The Honourable Robert Torrens O'Neill (10 January 1845 – 25 July 1910) was an Irish Conservative, and later

Irish Unionist Unionism in Ireland is a political tradition that professes loyalty to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, crown of the United Kingdom and to the union it represents with England, Scotland and Wales. The overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Pro ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

from 1885 to 1910.

Early life

O'Neill was the third son of

William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill Reverend William O'Neill, 1st Baron O'Neill (4 March 1813 – 18 April 1883), was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer, clergyman and musical composer. Born William Chichester, he changed his surname to O'Neill in 1855. Background and education The el ...

(who was born William Chichester), and his first wife, Henrietta Torrens, daughter of Hon. Robert Torrens, a Judge of the Irish Court of Common Pleas. O'Neill was educated first at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and then at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and, later, an M.A.

Military career

In 1863, Robert was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the 4th Battalion of the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

two years later, and he later became a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1881. His military service was partially sidelined as his political career began, and he eventually retired in order to stand for election.

Political career

O'Neill served as a sheriff of

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

from 1869, and was the High Sheriff in 1871.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> He was also made deputy lieutenant for the county later that year, and later served as a justice of the peace for

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 ...

. In the 1880's O'Neill was a member of the board of director, and later chairman of the

Draperstown Railway The Draperstown Railway was an Irish gauge () in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. History The line was built between 1881 and 1883, a short single-track branch line in length, to connect Magherafelt and Draperstown. The engineer was Joh ...

. In 1885 O'Neill stood in the by-election for the constituency of Antrim, following the death of James Chaine. He was defeated by the Liberal candidate, William Pirrie Sinclair. Several months later, he was able to stand again in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, and was elected as the first Member of Parliament for Antrim Mid, which had been created following the redistribution of seats. He was returned four times unopposed between 1886 and 1906, and successfully defeated John Hamilton Verschoyle in his final election in 1906. He did not stand for re-election in January 1910, citing his failing health and age. His nephew

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, who Robert had put forward as his successor, served as MP until his own death during WW1 in 1914, and his brother,

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

was MP until the constituency was abolished in 1922.

Personal life and death

O'Neill, was heavily involved in a number of charitable institutions, and succeeded his father as president of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1883. He was a member of both the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

and Junior Carlton Club. He was never married and died on 25 July 1910 at his London residence, 11

St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian architecture, Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, following a long illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Robert Torrens 1845 births 1910 deaths Irish Conservative Party MPs Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Irish Unionist Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Londonderry Younger sons of barons

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Irish colonels 20th-century British Army personnel