Naoise O'Haughan (), also known as Neesy, Ness and Nessie (–1720) was a

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

from Skerry in the valley of the

Braid river The Braid River ( Irish: ''Abhainn na Brád'') is a river in the borough of Mid and East Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is a tributary to the River Main. Historically, the valley in which the river flows divided the boundaries betwee ...

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 ...

in the early 18th century. He was the eldest of three sons, having two brothers called Shane and Denis. Although his father originally came from a well-off

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

farming family, the

penal laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...

introduced during the Protestant Ascendency forbade Catholic ownership of land and so were forced to rent a smaller patch of land near

Slemish Slemish, historically called Slieve Mish (), is a hill in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies a few miles east of Ballymena, in the townland of Carnstroan. Tradition holds that Saint Patrick, enslaved as a youth, was brought to this area ...

where they struggled to survive. During his family's eviction one year, O'Haughan killed his landlord with an axe and became a

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

and formed an outlaw gang. The wild rolling hills of Antrim -

Divis Divis (; ) is a hill and area of sprawling moorland north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, a ...

and Black Mountain - provided an ideal environment for O'Haughan. He is said to have hidden in caves at the Hatchet Field on the Black Mountain West of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, before he was captured and hanged at 'The Three Sisters', the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

green, near

Carrickfergus Castle Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of B ...

in 1720.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohaughan, Neesy 1690s births 1720 deaths Executed people from County Antrim Irish highwaymen People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland by hanging People executed for robbery