Charles Henry St John O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill, KP, PC (I) (22 January 1779 – 12 February 1841) was an Irish politician, peer and landowner. He was born in 1779 to John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill, of

Shane's Castle Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which was mostly destroyed in 1816 by fire. The castle is situated on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh, 2.7 miles from Randalstown. Built ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

before joining

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 23 November 1795. He succeeded as second Viscount O'Neill in 1798 on the death of his father and was made Viscount Raymond and Earl O'Neill in 1800 after the Act of Union, when it was decided that O'Neill should have precedence in the

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. After the passing of the act he was elected as one of the 28 Irish peers allowed to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in September 1800. In 1807 he was appointed one of the joint

Postmasters General of Ireland The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23 & 24 Geo 3 c. 17 (I) in 1784. The po ...

along with

Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty Richard Le Poer Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, 1st Marquess of Heusden (19 May 1767 – 24 November 1837), styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805, was an Anglo-Irish peer, a nobleman in the Dutch nobility, and ...

and in 1809 with Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse; in practice this was merely an honorary appointment, with the Post Office secretary (Sir Edward Lees) doing much of the work. He was made a member of the Order of St. Patrick on 13 February 1809 and

Lord Lieutenant of Antrim A list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Antrim, located in Northern Ireland. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. G. E. C., ed. Vicary Gibbs, ''The Complete ...

on 17 October 1831. He died on 25 March 1841 with no heirs; as such the earldom became extinct and the viscountcy transferred to his younger brother

John O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill (30 December 1780 – 12 February 1855) was an Irish Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1802 to 1841 and then in the House of Lords. O'Neill was the son of John, Viscount O'Neill ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Charles Oneill, 1st Earl 1779 births 1841 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Knights of St Patrick Lord-lieutenants of Antrim Members of the Privy Council of Ireland People educated at Eton College O'Neill dynasty Irish representative peers Grand masters of the Orange Order Members of the Irish House of Lords Postmasters general of Ireland