Sir Cormac MacBaron O'Neill (d.1613) 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 of the Elizabethan and early

Stuart era The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during the dynasty of the House of Stuart. The period ended with the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I from the German House of Hanover. The period was plagu ...

s. He was part of the O'Neill dynasty, one of the most prominent

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.

Biography

O'Neill was the son of

Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon (alias ''Matthew Kelly'', alias ''Feardorcha Ó Néill''; 1520–1558), was an Irish aristocrat. He was accepted by Conn O'Neill as his natural son. Matthew was challenged by his half-brother Shane O'Neill ...

, who was assassinated by his half-brother and rival Shane O'Neill in 1558. His 'middle name' was a

Patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

, denoting his father's title. O'Neill's older brother was

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 ...

. Despite their father's defeat to Shane, Cormac and Hugh were able to re-establish themselves in

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 ...

thanks to help from the English government. When Hugh, having been recognised as

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 ...

by the Crown, then launched a rebellion in 1594, Cormac joined forces with him. He took part in the Siege of Enniskillen and the

Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits The Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits took place in Fermanagh, Ireland on 7 August 1594, during the Nine Years' War. A column of almost 650 English troops led by Sir Henry Duke was ambushed and defeated by a Gaelic Irish force under Hugh Magu ...

the same year. Following their defeat at the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

, Cormac remained loyal to his brother when most of his other Gaelic Irish changed sides and made peace with the Crown. Following the

Burning of Dungannon The Burning of Dungannon took place in June 1602 when Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, abandoned and set fire to Dungannon, the traditional capital of the O'Neills. It marked the beginning of the final stage of Tyrone's Rebellion when the Earl ...

, in which Tyrone destroyed his own capital, they fought a guerrilla war, and Cormac was able to ambush a force led by

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 ...

. Nonetheless his relationship with his brother became increasingly strained, despite the

Treaty of Mellifont The Treaty of Mellifont ( ga, Conradh na Mainistreach Móire), also known as the Articles of Mellifont, was signed in 1603 and ended the Nine Years' War which took place in the Kingdom of Ireland from 1594 to 1603. End of war Following the Engl ...

(1603) in which the Crown pardoned them and restored their lands. When Hugh O'Neill fled Ireland in 1607, Cormac remained behind, riding to Dublin to inform the authorities of his brother's departure, and claiming he had no part in. His claims however were contradicted by the fact he had learned of his brothers intentions at Dunalonge, being only five miles from the garrisons of Derry or Lifford, both near Lough Swilly where the earl departed. Rather than informing either garrison who would have been better placed to prevent the earl from departing he choose to give the earl as much time as possible by riding to Dublin instead. As such he was arrested and remained in prison for the remainder of his life, although he was never charged with any crime and government officials privately admitted he offered no threat, but should be kept locked up. One son, Bryan Crossagh O'Neill, was granted a small proportion of land, consisting of 1,000 acres, in Dungannon barony as part of the Plantation of Ulster. However, he was executed in 1615 for his part of the 1614 conspiracy. Another son Conn MacCormac O'Neill (or Constantino O'Neill) was an officer in the Spanish Army. Conn was considered the heir to the Earl of Tyrone by some, but this was not formally recognized because of the Crown's earlier

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* McGurk, John. ''Sir Henry Docwra, 1564-1631: Derry's Second Founder''. Four Courts Press, 2006. * Morgan, Hiram. ''Tyrone's Rebellion''. Boydell Press, 1999. *Farrell, Gerard, ''The 'Mere Irish' and the Colonisation of Ulster, 1570-1641.'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ó Néill, Cormac mac Baron 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people People from County Tyrone Irish knights O'Neill dynasty Younger sons of barons