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 an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Thi ...

, the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

, and the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

for the Jacobites.

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 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 ...

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 ...

, and the widow of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane. His parents were both Catholic. They had married in November 1649.

Early life

He was a young child during the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

(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 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. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

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 took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

, he saw action at the

, at 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 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

Sources

* * * * * – (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