst he received hostages from O'Connor and from O'Brien of Thomond, along with several other minor Kings from Meath and Munster, his claim was not recognised by those of the Irish closest to him including the other O'Neill factions, the O'Donnell's of Tyrconnell, the MacMahon's of Airgíalla, and the O'Rourkes of Breifne. Indeed the following year O'Donnell would lead an attack into Tyrone.
Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland) | High King of Ireland
The Eóganachta were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century. By tradition the dynasty was founded by Conall Corc but named after his ancestor Éogan, the firstborn son of the semi-mythological 3rd-century king Ailill Aulom. This dynastic clan-name, for it was never in any sense a 'surname,' should more accurately be restricted to those branches of the royal house which descended from Conall Corc, who established Cashel as his royal seat in the late fifth century.
Scannell | Etymology
The arrangement of the three septs of the Uí Dúnlainge to exchange the kingship of Leinster in rotation was almost unique in Irish history. It meant that by the end of the three century-arrangement, monarchs who were seventh cousins were swapping the kingship. By then the dynasty, traditionally clients of the Uí Néill, had become weakened by the battle for control of the region between Brian Bóruma of Dál Cais, the Uí Néill king Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill and the Viking kingdom of Dublin, as well as the Uí Chennselaig of South Leinster. The Uí Dúnchada dynasty held an important ecclesiastical role within the triumvirate, the Abbacy of Kildare, and Muiredach was simultaneously abbot and Kings of Leinster.
Lyons Hill | Royal Family
The Senchineoil was the name of the early rulers, possibly pre-Gaelic, of what is now central and east County Galway and south County Roscommon, Ireland.
Senchineoil | Introduction
O'Neill was part of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster, the illegitimate son of Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon. His 'middle name' was a patronymic, referring to his father's title. He was the half-brother of Brian O'Neill, Cormac MacBaron O'Neill and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. O'Neill ruled over Oneilland south of Lough Neagh. He could speak fluent English unlike many of his relations. O'Neill fought alongside his brother during Tyrone's Rebellion (1594-1603). Despite a series of defeats against the Irish Army that culminated in the burning of their capital at Dungannon and retreat into the woods, they were able to agree the Treaty of Mellifont which restored them to royal favour under the new King James I.
Art MacBaron O'Neill | Biography
The English, since the late 1530s, had been expanding their control over Ireland, this century-long effort is known as the Tudor conquest of Ireland. To incorporate the native Irish lordships, they granted English titles to Irish lords – thus making Conn Bacach O'Neill, Shane's father, the first Earl of Tyrone. However, whereas in Gaelic custom the successor to a lordship was elected from his kinsmen in the system of Tanistry, the English insisted on succession by the first-born son or primogeniture. This created a conflict between Shane, who considered it his natural right to be head of his clan, and an "affiliated son" or adoptee of his father Conn Bacach, Matthew O'Neill or "Fear Dorcha" who was 'conveniently mistaken' as the offspring of Conn when he travelled to London in 1542 to be invested with the Earldom of Tyrone.
Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) | Feuding within the O'Neill lordship
The Kings of Umaill were rulers of Umaill a kingdom or territory located in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland. Its earliest rulers were the semi-historical Tuath mhac nUmhoir. The Umaill, its early historical rulers, were renamed the Uí Briúin Umaill to claim a fictitious relationship with the Uí Briúin. By the 12th century the ruling family adopted the surname Ó Máille, and were reckoned with the Ó Dubhda, Ó Flaithbheartaigh and Mac Conraoi as supreme seafaring clans of Connacht.
Kings of Umhaill | Introduction
Two other members of the O'Neill family have been elevated to the peerage. Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan, was the youngest son of the second Baron O'Neill, while Terence O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, was the youngest brother of the third Baron. The family seat is Shane's Castle, near Randalstown, County Antrim where they are involved in the commercial cattle business.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Shane's Castle
The Kings of Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe were the northern branch of Ui Fiachrach, based on the plain of the Muaidhe (valley of the River Moy). The early members of the dynasty were Kings of Connacht, but were eclipsed by the Ui Briuin by the 8th century. By the 12th century the ruling dynasty adopted the surname Ó Dubhda
Kings of Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe | Introduction
The Ui Enechglaiss were a dynasty attested in 5th-century Ireland, who provided some of the early kings of Laigin.
Uí Enechglaiss | Introduction
The Uí Garrchon were the principal sub-sept of the Dál Messin Corb, who were the ruling dynasty of Leinster, Ireland for much of the fifth century. Their main opponents outside of Leinster were the nascent Uí Néill. Their known kings include:
Uí Garrchon | Introduction
O'Neill reigned until his death in 1283 when he killed by Brian McMahon of Airgíalla and Gilla Ísa O'Reilly. O'Neill was succeeded by Donnell O'Neill, son of Brian O'Neill of the battle of Down. His son Brian with the backing of Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, would replace Donnell as king of Tyrone in 1291.
Hugh Boy O'Neill | Death and succession
Tyrconnell also therefore bordered on territory ruled by the O'Neills of Tyrone, who were periodically attempting to assert their claim of supremacy over it, and hence the history of the O'Donnells is for the most part a record of clan warfare with their powerful neighbours, and of their own efforts to make good their claims to the overlordship of northern Connacht, and a wider swathe of Ulster. Nonetheless Tyrconnell existed for a period as an independent kingdom, recognised by King Henry III of England.
O'Donnell dynasty | Territory
The Connachta were a group of dynasties who claimed descent from the three eldest sons of Eochaid Mugmedon: Brion, Ailill and Fiachrae. They took their collective name from their alleged descent from Conn Cétchathach. Their younger brother, Niall Noigiallach was ancestor to the Uí Néill.
List of kings of Connacht | Introduction
Conn Ó Néill (sometimes anglicised as Conn or Constantine O'Neill) was the titular head of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty.
Conn Ó Néill | Introduction
The Northern Uí Néill is the name given to several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall were termed the Southern Uí Néill (together they are known as the Uí Néill dynasty). The dynasties of the Northern Uí Néill were the Cenél Conaill and Cenél nEógain, named after supposed sons of Niall: Conall and Eógain. The Northern Uí Néill's over-kingdom in its earliest days was known as In Fochla and In Tuaiscert, both meaning "the North", and was initially ruled by the Cenél Conaill.
Northern Uí Néill | Introduction
In later times Coirpre's descendants, the Cenél Coirpri, ruled over three small kingdoms—Cairbre Drom Cliabh in north Co. Sligo, an area in modern County Longford and at the headwaters of the River Boyne—which may be the remains of a once much larger kingdom stretching 100 miles (160 kilometres) from Donegal Bay to the Boyne.
Coirpre mac Néill | Introduction
The lordship of Upper Clandeboye was founded by the sons of Niall Oge O'Neill.
List of rulers of Clandeboye | Lords of Upper Clandeboye
Only south Munster was controlled by the MacCarthy dynasty, with the O'Brien dynasty of Thomond ruling all Munster, and providing at least two kings of Ireland. Connacht's supreme rulers were the Uí Chonchobhair. Between Connacht and Ulster and Mide lay the Kingdom of Breifne.
History of Ireland (1169–1536) | Arrival of the Normans (1167–1185)
565), after a period in which it is not clear that the Uí Néill had a high-king, nor is it certain that his contemporaries would have acknowledged Áed as such. The high kingship of Ireland rotated between the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill branches in the late 6th century. It is difficult to disentangle the reign of Áed from that of his older second cousin Báetán mac Ninneda (died 586). Various lengths are given to the reign of Áed in the kinglists all of which would put the start of his reign before the death of Báetán. Both kings are omitted from the "Baile Chuinn", the earliest Irish king list of the late 7th century, but this was probably a partisan document.
Áed mac Ainmuirech | Introduction
After the partition of Munster into Thomond and the MacCarthy Kingdom of Desmond by Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair in the 12th century, the dynasty would go on to provide around thirty monarchs of Thomond until 1542. During part of this period in the late 13th century they had a rivalry with the Norman de Clare house, disputing the throne of Thomond. The last Ó Briain to reign in Thomond was Murrough Ó Briain who surrendered his sovereignty to the new Kingdom of Ireland under Henry VIII of the House of Tudor, becoming instead Earl of Thomond and maintaining a role in governance.
O'Brien dynasty | Introduction
Despite his choice of sides his lands were confiscated and divided among a number of Cromwellian settlers. The chief beneficiary was Thomas Ball, whose grants totalled more than . Sir Henry O'Neill was banished to Connacht, to land in County Mayo, Ireland. Exiled with him was his son Captain Sean/Shane O'Neill. Shane's sons took the surname MacShane, or son of Shane. His grandson William anglicized the name to Johnson. He was a major-general in the American Colonial Army and fought the French at Niagara, New York in French-Indian War. For his significant victory he was granted a baronetcy and made Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York in 1753.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of the Fews
Each of these families continued resistance to Norman and English encroachment up to the seventeenth century when, like virtually all the Gaelic aristocracy, they lost almost everything. An exception was Macroom Castle, which passed to the White family of Bantry House, descendants of Cormac Láidir Mac Cárthaigh. This was burnt in 1922 and is part of the local golf club today.
MacCarthy Mor dynasty | History
O'Neill was the illegitimate son of Art MacBaron O'Neill, a son of Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon and younger brother of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (the Great O'Neill), who held lands in County Armagh. His alleged great-grandfather was Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone, the most powerful figure in Ulster and the first O'Neill to take a title from the Crown as part of the surrender and regrant policy of the Tudor era. Through Conn, he was descended from Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare, the leading Anglo-Irish noble of the era, member of the Earls of Kildare, who more or less ruled Ireland in the 15th and early 16th centuries.
Owen Roe O'Neill | Early life
In 1613–14 she married Owen Roe O’Neill, an Irish officer serving in the Spanish army whom she met in Flanders. His great-grandfather was Conn O’Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone, the most powerful figure in Ulster and the first Ó Néill to take a title from the Crown as part of the surrender and regrant policy. At the peak of his lengthy reign, he was the most powerful Irish king. He was known throughout Europe as a strong and able leader, a hearty warrior, and looked to by the Catholic world as a bastion of strength against the English crown, despite his conversion to the Protestant faith.
O'Doherty family | Modern history
The latter two were both nephews of Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, and grandsons of Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester (see the Marquess of Donegall for more information). Lord O'Neill was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He sat as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Antrim. His eldest son and heir apparent, the Hon. Arthur O'Neill, represented Antrim Mid in the House of Commons as a Conservative from 1910 until 1914, when he was killed in action during the First World War, the first MP to die in the conflict. The second Baron was therefore succeeded by his grandson, Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill (the son of the Hon.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of Shane's Castle
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, to the late 16th century. By tradition the dynasty was founded by Conall Corc but named after his ancestor Éogan, the firstborn son of the semi-mythological 3rd-century king Ailill Aulom. This dynastic clan-name, for it was never in any sense a 'surname,' should more accurately be restricted to those branches of the royal house which descended from Conall Corc, who established Cashel as his royal seat in the late 5th century.
Eóganachta | Introduction
Hugh Boy O'Neill (Irish: "Aed Buide Ó Néill") was the last ruler of the Cenél nEógain to be styled as king of Ailech and was the eponymous ancestor of the Clandeboye O'Neill's in medieval Ireland. The son of Donnell Og O'Neill, he succeeded to the kingship of Ailech after the death of Brian O'Neill at the battle of Down in 1260. His name in English translates as "Yellow Hugh" on account of his hair colour giving rise to the English alias' Hugh the Yellow, Hugh the Tawny and Hugh the Blond.
Hugh Boy O'Neill | Introduction
In 1283 Hugh Boy died and O'Neill assumed the kingship. Three years later Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, forcibly removed O'Neill and installed O'Neill's cousin and Hugh Boy's brother, Niall Culanach O'Neill, as king in his place. In 1290 O'Neill would regain the kingship only to be deposed once more by the earl in 1291 in favour of Niall. That year he killed his rival, however before he could reclaim the kingship, the earl had installed Hugh Boy's son, Brian as king in his place. With the support of his brother Niall, O'Neill would rebuild his strength and at the Battle of Creeve in 1295 would defeat the combined forces of Brian and the English, with the former being killed.
Donnell O'Neill (d. 1325) | King of Tyrone
The two branches deposed each other from the leadership of the O'Neills, which was in effect the lordship of Ulster, quite often until 1345; after that, all of the princes of the O'Neills but one were from Tyrone, the head of which came to known as the Great O'Neill ("Ua Neill Mor"); the exception was Art mac Aodha, prince from 1509 to 1513, who was of the Clann Aedh Buidhe but whose mother was an O'Neill of Tyrone, daughter of The O'Neill. He was succeeded in turn by two sons of Conn Mor O'Neill, his cousin of the Tyrone branch.
Count of Tyrone | Earls of Tyrone
Donal na Pipi's younger son, Owen, founded the Springhouse branch of the dynasty. The senior representatives of the Springhouse McCarthys would become the Count MacCarthy Reagh of Toulouse in 1766, but the last male issue of that line died in 1906.
Donal of the Pipes, 17th Prince of Carbery | Family
The present holder of that estate is Sir Colpoys Johnson, 8th Baronet of New York. When the Williamite War began in Ireland in 1689, Sir Henry O'Neill's son Turlough was dead and so was Turlough's son Con. The heir to the family's Mayo estate was Con's son Henry, who was a minor and had been sent to France for his education. Despite their non-participation in the war, the O'Neill estates were seized by the Crown. Henry (1676-1745) should subsequently have recovered the confiscated lands; his relatives on the continent feared to send him back to Ireland to stake his claim and the property went by default and was sold in 1702–3.
O'Neill dynasty | O'Neills of the Fews
The custom among the nobility of sixteenth-century Ireland was for marriage to be undertaken to cement political alliances between powerful or enemy families. If the alliance fell apart, the wife could return to her father in a form of political divorce. All Shane's marriages were of this type. His first wife was Catherine, the daughter of James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Lord of the Isles. The O'Neill married Catherine while the MacDonnells were providing him with military support during the 1550s to contest the Lordship of Tyrone with his father Conn Bacach, at the time The O'Neill. The O'Neill divorced Catherine to forge an alliance with the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell.
Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain) | Wives
Despite the questions over the validity of the traditional accounts, these alleged sons of Niall are collectively known by historians as the Northern Uí Néill. From the 8th century onwards, likely sponsored by Áed Allán, a Cenél nEógain king of Tara, and Congus, the bishop of Armagh, early Irish historians carefully constructed propaganda to shore up and cement Uí Néill political supremacy along with the ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh. This involved the ruthless re-writing and doctoring of genealogies, lists of kings, history, and early annals, tracing the current situation as having primacy all the way back into the undocumented 5th century.
Northern Uí Néill | Origins
O'Neill ruled as a sort of absolute monarch. Upon claiming the title of the O'Neill, Hugh decided that he needed to increase the revenue he was generating from the taxes on his subjects. Eventually, he was generating £80,000 of revenue. For comparison, in the 1540s the Tudor monarchy in England was only making £40,000 of revenue. Although that figure had certainly increased since then, in financial terms O'Neill was in a position to challenge the English administration. He also tied the peasantry to the land, effectively making them serfs, increasing production of materials and guaranteeing his supply of labour. The increased revenue allowed him to purchase muskets, pikes and ammunition from Britain.
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone | Career