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Brian O'Neill, also known as Brian "of the battle of Down" O'Neill (; died ), was the
High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) 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 was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
from 1258 to 1260.


Rise to power

In 1230 Hugh O'Neill (''Aedh Ó Néill''), king of Tyrone, died and was succeeded by Donnell MacLaughlin. MacLaughlin however was removed in 1238 by the
Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monar ...
,
Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly Maurice Fitzmaurice FitzGerald I, 2nd Lord of Offaly (c.1194 – 20 May 1257) was an Anglo-Norman peer, soldier, and Justiciar of Ireland from 1232 to 1245. He mustered many armies against the Irish, and due to his harsh methods as Justiciar, ...
, and Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, who installed "the son of O'Neill", presumed to have been Brian, and took the hostages of the Cenel Owen and Cenel Connell. However it may have been Brian's cousin Donnell, who afterwards was killed by MacLaughlin. After this O'Neill claimed the kingship 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 one of the most prominent family of the N ...
as well as Tyrone, possibly with the aid of Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster. In revenge, O'Neill with the aid of Melaghlin O'Donnell, king of Tyrconnell, defeated MacLoughlin and ten of his closest kinsmen at the battle of Camergi, somewhere within Tyrone north of
Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...
, in 1241. This ended the long rivalry between the MacLoughlin's and O'Neill's, with the MacLoughlin's afterwards excluded from the kingship of Tyrone and Ailech. In 1244,
Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...
sent letters to various Gaelic Irish lords, including O'Neill, requesting their aid in a military campaign against the
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 Anglo-Sc ...
. In the end the issue was sorted out diplomatically. Copies of the letter were also distributed to O'Neill's sub-chiefs including his
tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...
, Hugh Boy O'Neill. A consequence of this infighting between the rival factions of the Cenél Eoghain allowed the Normans to advance deeper into Gaelic Ulster, however in 1243 de Lacy died. Thus the Earldom of Ulster reverted to the English Crown and was taken over by royal administrators. John FitzGeoffrey, the king's chief governor in Ireland, erected a bridge across the
River Bann The River Bann (from , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is the longest rivers, river in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). The total length ...
and built castles at
Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...
and Ballyroney 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 ...
. From here FitzGeoffrey was able to penetrate deeper into Tyrone.


Conflict with O'Donnell

Despite ending MacLoughlin aspirations to the kingship, O'Neill would form a marriage alliance with them, however this resulted in a war with the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell. Subsequently in 1248 O'Neill backed the king of Tyrconnell, Rory O'Cannon (''Ruaidri Ua Canannáin''), against the claims of O'Donnell. O'Cannon had been set up in the kingship by FitzGerald, however rather than backing him, entered Tyrconnell and removed him in favour of Goffraid O'Donnell. O'Cannon, who had been expelled to Tyrone, and O'Neill, once again led their forces into Tyrconnell to confront O'Donnell, however they were defeated with O'Cannon slain. That same year John FitzGeoffrey, who replaced FitzGerald as Justiciar in 1246, entered Tyrone and took the submission and hostages of O'Neill. A resolution had been adopted at a meeting of the Cenel Owen that "since the power of the Foreigners was over the Gaeidhel of Erinn, to give hostages to the Foreigners, and to make peace with them, for the sake of their country."


Conflict

In 1249 the king of Connacht, Felim O'Connor, was given refuge from the Normans by O'Neill. In 1252, O'Neill and his brother gave their submissions to the Justiciar of Ireland, who had marched to Armagh with a large force. A Rory O'Neill was given as hostage. In 1253 as a sign of defiance against his vassal status with the Earldom of Ulster O'Neill withheld his tribute to it and raided Iveagh, destroying the castle at Ballyroney. He also launched an offensive against the Normans in
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
. That same year the son of Maurice FitzGerald led his forces into Tyrone to attack O'Neill, however he failed to take his submission or hostages and after battle suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of O'Neill. In 1255 he made a pact with Felim O'Connor's son
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
, where by allowing Hugh free rein in the kingdom of
Breifne The Kingdom of Breifne or Bréifne (), anglicized as Breffny, was a medieval overkingdom in Gaelic Ireland. It comprised what is now County Leitrim, County Cavan and parts of neighbouring counties, and corresponds roughly to the Roman Catho ...
, he would aid O'Neill against the Normans of the earldom who were eroding his territory. In 1257 the king of Tyrconnell, Goffraid O'Donnell, had been mortally wounded in battle against the FitzGeralds, and O'Neill used this opportunity to try to exact Tyrconnell's submission. As the Cenel Connell discussed what to do, Goffraid's youngest brother, Donnell Og, returned from fosterage and was conferred the chieftainship of Tyrconnell. He refused to submit O'Neill stating the Scottish proverb "Every man should have his own world".


High King of Ireland

FitzGerald in 1252 had built a castle at Caoluisce, on the banks of
Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...
, near modern-day
Belleek, County Fermanagh Belleek (Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 182. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a large village and civil parish in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. While the greater part of the village lies within County Fermanagh, part ...
, however in 1258 it was the site where O'Neill, in the presence of his ally O'Connor, was inaugurated as "King of the Gael of Erin". Whilst he received hostages from O'Connor and from O'Brien of Thomond, along with several other minor Kings from Meath and
Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
, his claim was not recognised by those of the Irish closest to him including the other O'Neill factions, the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell, the MacMahons of
Airgíalla Airgíalla (; Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all indepen ...
, and the O'Rourkes of Breifne. Indeed the following year O'Donnell would lead an attack into Tyrone.


Battle of Down and death

In 1260 O'Neill along with his O'Connor allies, launched an attack on the Normans of the Earldom of Ulster at Drumderg, near its capital at
Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...
in modern
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, Northern Ireland. The Normans levied the town, and with the aid of forces brought by Sir Roger des Auters, O'Neill and his allies were decisively defeated at the subsequent battle of Down. The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' state that the forces recruited by the Normans consisted mostly of native Irish and that the Normans played only a minor role. In the battle, O'Neill was killed along with many other Irish nobles including over a dozen members of the O'Cahans. O'Neill's head was cut off by the Normans and sent to King
Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...
, a sign of how dangerous his coalition was thought to be. After this battle, Brian would become known in Irish as ''Brian Chatha an Dúna'', meaning 'Brian of the Battle of Down'.


Lineage and successors

Brian was the son of Niall Roe (''Ruadh''), and grandson of Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc. His wife was Nuala O'Connor (''Ní Conchobair''), a daughter of Rory O'Connor the last
High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) 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 was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
before the Norman invasion. Therefore, through his mother, he would have been descended from
Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...
. After Brian's death the kingship of the Cenel Owen and with it Tyrone was taken by his cousin's son, Hugh Boy O'Neill, ancestor of the Clandeboye O'Neill's, who also had the support of the earldom of Ulster. Upon Hugh's death in 1283 Brian's son Donnell seized the kingship, which until 1295 was highly contested between him and his second-cousin Niall Culanach and Hugh Boy's son
Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...
, until he won outright control by killing his opponents.


In poetry

Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe wrote the lament ''Aoidhe mo chroidhe ceann Briain'' (Brian's head is the care of my heart).


Bibliography

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References


External links


High Kings of Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Brian People from County Tyrone 1260 deaths 13th-century Irish monarchs O'Neill dynasty Year of birth unknown Monarchs killed in action