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 Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and landowner of the Elizabethan and early Stuart eras. He was part of the O'Neill dynasty, one of the most prominent Gaelic families in Ireland.

Biography

O'Neill was the son of Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon, 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 (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

, denoting his father's title. O'Neill's older brother was Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Despite their father's defeat to Shane, Cormac and Hugh were able to re-establish themselves in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

thanks to help from the English government. When Hugh, having been recognised as Earl of Tyrone 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 same year. Following their defeat at the Battle of Kinsale, 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, in which Tyrone destroyed his own capital, they fought a

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

war, and Cormac was able to ambush a force led by Henry Docwra. Nonetheless, his relationship with his brother became increasingly strained, despite the

Treaty of Mellifont The Treaty of Mellifont (), also known as the Articles of Mellifont, was signed in 1603, ending the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War which took place in Ireland from 1593 to 1603. End of war Following the English victory in the Battl ...

(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 The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

. 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 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 hereditary titles, but ...

. Bryan Crossagh O'Neill's mother was Margaret O'Donnell, who was a sister of Hugh Roe O'Donnell. Cormac also had a son named Art who took part in the Flight of the Earls.The O'Neills in Spain, page 10
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References

Bibliography

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