Sir Arthur O'Neill or Sir Art O'Neill (died 1600) was an Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and landowner. He was part of the O'Neill dynasty, which was the most powerful Gaelic family in Ireland at the time. He was the son of

Turlough Luineach 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, ...

, the head of the O'Neill dynasty until 1595. He was the second son of Turlough, but his eldest brother Henry O'Neill died in 1578. At times he had a strained relationship with his father, and offered his support to Turlough's rival

Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill ( Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Nei ...

. When Tyrone succeeded Turlough as head of the O'Neills and began Tyrone's Rebellion, Arthur offered tacit support to his distant cousin. In 1600, however, he made contact with the Crown shortly before an Anglo-Irish force of government troops had landed at Derry and made preparations to change sides and bring his warriors with him. He offered important assistance to the English commander at Derry, Sir

Henry Docwra Henry Docwra, 1st Baron Docwra of Culmore (1564 – 18 April 1631) was a leading English-born soldier and statesman in early seventeenth-century Ireland. He is often called "the founder of Derry", due to his role in establishing the city. Ba ...

and took part in a force that captured the strategic settlement of Dunnalong. He was also present at the Battle of Lifford, where an important victory was won over the rebel leader

Red Hugh O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donn ...

. He is also credited with saving Docwra from disaster by exposing an ambush plot by Rory O'Cahan. Arthur was promised that he would be made

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of t ...

, following the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Hugh O'Neill for his rebellion. This would have brought him control over vast swathes of central

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, but he died suddenly in late October 1600. His death is generally attributed to heavy drinking at his wedding day celebrations, but he may have been a victim of a

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

raging through the army camp. His brother Cormac O'Neill attempted to claim that he was Arthur's successor, but the government rejected this and acknowledged Arthur's eldest son Turlough O'Neill as his heir.McGurk p.85-87

References

Bibliography

* Bardon, Jonathan. ''The Plantation of Ulster''. Gill & MacMillan, 2012. * McGurk, John. ''Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder''. Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2006. * Morgan, Hiram. ''Tyrone's Rebellion''. Boydell Press, 1999. 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people Irish soldiers Irish knights People of Elizabethan Ireland People from County Tyrone Year of birth unknown 1600 deaths {{Ireland-bio-stub