Conn O'Neill was a member of the

O'Neill dynasty 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 ...

, the most powerful

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

family in Ireland. He was the youngest son of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone who had initially been a supporter of the Crown but led Tyrone's Rebellion between 1594 and 1603. He then made peace and was restored to royal favour following the Treaty of Mellifont. Conn's mother was Catherine O'Neill, Countess of Tyrone, from the

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

family of

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 c ...

. Conn was left behind when Tyrone, his wife Catherine and other supporters departed Ireland during the Flight of the Earls in 1607. He was taken into the custody of the Crown and was taken to England and attended

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. However, Conn quickly became the focus of plots to make him the figurehead of an uprising, notably the Ulster Conspiracy of 1615. For security reasons he was taken out of Eton and transferred to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

to prevent a further outbreak of violence in Ireland similar to O'Doherty's Rebellion in 1608. Following the death of three of his elder brothers in exile, Conn moved up the line of succession. His father died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1616, and Conn's elder brother John O'Neill succeeded him. Conn was held in the Tower with a number of his relatives of the O'Neill and O'Donnell dynasties and may have lived in some comfort as was common for a nobleman. It is not known exactly when he died, or whether he was ever released. The last record of him is from 1622.Casway p.27

References

Bibliography

* Casway, Jerrold. ''Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. * McCavitt, John. ''The Flight of the Earls''. Gill & MacMillan, 2002. * Morgan, Hiram. ''Tyrone's Rebellion''. Boydell Press, 1999. O'Neill dynasty 17th-century Irish people People from County Tyrone People educated at Eton College Prisoners in the Tower of London Flight of the Earls Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales People of the Nine Years' War (Ireland) {{Ireland-bio-stub