Gallowglass soldiers under the leadership of the
MacDonnell of Antrim who had established themselves by the mid-16th century as Lords of the Glens (the remaining parts of the area which Normans had previously held as the
Earldom of Ulster). During a conflict with them, the heir to Clandeboye, Niall O'Neill (son of
Hugh O'Neill) was killed in 1537, weakening the natural succession. To the west of Clandeboye were their more powerful O'Neill kinsmen, the
O'Neills of Tyrone
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 the most prominent family of the Northern ...
(from whom the Clandeboye's had branched off in the 13th century).
During the
Tudor conquest of Ireland
The Tudor conquest (or reconquest) of Ireland took place under the Tudor dynasty, which held the Kingdom of England during the 16th century. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas, the Earl of Kildare, in the 1530s, ...
under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, whereby the English were attempting to establish the
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
, various Gaelic kings were offered a policy of
surrender and regrant. They could keep their traditional territories as lords, so long as they legally and culturally
Anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
, joined the
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and pledged allegiance to Henry VIII:
Conn Bacach O'Neill
Conn Bacagh O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (Irish: ''Conn Bacach mac Cuinn Ó Néill'') (c. 1480–1559), was king of Tyrone. In 1541 O'Neill travelled to England to submit to Henry VIII as part of the surrender and regrant policy that coincide ...
took him up on the offer, exchanging the
Kingship of Tyrone for the
Earldom of Tyrone in 1542. The heir to this title was the
Baron Dungannon: Conn Bacach's son
Shane O'Neill was overlooked and the title went instead to Shane's illegitimate alleged half-brother
Matthew O'Neill. During the 1550s and 1560s, Shane (later known as "the Proud") arose to assert his rights, protesting to
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
and infilicted notable military defeats on establishment figures such as the
Earl of Essex.
The O'Neills of Clandeboye diligently offered their services up to the Crown forces during the campaign of Shane O'Neill. Part of the backstory of this was that
Brian Faghartach O'Neill (the oldest son of the aforementioned
Niall Oge O'Neill) was assassinated by a then 20-year-old Shane O'Neill in 1548.
[ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.][ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.] Brian Faghartach was the first Lord of Upper Clandeboye, thought likely to be involved in a surrender and regrant, allowing him to establish himself as a Lord of a portion in the now split up Clandeboye. When Shane rose up, he was able to establish his influence over Clandeboye and force it into being one of his ''urriaght'' (subsidiary) territories.
At
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...
, an Anglo-Irish crown garrison had been established under
William Piers with the support of
Brian McPhelim O'Neill, the Lord of Lower Clandeboye, who was subsequently knighted for supporting them against Shane the Proud and also the Scots in the Glens of Antrim.
Brian McPhelim and some of his relatives acted as intelligence agents to Piers, playing a role in undermining Shane at the
Battle of Farsetmore
The Battle of Farsetmore was fought near Letterkenny in County Donegal, north-western Ireland, on 8 May 1567, between the O'Neill and O'Donnell Túath. Shane O'Neill, chief of the O'Neills of Tír Eoghain, was defeated by Aodh mac Maghnusa ...
in 1567.
Piers as the Seneschal of Clandeboye, was keen to encourage provincial Gaelic clans loyal to the Crown in Ulster as a balance against the influx of Scots, whose presence was unwelcome to the English: a policy which seemingly boded well for Clandeboye. Seeing himself as in a secure position, Brian McPhelim decided to flex his power and waged a private war against the Tyrone successor of Shane,
Turlough Lynagh O'Neill
Sir Turlough Lynagh O'Neill (Irish: ''Sir Toirdhealbhach Luineach mac Néill Chonnalaigh Ó Néill''; 1532 – September, 1595) was an Irish Gaelic lord of Tír Eoghain in early modern Ireland. He was inaugurated upon Shane O’Neill’s death, ...
.
A year after the death of his father, Turlough had declared loyalty to Elizabeth I and so Brian McPhelim's adventurism did not impress the authorities. Elizabeth I made a grant of the entire territory of Clandeboye in 1571 as part of the so-called
Enterprise of Ulster: Sir
Thomas Smith, her principal Secretary of State was granted what would become
north Down and
the Ards, while the
Earl of Essex was also to be a major beneficiary with a grant of all of
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 ...
except for the Route and the Glens (the land had previously been claimed as part of the "Earldom of Ulster" during medieval times, this being the basis of the Crown's grant).
[ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.] The plan was to
colonise
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
the land with
English Protestants in a foreshadowing of the
Ulster Plantation
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the set ...
. Sir Brian McPhelim upon finding this out in a booklet published by Smith felt betrayed by the Queen's "duplicity", having felt he was safe in his position due to his allegiance to the Crown and past service to it.
Instead of allow his lands to be colonised, Sir Brian McPhelim elected upon a
scorched earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, commun ...
policy, burning down any buildings in his territory which could be used as a prospective garrison or could be used for colonisation.
[ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.]
Smith had sent his illegitimate son, also named Thomas, along with the 800 English colonists who had set off from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
to Ards: in October 1573, Thomas Smith Jnr was shot dead by an Irishman he had employed as a labourer.
A couple of years later Smith Snr had abandoned the project completely. Essex, who had only recently been made an Earl, encouraged by
Lord Burghley, was more directly involved on the ground and had most of his fortune at stake. Haunted by an outbreak of
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
at Carrickfergus in 1573–74, which decimated Essex's forces, he fled to the
English Pale
The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...
, being based at
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
for the rest of his time, only entering Ulster on raids against O'Neill and others.
Evidently frustrated, Essex had Piers arrested and accused him of passing intelligence to Sir Brian McPhelim (Piers was later released). In November 1574, Sir Brian McPhelim had invited Essex to
Belfast Castle to a feast where they would discuss concluding a peace. At the end of the three day feast, Essex's men, suddenly fell upon their Irish hosts and carried out the
Clandeboye massacre
The Clandeboye massacre in 1574 was a massacre of the O'Neills of Lower Clandeboye by the English forces of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. It took place during an attempted English colonisation of Ulster as part of the Tudor conquest of Ir ...
, where 200 men, women and children were murdered without warning.
Sir Brian McPhelim, his wife and his half-brother Rory Oge MacQuillin were all taken hostage to Dublin where they were hanged for opposing the plantations.
The following year, Essex was responsible for an even more gratuitous massacre in Ulster, this time against the MacDonnells of Antrim in the
Rathlin Island massacre (Essex accused the Clandeboye O'Neills and MacDonnels of being co-conspirators against the English colonists), before Elizabeth I called an end to "the Enterprise" in 1575.
Before his own death in 1576, Essex was able to sow division among the ranks of the Clandeboye by declaring Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill (grandson of Niall Oge O'Neill and son-in-law of Sir Brian MacPhelim) as rightful lord of all Clandeboye.
17th century: divisions and dissolution
Various different factions of the Clandeboye O'Neills felt aggrieved by the unexpected selection of Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill (whose father had been assassinated by Shane O'Neill) as lord of Clandeboye, causing internal conflict. The situation was such that the English authorities in the form of
John Perrot
Sir John Perrot (7 November 1528 – 3 November 1592) served as lord deputy to Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. It was formerly speculated that he was an illegitimate son of Henry VIII, though the idea is re ...
, the new
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...
, intervened in 1584. Lower Clandeboye was split into two: three-quarters, based around
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, were awarded to Shane McBrian O'Neill (son of the late Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill), while the remaining quarter, based around
Edenduffcarrick, was awarded to
Hugh Oge O'Neill (son of Sir Brian McPhelim's brother Hugh).
Meanwhile, Conn McNeill O'Neill, the son of Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill, was confirmed in his lordship of Upper Clandeboye.
Shane McBrian O'Neill and Hugh Oge O'Neill bitterly contested the control of Lower Clandeboye, particularly
Shane's Castle at Edenduffcarrick. Despite an attempt at arbitration, Hugh Oge was killed at the Castle in the dispute in 1586 and was succeeded by his brother Neill McHugh O'Neill at Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick), the conflict between the two factions caused "great dissension between them and great slaughter often by both parties committed."
Shane McBrian O'Neill of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) was a
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 County in 1585. He briefly rebelled against the Crown during
Tyrone's Rebellion in 1598 but was soon reconciled and was pardoned as a result. The English authorities were unable to hold back the forces of
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and so when his nephew
Brian MacArt O'Neill was sent into Clandeboye to control its military affairs, it brought the area into collaboration. This conflict, in alliance with
Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
, was a predominantly Ulster-based Irish Rising against Protestant English rule and brought together what were usually enemies such as the O'Neills of Tyrone and the
O'Donnells of Tyrconnell in common cause. The Earl of Tyrone had been married to Shane McBrian's sister Katherine O'Neill for a time but the marriage was annulled. Only minor engagements, no major battles, took place as the area had suffered significant depopulation due to the conflicts brought about by Essex and Smith's attempted colonisation.
The main negative effect on Clandeboye was the actions of
Arthur Chichester
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625; known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester), of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 16 ...
after 1601, who set about burning destroying crops and animals as well as killing men, women and children without scruple. Historical records of the period say that in Clandeboye as a result of Chichester's acts, the people were reduced to
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
, corpses had green-mouths from eating grass and dead bodies were piled by the roadsides.
This destruction was supposedly to stop Clandeboye being used as a supply base for Tyrone, but had a secondary purpose as, Chichester, in financial difficulties from his estates
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, sought land to take in Ireland.
Conn McNeill O'Neill, the Lord of Upper Clandeboye, who was based at
Castlereagh, was arrested around Christmas of 1602 (a year after his father Niall McBrian had been killed by Captain Malby). Chichester had arrested him and held him at
Carrickfergus Castle, on account of one of O'Neills men having killed a Crown soldier. Chichester offered to execute him without trial, potentially as a pretext to taking land for himself. Fortune favoured Conn McNeill as, on the death of Elizabeth I,
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
ascended to the thrones of England and Ireland in July 1603, with the opportunity of a clean slate. Conn McNeill's wife approached
Hugh Montgomery, a Scotsman with extensive political connections and agreed if he could break Conn out of jail and arrange a royal pardon for him, then he would share half of Upper Clandeboye with Montgomery.
[ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.] Upon hearing about this,
James Hamilton, wanted in on the deal and the plan was changed to a three-way split.
The jailbreak was hatched and was successful, the three men visited James and secured the pardon in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
before returning to Ulster via
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. Montgomery and Hamilton began a private, non-government plantation of the area with Scots from
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...
in 1606 and are seen as founding fathers of the
Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch''), are an ethnic group in Ireland, who speak an Ul ...
. Some of the native Irish tenants were moved out to
Dufferin.
Legacy
O'Neill heirs of Clandeboye
The most prominent heirs of the Clandeboye O'Neills were from the Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) branch, as the successors of Shane McBrian O'Neill, son of the famous Sir
Brian McPhelim O'Neill. They were able to secure
Shane's Castle back from their cousins. They were noted for their staunch loyalty to the
Stuart dynasty
The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...
, serving in prominent positions in the Army of
Charles II, this included; Colonel Cormac O'Neill (died 1707), Captain John O'Neill (died 1687) and Captain Phelim Dubh O'Neill (died 1676). A son of Captain John was Colonel Charles O'Neill (died 1716) who served in the Army of
James II. After inheriting Shane's Castle and converting to Anglicanism,
John O'Neill (died 1798) from this line was made
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 ...
by
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
.
[ Retrieved on 23 March 2022.] A leading statesman, he died at the
Battle of Antrim. His two sons, also Viscounts, were involved in Irish politics too. They established Tullymore Lodge in
Broughshane and Cleggan Lodge, originally a shooting lodge.
[Since the 19th century, one branch of the ]Chichester family
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
(of English ancestry) have adopted the surname "O'Neill." This took place upon the death of John O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill from the Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) branch, as William Chichester claimed the rights to the properties of this line as heir, including Shane's Castle, being made 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 his ...
. Chichester's great-grandfather Rev. Arthur Chichester, Anglican Vicar of Randalstown had been married to Mary O'Neill, granddaughter of Sean an Franca O'Neill (1716 — 1739), from the Clandeboye O'Neills. This branch of the Chichesters have been prominent in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
unionist politics with Terence O'Neill and 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 Nor ...
.
A junior line of this branch, the O'Neills of Feeva (descended from Conn O'Neill (died 1585), a younger son of Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill), were deeply involved in
Jacobitism
, war =
, image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766
, active ...
in Ireland and internationally. Colonel Conn O'Neill (died 1716) and Captain Conn Modera O'Neill (died 1740) both served in the Army of James II and his son the Old Pretender,
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales fro ...
. Some of these men fled abroad to the European Continent and were
Wild Geese who served in the French and Spanish Armies. Famously, Captain Conn O'Neill of the
French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
was present at the
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...
in 1746 and was instrumental in asking
Flora MacDonald to help
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...
escape the Redcoats from the island of
Benbecula
Benbecula (; gd, Beinn nam Fadhla or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a ...
in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...
. Despite initially being a junior line, after the death of the last Viscount O'Neill in 1855, this was the only known surviving branch from Sir Brian McPhelim and still had living members towards the end of the 19th century with
Charles Henry O'Neill, a barrister living in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, who was recognised as The O'Neill Clandeboye.
The branch of the Clandeboye O'Neills who were Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick), successors to Neill McHugh O'Neill, brother of
Hugh Oge O'Neill, who ruled Clandeboye north of
Kells, generally distinguished themselves by their loyalty to the Tudor and then Stuart Crown in Ireland. Niall O'Neill, the Lord of Lower Clandeboye, had died in 1600 fighting for the Crown during the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...
against the Earl of Tyrone. In 1626, during the reign of
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, his son Niall Oge O'Neill (died 31 March 1628) was the
High Sheriff of Antrim
The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his jud ...
. They served the Royalist cause during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...
and after showing bravery at the
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642.
All attempts at constitutional compromise between ...
, Niall Oge's son Sir Brian O'Neill was awarded with the
Baronetcy of Upper Claneboys. His younger brother, Sir Henry O'Neill, was likewise rewarded with the
Baronetcy of Killelagh. The Killelagh O'Neills were
Jacobites
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
, loyal to
James II during the
Williamite War
The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...
: Sir
Neill O'Neill was his
Lord Lieutenant of Armagh. They were stripped of their titles because of this and in any case, soon became extinct. Despite also serving James II, their close cousins, the "Upper Claneboys" O'Neills, in the form of Sir
Brian O'Neill, managed to survived the Orangist
Revolution of 1688 politically unscathed before this line eventually became extinct in the male line by 1799.
The Clandeboye O'Neills directly descended from the last sovereign King of Clandeboye,
Murtagh Dulenagh O'Neill, continue to exist to this day and claim the title of The O'Neill Clandeboye. After being nudged out of power by junior lines who divided Clandeboye, the senior branch of the family (who retained property in
Toome for a time), were implicated in Tyrone's Rebellion, served under
Owen Roe O'Neill in his Ulster Army of the Irish Confederate Forces (in the form of Colonel Ever O'Neill) and then
Felix O'Neill (died 11 September 1709), his son, served as part of
Lord Galmoye Regiment in the Jacobite Irish Army, before prolifically serving in the
Irish Brigade of the Royal French Army. Felix's grandson
João O'Neill went to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
and settled near
Almada
Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population in 2011 was 174,030, in ...
. His son,
Carlos O'Neill, was a Professed Knight of the
Military Order of Christ and was familiar with
John VI of Portugal
, house = Braganza
, father = Peter III of Portugal
, mother = Maria I of Portugal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal
, death_date =
, death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portuga ...
. He was the first of many to belong to this Order and to elite positions in Portuguese society: one descendant was even made
Viscount of Santa Mónica. They remained in touch with Irish affairs and
Jorge Torlades O'Neill II was a friend of
Roger Casement, donated money to construct an
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
school at
Tuam and helped to arm the
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...
. In 1896, this Jorge submitted his genealogy to the
Somerset Herald in London: he was subsequently recognised as having the only pedigree in the
Office of Arms showing descent from the "Princes of Tyrone and Claneboy." Upon that Letters Patent,
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...
, the
King of Spain
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
and the
King of Portugal
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the ...
all recognised him 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. Recognised by the
Chief Herald of Ireland in 1945 as the Princes of Clannaboy, the current representative is Hugo Ricciardi O'Neill (born 1939).
Tudor-era genocide controversy
Academic studies of
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
, such as Ben Kiernan's ''Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur'', have focused on the activities of leading English figures during the
Tudor conquest of Ireland
The Tudor conquest (or reconquest) of Ireland took place under the Tudor dynasty, which held the Kingdom of England during the 16th century. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas, the Earl of Kildare, in the 1530s, ...
from 1565 to 1603 and the intellectual justifications they developed for
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
native populations, especially in Munster and Clandeboye. There is a focus on the so-called "
Enterprise of Ulster", which was planned for Clandeboye and the circle of Elizabethan Englishmen involved in forming the intellectual basis for it:
Thomas Smith,
Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North America ...
,
Philip Sidney
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
(whose father
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he recei ...
was Lord Deputy of Ireland),
Gabriel Harvey
Gabriel Harvey (c. 1552/3 – 1631) was an English writer. Harvey was a notable scholar, whose reputation suffered from his quarrel with Thomas Nashe. Henry Morley, writing in the ''Fortnightly Review'' (March 1869), has argued that Harvey's L ...
and
Peter Carew. Others such as
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for '' The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen o ...
(for whom Gaelic society was a remnant of "Scythian barbarism") were intellectually connected to this circle but not overtly in the Enterprise, more involved in the
Munster Plantation
Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...
. These men were influenced by the classics and in particular
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
and
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write hi ...
's axiom ''
Carthago delenda est'' (in their ideal, Gaels were analogous to Carthaginians).
Although
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
herself called for "moderation", from 1573, these "theories" would begin to take place on the ground with the activities of the
Earl of Essex. He imagined a completely demilitarised Ulster, where no Gael (Irishman or Scots), whether
kerne or
Gallowglass, would be allowed to bear arms, even spear or axe, on pain of capital punishment. The Irish Gaels of Clandeboye were to be "dispersed into severall Lordshippes and well corrected, yf they breake lawes", those who remained in the area would be reduced to disarmed ''
helots
The helots (; el, εἵλωτες, ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their ...
'', tiling the land in agricultural labour under English overlordship. The contemporary
John Derricke
John Derricke (fl. 1578–1581) was the author and artist of '' The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne'', a 1581 book describing the Irish campaigns of Lord Deputy Henry Sidney.
The book's dedication to Sir Philip Sidney was signed ...
's ''
The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne
''The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne'' is a 1581 book by John Derricke.
The book is dedicated to Philip Sidney. It praises the deputyship of Philip's father Henry Sidney and English victories over the Irish. The work opens wi ...
'' (dedicated to Philip Sidney) further dehumanised the Irish kerns as "noisome worms" and called for Gaels to be "extirped and abolished clean the land." Radical Protestants from the English
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glouc ...
would be the backbone of this push in both Munster and Ulster. An English official in Belfast during the Clandeboye campaign,
Edward Berkeley urged using
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...
as a weapon of war against the locals, bragging that
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
had been taken from them so they had to rely only on
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...
(which was "easily taken away"), commenting on their starvation he said; "How godly a dede it is to overthrowe so wicked a race the world may judge. For my parte I thinke ther canot be a greter Sacrifyce to god."
The most controversial act of Essex's tenure in Clandeboye was the
Clandeboye massacre
The Clandeboye massacre in 1574 was a massacre of the O'Neills of Lower Clandeboye by the English forces of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. It took place during an attempted English colonisation of Ulster as part of the Tudor conquest of Ir ...
in November 1574, whereby, at a feast in Belfast Castle, hosted by Sir
Brian McPhelim O'Neill who was attempting to make peace, Essex ordered his men to indiscrimanently and without warning massacre 200 men, women and children associated with his host. Sir Brian himself, along with his wife and half-brother, were taken away to Dublin to be hanged. Nevetherless, on Essex' campaign, Kiernan states that while "Essex's genocidal massacre of the O'Neill sept foreshadowed more aggressive action", as part of his wider project for the fate of the Irish in Clandeboye, if "total annihilation of the local Irish was not his goal, Essex did want them severely reduced in numbers and subjected to English domination."
Kings of Clandeboye
Below is a list of the O'Neill sovereign Kings of Clandeboye.
Library Ireland - O'Neills of Clandeboye
/ref> The last unified king of Clandeboye was Murtagh Dulenach O'Neill, as the title was subsequently split between Lower Clandeboye and Upper Clandeboye. In 1584, Lower Clandeboye was further split in two, with different bases at Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
and Edenduffcarrick. Clandeboye itself was later divided between 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 ...
, County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
and County Coleraine (later County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. ...
) in the Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
.
Diocese of Down and Connor
The religion which predominated at an official level in Clandeboye was Catholic Christianity
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. The territory of Clandeboye was associated with the Diocese of Down and Connor
The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...
under the Bishop of Down and Connor
The Bishop of Down and Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick (located in County Down) and the village of Connor (located in County Antrim) in Northern Ireland. The title is still used by the Catholic Chur ...
. This was formed on 29 July 1439 as Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...
issued a papal bull merging the positions of Bishop of Down and Bishop of Connor
The Bishop of Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Connor in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The title is currently used by the Church of Ireland, but in the Roman Catholic Church it has been united with anot ...
(these diocese having been formed in 1111 at the Synod of Ráth Breasail, long before Clandeboye had existed).
Clandeboye hosted some significant monastic houses, typically pre-dating the entry of the O'Neills into the area. Most of these were shut down during the dissolution of the monasteries under the influence of Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
from the Tudor dynasty
The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...
: legislation was introduced into the Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...
in 1537 and the policy enforced on the ground more directly after 1541 as part of the Tudor conquest of Ireland
The Tudor conquest (or reconquest) of Ireland took place under the Tudor dynasty, which held the Kingdom of England during the 16th century. Following a failed rebellion against the crown by Silken Thomas, the Earl of Kildare, in the 1530s, ...
. The most prestigious of which was Bangor Abbey, of ancient Gaelic origin, which was under the Augustinian Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated b ...
during the time of Clandeboye. The Augustinians were also at Movilla Abbey, an old Gaelic foundation. Nendrum Monastery
Nendrum Monastery was a Christian monastery on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. Medieval records say it was founded in the 5th century, but this is uncertain. The monastery came to an end at some time between 974 an ...
, founded by St. Patrick, was used as a parish church until the 15th century. Other prominent monasteries include the Norman-founded establishments of Grey Abbey, under the Cistercians
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
and Newtownards Priory, under the Order of Preachers
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and Mysticism, mystic Saint ...
(Dominicans). The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (Franciscans) were also at Carrickfergus Friary, but Clandeboye's influence over them differed from time to time. Holywood Priory, a 7th-century Gaelic foundation, was also placed under the Franciscans by Niall O’Neill after the Black Death.
The local chapel of importance to the O'Neills was Knockollumkille, near their headquarters at Castlereagh, founded by Columba of Iona
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
in much earlier times. By the start of the 18th century, it was no longer in use and all that remains of the actual building of this Church today is part of a wall of the Knock Burial Ground, Clarawood, Belfast.
See also
* Leabhar Cloinne Aodha Buidhe
* Branches of the Cenél nEógain
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...
*Baron Dufferin and Claneboye
Baron Dufferin and Claneboye, of Ballyleidy and Killyleagh in County Down, Northern Ireland, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created 30 July 1800 for Dame Dorcas Blackwood, widow of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet, Member of the ...
* Clandeboye Estate
* Clandonnell
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Sources
''Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature'', Robert Welsh, 1996.
External links
O'Neill, Prince of Clanaboy
at Library Ireland
* ttp://freepages.rootsweb.com/~alanmilliken/genealogy/Research/IrishRecords/IrishStateRecords/CountyAntrim.html Lower Clandeboye and Carrickfergus (County Antrim) 1540-1602
Upper Clandeboye and other territories (County Down) 1540-1609
The O'Neills' Inauguration Chair
at BBC
Rise of the Clandeboye
by Martin Mellon
The Break-Up of the Estate of Con O'Neill, Castlereagh, County Down
by D. A. Chart
Con O'Neill: Life and Legacy
{{coord , 54.642, -5.717, type:city, display=title
History of County Antrim
History of County Down
History of County Londonderry
Kingdoms of medieval Ireland
Former kingdoms in Ireland