Clandeboye

Coordinates: 54°38′31″N 5°43′01″W / 54.642°N 5.717°W / 54.642; -5.717
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Clandeboye
Clann Aodha Buidhe (Irish)
1295–1605
of Clandeboye
Coat of arms
O'Neill of Clandeboye c. 1500
O'Neill of Clandeboye c. 1500
Common languagesIrish
GovernmentElective monarchy
King / Chief 
• 1295-1347
Henry O'Neill (first)
• 1618
Conn O'Neill (last)
History 
• Established
1295
• Disestablished
1605
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Earldom of Ulster
Kingdom of Tyrone
Kingdom of Ireland
Today part ofUnited Kingdom

Clandeboye or Clannaboy (

Ó Néill Clann Aodha Buidhe) who reigned in the territory descended from Hugh Boy O'Neill, a king of Tyrone. His descendants took advantage of the demise of the Earldom of Ulster during the latter 14th century and seized vast portions of territory. Clandeboye's main seats of power were Shane's Castle and Castle Reagh
.

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

Viscount Claneboye
in 1622.

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

electoral ward of North Down Borough Council. It has survived as a geographical location in modern times as an area of Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland
.

History

14th century: emergence and position

Earls of Ulster. The O'Neills benefited from the decline of the Earldom of Ulster
during the Gaelic resurgence of the 14th century.

The emergence of the Kingdom of Clandeboye is closely associated with the history of its neighbour the

in 1260.

The O'Neills were, locally, engaged in rivalries with the

Kingdom of Ulster some lands and established their Earldom in the north-eastern corner of Ireland.[a] Subsequently, they were engaged in conflicts and mutual raidings with their direct neighbors the Northern Uí Néill
.

By the 14th century, the Earldom of Ulster was under the Ulster branch of the

King of Tyrone (1364–1397) created a vacuum in the area by driving out some of the Anglo-Norman settlers.[1] The Kingship of Tyrone had in recent times been contested by two sets of cousins, one of which was the Clandeboye O'Neills (descended from Hugh Boy O'Neill), who had provided three Kings of Tyrone in the 13th century, before losing out to the line descended from Aodh Reamhair O'Neill (son of Domhnall O'Neill
), whom all subsequent Tyrone kings would descend from.

By 1347,

O'Donnells of Tyrconnell and, when it suited, the Kingdom of England's Lordship of Ireland based in Dublin.[1] Clandeboye's lands were suited to cattle grazing and so their rulers were able to attain a significant level of wealth through this.[1]

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

O'Connor Ruadh of Roscommon, who never submitted.[2]

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,

O'Neills of Tyrone
(from whom the Clandeboye's had branched off in the 13th century).

The destruction of Clandeboye was closely associated with the activities of the Earl of Essex in Ireland.

During the

Earldom of Tyrone in 1542. The heir to this title was the Baron Dungannon: Conn Bacach's son Shane O'Neill was overlooked and the title went instead to Shane's illegitimate alleged half-brother Matthew O'Neill. During the 1550s and 1560s, Shane (later known as "the Proud") arose to assert his rights, protesting to Elizabeth I and inflicted notable military defeats on establishment figures such as the Earl of Essex
.

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,

Ulster Plantation. Sir Brian McPhelim upon finding this out in a booklet published by Smith felt betrayed by the Queen's "duplicity", having felt he was safe in his position due to his allegiance to the Crown and past service to it.[6] Instead of allow his lands to be colonised, Sir Brian McPhelim elected upon a scorched earth policy, burning down any buildings in his territory which could be used as a prospective garrison or could be used for colonisation.[8][6][9]

Smith had sent his illegitimate son, also named Thomas, along with the 800 English colonists who had set off from

English Pale, being based at Dublin and Drogheda for the rest of his time, only entering Ulster on raids against O'Neill and others.[7] Evidently frustrated, Essex had Piers arrested and accused him of passing intelligence to Sir Brian McPhelim (Piers was later released). In November 1574, Sir Brian McPhelim had invited Essex to Belfast Castle to a feast where they would discuss concluding a peace. At the end of the three day feast, Essex's men, suddenly fell upon their Irish hosts and carried out the Clandeboye massacre, where 200 men, women and children were murdered without warning.[6] Sir Brian McPhelim, his wife and his half-brother Rory Oge MacQuillin were all taken hostage to Dublin where they were hanged for opposing the plantations.[6] The following year, Essex was responsible for an even more gratuitous massacre in Ulster, this time against the MacDonnells of Antrim in the Rathlin Island massacre (Essex accused the Clandeboye O'Neills and MacDonnels of being co-conspirators against the English colonists), before Elizabeth I called an end to "the Enterprise" in 1575.[7] Before his own death in 1576, Essex was able to sow division among the ranks of the Clandeboye by declaring Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill (grandson of Niall Oge O'Neill and son-in-law of Sir Brian MacPhelim) as rightful lord of all Clandeboye.[5]

17th century: divisions and dissolution

Shane's Castle, Edenduffcarrick on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh was contested by Clandeboye O'Neills.

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

Edenduffcarrick, was awarded to Hugh Oge O'Neill (son of Sir Brian McPhelim's brother Hugh).[6] Meanwhile, Conn McNeill O'Neill, the son of Niall McBrian Fertagh O'Neill, was confirmed in his lordship of Upper Clandeboye.[6] Shane McBrian O'Neill and Hugh Oge O'Neill bitterly contested the control of Lower Clandeboye, particularly Shane's Castle at Edenduffcarrick. Despite an attempt at arbitration, Hugh Oge was killed at the Castle in the dispute in 1586 and was succeeded by his brother Neill McHugh O'Neill at Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick), the conflict between the two factions caused "great dissension between them and great slaughter often by both parties committed."[6]

Shane McBrian O'Neill of Lower Clandeboye (Belfast) was a

O'Donnells of Tyrconnell in common cause. The Earl of Tyrone had been married to Shane McBrian's sister Katherine O'Neill for a time but the marriage was annulled. Only minor engagements, no major battles, took place as the area had suffered significant depopulation due to the conflicts brought about by Essex and Smith's attempted colonisation.[6] The main negative effect on Clandeboye was the actions of Arthur Chichester after 1601, who set about burning destroying crops and animals as well as killing men, women and children without scruple. Historical records of the period say that in Clandeboye as a result of Chichester's acts, the people were reduced to cannibalism, corpses had green-mouths from eating grass and dead bodies were piled by the roadsides.[6] This destruction was supposedly to stop Clandeboye being used as a supply base for Tyrone, but had a secondary purpose as, Chichester, in financial difficulties from his estates Devon, sought land to take in Ireland.[6]

Conn McNeill O'Neill, the Lord of Upper Clandeboye, who was based at

James VI of Scotland ascended to the thrones of England and Ireland in July 1603, with the opportunity of a clean slate. Conn McNeill's wife approached Hugh Montgomery, a Scotsman with extensive political connections and agreed if he could break Conn out of jail and arrange a royal pardon for him, then he would share half of Upper Clandeboye with Montgomery.[10] Upon hearing about this, James Hamilton, wanted in on the deal and the plan was changed to a three-way split.[10][11] The jailbreak was hatched and was successful, the three men visited James and secured the pardon in London before returning to Ulster via Scotland. Montgomery and Hamilton began a private, non-government plantation of the area with Scots from Ayrshire in 1606 and are seen as founding fathers of the Ulster Scots people. Some of the native Irish tenants were moved out to Dufferin.[6]

Legacy

O'Neill heirs of Clandeboye

Portrait of Sir Neil O'Neill, 2nd Baronet of Killelagh by John Michael Wright (1680). He was a 3-times great-grandson of Phelim Bacagh O'Neill, King 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

Stuart dynasty, serving in prominent positions in the Army of Charles II, this included; Colonel Cormac O'Neill (died 1707), Captain John O'Neill (died 1687) and Captain Phelim Dubh O'Neill (died 1676). A son of Captain John was Colonel Charles O'Neill (died 1716) who served in the Army of James II. After inheriting Shane's Castle and converting to Anglicanism, John O'Neill (died 1798) from this line was made Viscount O'Neill by George III.[12] A leading statesman, he died at the Battle of Antrim. His two sons, also Viscounts, were involved in Irish politics too. They established Tullymore Lodge in Broughshane and Cleggan Lodge, originally a shooting lodge.[b]

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

Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the Redcoats from the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Despite initially being a junior line, after the death of the last Viscount O'Neill in 1855, this was the only known surviving branch from Sir Brian McPhelim and still had living members towards the end of the 19th century with Charles Henry O'Neill, a barrister living in Dublin
, who was recognised as The O'Neill Clandeboye.

The branch of the Clandeboye O'Neills who were Lords of Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick), successors to Neill McHugh O'Neill, brother of

Williamite War: Sir Neill O'Neill was his Lord Lieutenant of Armagh. They were stripped of their titles because of this and in any case, soon became extinct. Despite also serving James II, their close cousins, the "Upper Claneboys" O'Neills, in the form of Sir Brian O'Neill, managed to survived the Orangist Revolution of 1688
politically unscathed before this line eventually became extinct in the male line by 1799.

Jorge Torlades O'Neill I was The O'Neill Clandeboye from 1887 to 1890. He and many of his line lived in exile in Portugal for several centuries.

The Clandeboye O'Neills directly descended from the last sovereign King of Clandeboye,

Chief Herald of Ireland in 1945 as the Princes of Clannaboy, the current representative is Hugo Ricciardi O'Neill (born 1939).[14]

Tudor-era genocide controversy

Academic studies of

Munster Plantation. These men were influenced by the classics and in particular Livy and Cato the Elder's axiom Carthago delenda est
(in their ideal, Gaels were analogous to Carthaginians).

Queen of Ireland, there is historical controversy that individuals in her Enterprise of Ulster
engaged in genocidal activities in Clandeboye.

Although

Elizabeth I herself called for "moderation", from 1573, these "theories" would begin to take place on the ground with the activities of the Earl of Essex. He imagined a completely demilitarised Ulster, where no Gael (Irishman or Scots), whether kerne or Gallowglass, would be allowed to bear arms, even spear or axe, on pain of capital punishment. The Irish Gaels of Clandeboye were to be "dispersed into severall Lordshippes and well corrected, yf they breake lawes", those who remained in the area would be reduced to disarmed helots, tiling the land in agricultural labour under English overlordship. The contemporary John Derricke's The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne (dedicated to Philip Sidney) further dehumanised the Irish kerns as "noisome worms" and called for Gaels to be "extirped and abolished clean the land." Radical Protestants from the English West Country would be the backbone of this push in both Munster and Ulster. An English official in Belfast during the Clandeboye campaign, Edward Berkeley urged using famine as a weapon of war against the locals, bragging that grain had been taken from them so they had to rely only on milk
(which was "easily taken away"), commenting on their starvation he said; "How godly a dede it is to overthrowe so wicked a race the world may judge. For my parte I thinke ther canot be a greter Sacrifyce to god."

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

The royal inauguration chair of the Clandeboye O'Neills, currently in the Ulster Museum. The kings were raised to the throne at Castlereagh.

Below is a list of the O'Neill sovereign Kings of Clandeboye.

Edenduffcarrick. Clandeboye itself was later divided between County Antrim, County Down and County Coleraine (later County Londonderry) in the Kingdom of Ireland
.

   

Lower Clandeboye

Lower Clandeboye (Belfast)

Lower Clandeboye (Edenduffcarrick)

Upper Clandeboye

Diocese of Down and Connor

Bangor Abbey, an ancient Gaelic establishment, fell under Clandeboye during the Late Middle Ages.

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

Order of Preachers (Dominicans). The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (Franciscans) were also at Carrickfergus Friary, but Clandeboye's influence over them differed from time to time. Holywood Priory
, a 7th-century Gaelic foundation, was also placed under the Franciscans by Niall O’Neill after the Black Death.

The local chapel of importance to the O'Neills was Knockollumkille, near their headquarters at Castlereagh, founded by

Columba of Iona in much earlier times. By the start of the 18th century, it was no longer in use and all that remains of the actual building of this Church today is part of a wall of the Knock Burial Ground, Clarawood
, Belfast.

See also

Notes

  1. Clan MacLea (Livingstone) in Argyll. The Ulaid kindred claimed descent from Ír, a son of Míl Espáine and brother of Érimón (from whom the O'Neills descend). Even after the Norman invasion, some of the native Ulaidh retained power in parts of old Ulster, in the form of the Magennis clan in Iveagh
    .
  2. ^ 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

  1. ^ a b c d Duffy 2005, p. 797.
  2. ^ a b c d Egan, Simon. (2018). Richard II and the Wider Gaelic World: A Reassessment. Cambridge University Press
  3. ^ Curtis, Edmund (1927). Richard II in Ireland, 1394–5. Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture
  4. ^ Robertson, Margaret (1967). The Gloucester Treatment. The New Beacon
  5. ^ a b "Names mentioned in the text". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Theme: Pre Ulster Scots", Ulster Scots Heritage Trail, archived from the original on 13 December 2013, retrieved 10 September 2012.
  10. ^ a b "The Private Enterprise of Hamilton & Montgomery". Discover Ulster-Scots. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
  11. ^ "The Plantation of Ulster: Settlement Map". BBC. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ The O'Neills of Ulster, Vol. III, pg. 349-356
  14. ^ "The O'Neills of Portugal by Andrew Shepherd" (PDF). British Historical Society of Portugal, Newsletter 9. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
  15. ^ Library Ireland - O'Neills of Clandeboye

Bibliography

Sources

Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature, Robert Welsh, 1996.

External links

54°38′31″N 5°43′01″W / 54.642°N 5.717°W / 54.642; -5.717