Clandeboye or Clannaboy (from

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Clann Aodha Buí'', "family of Hugh the Blond") was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising what is now south

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 ...

, north County Down, and the barony of

Loughinsholin Loughinsholin () is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its southeast borders the northwest shore of Lough Neagh, and itself is bordered by seven other baronies: Dungannon Upper to the south; Strabane Upper to the west; Keenaght ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The entity was relatively late in appearance and is associated partly with the Gaelic resurgence of the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

. The O'Neill Clandeboy ('' Ó Néill Clann Aodha Buidhe'') who reigned in the territory descended from Hugh Boy O'Neill, a

king of Tyrone This article lists the rulers of Tyrone (Irish: ''Tír Eoghain'') from 1185 to 1616. They are listed from their date of accession to date of death, unless otherwise stated. Prior to this, the ruling dynasty - the Cenél nEógain - were most of th ...

. His descendants took advantage of the demise 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 ...

during the latter 14th century and seized vast portions of territory. Clandeboye's main seats of power were

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 ...

and Castle Reagh. The kingdom came to an end at the dawn of the 17th century after Conn O'Neill, the last head of the Clandeboye O'Neills of Upper Clandeboye, signed away two-thirds of his land to his close associates Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton who proceeded to privately settle their land with settlers from Great Britain just prior to the larger Plantation of Ulster. Conn died in 1618. James Hamilton became the first

Viscount Claneboye A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

in 1622.

Etymology

The spelling of the name has varied over the years, and had been written variously as Clandeboye, Claneboye, Clandyboy, Clannaboy, and Clanaboy. Clandeboye has also been adopted as the name of an electoral ward of

North Down Borough Council North Down Borough Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ards Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council. Its m ...

. It has survived as a geographical location in modern times as an area of Bangor, County Down,

History

14th century: emergence and position

The emergence of the Kingdom of Clandeboye is closely associated with the history of its neighbour the Kingdom of Tyrone and the Gaelic resurgence of the 14th century. The O'Neill dynasty who ruled Tyrone had established themselves as a serious power in Ireland by the 13th century, providing Brian Chatha an Dúna O'Neill who was a late claimant to the

High Kingship of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

before falling at the

Battle of Down The Battle of Down, also known as the battle of Drumderg (Irish: ''Druim Dearg'') took place on or about 14 May 1260 near Downpatrick, in modern-day County Down, Northern Ireland. A Gaelic alliance led by Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland) a ...

in 1260. The O'Neills were, locally, engaged in rivalries with the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

among other regional foes. In the 12th century, following the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

, the Normans had taken from the native Gaelic

Kingdom of Ulster The King of Ulster (Old Irish: ''Rí Ulad'', Modern Irish: ''Rí Uladh'') also known as the King of Ulaid and King of the Ulaid, was any of the kings of the Provinces of Ireland, Irish provincial over-kingdom of Ulaid. The title rí in Chóicid, ...

some lands and established their Earldom in the north-eastern corner of Ireland.The indigenous

Kings of Ulster The King of Ulster (Old Irish: ''Rí Ulad'', Modern Irish: ''Rí Uladh'') also known as the King of Ulaid and King of the Ulaid, was any of the kings of the Irish provincial over-kingdom of Ulaid. The title rí in Chóicid, which means "king of ...

before the coming of the Normans were from the MacDonlevy clan, their descendants included the

McNulty McNulty (also spelled MacNulty or McAnulty) is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDon ...

("son of the Ulsterman") and allegedly Clan MacLea (Livingstone) in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. The

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...

kindred claimed descent from Ír, a son of

Míl Espáine In Irish origin myths, Míl Espáine or Míl Espáne (later Latinized as Milesius; also Miled/Miledh) is the mythical ancestor of the final inhabitants of Ireland, the "sons of Míl" or Milesians, who represent the vast majority of the Irish Ga ...

and brother of

Érimón Érimón, (modern spelling: Éiremhón), commonly Anglicised as Heremon, son of Míl Espáine (and great-grandson of Breoghan, king of Celtic Galicia), according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, was one of the chieftains who t ...

(from whom the O'Neills descend). Even after the Norman invasion, some of the native Ulaidh retained power in parts of old Ulster, in the form of the

Magennis Magennis ( ga, Mac Aonghusa), also spelled Maguiness, Maginnis, Magenis, McGinnis, or McGuinness, is an Irish surname, meaning the "son of Angus", which in eastern Ulster was commonly pronounced in Irish as ''Mac Aonghusa''. A prominent branch o ...

clan in

Iveagh Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th ...

. Subsequently, they were engaged in conflicts and mutual raidings with their direct neighbours the

Northern Uí Néill The Northern Uí Néill is any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall we ...

. By the 14th century, the Earldom of Ulster was under the Ulster branch of the de Burgh dynasty (other branches of this kinship group held territories elsewhere in Ireland, but became heavily

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...

). The Bruce campaign in Ireland, with the defenders of the Anglo-aligned

Lordship of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...

being led by Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, suffered significantly during the conflict. Eventually the Norman title to the Earldom of Ulster passed to the Mortimer family. Niall Mór O'Neill,

King of Tyrone This article lists the rulers of Tyrone (Irish: ''Tír Eoghain'') from 1185 to 1616. They are listed from their date of accession to date of death, unless otherwise stated. Prior to this, the ruling dynasty - the Cenél nEógain - were most of th ...

(1364–1397) created a vacuum in the area by driving out some of the Anglo-Norman settlers. The Kingship of Tyrone had in recent times been contested by two sets of cousins, one of which was the Clandeboye O'Neills (descended from Hugh Boy O'Neill), who had provided three Kings of Tyrone in the 13th century, before losing out to the line descended from Aodh Reamhair O'Neill (son of Domhnall O'Neill), whom all subsequent Tyrone kings would descend from. By 1347, Muirchertach Ceannfada O'Neill was the first King of Clandeboye not to be also King of Tyrone, controlling the parts of the old Earldom of Ulster taken over by the O'Neills. Most of their territory was east of the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

, in what would today be called south

and north County Down. The part of Clandeboye territory which was west of the River Bann was

, in what is today County Londonderry, including part of the

Sperrin Mountains The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains in Northern Ireland and one of the largest upland areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane eastwards to Slieve Gallion in Desertmartin and north towards Limavad ...

. This O'Neill line, which had lost out on the Kingship of Tyrone, although technically at first ''uirrithe'' (under-kings) of their Tyrone cousins, soon established their own autonomy. Geopolitically, they looked to offset the power of their Tyrone neighbours, by forming alliances with other powers in the area; the MacDonnells of Antrim (a clan of fairly recent Highland Scots descent), the powerful O'Donnells of Tyrconnell and, when it suited, the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

's Lordship of Ireland based 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 c ...

. Clandeboye's lands were suited to

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

grazing and so their rulers were able to attain a significant level of wealth through this.

15th century: shifting alliances

Towards the end of the 14th century and into the early 15th century, the Clandeboye shifted away from their ''rapprochement'' with their O'Neill of Tyrone cousins and as with the case of their neighbours to the south, the

clan of

, entered into an alliance with the powerful O'Donnells of

Tyrconnell Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

under Turlough an Fhíona O'Donnell (1380—1422).Egan, Simon. (2018)
Richard II and the Wider Gaelic World: A Reassessment
Cambridge University Press An ascendant maritime kingdom based in the north-west of Ireland, able to put into the field a strong army with a

Gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from ga, gallóglaigh meaning foreign warriors) were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland between the mid 13t ...

basis, Tyrconnell mounted a serious challenge to Tyrone's domination of the north of Ireland: Clandeboye and Iveagh saw this as an opportunity to assert more independence for themselves. As part of this complex patchwork of alliances, which spread throughout all of Ireland, there was a wider implication for geopolitics in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and indeed European politics, in the context of the Hundred Years' War; one faction made alliances with the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

, the other with the Stewart

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

(and thus, by implication of their

Auld Alliance The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance"; ; ) is an alliance made in 1295 between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting a ...

; the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

). Thus, when Richard II of England visited Ireland and gained the "submission" of a number of Gaelic Irish and Gaelicised chiefs in 1395, there were a few notable absences: the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell (friends of Stewart Scotland) and their Irish allies such as the O'Neills of Clandeboye, Burke of Mayo and O'Connor Ruadh of Roscommon, who never submitted. Despite being a relatively junior kingdom, Clandeboye was able to hand military defeats to ostensibly stronger powers which tried to invade them during the reigns of the brothers

Murtagh Roe O'Neill Murtagh Roe O'Neill ( Irish: ''Muircheartach Ruadh Ó Néill'') was a lord of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. He succeeded his father Brian Ballagh O'Neill who died in 1425 to the lordship of Clandeboye. Before O'Neill could take control he and hi ...

and

Hugh Boy II O'Neill Hugh Boy II O'Neill ( Irish: ''Aodh Buidhe Ó Néill'') was a king of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. A son of Brian Ballagh, O'Neill was second-in-command to his older brother Murtagh Roe O'Neill and helped him take the lordship of Clandeboye a ...

, closely guarding their autonomy. For example, Eoghan O'Neill, King of Tyrone, invaded Clandeboye in 1444 but was defeated. His son Éinri (Henry) O'Neill, the King of Tyrone, tried the same again while invading Clandeboye in 1476, but he too was defeated. Meanwhile, during the reign of Conn O'Neill, when the Anglo-controlled Lordship tried to revive its colony in Ulster, appointing Patrick Savage of

Lecale Lecale (, ) is a peninsula in the east of County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies between Strangford Lough and Dundrum Bay. In the Middle Ages it was a district or ''túath'' in the Gaelic Irish kingdom of Ulaid, then became a county in the Anglo ...

as the Seneschal of Ulster, he was captured in 1481 by the Clandeboye forces and was subsequently "blinded and castrated in captivity", making him unfit to carry on his duties.

16th century: weakening and decline

The Kingdom of Clandeboye had been divided in the early 16th century into "Lower Clandeboye" and "Upper Clandeboye", following a decline in power of the last undivided King of Clandeboye, Murtagh Dulenagh O'Neill. His nephews from two of his older brothers, who had also been Kings of Clandeboye ( Phelim Bacagh O'Neill and

Niall Oge O'Neill Niall Oge O'Neill (Irish: ''Niall Óg Ó Néill'') was a lord of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. A son of Niall Mór O'Neill, he succeeded his brother, Phelim Bacagh O'Neill, to the lordship of Clandeboye after his death in 1533. He reigned un ...

), took advantage of their uncle's weakness and established themselves. This situation was recognised as such and reported by Thomas Cusack, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland in his letter to the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...

on the current state of Ireland in March 1552. Neighbouring the Clandeboye to the north-east were a group of

Highland Scots The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

in the

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

soldiers under the leadership of the

MacDonnell of Antrim The MacDonnells of Antrim ( Gaelic: ''Mac Domhnaill''), also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the Scottish-based Clan Donald. Initially part of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg (Clan Donald South), the MacDonnells of ...

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

). 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 (from whom the Clandeboye's had branched off in the 13th century). Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex from NPG

Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex from NPG

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, whereby the English were attempting to establish the Kingdom of Ireland, various Gaelic kings were offered a policy of

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English l ...

. They could keep their traditional territories as lords, so long as they legally and culturally Anglicised, 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 took him up on the offer, exchanging the

Kingship of Tyrone King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

for the Earldom of Tyrone in 1542. The heir to this title was the

Baron Dungannon The title Baron of Dungannon in the Peerage of Ireland was associated with the first creation of the title of Earl of Tyrone. History When Conn Bacach O'Neill. 1st Earl of Tyrone surrendered his Irish principality of Tír Eoghain to Henry VIII in ...

: 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 List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

and infilicted notable military defeats on establishment figures such as the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. 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 Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

(the oldest son of the aforementioned

) 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 William Piers may refer to: * William Piers (bishop) William Piers (Pierse, Pierce; –1670) was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1621 to 1624, Bishop of Peterborough from 1630 to 1632 and Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1632 until t ...

with the support of

Brian McPhelim O'Neill Sir Brian McPhelim Bacagh O'Neill (died 1574) was a lord of Lower Clandeboye, a Gaelic lordship in north-eastern Ireland during the Tudor period. Life O'Neill was the son of Phelim Bacagh O'Neill. In 1556 he became lord of Lower Clandeboye. O' ...

, 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 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. 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 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 ...

: Sir Thomas Smith, her principal Secretary of State was granted what would become north Down and the Ards, while the

was also to be a major beneficiary with a grant of all of

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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 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 and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

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 William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, 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 pe ...

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 st ...

, being based at

and Drogheda 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 Belfast Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent positio ...

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 Ire ...

, 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 The Rathlin Island massacre took place on Rathlin Island, off the coast of Ireland on 26 July 1575, when more than 600 Scots and Irish were killed. Sanctuary attacked Rathlin Island was used as a sanctuary because of its natural defences and ...

(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

Shane's Castle, County Antrim - geograph

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 reje ...

, the new Lord Deputy of Ireland, 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 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 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

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 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 ...

and so when his nephew

Brian MacArt O'Neill Brian MacArt O'Neill was a member of the O'Neill Dynasty, the leading Gaelic family of Ulster. He was the son and heir of Art MacBaron O'Neill of Oneilland and a grandson of Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon. He may have taken part in Tyrone ...

was sent into Clandeboye to control its military affairs, it brought the area into collaboration. This conflict, in alliance with Habsburg Spain, 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, 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 Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Be ...

, 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 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Montgomery and Hamilton began a private, non-government plantation of the area with Scots from Ayrshire 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 U ...

. 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

. They were able to secure

back from their cousins. They were noted for their staunch loyalty to the Stuart dynasty, 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 ...

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 The Battle of Antrim was fought on 7 June 1798, in County Antrim, Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between British troops and Irish insurgents led by Henry Joy McCracken. The British won the battle, beating off a rebel attack on Antri ...

. His two sons, also Viscounts, were involved in Irish politics too. They established Tullymore Lodge in

Broughshane Broughshane ( , formerly spelt Brughshane, ) is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northeast of Ballymena and north of Antrim, on the A42 road. It is part of Mid and East Antrim District Council and had a population of 2 ...

and Cleggan Lodge, originally a shooting lodge.Since the 19th century, one branch of the Chichester family (of English ancestry) have adopted the surname "O'Neill." This took place upon the death of

John O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill (30 December 1780 – 12 February 1855) was an Irish Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1802 to 1841 and then in the House of Lords. O'Neill was the son of John, 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 hi ...

. 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

unionist politics with

Terence O'Neill 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 ...

and Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan. 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 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 ...

was present at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 and was instrumental in asking

Flora MacDonald Flora MacDonald ( Gaelic: ''Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill'', 1722 - 5 March 1790) was a member of Clan Macdonald of Sleat, best known for helping Charles Edward Stuart evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden in April 1746. Her famil ...

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. 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

, 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

, 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 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 judi ...

. 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 B ...

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, sometime ...

, 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 This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Armagh. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1831. L ...

. 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. Jorge O'Neill - Diario Illustrado (21Nov1890)

Jorge O'Neill - Diario Illustrado (21Nov1890)

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 Toome or Toomebridge () is a small village and townland on the northwest corner of Lough Neagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies in the civil parish of Duneane in the former barony of Toome Upper, and is in the Antrim and Newtownabbe ...

for a time), were implicated in Tyrone's Rebellion, served under

Owen Roe O'Neill Owen Roe O'Neill ( Irish: ''Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill;'' – 1649) was a Gaelic Irish soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster. O'Neill left Ireland at a young age and spent most of his life as a mercenary in the Spanish ...

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 ...

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 a ...

. His son, Carlos O'Neill, was a Professed Knight of the

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was ...

and was familiar with John VI of Portugal. 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 A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. They remained in touch with Irish affairs and Jorge Torlades O'Neill II was a friend of

Roger Casement Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...

, 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 Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

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 Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served the Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of King Henry VII in 1485 his successor a ...

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-old ...

, the King of Spain and the King of Portugal 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 The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...

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 Lat ...

, 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

from 1565 to 1603 and the intellectual justifications they developed for ethnic cleansing native populations, especially in Munster and Clandeboye. There is a focus on the so-called "

", 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 receive ...

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 Lati ...

and

Peter Carew Sir Peter Carew (1514? – 27 November 1575) of Mohuns Ottery, Luppitt, Devon, was an English adventurer, who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England and took part in the Tudor conquest of Ireland. His biography was written by ...

. Others such as Edmund Spenser (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. 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 his ...

's axiom ''

Carthago delenda est ("Furthermore, I consider that Carthage must be destroyed"), often abbreviated to ("Carthage must be destroyed"), is a Latin oratorical phrase pronounced by Cato the Censor, a politician of the Roman Republic. The phrase originates from deb ...

'' (in their ideal, Gaels were analogous to Carthaginians). Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower

Although

herself called for "moderation", from 1573, these "theories" would begin to take place on the ground with the activities of the

. He imagined a completely demilitarised Ulster, where no Gael (Irishman or Scots), whether kerne or

, 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 e ...

'', tiling the land in agricultural labour under English overlordship. The contemporary John Derricke's '' The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne'' (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, Glo ...

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 accompani ...

as a weapon of war against the locals, bragging that grain 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-modula ...

(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

in November 1574, whereby, at a feast in Belfast Castle, hosted by Sir

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 Murtagh Dulenagh O'Neill (Irish: ''Muirchertach Duileanach Ó Néill'') was a lord of Clandeboye in medieval Ireland. A son of Niall Mór O'Neill, he succeeded his brother, Niall Oge O'Neill, to the lordship of Clandeboye after his death in 1537 ...

, 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

and Edenduffcarrick. Clandeboye itself was later divided between

, County Down and

County Coleraine County Coleraine, called the County of Colerain in the earliest documents,Hill, George. ''The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans; The Conquest of Ireland''. Irish Roots Cafe, 2004. p.97 was one of the counties of Ireland from 1585 to 1613. It was ...

(later County Londonderry) in the Kingdom of Ireland.

Diocese of Down and Connor

The religion which predominated at an official level in Clandeboye was Catholic Christianity. 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 The Bishop of Down was an episcopal title which took its name from the town of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. The bishop's seat (Cathedra) was located on the site of the present cathedral church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the Church ...

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 anoth ...

(these diocese having been formed in 1111 at the

Synod of Ráth Breasail The Synod of Ráth Breasail (also known as Rathbreasail) ( Irish: ''Sionad Ráth Bhreasail'') was an Irish Catholic church council which took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and ...

, 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 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 cham ...

in 1537 and the policy enforced on the ground more directly after 1541 as part of the

. The most prestigious of which was

Bangor Abbey Bangor Abbey was established by Saint Comgall in 558 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland and was famous for its learning and austere rule. It is not to be confused with the slightly older abbey in Wales on the site of Bangor Cathedral. Hist ...

, 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 by a ...

during the time of Clandeboye. The Augustinians were also at

Movilla Abbey Movilla Abbey ( ga, Mainistir Mhaigh Bhile "Monastery of the Plain of the Notable Tree") in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, is believed to have been one of Ulster's and Ireland's most important monasteries. Movilla should not be confu ...

, 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 ...

, 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 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 mystic Dominic of Cal ...

(Dominicans). The

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

(Franciscans) were also at Carrickfergus Friary, but Clandeboye's influence over them differed from time to time.

Holywood Priory A monastery was founded by St Laiseran before 640 on the site of the present ruins of the medieval Old Priory at the junction of High Street, Victoria Road and the Old Bangor Road in Holywood, County Down, Holywood, County Down. The present ruins ...

, 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 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 Clarawood is a housing estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located in the east of the city and incorporates the neighbouring Richhill development. Its name is probably derived from ''An Chlárach'' (). It is located off Knock Road (A55). ...

, Belfast.

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