Colonel Gordon O'Neill, was an officer in King James II's Irish army who fought at the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

, the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

, and the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivale ...

for the

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 ...

Birth and origins

Gordon was born, about 1650 or about 1652 as the only child of Felim O'Neill of Kinard and his third wife Jean Gordon. His father was a prominent member of the O'Neill dynasty and one of the leaders of the Confederates. His mother was Scottish, a daughter of

George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly (156213 June 1636) was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century, and around the time of the Union of the Crowns. Biography The son o ...

, and the widow of

Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane ( – 1638) was the founder of the Strabane branch of the Hamiltons. He died relatively young at about 32 and his wife, Jean Gordon, married Sir Phelim O'Neill, one of the leaders of the 1641 rebe ...

. His parents were both Catholic. They had married in November 1649.

Early life

He was a young child during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653). His father was executed in 1653 after the defeat.

Williamite War

Gordon O'Neill raised a regiment for King James II in 1689 and became a colonel in the Irish army. He was the

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

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

in the brief

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May ...

called by James II in 1689.O'Hart, John
The Irish Parliament of King James the Second in 1689
''Irish Pedigrees: or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation'' (5th Ed., 1892), Volume 2. Retrieved 15 February 2023. During the

Williamite war in Ireland 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 ...

, he saw action 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 ...

, at the

, the

, and the

, where he was left for dead but was picked up by some Scottish Williamite officers who recognised him.

French exile

He recovered from his wounds, and took his regiment to France after the

Treaty of Limerick }), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French ...

in 1692. There, it was known as the Régiment de Charlemont. He died in 1705 in France.

Poem

The 17th-century Irish poet Dermot McMurray (Irish: Diarmuid Mac Muireadhaigh) is believed to be the author of a Gaelic poem about him. The poem has a Latin endorsement that reads: Versus hibernici Gordono Ó Neill pro lingua hibernica (Irish verses to Gordon O Neill for the Irish language). The first four verses, translated into English, read: # Go, ye handful of verses — stay not long with me — to Néill of the fine cheeks, to him everything good is due. # Say to his soft hair, from me, that ye are a nut from the tree which I plucked — its side was towards the ground — from the branch with fresh beautiful appearance. # Tell him, to excite mirth, Conn's and Cormac's heir, that in my store with ye there is a cofferful. # Sir Féidhlim's son, Emhain's prince, though he speaks not Irish, shall bestow on ye a clear-bright laugh, no shame for him it is to look upon ye.

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * – (Preview) * – Short biographies in the biographical notes * * {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Gordon 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish Jacobites Irish MPs 1689 Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Irish soldiers in the French Army Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies Military personnel from County Armagh 1705 deaths