Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone

Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (Irish: Conn Bacach mac Cuinn Ó Néill) (c. 1480–1559) was King of Tír Eógain, the largest and most powerful Gaelic lordship in Ireland. In 1541 O'Neill travelled to England to submit to Henry VIII as part of the surrender and regrant policy that coincided with the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland. He was made Earl of Tyrone, but his plans to pass the title and lands on to a chosen successor Matthew were thwarted by a violent succession dispute that led to another son Séan Ó Néill emerging triumphant.

His grandson Hugh O'Neill eventually succeeded him as Earl and became head of the O'Neill dynasty. Hugh continued his grandfather's alliance with the Crown until his eventual leadership of Tyrone's Rebellion and later Flight of the Earls led to the collapse of the power of the traditional Irish lords in Ulster.

Biography

Conn Bacach O'Neill was the son of Conn Mór O'Neill, King of Tír Eógain (Tyrone), and Lady Eleanor Fitzgerald. Con Mor O'Neill was the son of Henry Ó Néill, King of Tír Eógain. Eleanor Fitzgerald was the daughter of Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare. Con Bacach O'Neill was the first of the Ó Néills whom the English, in their attempts to subjugate Ireland in the 16th century, brought to the front as leaders of the native Irish. His father, the King of Tír Eógan, was murdered in 1493 by his brother.

Becoming The O'Neill

Conn, became chief of the Tyrone branch of the Ó Néills (Cenél nEógain) c. 1519 after the death of his uncle. At that time, to assume the title The O'Neill Mór, meant one assumed control over the entire Ó Néill nation. When his kinsman Kildare became viceroy in 1524, Ó Néill consented to act as his swordbearer in ceremonies of state; but his allegiance was a personal matter, and while ready enough to give verbal assurances of loyalty, he could not be persuaded to readily give hostages to later lord Deputies as security for his conduct.

Invasion and submission

O'Neill travelled to London to submit to Henry VIII the newly established King of Ireland. This was part of a major policy of surrender and regrant in which Gaelic lords formally acknowledged the Crown's authority.

After Tír Eógain was invaded in 1541 by Sir Anthony St Leger, the lord deputy, Conn delivered up his son Phelim Caoch as a hostage. He attended a parliament held at Trim, and, crossing to England, became a Protestant, and made his submission at Greenwich to Henry VIII. Henry created him earl of Tyrone for life, and presented him with money and a valuable gold chain. He was also made a privy councillor in Ireland, and received a grant of lands within the Pale.

Civil war

This event created a deep impression in Ireland, where Ó Néill's submission to the English king, and his acceptance of an English title, were resented by his clansmen and dependents. The rest of the earl's life was mainly occupied by endeavours to maintain his influence, and by an undying feud with his younger son Shane, arising out of his transaction with Henry VIII. For not only did the nomination of Ó Néill's reputed son Matthew (Ir. Feardorcha) as his heir with the title of baron of Dungannon by the English king conflict with the Irish custom of tanistry, which employed derbfine to define strict rules of direct relationship within male blood lines to regulate qualification for the chieftainship of the Irish clans, but Matthew, whose claim to being an actual son of Conn Ó Néill was in considerable doubt, was at best illegitimate and at worst simply an adoptee^[1][2] favoured against his own sons by Conn for his mother's sake. Feardorcha's mother Alison was Conn's most recent mistress and her son was publicly acknowledged to have been fathered sixteen years before by her husband, a Dundalk blacksmith.^[3] Shane, Conn's eldest living legitimate son after the assassination of Phelim Caoch by an adherent of Feardorcha, was not the man to submit tamely to any invasion of his right of succession. The fierce family feud in which Feardorcha was strongly supported by the Dublin Castle administration was only terminated when Feardorcha was murdered by agents of Shane in 1558; Conn dying about a year later.

Marriage and children

Conn's grandson Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.

Conn was twice married and had numerous sons. His first wife was Lady Alice Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare and Conn's first cousin.^[4] His known sons were Phelim Caoch O'Neill. "Caoch" was the nickname for someone with poor eyesight or "the blind". In early 1542 'The son of O'Neill (Felim Caech, son of Con, son of Con) was killed with one cast of a javelin by MacDonnell Gallowglagh" according to the entry recording his death in the Annals of the Four Masters of Ireland.,^[5] just prior to his father's submission to Henry VIII. His second wife was Sorcha O'Neill, daughter of Hugh Oge O'Neill, chief of the O'Neills of Clandeboye. Shane O'Neill was the son of Conn and Sorcha.^[6] An illegitimate daughter of Conn married the celebrated Sorley Boy MacDonnell. His family spread throughout Ireland, Scotland, Europe and the New World during the downfall of the Gaelic Order, and today there are numerous families with a direct descent from Conn.

At his death, Conn's lands and family were in turmoil; however, at the peak of his lengthy reign, he was the most powerful Irish king. He was known throughout Europe as a strong and able leader, a hearty warrior, and looked to by the Catholic world as a bastion of strength against the English crown, despite his conversion to the Protestant faith.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "O'Neill". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Annals of the Four Masters, see 1519, 1542, 1568
• State Papers of Ireland, see Tudor Papers