Viscount O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim, was a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

. It was created in 1795 for John O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill, who had earlier represented

Randalstown Randalstown is a townland and small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, between Antrim and Toome. It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate. The town is bypassed by the ...

and

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 ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...

. He had already been created Baron O'Neill, of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim, in 1793, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He died in 1798 and was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount. In 1800 he was created Viscount Raymond and Earl O'Neill in the Peerage of Ireland. The same year he was elected as one of the original 28

Irish Representative Peers In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

. The viscountcy of Raymond and earldom became extinct on his death in 1841. The barony and viscountcy of O'Neill were passed on to his only brother, the third Viscount. These titles became extinct on the latter's death in 1855. The late Viscount's estates were inherited by his cousin, the Reverend William Chichester, who assumed the surname of O'Neill in lieu of Chichester the same year. In 1868, the O'Neill title was revived when he was created

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 ...

. This title is still extant. The family seat was

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 ...

Viscounts O'Neill (1795)

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 ...

(1740–1798) * Charles Henry St John O'Neill, 2nd Viscount O'Neill (1779–1841) (created Earl O'Neill in 1800)

Earls O'Neill (1800)

* Charles Henry St John O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill (1779–1841)

Viscount O'Neill (1795; Reverted)

* John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill (1780–1855)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Neill Extinct viscountcies in the Peerage of Ireland Noble titles created in 1795

Viscount 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 judicia ...

Viscounts O'Neill (1795)

Earls O'Neill (1800)

Viscount O'Neill (1795; Reverted)

See also

References

External links