The Hon. Robert Torrens O'Neill JP DL (10 January 1845 – 25 July 1910), was an Irish Conservative, and later

Irish Unionist Unionism is a political tradition on the island of Ireland that favours political union with Great Britain and professes loyalty to the British Crown and constitution. As the overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Protestant minority, following ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

from 1885 to 1910.

Early life

O'Neill was the third son of

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 ...

(who was born William Chichester), and his first wife, Henrietta Torrens, daughter of Hon. Robert Torrens, a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas. O'Neill was educated first at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and then at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and, later, an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Military career

In 1863, Robert was commissioned as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the 4th Battalion of the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

. He was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

two years later, and he later became a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1881. His military service was partially sidelined as his political career began, and he eventually retired in order to stand for election.

Political career

O'Neill served as a sheriff of

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. B ...

from 1869, and was the High Sheriff in 1871.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> He was also made deputy lieutenant for the county later that year, and later served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

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 ...

. In the 1880's O'Neill was a member of the board of director, and later chairman of the

Draperstown Railway The Draperstown Railway was an Irish gauge () in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. History The line was built between 1881 and 1883, a short single-track branch line in length, to connect Magherafelt and Draperstown. The engineer was Joh ...

. In 1885 O'Neill stood in the by-election for the constituency of Antrim, following the death of

James Chaine James Chaine (1841 – 4 May 1885) was an Irish shipping businessman and a Conservative PartyWalker, p. 249. politician from County Antrim in Ulster. The son of James Chaine of Ballycraigy and his wife, Maria (née Whittle), from Antrim, he was ...

. He was defeated by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate,

William Pirrie Sinclair William Pirrie Sinclair (1837 – 1 November 1900) was a politician in the United Kingdom who was twice elected to the House of Commons for the Liberal Party. Born in Belfast in 1837, son of Presbyterians John Sinclar and Eliza (née Pirrie) of C ...

. Several months later, he was able to stand again in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, and was elected as the first

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 Mid, which had been created following the redistribution of seats. He was returned four times unopposed between 1886 and 1906, and successfully defeated John Hamilton Verschoyle in his final election in 1906. He did not stand for re-election in January 1910, citing his failing health and age. His nephew

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, who Robert had put forward as his successor, served as MP until his own death during

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1914, and his brother,

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

was MP until the constituency was abolished in 1922.

Personal life & death

O'Neill, was heavily involved in a number of charitable institutions, and succeeded his father as president of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1883. He was a member of both the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

and

Junior Carlton Club The Junior Carlton Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1864 and was disbanded in 1977. History Anticipating the forthcoming Second Reform Act under Benjamin Disraeli, numerous prospective electors decide ...

. He was never married and died on 25 July 1910 at his London residence, 11

St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or fou ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, following a long illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Robert Torrens 1845 births 1910 deaths Irish Conservative Party MPs Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Irish Unionist Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of Londonderry Younger sons of barons

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...