Henry MacShane O'Neill (; – 1622) was an Irish nobleman and a son of
Shane O'Neill. He was the leader of the MacShanes in the late 16th century and early 17th century, and sought control of the O'Neill Clan, fighting with his brother Art against
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
Early life
Henry was born to the ruling family of Ulster at the time. His father is known to history as "Shane the Proud", though in his own lifetime he went by Sean Donnellach O'Neill, as he was fostered by the Donnelly clan. It is believed Henry's mother was Catherine MacDonnell, Shane's first wife, which makes him one of Shane's oldest and legitimate children. He had many half brothers, but his only full brother was Shane Og, Shane O'Neill's oldest son.
He was fostered in the households of the
O'Cahan's, the O'Cuinn's and possibly
MacDonnell Gallowglass, due to the danger posed by other
O'Neill family members. Henry led his half brothers
Hugh Gavelagh and
Con MacShane O'Neill. Collectively the brothers were known as the "MacShanes", and waged a continual war from 1583 to 1591 for domination of
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 ...
with the backing of a Scottish army made up of
Macleans and MacDonnells.
In the late 1570s, Sir
William Drury detected in
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, an ambition to become clan chief. He advised, as a further precaution, that Henry MacShane O'Neill should be maintained as a check on him.
Push for power
Henry and Con made a push for power in the summer of 1584; their actions precipitated the temporary collapse of the authority of
Turlough Luineach O'Neill. Hugh and Art spent two years in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
looking for help from their kinsman
Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean. Maclean landed with a force of 3,000 men in
Lough Foyle
Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over t ...
and travelled to free Henry and Con from the custody of Turlough.
Although Henry and Con remained with Turlough, the O'Donelly's and O'Cahan's defected to Mclean's side. When Turlough was thought to have died, the brothers were freed. But Con left, and without his presence western
Tyrone was exposed to a direct attack from
Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the
Rí of
Tyrconnell. Although after the death of Turlough, Henry was the strongest candidate for becoming the O'Neill, Hugh O'Neill made a direct bid for leadership and mustered a large force, marching toward the inaugural stone in
Tullyhogue.
Henry was unable to quickly retaliate, as he and his brother Art were imprisoned in
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin.
It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...
in 1585 by
Lord Deputy Sir
John Perrot, who was on a tour of the north that year. They both escaped, ironically, with
Hugh Roe O'Donnell,
Tanist of Tír Conaill, shortly before
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
1591. Hugh Roe eventually returned to Tyrconnell, but the MacShanes were not so lucky. Art died from exposure, having suffered more for his advanced age compared to his companions during his imprisonment, and after having a rock dropped on him during their flight from the castle, in
Glenmalure, during the escapers' desperate trek towards the land of
Fiach McHugh O'Byrne, and Perrot enabled Hugh O'Neill and Turlough Luineach to attack the territory of James O'Donnelly, the main supporter of the MacShanes.
After Henry MacShane separated from Art and O'Donnell in Dublin, he returned to Ulster. Tyrone took the precaution of re-incarcerating Henry there. In 1593, Henry was present at Dundalk with the Earl and his Countess
Mabel.
[Bagenal 1925, p. 55.]
Relationship with Hugh O'Neill
He opposed his first cousin,
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, continuously during the 1590s and into the 1600s, alongside his brothers. Henry and Tyrone battled for supremacy over two decades, and Henry was subject to long imprisonment by Tyrone; but after Henry's son married Tyrone's daughter he fought for Tyrone during the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
.
When Tyrone fled to Europe, the English seized his lands and set up a jury to redistribute them; the jury contained many of his enemies, including Henry and some of his brothers. Henry was granted a large estate from this land in
Orior,
County Armagh
County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...
.
Known children and grandchildren
Children
*Henry Og MacShane - Henry's son, Henry Og, married Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone's daughter Cortine, and was knighted Sir Henry McShane O'Neill. He was killed by the forces of Sir
Cahir O'Doherty on 6 May 1608 during
O'Doherty's Rebellion following the
Burning of Derry. Henry Og had a son named Sir Felim Roe, and a daughter who married Brian mac Hugh Oge O'Neill, Lord of the Feeva, ancestor of Charles Henry O'Neill "The Barrister", of the Feeva, ancestor of the O'Neill Conroys of Newfoundland through his only daughter Elizabeth and
James Gervé Conroy, whose descent is now numerous. Padré Carlos, or "San Carlos" of Monsefú Perú, (died 1966) was of this line.
*Con Boy McShane – Son of Henry. Little is known about Con Boy other than that he led a raid on MacMahon country for Turlough Lineach in 1569.
*Cormocke MacShane - Member of the jury to distribute Hugh O'Neill's land
Grandchildren
*Sir Felim Roe MacShane – Son of Henry Og, knighted like his father. Born 1604, died 1653.
*Sir Turlough MacShane - Son Of Henry Og, knighted; married Catherine Ny; their children were Neal Roe, Bryan, Henry, Con Boy, Charles, Hugh, Phelim and Turlough Og. He died young in 1608 and his land was divided among his immediate family.
Great-grandchildren
*
Phelim MacShane - son of Turlough. Received land with his mother in Tyrone. Leader in the 1641 Rebellion; executed 1653.
*Turlough Og MacShane– brother of Felim Roe; received land in Armagh.
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans; The Conquest, page 135 ''By George Hill''
*The Origins of the MacShanes
{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Henry MacShane
1622 deaths
O'Neill dynasty
Year of birth unknown