Tír Eoghain
Tír Eoghain Tyrone or Tír Eoghain (Irish) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th century–1607 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms
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Ailech (until 1185) | |||||||||||
| Capital | Dungannon[1][2] Tullyhogue Fort[3] | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Irish | ||||||||||
| Religion | Catholic Church | ||||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||||
| King / Chief | |||||||||||
• c. 465 | Eógan mac Néill (first) | ||||||||||
• 1593-1607 | Aodh Mór Ó Néill (last) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 5th century | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1607 | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | ||||||||||
Tír Eoghain (
Cenél nEógain people of the Northern Uí Néill and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area. One part of the realm to the north-east broke away and expanded, becoming Clandeboye, ruled by a scion branch of the O'Neill dynasty. In one form or another, Tyrone existed for over a millennium. Its main capital was Dungannon, though kings were inaugurated at Tullyhogue Fort
.
Upon its foundation in the 5th century, Tyrone was a sub-kingdom of the larger
High Kings of Ireland, providing in total of thirteen High Kings from the 6th to the 10th centuries. The first was Muirchertach mac Muiredaig and the last from this period was Domnall ua Néill. Three later Tyrone claimants to the High Kingship were Domnall Ua Lochlainn and Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn in 12th century and finally Brian Chatha an Dúna O'Neill
in the 13th century.
In the 13th century, Aileach split up into its two most powerful kindred components: Tyrone (under the O'Neill dynasty) and Tyrconnell (under the
Shane the Proud to the Nine Years' War under Hugh O'Neill and later, Tyrone leaders were involved in the subsequent Irish Rebellion of 1641 and Irish Confederate Wars (particularly Owen Roe O'Neill
).
History
Ailech
From the 5th century founding of Cenél nEógain, the Cenél Conaill cousins, fellow descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The initial ascent of Ailech had coincided with the decline of the Ulaid, whose kingdom of Ulster receded to the north-east coast.
In the 12th century the kingdom of Ailech split into two sovereign territories and Cenél nEógain became Tír Eoghain, the land of Eoghan, Anglicised as Tyrone. It was ruled under the
Meic Lochlainn clan and then under their kinsmen the Ó Néill clan. The other part of Ailech, Cenél Conaill became known as Tír Conaill, the land of Conall, Anglicised as Tyrconnell
.
Kingdom of Tyrone
Following the Norman invasion of Ulster in 1177, Tír Eoghain had become the predominant power in the north of Ireland, a position it regained upon the collapse of the Norman Earldom of Ulster in the 14th century.
16th century: ambitions and internal rivalries
Conn Bacagh O'Neill
. His rebellion had a massive effect on all of Ireland (including Tyrone).With the ascent of
Conn Bacagh O'Neill, in a personal capacity, carried the sword of state before his uncle Gerald Og FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare when he was made Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1524. The Earl of Kildare had been called to England by the King in 1534 and when he arrived was put in the Tower of London. Before he had left, Gerald had placed his 21-year-old son Silken Thomas FitzGerald in charge of the Lordship of Ireland in his absence.[4] The FitzGeralds had many enemies in Dublin, not least the Butlers and false rumours were spread that Gerald had been beheaded in the Tower. This rumour reached the ear of the young and inexperienced Silken Thomas, who, in reaction, rode through the streets on horseback with his men to St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, where he cast off sword and robes of state and renounced his allegiance to the English monarchy (his father in London, upon hearing of his young son's rebellion, did in fact die a few days later "of grief").[4]
Silken Thomas rose up in Rebellion and was determined to take Dublin and "avenge" the death of his father: he rallied to his banner a sizeable proportion of
English Pale, looting and sacking Ardee and Navan, before Conn Bacagh O'Neill and Manus O'Donnell were dealt a thorough defeat at the Battle of Belahoe by Grey and Gerald Aylmer
in 1539.
Tyrone was invaded in 1541 by an army under
Elizabeth I of England. He was cut out of the succession to Tyrone and subsequently pushed his claim. This marked a cultural clash between Gaelic tanistry and newly imported English law
.When Shane O'Neill was 28-years-old, his foster-family the O'Donnellys, ambushed and killed Feardorcha (Matthew) whom they had always maintained was not an actual O'Neill, initiating a bloody conflict within the family. This was excellerated by the death of Conn Bacagh O'Neill the following year in 1559. A legal challenge was launched by Shane O'Neill against Feardorcha's son
Battle of the Red Sagums in July 1561, destroying much of Sussex's army. Shane had himself inaugurated as The Ó Néill at Tullyhogue Fort which further engraged Sussex, who accused him of treason. The increasingly desperate Sussex attempted to assassinate Shane by poisoning his wine. This having failed, Elizabeth I interveened directly and agreed to treat with the "rebel" chief in London, with the Earl of Kildare and Earl of Ormond
escorting him to ensure his personal safety.
Shane returned from the cordial meeting with Tyrone's position strengthened. While the details of the Earldom were to be worked out, Elizabeth I had allowed to call himself The Ó Néill and for Tyrone to collect taxes from uirrithe, which had been abrogated since the days of her father. This left Shane as the hegemon of Ulster with
English Pale. However, retribution was wrought on Tyrone by Sidney around the same time.[7]
Shane's rebellion came to an end with his assassination in the aftermath of the
English Pale just outside Dublin
.
17th century: flight and legacy conflicts
During the reign of
James I, Tyrone would be reduced further with the barony of Loughinsholin in its north-east being transferred to the new county of Londonderry. The Ó Néill rebelled several times, attempts to reassert sovereignty. The last attempt of substance was under Aodh Mór Ó Néill, Earl of Tyrone, who fled in 1607 in what became known as the Flight of the Earls, where he and many of his allies (particularly among Ulster Gaeldom) fled Ireland.[9][10]
Legacy
O'Neill heirs of Tyrone
The succession to the claim of being the O'Neill of Tyrone, depended on the position taken on the questioned legitimacy of
Frenchified. One female scion married a Baron von Bodman from the Grand Duchy of Baden
.
Population
The people who lived in Tyrone were
Ó Catháin (O'Cahan),[12] who ruled a sub-kingdom synonymous with the barony of Coleraine, then known as Fir na Craoibhe. This, along with Tirkeeran and Keenaght, formed "O'Cahan's Country." The O'Cahan held the hereditary honour of holding a shoe over the King of Tyrone's head during their royal inauguration rituals. The O'Cahans gained power in the 12th century to the detriment of the Ó Conchobhair (O'Connor) of the Ciannachta Glenn Geimin,[12] an Eberian group distantly kindred to the Eóganachta
in Munster, who remained in the area subsequently but in much reduced form.
Kings of Tyrone
Below is a list of the O'Neill sovereign Kings of Tyrone.[13] The Kings of Tyrone was inaugurated at Tullyhogue Fort with various other clans in the kingdom playing a special role. Tyrone itself was later divided between County Tyrone, County Armagh and County Coleraine (later County Londonderry) in the Kingdom of Ireland.
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Diocese of Derry
See also
Notes
- ^ The English had secretly arranged for various planned assaults on Tyrone with the goal of smashing Shane O'Neill. Sussex and the Earl of Kildare were to attack from the south, the O'Donnell were to be incited from the north-west and the MacDonnell of Antrim (Scots) from the north-east. The capture of the King of Tyrconnell pulled the rug from under that. Calvagh O'Donnell was treated exceptionally harshly: Shane took his wife as a concubine and had several children with her, while Calvagh was tortured and kept in a steel cage in front of Dungannon Castle for three years.
References
- ^ Corscadden, Jane (2021). Why the Hill of the O'Neill has been at the heart of Irish history for centuries. Belfast Live
- ^ Hill of The O'Neill & Ranfurly Arts and Visitor Centre. (2021). An Ancient Site with a Modern Perspective. Hill of The O'Neill & Ranfurly Arts and Visitor Centre.
- ^ Coyle, Cathal (2017). Tullaghoge Fort: Home of the O’Neills. Irish America Magazine
- ^ a b c d e Joyce, Patrick Weston (1910). The Rebellion of Silken Thomas Fitzgerald (1534-1537). Concise History of Ireland
- ^ a b c "Gaelic lordship and Tudor conquest: Tír Eoghain, 1541–1603". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Creating facts on the ground:the destruction of Clandeboye". History Ireland. Retrieved on 23 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Hull, Eleanor (1926-1931). Shane O'Neill and the Scots in Ulster. A History of Ireland and Her People
- ^ Webb, Alfred (1878). Shane O'Neill. A Compendium of Irish Biography
- ^ History Extra (2017). Hugh O'Neill: Elizabeth I’s Irish nemesis. BBC History Magazine
- ^ Lurgan Ancestry (2017). The Fall of the O'Neills. Lurgan Ancestry
- ^ Walsh, Micheline (1957). The O'Neills in Spain. University College Dublin
- ^ a b c O'Hart, John (1892). The Irish Chiefs and Clans in Tirowen. Irish Pedigrees, Or, Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation
- ^ Library Ireland - O'Neills of Tyrone
Bibliography
- Bardon, Jonathan (2005). A History of Ulster. The Blackstaff Press. ISBN 0-85640-764-X.
- Canny, Nicholas (2001). Making Ireland British, 1580-1650. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199259052.
- Connolly, S. J. (2009). Contested Island: Ireland 1460-1630. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0199563715.
- Ellis, Peter Berresford (2002). Erin's Blood Royal: The Gaelic Noble Dynasties of Ireland. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312230494.
- Ó Muraíle, Nollaig (2004). ISBN 0946130361.
- O'Neill, Desmond (1996). The Ancient and Royal Family of O'Neill. Meath. ISBN 0-9524484-1-6.
- The Great O'Neill, by E. Boyd Barret, Hale Cushman, Flint, Boston, 1939.
- Shane O'Neill, by Ciaran Brady, Dundalk 1996
- Morgan, Miram (1999). Tyrone's Rebellion, The Outbreak of the Nine Years War in Tudor Ireland. Bloydell Press. ISBN 9780851156835.
- 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.
External links
- O'Neill Country Historical Society
- Association of O'Neill Clans
- Death in the lakelands: Tyrone’s proxy war, 1593–4 at History Ireland
| Kindreds and septs |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Uí Néill |
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| Clan Colla |
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| Uí Mháine | |||||||||||
- Óengus Tuirmech Temrach
- Énna Aignech
- Eochu Feidlech
- Eochu Airem
- Medb
- Findemna
- Clothru
- Lugaid Riab nDerg
- Crimthann Nia Náir
- Feradach Finnfechtnach
- Fíachu Finnolach
- Túathal Techtmar
- Fedlimid Rechtmar
- Conn of the Hundred Battles
- Art mac Cuinn
- Cormac mac Airt
- Gráinne
- Cairbre Lifechair
- Fíacha Sroiptine
- Muiredach Tirech
- Colla Uais
- Eochaid Mugmedon
- Niall of the Nine Hostages
- Columba of Iona
- Crínán of Dunkeld
- Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
- Brian Ua Néill
articles
- Gaels
- Pre-Norman invasion Irish Celtic kinship groups
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- Heremonians
- Fenian Cycle
- Ulster Cycle
- Dal Fiachrach Suighe
- List of High Kings of Ireland
- Connacht
- Airgíalla
- Fermanagh
- Ailech
- Tír Eoghain
- Clandeboye
- Tyrconnell
- East Breifne
- West Breifne
- Mide
- Uisnech
- Brega
- Connacht Irish
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- Gaelic nobility of Ireland
- Flight of the Earls
- O'Neill's Regiment
