Sir Brian McPhelim Bacagh O'Neill (died 1574) was a lord of Lower Clandeboye, a Gaelic lordship in north-eastern

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during the Tudor period.

Life

O'Neill was the son of Phelim Bacagh O'Neill. In 1556 he became lord of Lower Clandeboye. O'Neill sided with the English government in Ireland to help bolster his position against the threat of Shane O'Neill of Tyrone to the west and a large influx of Scots in the

Glens of Antrim The Glens of Antrim,Logainm.ie
(

In 1568, Brian McPhelim O'Neill would be knighted for his service to the Crown as part of William Piers' campaign against Shane O'Neill of Tyrone. O'Neill and his father-in-law, Brian Carragh O'Neill, would wage a private war against Shane O'Neill's successor, Turlough Luineach O'Neill. The government were not impressed and grew suspicious of O'Neill. In 1571, Sir Thomas Smith, Queen Elizabeth's principal Secretary of State, was able to get a grant for the entire territory of Clandeboye. While the Clandeboye O'Neill's had been established in that area for two centuries, it had once been part of the

Earldom of Ulster The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland ...

, which upon the death of its last earl in the 15th-century passed into ownership of the Crown. Smith had his son Thomas put in charge of starting a colony and planned to firstly settle the

Ards peninsula The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on the peninsula include Donaghadee, Milli ...

and then eventually moving westwards through Clandeboye via a mixture of conquest and plantation. The planned plantation was mishandled especially due to Smith advertising the venture, and Smith went to Carrickfergus to negotiate with Brian O'Neill who was unhappy about the plans. The negotiations failed to happen and Brian McPhelim O'Neill set about razing any buildings (excluding abbeys and priories) he could find throughout the northern Ards peninsula that could provide shelter. In 1573, a similar scheme for the plantation of County Antrim (the south of which was north Clandeboye) by The 1st Earl of Essex overtook Smith's grant, and eventually saw Smith cede his claims to north Clandeboye to Lord Essex. Despite this, Sir Brian continued to create unrest and disturbances throughout his territory that heavily affected the schemes. Eventually the scheme had to be altered focusing on coastal settlements, however this too failed due to Sir Brian. Eventually Essex had to console himself with a grant for the

Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rural ...

peninsula on the east coast of Antrim, to which he was able to successfully plant all the way south to Belfast. These schemes were all part of the

Enterprise of Ulster The Enterprise of Ulster was a programme launched in the 1570s where Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 unt ...

Death

In 1574, Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill was hanged for opposing the local plantations.

Division of Clandeboye

After his death, Lord Essex promoted Sir Brian's son-in-law, Neill McBrian Fertagh O'Neill, son of Brian Fertagh O'Neill who was a cousin of Sir Brian McPhelim, to the lordship of Clandeboye regardless of the other claimants. The inter-familial disputes that arose from this resulted in the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, dividing Clandeboye between the competing members of the Clandeboye O'Neill clan in 1584: Shane McBrian O'Neill, Sir Brian's son, received three-quarters of north Clandeboye;

Hugh Oge O'Neill Hugh Oge O'Neill (died 1586), known fully as Hugh Oge McHugh O'Neill, was the son of Hugh O'Neill of the Clandeboye O'Neill's of eastern Ulster, Gaelic Ireland. Lord of Edenduffcarrick In 1574, Hugh's paternal uncle, Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill, l ...

, son of Sir Brian's brother Hugh, received a quarter of north Clandeboye, centred on Edenduffcarrick; Con McNeill O'Neill, Neill McBrian Fertagh's uncle and Sir Brian's cousin, was granted all of south Clandeboye, afterwards known as Upper Clandeboy. North Clandeboye would become known as Lower Clandeboye.

Fate of Clandeboye

Despite Sir Brian McPhelim's attempts to thwart English settlement of his lands, the son of Neill McBrian Fertagh, Con, who succeeded his father as lord of Upper Clandeboye, made a deal with Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton that resulted in the three-fold division of the lands comprising his estate in 1605. He sold off the rest and died in 1619. Their subsequent plantations expanded rapidly. The scheme for settling County Antrim, including the territory of Lower Clandeboye, passed from Essex to Sir Arthur Chichester, who was more successful than his predecessor. A direct line great-great-great-great grandson of Brian was

John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill PC (16 January 1740 – 18 June 1798) was an Irish politician. O'Neill was the son of Charles O'Neill (died 1769), Member of Parliament for Randalstown, by Catherine Brodrick, daughter of St John Brodrick, of ...

Issue and progeny

Son from relationship with Amy O'Neill, daughter of Brian Carrach O'Neill was chief of

Clandonnell Clandonnell () is an early-modern Irish district in what is now southern County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Clandonnell along with the ancient districts of Glenconkeyne, Killetra, and Tomlagh, comprised the former barony of Loughinsholin, with ...

. *Shane Mac Brian O'Neill (died 23 April 1616), Lord of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) **Shane Oge O'Neill (died 22 May 1618) **Sir Henry O'Neill (died 8 April 1638) ***Rose O'Neill, Marchioness of Antrim (1631 — 1695) — wife of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim **Phelim Dubh O'Neill (died June 1676) — Captain in Army of King Charles II ***Brian O'Neill (died 1669) ****Sean an Franca O'Neill (1716 — 1739) — inherited

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 ...

*****Charles O'Neill (died 16 August 1769) ******

(16 January 1740 — 17 June 1798) ******St. John O'Neill (6 May 1741 — 1790) *****Henry O'Neill (died 1721) ******Mary O'Neill — married Reverend Arthur Chichester ****Henry O'Neill ***Arthur O'Neill **Hugh Ruadh O'Neill (died 17 December 1664) **Art Oge O'Neill (1600 — 25 March 1677) ***Cormac O'Neill (died 1707) — Colonel in Army of King Charles II ***John O'Neill (died 3 July 1687) — Captain in Army of King Charles II ****Charles O'Neill (died 1716) — Colonel in the Army of James II (married Lady Mary Paulet) Issue from an unknown Scotswoman. *Phelim Dubh O'Neill *Conn O'Neill (died 1585) **Aodh Oge O'Neill (died 20 March 1616) — implicated in Tyrone's Rebellion in 1606 ***Brian O'Neill of the Feevagh ****Conn O'Neill (died 1716) — Colonel in the Army of James II *****Conn Modera O'Neill (died 1740) — Captain in the Army of James II ******Charles Dubh O'Neill (died 1777) *******Charles O'Neill *******Hugh O'Neill (1730 — 1814) ********Charles O'Neill (died 1796) ********John O'Neill (1759 — 1796) ********Felix Cunningham O'Neill (1788 — 1858) ********* Charles Henry O'Neill (1809 — 1865) ********** Elizabeth Catherine Mary Theresa O'Neill (1841 — 1905) *********Louis Gordon O'Neill (1813 — 19 February 1891) *********Felix Cunningham O'Neill (1816 — 1892) *********Hugh O'Neill (1818 — 1895) *******Conn O'Neill — Colonel in the Spanish Army *******Bernard O'Neill — lived in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

******Conn O'Neill — Captain in

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

at Battle of Culloden *Niall O'Neill

References

External links

*Henry A. Jefferies, ‘O'Neill, Brian mac Phelim, lord of Clandeboye (d. 1574)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 4 Sept 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Brian McPhelim Clandeboye 16th-century executions by Ireland 16th-century Irish people People executed for treason against Ireland Year of birth unknown 1574 deaths Executed Irish people People executed by Ireland by hanging, drawing and quartering People executed under Elizabeth I as Queen of Ireland