Baron Rathcavan, of The Braid in the

County of 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 ...

, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 February 1953 for the Unionist politician Sir Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Clegga

in the County of Antrim, on 17 June 1929. O'Neill was the third son of

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 ...

(see the

Baron O'Neill Baron O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1868 for the musical composer The Reverend William O'Neill. Born William Chichester, he succeeded to the estates of hi ...

for earlier history of the family) and the uncle of the

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 governo ...

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 t ...

. Lord Rathcavan was also a male-line descendant 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 ...

). He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, the second Baron. He succeeded his father as Unionist

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 o ...

for Antrim in 1952, a seat he held until 1959, and was later a member of the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

. the titles are held by his son, the third Baron, who succeeded in 1994. The Honourable Sir Con O'Neill, second son of the first Baron, was a diplomat. His daughter Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve is a philosopher. The family seat is Cleggan Lodge, near Ballymena,

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 Rathcavan (1953)

* (Robert William) Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan (1883–1982) * Phelim Robert Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Baron Rathcavan (1909–1994) * Hugh Detmar Torrens O'Neill, 3rd Baron Rathcavan (b. 1939) 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 Hon. Francois Hugh Nial O'Neill (b. 1984).

Arms

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles & Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *

External links

Cleggan Lodge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathcavan Baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1953 Noble titles created for UK MPs Chichester family

Barons Rathcavan (1953)

Arms

See also

Notes

References

External links