Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland): Difference between revisions
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==Alliance with Connacht== |
==Alliance with Connacht== |
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In 1249 the king of Connacht, Felim O'Connor, was given refuge from the Normans by O'Neill.<ref name="ConnollyPg431"/> In 1253 as a sign of defiance against his vassal status with the Earldom of Ulster O'Neill withheld his tribute to it and raided Iveagh destroying the castle at Ballyroney.<ref name="BardonPg43"/><ref name="ConnollyPg431"/> He also launched an offensive against the Normans in [[Leinster]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1255 he made a pact with Felim O'Connor's son [[Hugh McFelim O'Connor|Hugh]], where by allowing Hugh free |
In 1249 the king of Connacht, Felim O'Connor, was given refuge from the Normans by O'Neill.<ref name="ConnollyPg431"/> In 1253 as a sign of defiance against his vassal status with the Earldom of Ulster O'Neill withheld his tribute to it and raided Iveagh, destroying the castle at Ballyroney.<ref name="BardonPg43"/><ref name="ConnollyPg431"/> He also launched an offensive against the Normans in [[Leinster]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1255 he made a pact with Felim O'Connor's son [[Hugh McFelim O'Connor|Hugh]], where by allowing Hugh free rein in the kingdom of [[Breifne]], he would aid O'Neill against the Normans of the earldom who were eroding his territory.<ref name="BardonPg43"/> |
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==High King of Ireland== |
==High King of Ireland== |
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Revision as of 07:57, 15 June 2020
| Brian O’Neill | |
|---|---|
| High King of Ireland | |
| Reign | 1258–60 |
| Predecessor | Rory O'Connor (1166–1198) |
| Successor | none (Edward Bruce claimant 1315–18) |
| King of Tyrone | |
| Reign | 1238–60 |
| Predecessor | Donall Og O'Neill |
| Successor | Hugh Boy O'Neill |
| Died | 14 May 1260 near Downpatrick, Ireland |
| Issue | Donall O'Neill |
| Dynasty | Northern Uí Néill (Cenél nEógain) |
| Father | Niall Roe O'Neill |
Brian O'Neill, also known as Brian "of the battle of Down" O'Neill (Irish: Brian Chatha an Dúna Ó Néill), was the High King of Ireland from 1258 to 1260. His status as High King is disputed by some as he failed to garner the support of some of his closest neighbours such as Tyrconnell, Oriel and Breifne.
Rise to Power
In 1244, Brian received a letter from Henry III, King of England, requesting Brian's support in a military campaign against the Kingdom of Scotland. Under Henry's plan, Brian would personally lead his forces along with the forces of the Kingdom of England and several other Gaelic armies and Norman lords from Ireland against the Scots. The letter said that he would be rewarded by the crown for his help.[1]
Several copies of this letter were also distributed to his tanist and various chiefs, whom Brian consulted with, and the decision was made to decline this request. However, this event does show us the power Brian and the O'Neill possessed as a fighting force, considering the Kingdom of England, one of the most powerful countries in Europe, requested military assistance from him.[1][dubious – discuss]
Struggle for the O'Neill Kingship
In 1238 O'Neill claimed the kingship of the O'Neill dynasty as well as Tyrone, possibly with the aid of Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster,[2] after the death of his cousin Donall who had been killed by Donall MacLoughlin. In revenge, O'Neill with the aid of Melaghlin O'Donnell, king of Tyrconnell, defeated MacLoughlin and ten of his closest kinsmen at the battle of Camergi, somewhere within Tyrone north of Omagh, in 1241.[3][4][5] This ended the long rivalry between the MacLoughlin's and O'Neill's, with the MacLoughlin's afterwards excluded from the kingship of Tyrone and Ailech.
A consequence of this infighting between the rival factions of the Cenel Eoghain allowed the Normans to advance deeper into Gaelic Ulster, however in 1243 de Lacy died.[4] Thus the Earldom of Ulster reverted to the English Crown and was taken over by royal administrators.[3][4] John FitzGeoffrey, the king's chief governor in Ireland, erected a bridge across the River Bann and built castles at Coleraine and Ballyroney in Iveagh. From here FitzGeoffrey was able to penetrate deeper into Tyrone.[4]
Conflict with O'Donnell
Despite ending MacLoughlin aspirations to the kingship, O'Neill would form a marriage alliance with them, however this resulted in a war with the O'Donnell's of Tyrconnell. Subsequently in 1248 O'Neill backed Rory O'Cannon (Ruaidri Ua Canannáin) against Donal O'Donnell in his claims for the kingship of Tyrconnell.[5] O'Donnell with the backing of the Normans of Ulster commanded by FitzGerald helped oust Rory from Tyrconnell's kingship.[1]
O'Cannon was able to regain his throne with the aid of O'Neill, however, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Theobald Butler, arrived with a large army forcing O'Neill and O'Cannon to back down. O'Neill initially wanted to fight Butler, but was advised not to by his chiefs "for the good of his country".[1]
With O'Neill having retreated, Butler took the opportunity to build more bridges across the River Bann, allowing the Normans from the Earldom of Ulster to easily cross over into Irish territory. However this worked both ways and resulted in an intensifying in raid between the two sides. O'Cannon, who had been imprisoned by the English, was later executed.[1]
Alliance with Connacht
In 1249 the king of Connacht, Felim O'Connor, was given refuge from the Normans by O'Neill.[5] In 1253 as a sign of defiance against his vassal status with the Earldom of Ulster O'Neill withheld his tribute to it and raided Iveagh, destroying the castle at Ballyroney.[4][5] He also launched an offensive against the Normans in Leinster.[1] In 1255 he made a pact with Felim O'Connor's son Hugh, where by allowing Hugh free rein in the kingdom of Breifne, he would aid O'Neill against the Normans of the earldom who were eroding his territory.[4]
High King of Ireland
FitzGerald in 1252 had built a castle at Caoluisce, on the banks of Lough Erne, near modern-day Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, however in 1258 it was the site where O'Neill, in the presence of his ally O'Connor, was inaugurated as "King of the Gael of Erin".[3][4] Whilst he received hostages from O'Connor and from O'Brian of Thomond, along with several other minor Kings from Meath and Munster,[1] his claim was not recognised by those of the Irish closest to him including the other O'Neill factions, the O'Donnell's of Tyrconnell, the MacMahon's of Airgíalla, and the O'Rourkes of Breifne.[4]
Battle of Down and death
In 1260 O'Neill along with his O'Connor allies, launched an attack on the Normans of the Earldom of Ulster at Drumderg, near its capital at Downpatrick in modern County Down, Northern Ireland.[4] The Normans levied the town, and with the aid of forces brought by Sir Roger des Auters, O'Neill and his allies were decisively defeated at the subsequent battle of Down.[4] The Annals of Inisfallen state that the forces recruited by the Normans consisted mostly of native Irish and that the Normans played only a minor role.[citation needed]
In the battle O'Neill was killed along with many other Irish nobles including over a dozen members of the O'Cahan's. O'Neill's head was cut off by the Normans and sent to King Henry III of England,[6] a sign of how dangerous his coalition was thought to be.[4]
After this battle, Brian would become known in Irish as Brian Chatha an Dúna, Brian of the Battle of Down.
Lineage and successors
Brian was the son of Niall Roe (Ruadh), and grandson of Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc.[7] His wife was Nuala O'Connor (Ní Conchobair), a daughter of Rory O'Connor the last High King of Ireland before the Norman invasion. Therefore, through his mother, he would have been descended from Brian Boru. [further explanation needed]
After Brian's death the kingship of the Cenél nEógain and with it Tyrone was taken by his cousin's son, Hugh Boy O'Neill, ancestor of the Clandeboye O'Neill's, who also had the support of the earldom of Ulster. Upon Hugh's death in 1283 Brian's son Donall seized the kingship, which until 1295 was highly contested between him and his second-cousin Niall and Hugh Boy's son Brian, until he won outright control by killing his opponents.[7]
In poetry
Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe wrote the lament Aoidhe mo chroidhe ceann Briain (Brian's head is the care of my heart).[8]
Bibliography
- Foster, Robert Fitzroy (2001). The Oxford illustrated history of Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-289323-9.
- Duffy, Sean (2005). Medieval Ireland An Encyclopdia. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-94052-4.
- Bardon, Jonathan (2005). History of Ulster. The Black Staff Press. ISBN 9-780856-407642.
- Connolly, S.J. (2006). Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9-780199-234837.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Brian Ua Néill- Famous O'Neills". oneillclansociety. Irish Genealogical Association.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Connolly, pg.
- ^ a b c Duffy, pg. 479
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bardon, pg. 43
- ^ a b c d Connolly, pg. 431
- ^ Foster (2001), p. 80
- ^ a b Duffy, pg. 480
- ^ "Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia - Google Books". Books.google.ie. 2005-01-15. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
