Baron O'Neill, of

Shane's Castle Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Randalstown in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, having been destroyed by fire in 1816. The castle is on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh. Built in 1345 by a member of the Clandeboy O'Neill dynasty, it was ...

in the County of Antrim, is a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created in 1868 for the musical composer

The Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

William O'Neill. Born William Chichester, he succeeded to the estates of his cousin John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd

Viscount O'Neill Viscount O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1795 for John O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill, who had earlier represented Randalstown and County Antrim in the Irish House of Common ...

, 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. The Chichesters trace their lineage to the name O'Neill through Mary Chichester, 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 Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall (died 26 October 1678) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Chichester was the son of Lieutenant Colonel John Chichester (died 1647), of Dungannon, County Tyrone, the latter being the younger brother of Arthur ...

.Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage 1995, edited by Charles Kidd and David Williamson, published by Debrett’s Peerage Limited, and Macmillan Reference Books, London, 1995, & 0-312-12557-7 (p.P969) The latter two were both nephews of

Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall (16 June 1606 – 18 March 1675), was an Anglo-Irish peer and soldier. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of The 1st Viscount Chichester, from Eggesford, Devon, by his first wife Anne Copleston, ...

, and grandsons of

Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester (1568 – 8 July 1648) of Eggesford in Devon, was Governor of Carrickfergus and Lord High Admiral of Lough Neagh, in Ireland. Origins He was the third son of Sir John Chichester (died 1569), knight, l ...

(see the

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...

for more information). Lord O'Neill was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Antrim. His eldest son and heir apparent, the Hon.

Arthur O'Neill Arthur Edward Bruce O'Neill (19 September 1876 – 6 November 1914), was an Irish Ulster Unionist Party politician who was the first Member of Parliament to be killed in World War I. Early life O'Neill was the second but eldest surviving son of ...

, represented Antrim Mid in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as a Conservative from 1910 until 1914, when he was killed in action during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the first MP to die in the conflict. The second Baron was therefore succeeded by his grandson,

Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill Shane Edward Robert O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill (6 February 1907 – 24 October 1944) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish peer and British Army officer. He served during World War II and was killed in action in Italy. Early life and family O'N ...

(the son of the Hon. Arthur O'Neill). He was killed in action in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The title is currently held by his son, the fourth Baron, who succeeded in 1944. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Antrim A list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Antrim, located in Northern Ireland. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors.George Edw ...

from 1994 to 2008. Two other members of the O'Neill family have been elevated to the peerage.

Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan Robert William Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan, (8 June 1883 – 28 November 1982), known as Sir Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baronet, from 1929 to 1953, was an Ulster Unionist member of both the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Parliament of N ...

, was the youngest son of the second Baron O'Neill, while

Terence O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). A moderate unionist, who sought to ...

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governors- ...

, was the youngest brother of the third Baron. The family seat is

, near

Randalstown Randalstown is a townland and small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, between Antrim and Toome. It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate. The town is bypassed by the M22 ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Barons O'Neill (1868)

William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill Reverend William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill (4 March 1813 – 18 April 1883) was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer, clergyman and musical composer. Born William Chichester, he changed his surname to O'Neill in 1855. Background and education The eld ...

(1813–1883) *

Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill (31 December 1839 – 19 November 1928), known as Edward Chichester until 1855, was an Irish peer and Conservative politician. O'Neill was the eldest son of William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill, and his first wife ...

(1839–1928) * Shane Edward Robert O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill (1907–1944) * Raymond Arthur O'Neill, 4th Baron O'Neill (b. 1933) The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is the present holder's son the Hon. Shane Sebastian Clanaboy O'Neill (b. 1965).

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1868 Extinct baronies in the Peerage of Ireland Chichester family

Barons O'Neill (1868)

See also

References