Tulio O'Neill O'Keefe, 7th Marquis of La Granja (1784–1855), was a general of Irish origin who served in the Spanish army.. Isabel Sánchez, José Luis
"Tulio O'Neill O'Keefe". ''Historia Hispánica''.

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Retrieved 1 February 2025.

Family

His parents were Tulio O'Neill O'Kelly and Catalina O'Keeffe Vélez, both of Irish origin, and his uncle,

Arturo O'Neill Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone y O'Kelly (January 8, 1736 – December 9, 1814) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator. He came from a lineage that occupied prominent European positions and titles, since at least the 12th century. ...

, was a lieutenant general in the Spanish army and a Spanish colonial governor. Through his marriage to Manuela Luisa de Castilla y Quevedo, Marchioness of La Granja, Tulio O'Neill O'Keefe became the 7th Marquis of La Granja.

Early career

He graduated as a captain in the Infantry Militias before being attached to the Puerto Rico Regiment. In 1807, he joined the

Division of the North The Division of the North () was a Spanish division, made up of fourteen battalions of infantry and five regiments of cavalry, "all completed to war strength", Oman, Charles (1902)''A History of the Peninsular War'', Vol. I, pp. 367, 374–375. ...

, a division, composed of 15,000 men under the command of the Marquis de La Romana,

Pedro Caro y Sureda Pedro Caro Sureda, 3rd Marquis of La Romana (2 October 1761 – 23 January 1811) was a Spanish Army officer and nobleman who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. His two younger brothers, José Caro Sureda,. Martín-Lanuza, A ...

, that was initially deployed, between 1807 and 1808, to perform garrison duties in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

under Marshal Bernadotte. In March 1808, along with a Franco-Belgian unit of approximately the same size, the unit was deployed to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, with the two-fold objective of protecting that country, also an ally of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, and preparing for an invasion of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

.. Casinello Pérez, Andrés
"Pedro Caro Sureda". ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').

. Retrieved 28 April 2023.

Peninsular War

Following the

Evacuation of La Romana's division The evacuation of La Romana's division in August 1808 was a military operation in which a division of troops belonging to the Kingdom of Spain and commanded by Pedro Caro, Marquis of La Romana defected from the armies of the First French E ...

, O'Neill saw action at the Battle of Valmaseda and at the

Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros The Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros took place during the Napoleonic Wars, on 10 and 11 November 1808 at the village of Espinosa de los Monteros in the Cantabrian Mountains. It resulted in a French victory under Marshal Victor against Li ...

, in November 1808. The following month he was promoted to Infantry captain. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1809, at the end of that year he was given command of the

Regiment of Hibernia The Regimiento ''Hibernia'' (Hibernia Regiment) was one of the Spanish army's foreign regiments (''infantería de línea extranjera''). Known by many in Spain as "O'Neill's Regiment", it was formed in 1709. Serafín María de Sotto, 3rd Count of ...

. At the beginning of 1810, he was appointed aide-de-camp to La Romana in 1810 and promoted to lieutenant colonel shortly thereafter, and in January 1811, following the death of La Romana, he was appointed aide-de-camp to General

Castaños Castaños is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is ...

, under whom he saw action at the Siege of Olivença and at the

Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about sou ...

, as colonel of the Princess's Regiment. In 1812, he saw action at the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo and at the

Battle of Salamanca The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese Army, Anglo-Portuguese army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Earl of Wellington (future ...

, entering Madrid the followin November. In 1813, he took part in the Siege of Pamplona. Later that year, he was promoted to brigadier and pursued Napoleon's retreating army into France. The following year he took part in the

Battle of Bayonne The Battle of Bayonne (14 April 1814), the last major battle of the Peninsular War, ensued when the French garrison of Bayonne led by General of Division Pierre Thouvenot launched a sortie against a besieging force of British, Portuguese, and ...

Post-war years

Between 1820 and 1822, during the

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

, he was the commander-in-chief of Murcia until his retirement. However, following the restoration of

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

, O'Neill returned to active service and was appointed military govervor forst of Seville and then, in 1826, of Ceuta. In 1828, he was given command of a brigade of the Royal Guard and promoted to field marshal.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill OKeefe, Tulio O'Neill dynasty Spanish people of Irish descent 18th-century Spanish military personnel 19th-century Spanish military personnel Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars