Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone

Hugh O'Neill came from a line of the O'Neill dynasty—derbfine—that the English authorities recognized as the legitimate successors to the Chiefs of the O'Neills and to the title of Earl of Tyrone. He was the second son of Matthew O'Neill, also called Feardorach,[4] reputed illegitimate son of Conn, 1st Earl of Tyrone.

Shane O'Neill, a legitimate son of Conn O'Neill, employed the ambivalent status of Matthew's paternity to affirm his own claim to the title "The O'Neill". This claim centred on the claim that Matthew was the son of a Dublin blacksmith surnamed Kelly and his wife Alison, whom Conn Bacagh had had an affair with. This would render Matthew illegitimate in both the Irish and English systems of succession.[5]

In the ensuing conflict for the succession, Matthew was killed by the O'Donnelly followers of Shane and Conn, placing his sons Brian and Hugh in a precarious situation. The continuing support for their claims came from the English administration in Dublin Castle, which was anxious to use the support of the sons of Matthew to break the independent power of the O'Neill lords of Ulster. This was part of a general English policy to transform Irish Gaelic titles into feudal titles granted under the Crown that would bring them entirely within the English legal system through a policy known as surrender and regrant, in which the Irish Clan Chiefs forcibly surrendered their lands to the Crown and had them granted back into their keeping as property of the Crown, rather than the property of the sept, or Gaelic extended family.

Hugh succeeded his brother, Brian, as baron of Dungannon, when the latter was assassinated by Shane's tanist Turlough Luineach O'Neill in 1562.[6][7] Hugh O'Neill was proclaimed Earl of Tyrone in 1585 but when he went through the ancient ritual of becoming 'The O'Neill', the Chief of Tír Eoghain, in 1595, he had thrown down the gauntlet to Tudor power. O'Neill became a ward of the state and was brought up in the Hovendan household, an Anglo-Irish family, at Balgriffin, outside Dublin, in the Pale. Growing up in an area of English control he had knowledge of English customs and politics, mainly through his attendance at the Irish Parliament and the court in England. He was able to secure allies such as the Earls of Ormonde and Leicester.[8][9] But after the death of Shane he returned to Ulster in 1567 under the protection of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of Ireland.[1] In Tír Eoghain, 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, 14th Earl of Desmond, and assisted Sir John Perrot against Sorley Boy, the first Chief of Clan MacDonnell of the Glens in 1584. English commander Grey described him as the "first Irish lord to spill blood".[1][9]

Engraving of a portrait

In the following year he was summoned to attend the Irish House of Lords in Dublin as Earl of Tyrone and,[1] 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.

However, with Turlough now having succeeded Shane as The O'Neill, he had yet to choose as tanist. The position was contested by Hugh and Shane's sons, the MacShanes. Due to their father, the MacShanes were favoured within Tyrone, but outside the kingdom, they were disliked because of the cruelty of their father towards the various smaller Kingdoms under the overlordship of the O'Neills. Furthermore, the MacShanes had lost a valuable ally in their kin, the Fitzgeralds of Desmond, following their defeat in the Desmond Wars.[9]

Hugh, through marriage, was able to gain an important ally in the Red Hugh O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill, from whom he was able to secure Scottish mercenaries to fight the MacShanes. In turn, Hugh supported O'Donnell in a succession dispute within his own kingdom.[9]

Through his other contacts, Hugh had the support of lords and earls in Ormonde, Leicester and Argyll, and even had the support of Lord Deputy of Ireland Fitzwilliam, whom he bribed. With this overwhelming alliance, in 1592 Turlough was forced to name Hugh as his tanist. Afterwards, Hugh murdered Hugh Gavelagh McShane, whom he reputedly hanged over a Hawthorn tree with his bare hands.[9]

But it was during this war of succession that the English administration had begun to become suspicious of O'Neill's ambitions, and in 1587 they kidnapped Hugh's ally Red Hugh O'Donnell, holding him in Dublin Castle, along with Art MacShane O'Neill. After several failed attempts to break him out of prison, in the winter of 1591 O'Neill was finally able to successfully aid the escape of O'Donnell and MacShane, possibly through the bribing of high-level officials in Dublin.[9]

The pair of fugitives fled the city to the Wicklow Mountains, a stronghold of the O'Byrnes, who were led by Fiach McHugh O'Byrne, one of O'Neill's allies. An O'Byrne search party found the two buried in snow and close to death near Glendalough. Red Hugh famously lost his two big toes to frostbite, but MacShane died. While it is believed MacShane died of exposure, there has been some speculation as to whether O'Neill had the O'Byrnes kill MacShane when they found him, to remove him as a political opponent of O'Neill.[9]

His constant disputes with Turlough were fomented by the English with a view to weakening the power of the O'Neills, but the two came to some agreement and Turlough abdicated in 1593. Hugh was subsequently inaugurated as The O'Neill at Tullyhogue in the style of the former Gaelic kings, and became the most powerful lord in Ulster. Turlough died in 1595.[1]

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 clan chiefs.[1] In keeping with the practice common at the time, he bribed officials both in Ireland and at Elizabeth I'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 Chief of the O'Neills was best secured by an alliance with the English or by rebellion against the advance of their government into Ulster from 1585.

O'Neill ruled as a sort of absolute monarch. Upon claiming the title of the O'Neill, Hugh decided that he needed to increase the revenue he was generating from the taxes on his subjects. Eventually, he was generating £80,000 of revenue. For comparison, in the 1540s the Tudor monarchy in England had been only making £40,000 of revenue. Although that figure had certainly increased since then, in financial terms O'Neill was in a position to challenge the English administration.[9]

He also tied the peasantry to the land, effectively making them serfs, increasing production of materials and guaranteeing his supply of labour. The increased revenue allowed him to purchase muskets, pikes and ammunition from Britain. He also had several Spanish and English military advisors in his pay, the Spanish ones having been sent by Philip II of Spain.[9]

O'Neill, like his predecessor Shane O'Neill, introduced conscription to all men within his country, regardless of their social class. Ultimately, the increased cash flow, coupled with the production of materials from the larger labour force, allowed O'Neill to arm and feed over 8,000 men—quite impressive for a Gaelic lord. The force was trained and equipped with the latest European weapons and tactics.[9]

In the early 1590s, the English government in Ulster took the form of a Provincial Presidency, to be headed by the colonist, Henry Bagenal who lived at Newry. In 1591, O'Neill roused the ire of Bagenal by eloping with his sister, Mabel, but showed his loyalty to the crown with his military support for his brother-in-law in the defeat of Hugh Maguire at Belleek in 1593.[1] After Mabel's death, O'Neill gradually fell into a barely concealed opposition to the crown and sought aid from Spain and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In 1595, Sir John Norris was ordered to Ireland at the head of a considerable force for the purpose of subduing him, but O'Neill succeeded in taking the Blackwater Fort before Norris could prepare his forces. O'Neill was instantly proclaimed a traitor at Dundalk.[1] The war that followed is known as the Nine Years' War.

In 1598 O'Neill appointed James FitzThomas FitzGerald, the so-called Sugán Earl, as Earl of Desmond. Two years later in his camp at Inniscarra near Cork city, he recognized the celebrated Florence MacCarthy as The MacCarthy Mor or Prince of Desmond.[23] The fiasco of the 1599 campaign by Essex in Ireland added to the power vacuum in most parts of Ireland.

O'Neill had little influence on the Lords of the Pale in Leinster, and his army had to feed itself by plunder, making him unpopular. He made enemies of some lords by interfering in their traditional autonomy if they did not give him their entire support. These included Lord Inchiquin; Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde; the Magennis of west County Down and Tiobóid na Long Bourke.

O'Neill issued a proclamation to the Pale Lords on 15 November 1599, many of whom were Roman Catholic, protesting that his campaign was not for personal power but only for the freedom of the Catholic religion.[24] This was unconvincing to them, as before 1593 he had practised as an Anglican, and was not known for having any great interest in religion.

At the international level, O'Neill and O'Donnell had offered themselves as vassals of King Philip II of Spain in late 1595, and suggested that Archduke Albert might be crowned Prince of Ireland, which was declined. In late 1599, in a strong position after Essex's failed campaign, O'Neill sent a list of 22 proposed terms for a peace agreement to Queen Elizabeth, including a request on the status of future English viceroys. This amounted to accepting English sovereignty over Ireland as a reality while hoping for tolerance and a strong Irish-led administration. The proposal was ignored.[25]

O'Neill was married four times:[11]

• Married a daughter, probably Katherine, of Brian Mac Phelim O'Neill of Clandeboye in 1574, the marriage was annulled on grounds of consanguinity, although they had had several children.[26] She subsequently married Niall MacBrian Faghartach.[27]
• 1574 married Siobhán (or Joanna; died 1591), daughter of Sir Hugh O'Donnell. In 1579 this marriage was repudiated, but shortly afterwards they were reconciled.[26] They had two sons,[26] and three daughters.[27]
  • Hugh (1585–1609).[26] He was known as the baron of Dungannon, died in Rome and was buried in San Pietro di Montorio.[27]
  • Henry O'Neill (1586?–1617×21).[26] He became a colonel of an Irish regiment in the Archduke's army.[27]
  • Ursula, said to have been married to Sir Nicholas Bagenal.[27]
  • Sorcha (or Sarah), who married to Arthur Magennis, 1st Viscount Iveagh.[27]
  • a daughter who married The 3rd Viscount Mountgarret.[27]
• Mabel Bagenal (died 1595), the daughter of Sir Nicholas Bagenal.[27]
• Catherine Magennis (died 15 March 1619[28]) daughter of Sir Hugh Magennis of Iveagh. She accompanied O'Neill on his flight, and is believed to have died at Louvain. She was the mother of several daughters, one of whom, Aellis (Elice, or Alice), married The 1st Earl of Antrim and another Hugh Roe O'Donnell. She also had three sons:[27]
  • John O'Neill or Shane Niall (died 1641). He called himself The 3rd Earl of Tyrone. He entered the Spanish army, was called "El conde de Tyrone", and was killed in Catalonia.[27]
  • Con Brian (died 16 August 1617), who either was murdered or committed suicide in Brussels.[27]

It is probable O'Neill married a fifth time, for mention is made of a young Countess of Tyrone during his residence in Rome. He had, in addition, numerous illegitimate children, of whom one, Con, who was left behind at the time of the flight, was educated at Eton College as a Protestant, and died apparently about 1622 in the Tower of London.[27]

• In his 1861 poem Eirinn a' Gul ("Ireland Weeping"), Uilleam Mac Dhunlèibhe, an important figure in 19th century Scottish Gaelic literature, recalled the many stories about his fellow Gaels in Inis Fáil (Ireland) he had heard in the Ceilidh houses of Islay, before that island was emptied by the Highland Clearances. He then lamented the destruction wreaked upon the Irish people by both famine and similar mass evictions ordered by Anglo-Irish landlords. He particularly laments the loss of the Chiefs of the Irish clans, who led their clansmen in war and provided "leadership of the old and true Gaelic kind". Mac Dhunlèibhe comments sadly that the mid-19th century fighters for Irish republicanism had none of the heroic qualities shown by Red Hugh O'Donnell, Hugh O'Neill, and Hugh Maguire during the Nine Years War against Queen Elizabeth I. Sadly, but expressing hope for the future of the Irish people, Mac Dhunlèibhe closes by asking where are the Irish clan warriors who charged out of the mist and slaughtered the armies of the Stranger at the Battle of the Yellow Ford and the Battle of Moyry Pass.[29]
• Hugh O'Neill was played by Alan Hale Sr. in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939).
• Hugh O'Neill was portrayed by Tom Adams in the Disney film: The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966) with a character name change to Henry O'Neill.
• In the 1971 BBC drama Elizabeth R he was played by Patrick O'Connell.
• O'Neill is the central character in Brian Friel's play Making History (1989), which is concerned largely with his third marriage to Mabel Bagenal: Friel describes the marriage as a genuine if ill-fated love affair.
• Running Beast (2007), a musical theatre piece by playwright Donal O'Kelly with music by the composer Michael Holohan, commemorating The Flight of the Earls 1607–2007.
• Flint and Mirror, a 2022 novel by John Crowley, depicts O'Neill as a man whose loyalties are magically divided between the Queen of England and the old gods of Ireland.

• Cáit ar ghabhadar Gaoidhil? at History Ireland