Art Oge O'Neill ( Irish: ''Art Óg Ó Néill'') was a member of the

O'Neill Dynasty The O'Neill dynasty ( Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically one of the most prominent family of the N ...

Tír Eoghain Tír Eoghain (), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, in

medieval Ireland Ireland in the Middle Ages may refer to: * History of Ireland (400–795), Ireland in the early Middle Ages * History of Ireland (795–1169), Ireland in the high Middle Ages *History of Ireland (1169–1536), Ireland in the late Middle Ages See ...

during the early

Tudor era In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

. In 1513 he became head of the O'Neills, holding the position until 1519 when he was succeeded by his half-brother. Art Oge was the son of Conn Mor O'Neill and his first wife who was from the

O'Cahan The O'Cahan ( Irish: ''Ó Catháin'' 'descendants of Cahan') were a powerful sept of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél nEógain in medieval Ireland. The name is presently anglicized as O'Kane, Kane and Keane. The O'Cahan's originated in Lagga ...

family. Conn More was the ruler of

, an area considerably larger than the modern

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Art Oge's election in 1513 relied on the support of the powerful Anglo-Irish lord

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 1496 u ...

, whose sister had become his father's second wife. The crucial backing from Kildare was a sign of the growing influence of the Crown in Gaelic Irish society.Ellis p.103 Art Oge's successor, his brother Conn, later made this position a more formal one when he took the title of

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland, and once in the Spanish nobility. It was created for the final time in 1746 for Marcus Beresford, 1st Viscount Tyrone, son-in-law of the last de Poer earls. His son wa ...

as part of the

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-Feudalism, feudal system under t ...

policy.

References

Bibliography

* Ellis, Steven G. ''Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447-1603''. Longman, 1998. * Casway, Jerrold. ''Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. 16th-century Irish people 15th-century Irish people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from County Tyrone O'Neill dynasty {{Ireland-bio-stub