Muirchertach Ceannfada O'Neill ( Irish: ''Muirchertach Ceannfada Ó Néill''), also known as Murtagh O'Neill and Maurice O'Neill, was a lord of Clandeboye in

medieval Ireland Ireland in the Middle Ages may refer to: * History of Ireland (400–795), Ireland in the early Middle Ages * History of Ireland (795–1169), Ireland in the high Middle Ages *History of Ireland (1169–1536), Ireland in the late Middle Ages See ...

. He succeeded his father,

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles on film during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Henry O'Neill was born in Orange, New J ...

, to the kingship of Clandeboye after his death in 1347. In 1354 his forces along with the English inflicted a heavy defeat on

Áed Remar O'Neill Aodh ( , , ; ) is a masculine Irish and Scottish Gaelic given name, which was traditionally anglicized as Hugh. The name means "fire" and was the name of a god in Irish mythology.The modern word meaning 'inflammation' or as a phrase with the I ...

, king of Tyrone. It was during Muirchertach's reign that the Clandeboye O'Neills seem to have come into possession of large tracts of land in modern-day

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 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. These lands primarily belonged to the O'Lynn kingdom of Uí Tuirtre. In 1359 O'Neill's uncle Hugh killed the

tanist Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist (; ; ) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Mann, to succeed to ...

of Uí Tuirtre, Murtagh O'Lynn. In 1368 the king of Uí Tuirtre, Thomas O'Lynn, died. After this the O'Lynn's appear to have been removed from the kingship. O'Neill reigned until his own death in 1395 and was succeeded by his son Brian Ballagh O'Neill. Another son, Henry Caoach O'Neill, would unsuccessfully contend for the lordship after Brian's death in 1425. O'Neill's nickname ''ceannfada'' (English: "Kennedy") meant long-headed or prudent.

References

Clandeboye 14th-century Irish monarchs O'Neill dynasty 1395 deaths {{Ireland-noble-stub