Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone

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Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone bigraphy, stories - Irish earl

Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone : biography

– 1616

Hugh O’Neill (Irish: Aodh Mór Ó Néill; literally Hugh The Great O’Neill; c. 1550 – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic chieftain and earl of TyroneHugh is usually referred to as the 2nd earl of Tyrone. ("", Britannica) But if his elder brother Brien is counted, Hugh is 3rd. By the patent of the earldom, Brien was de jure earl between their grandfather’s death in 1559 and his own assassination in 1562. He never claimed the earldom, and did not call himself earl. He may not have been of age to take his seat in the Irish House of Lords, and he certainly did not control Tyrone. (known as the Great Earl) and was later created The Ó Néill. O’Neill’s career was played out against the background of the Tudor conquest of Ireland, and he is best known for leading the resistance during the Nine Years War, the strongest threat to English authority in Ireland since the revolt of Silken Thomas.

Notes

Dramatic portrayals

O’Neill is the central character in Brian Friel’s play Making History (1989), which is concerned largely with his marriage to Mabel Bagenal.

In the BBC drama Elizabeth R he is played by Patrick O’Connell.

Early life

O’Neill came from a line of the O’Neill dynasty – derbfine – that the English authorities recognized as the legitimate successors to the chieftainship of the O’Neills and to the title of Earl of Tyrone. He was the second son of Matthew, reputed illegitimate son of Conn, 1st Earl of Tyrone. Shane O’Neill (Seán an Díomais) a much younger son of Conn opportunistically pushed the issue of Matthew’s illegitimacy even though it made little or no difference in terms of the Irish legal system. Once Matthew was accepted by Conn as his son, he was as entitled to the O’Neill lordship as Shane.Brady, Ciaran. Shane O’ Neill In the ensuing conflict for the succession Matthew (also known in Irish as Fear Dorcha or "Dark Man"), was killed by followers of Shane and Conn fled his territory placing Hugh in a very precarious situation. His main support came from the English administration in Dublin, which was anxious to reduce the independent power of the Gaelic clans and to bring them within the English system by the policy of surrender and regrant.

O’Neill succeeded his brother, Brian, as baron of Dungannon, when the latter was murdered by Shane O’Neill in 1562. He was brought up in the Pale, by the Hoveneden family, not in England as has been erroneously claimed in various histories, but after the death of Shane he returned to Ulster in 1567 under the protection of Sir Henry Sidney, lord deputy of Ireland. In Tyrone, Hugh’s cousin, Turlough Luineach O’Neill had succeeded Shane O’Neill as The O’Neill, or chieftain, but was not recognized by the English as the legitimate Earl of Tyrone. The crown therefore supported Hugh O’Neill as the rightful claimant and as an ally in Gaelic controlled Ulster. During the Second Desmond Rebellion in Munster, he fought in 1580 with the English forces against Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, and assisted Sir John Perrot against the Scots of Ulster in 1584. In the following year he was summonsed to attend Parliament in Dublin as Earl of Tyrone and, in 1587 after a visit to the Court in England, he was awarded a patent to the lands of his grandfather, the first earl, Conn O’Neill. His constant disputes with Turlough were fomented by the English with a view to weakening the power of the O’Neills, but with the growing power of Hugh, the two came to some agreement and Turlough abdicated in 1595. Hugh was subsequently inaugurated as The O’Neill at Tullahogue in the style of the former Gaelic kings, and became the most powerful lord in Ulster.

Career

O’Neill’s career was marked by unceasing power politics: at one time he appeared to submit to English authority, and at another intrigued against the Dublin government in conjunction with lesser Irish lords. In keeping with the practice common at the time, he bribed officials both in Ireland and at Elizabeth’s court in London. Though entirely supported by the Dublin administration in his early years, he seems to have been unsure whether his position as head of the O’Neills was best secured by alliance with the English or by rebellion against the advance of their government into Ulster from 1585.