Sir Turlough McHenry O'Neill (died 1608) is known for having been killed together with his father, Henry, fighting for the crown in O'Doherty's Rebellion and for being the father of Sir Phelim O'Neill, who started the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

Birth and origins

Turlough was a son of Henry Oge O'Neill and his wife Cortine (or Catherine) O'Neill. Turlogh's father was called "oge" (

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

Irish '' óg'', young) to distinguish him from Turlough's grandfather who was also named Henry O'Neill. His father was the head of the O'Neills of Kinard, who were a cadet branch that parted from the O'Neill More when Turlough's great-grandfather Shane O'Neill (died 1517), a younger son of Conn More O'Neill, King of Tir Eoghan, received Kinard as appanage. His mother was a daughter of

Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (; – 20 July 1616) was an Irish lord and key figure of the Nine Years' War. Known as the "Great Earl", he led the confederacy of Irish lords against the English Crown in resistance to the Tudor conquest of Ir ...

. Both parents were thus part of the Gaelic O'Neill Dynasty 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 ...

Tyrone's Rebellion

Turlough's branch of the family had served on

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

's side against 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 ...

(1594-1603). They were rewarded by having their land at Kinnard,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, granted to them directly by the crown, outside of Tyrone's overlordship. Turlogh was knighted on 17 April 1604 at Rheban Castle by George Carey (c. 1541 – 1616), who had for a short time been lord deputy under Mountjoy, Lord Lieutenant, in 1603.

O'Doherty's Rebellion and death

In 1608 he and his father Henry were both killed during O'Doherty's Rebellion. Sir Cahir O'Doherty had, like them, been a loyalist to the Crown, but was driven into rebellion by the treatment he received from local officials, mainly from Sir George Paulet, governor of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. On 19 April 1608 he took

by surprise in what is called the Burning of Derry. Some of his supporters killed Paulet. His forces then rampaged across Ulster attacking those who would not join him. His men attacked Kinnard, burned it and killed O'Neill and his father. O'Doherty was eventually defeated and killed in July at the decisive Battle of Kilmacrennan in County Donegall. Sir Turlough was succeeded by his young son Sir Phelim O'Neill. His widow Catherine remarried to Robert Hovendon, a Catholic of recent English origin, who was stepfather to Sir Phelim. Their son, also called Robert Hovenden, joined Sir Phelim when he launched the

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * – 1603–1623 * – (Preview) * – (for timeline) * * – (Snippet view) * – Knights bachelors & Index 17th-century Irish people Irish knights People from County Tyrone Year of birth unknown 1608 deaths People of O'Doherty's rebellion {{Ireland-bio-stub