Clandeboye
Clandeboye Clann Aodha Buidhe (Irish) | |||||||||||
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1295–1605 | |||||||||||
Common languages | Irish | ||||||||||
Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||||
King / Chief | |||||||||||
• 1295-1347 | Henry O'Neill (first) | ||||||||||
• 1618 | Conn O'Neill (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1295 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1605 | ||||||||||
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Today part of | United Kingdom |
Clandeboye or Clannaboy (
The kingdom came to an end at the dawn of the 17th century after Conn O'Neill, the last head of the Clandeboye O'Neills of Upper Clandeboye, signed away two-thirds of his land to his close associates
Etymology
The spelling of the name has varied over the years, and had been written variously as Clandeboye, Claneboye, Clandyboy, Clannaboy, and Clanaboy. Clandeboye has also been adopted as the name of an
History
14th century: emergence and position
The emergence of the Kingdom of Clandeboye is closely associated with the history of its neighbour the
The O'Neills were, locally, engaged in rivalries with the
By the 14th century, the Earldom of Ulster was under the Ulster branch of the
By 1347,
15th century: shifting alliances
Towards the end of the 14th century and into the early 15th century, the Clandeboye shifted away from their rapprochement with their O'Neill of Tyrone cousins and as with the case of their neighbours to the south, the
Despite being a relatively junior kingdom, Clandeboye was able to hand military defeats to ostensibly stronger powers which tried to invade them during the reigns of the brothers Murtagh Roe O'Neill and Hugh Boy II O'Neill, closely guarding their autonomy. For example, Eoghan O'Neill, King of Tyrone, invaded Clandeboye in 1444 but was defeated. His son Éinri (Henry) O'Neill, the King of Tyrone, tried the same again while invading Clandeboye in 1476, but he too was defeated. Meanwhile, during the reign of Conn O'Neill, when the Anglo-controlled Lordship tried to revive its colony in Ulster, appointing Patrick Savage of Lecale as the Seneschal of Ulster, he was captured in 1481 by the Clandeboye forces and was subsequently "blinded and castrated in captivity", making him unfit to carry on his duties.[4]
16th century: weakening and decline
The Kingdom of Clandeboye had been divided in the early 16th century into "Lower Clandeboye" and "Upper Clandeboye", following a decline in power of the last undivided King of Clandeboye,
During the
The O'Neills of Clandeboye diligently offered their services up to the Crown forces during the campaign of Shane O'Neill. Part of the backstory of this was that Brian Faghartach O'Neill (the oldest son of the aforementioned Niall Oge O'Neill) was assassinated by a then 20-year-old Shane O'Neill in 1548.[5][6] Brian Faghartach was the first Lord of Upper Clandeboye, thought likely to be involved in a surrender and regrant, allowing him to establish himself as a Lord of a portion in the now split up Clandeboye. When Shane rose up, he was able to establish his influence over Clandeboye and force it into being one of his urriaght (subsidiary) territories.[6] At Carrickfergus, an Anglo-Irish crown garrison had been established under William Piers with the support of Brian McPhelim O'Neill, the Lord of Lower Clandeboye, who was subsequently knighted for supporting them against Shane the Proud and also the Scots in the Glens of Antrim.[6] Brian McPhelim and some of his relatives acted as intelligence agents to Piers, playing a role in undermining Shane at the Battle of Farsetmore in 1567.[6]
Piers as the Seneschal of Clandeboye, was keen to encourage provincial Gaelic clans loyal to the Crown in Ulster as a balance against the influx of Scots, whose presence was unwelcome to the English: a policy which seemingly boded well for Clandeboye. Seeing himself as in a secure position, Brian McPhelim decided to flex his power and waged a private war against the Tyrone successor of Shane,
Smith had sent his illegitimate son, also named Thomas, along with the 800 English colonists who had set off from
17th century: divisions and dissolution
Various different factions of the Clandeboye O'Neills felt aggrieved by the unexpected selection of Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill (whose father had been assassinated by Shane O'Neill) as lord of Clandeboye, causing internal conflict. The situation was such that the English authorities in the form of
Shane McBrian O'Neill of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) was a
Conn McNeill O'Neill, the Lord of Upper Clandeboye, who was based at
Legacy
O'Neill heirs of Clandeboye
The most prominent heirs of the Clandeboye O'Neills were from the Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) branch, as the successors of Shane McBrian O'Neill, son of the famous Sir
A junior line of this branch, the O'Neills of Feeva (descended from Conn O'Neill (died 1585), a younger son of Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill), were deeply involved in
The branch of the Clandeboye O'Neills who were Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick), successors to Neill McHugh O'Neill, brother of
The Clandeboye O'Neills directly descended from the last sovereign King of Clandeboye,
Tudor-era genocide controversy
Academic studies of
Although
The most controversial act of Essex's tenure in Clandeboye was the Clandeboye massacre in November 1574, whereby, at a feast in Belfast Castle, hosted by Sir Brian McPhelim O'Neill who was attempting to make peace, Essex ordered his men to indiscrimanently and without warning massacre 200 men, women and children associated with his host. Sir Brian himself, along with his wife and half-brother, were taken away to Dublin to be hanged. Nevetherless, on Essex' campaign, Kiernan states that while "Essex's genocidal massacre of the O'Neill sept foreshadowed more aggressive action", as part of his wider project for the fate of the Irish in Clandeboye, if "total annihilation of the local Irish was not his goal, Essex did want them severely reduced in numbers and subjected to English domination."
Kings of Clandeboye
Below is a list of the O'Neill sovereign Kings of Clandeboye.
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Lower Clandeboye
Lower Clandeboye (Belfast)
Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick)
Upper Clandeboye
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Diocese of Down and Connor
The religion which predominated at an official level in Clandeboye was Catholic Christianity. The territory of Clandeboye was associated with the Diocese of Down and Connor under the Bishop of Down and Connor. This was formed on 29 July 1439 as Pope Eugene IV issued a papal bull merging the positions of Bishop of Down and Bishop of Connor (these diocese having been formed in 1111 at the Synod of Ráth Breasail, long before Clandeboye had existed).
Clandeboye hosted some significant monastic houses, typically pre-dating the entry of the O'Neills into the area. Most of these were shut down during the
The local chapel of importance to the O'Neills was Knockollumkille, near their headquarters at Castlereagh, founded by
See also
- Leabhar Cloinne Aodha Buidhe
- Branches of the Cenél nEógain
- Baron Dufferin and Claneboye
- Clandeboye Estate
- Clandonnell
Notes
- .
- ^ Since the 19th century, one branch of the Chichester family (of English ancestry) have adopted the surname "O'Neill." This took place upon the death of John O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill from the Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) branch, as William Chichester claimed the rights to the properties of this line as heir, including Shane's Castle, being made Baron O'Neill. Chichester's great-grandfather Rev. Arthur Chichester, Anglican Vicar of Randalstown had been married to Mary O'Neill, granddaughter of Sean an Franca O'Neill (1716 — 1739), from the Clandeboye O'Neills. This branch of the Chichesters have been prominent in Northern Ireland unionist politics with Terence O'Neill and Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan.
References
- ^ a b c d Duffy 2005, p. 797.
- ^ a b c d Egan, Simon. (2018). Richard II and the Wider Gaelic World: A Reassessment. Cambridge University Press
- ^ Curtis, Edmund (1927). Richard II in Ireland, 1394–5. Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture
- ^ Robertson, Margaret (1967). The Gloucester Treatment. The New Beacon
- ^ a b "Names mentioned in the text". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Creating facts on the ground:the destruction of Clandeboye". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b c "Walter Devereux, first earl of Essex, and the failure of plantation in Elizabethan Ulster, c. 1573–6". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Sir Thomas Smith's Forgotten English Colony of the Ards and North Down in 1752" (PDF). Ulster-Scots Community Network. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ "Theme: Pre Ulster Scots", Ulster Scots Heritage Trail, archived from the original on 13 December 2013, retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ a b "The Private Enterprise of Hamilton & Montgomery". Discover Ulster-Scots. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ "The Plantation of Ulster: Settlement Map". BBC. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ "O'Neill (No.4) family genealogy - Shane's Castle, Antrim". Irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ The O'Neills of Ulster, Vol. III, pg. 349-356
- ^ "The O'Neills of Portugal by Andrew Shepherd" (PDF). British Historical Society of Portugal, Newsletter 9. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ Library Ireland - O'Neills of Clandeboye
Bibliography
- Greer, Roy H (2019). Con O'Neill: Last Gaelic Lord of Upper Clannaboy. White Row. ISBN 978-1870132510.
- O'Laverty, James (1878). An Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, Ancient and Modern, Volume I. Dublin : J. Duffy.
- Farrell, Gerard (2017). The 'Mere Irish' and the Colonisation of Ulster, 1570-1641. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783319593630.
- Morgan, Miram (1999). Tyrone's Rebellion, The Outbreak of the Nine Years War in Tudor Ireland. Bloydell Press. ISBN 9780851156835.
- Kiernan, Ben (2008). Blood and Soil, A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300137934.
- Ellis, Steven G (2014). Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447-1603, English Expansion and the End of Gaelic Rule. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317901433.
- Simms, Katharine (2000). From Kings to Warlords, The Changing Political Structure of Gaelic Ireland in the Later Middle Ages. Boydell Press. ISBN 9780851157849.
- Duffy, Seán (2005). Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781135948245.
Sources
Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature, Robert Welsh, 1996.
External links
- O'Neill, Prince of Clanaboy at Library Ireland
- Upper and Lower Clandeboye and Carrickfergus (County Antrim and Down) 1300-1600
- Lower Clandeboye and Carrickfergus (County Antrim) 1540-1602
- Upper Clandeboye and other territories (County Down) 1540-1609
- The O'Neills' Inauguration Chair at BBC
- Rise of the Clandeboye by Martin Mellon
- The Break-Up of the Estate of Con O'Neill, Castlereagh, County Down by D. A. Chart
- Con O'Neill: Life and Legacy