Irish History Sysnopsis: Conn Bacach and his sonShane ONeill

Conn Bacach O Neill [the lame] was created the O Neill of all Ulsterand had a long and illustrious reign and many children.When LordLenard Gray tryed to capture the child Gerald Fiztgerald youngbrother of Silken Thomas Fitzgerald ,son of Gerald, only survivor ofthis clann from ODonnell and entered ONiells territory burning thecastle at Dungannon and devastating the surounding countryside,thiscaused Conn to form an alliance again with ODonnell and together theyattacked the pale in August 1539.Lord Deputy Gray assembled a force to meet them and because themauraders were so anxious for their spoils they gathered thesetogether and deserted the main force for home with their bootyleaving the northern army considerably weakened. Lord Grey attackedthis remaining force at Lake Bellahoe at the border of Meath andMonahan and easily defeated the combined ONeill and ODonnell forces.This broke the power of the ONeill.Two years later Conn, after his country had again been ravaged by the English forces was forced to render submission to Henry VIII. He wasthe last of the old irish chiefs to submit.Henrys desire was to create the Irish in the image of the English inlanguage, dress, thinking, land values, law and general civilisedbehavior. In order to accomlish this Engishization of the chiefs andhence their vassels Henry assured the chiefs of the possession andtitle to their tribal lands and this was done through creating themEarls and Barons and giving them back the original land holdingsinvested in the tribe under these titles. The rest of any left overgoing directly to the Crown and held by the King himself.This policy of submit and regrant had been begun by Henry II toestablish his firm hand over the Norman nobles in Ireland and wasextended to as many native irish chiefs who would submit in 1172which was most of the southern chiefs the mcMurrows the oBriens thecentral Meith chiefs the oCarrols and the rest who had already beensubhumed to the norman conquerorsNow that policy was being invoked again by Henry VIII as his right tohold the lands of Ireland to the Crown and himself overlord of all.
Henry, however ,refused in 1542 to invest Conn ONeill with the totallands of Ulster investing him only with the Tyrone lands which weremore extensive than they are now encompassing the area from lakeFoyle to the Boyne and west of the river Bann.St Leger the Lord deputy met with Manus O Donnell Lord of Tyreconnelexpecting to find a semi savage but was presented with a well dressedand cultured man wearing a crimson velvet coat with thirty pairs ofamulets covered in a satin crimson bordered with black velvet andwearing a hat of feathers mingled with gold aiglets. This Ulsterchief was well educated and read and wrote in the cultured churchlanguage of latinThis chieftain also was served by a secretary schooled in France andas such he submitted to Henrys sursanity.
This left Conn as the only Irish chief still not submitted to Henryas his leige and lord and swearing to uphold Henry with troops andto foreswere allegiance to the Pope as head of the king.
O Neill was able to secure his country of Tyrone by scourging itdeviod of any life, house ,shelter, food or other necessity while hewith his forces was snug in his fast woods. St Ledger therefore couldnot dislodge him militarily.ONeill however agreed to submit on his own and signed a peace with theLord Deputy on 26 December 1540.In this he consented to relinquish the style and name of the ONeilland promised to assume the English habit and language for himself hisfamily and his followers and to obey the English law. He acknowledgedthe King as his lord and King,renounced the authority of the Pope,recognising Henry as the supreme head of the church.He asked to beappointed Earl of Ulster and to hold his lands of the Crown. Herenouced his right to the black rents recived fromthe Uriel English.He promised to the Lord Deputy any hosting of kern gallowglass orhorsemen that the deputy might request of him.To encourage tillage ofthe land and husbandry to rebuild the churches which has beendistroyed and to build a road through his forests to the pale. Heasked for a stifend from the king to offset his expences.
Henry was not pleased that these terms were not strick enough againstthis chief. He was insenced that O Neill should ask for the Earldomof all Ulster believing himself, Henry to be owner of that provinceby inheritance from his ancestor Clarence and the Burke affiliationto his house.He did grant most of the other terms but chose to create ONeill Earlof Tyrone ony to be desended through his son Ferdoragh [Mathew] whoHenry created Baron of Dungannon.This person Ferdoragh was an allegedchild of Conn by one Allyson Kelly wife of the blacksmith of Dundalkwho had not told anyone of this realtionship till this boy was 16years of age when she claimed that Ferdoragh, her son was not thechild of this blacksmith but Conn ONeill.. Conn was a bit of aparamour and had had many lovers and was in the habit of acceptingany child who was alleged to him besides those ligitimately bornthrough his marriage to the daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald of Kildare.This boy Mathew was when he discovered him at 16 a favorite of Connand therefore was thought to be the person he chose to succede him in the O Neill.
However this arrangemnt was not accepted by his ligitimate sons Hughand Shane ONeill Shane being particularly as the oldest unhappy ofhis fathers regection of himself over this half brother by claimantof the mother Allyson O Kelly wife of the blacksmith.
Conn Bacach being the first of his race to go to England and beingrecieved by the King Henry on 24 September 1542 at Greenwich where hewas invested with the sword and chain of office a gold chain aroundthe neck with a dangling cross.After a high church mass he was thanclothed in rich robes and borne out to the king with his swordcarried before him which was presented to the King who placed thesword about the new Earl the Earl than kneeling while the patents ofhis investure read alowed in both Irish and English. These than,afterthe king had put the gold chain of office about the neck of the Earlof Tyrone were handed his patents and with trumpets blowing wasescorted to a dinner with the king. During dinner more robes werepresented and the new title clearly called out both of the King ofEngland and the new Earls full titles.`Both Shane and his brother Hugh attemptd to disassociate their fatherConn Bacach from his alleged son Mathew and in later yearsConn himself regretted his association with both this son and hissaxon submissions and contrived with his sons Shane and Hugh todispose Ferdoragh.This lead to Federoah complaining to the lord deputy in the Pale thathe was indangered by his father and brothers thereby provoking thedeputy Croft appointed unde the rule of Mary to arrest Conn Bacachand his wife the Countess taking them under house arrest to Dublin atthe house of the magistrate.This provoked Shane to attack his brother as he believed Dungannonwas the cause of the arrest of his father and mother. This he didwith the help of some newly arrived scot merceneray soldiers inIreland who he engaged for pay. Shane attacked the joint forces ofthe Deputy Croft and Mathew at Dungannon defeating them and pursuingthem with considerable slaughter.He than plundered his fathers castle at Dungannon ravaged the entireterritory which was at that time one of the most flourishingdistricts in Ireland. the Deputies forces were unable to subdue Shaneor reduce him to submisssion.Shane O Neill continued to rule Ulster at his pleasure withoutsubmission for a number of years.In 1558 Ferdoragh attempted to invade Tyrone where he waskilled.This death was soon followed by the death of Conn Bacach inearly 1559 leaving Shane the proud as he was called by his followers,became in name the chief of the ONeill.In November of 1558 shortly after the death of Ferdoragh in thefield Queen Mary died and Elizabeth 1 became her sucessor.The young child of Mathew,Hugh,later to become the Great ONeill ofKisale fame, was spirited away to Court by the English for his safetyfeeling that he would be killed by Shane's forces.
In Ireland Shane appeared to his people and was declared the ONiellby unanimous election of his chiefs and people.
He controlled and was the hero and idol of all from the Blackwater[abain mor] to Loch Foyle.
On Shane aquiring the old vestiture of The ONeill from his people andno other title it was determined that he was in rebellion against theking of England by Eliz and her advisors and that he should beattainted and quelled. Shane kept up this argument of his rightsuntil he was summoned directly to Elizabeths court. He appeared thusin London in 1561Shane took with him a corps of gallowglasses all in their saffronbattle dress with coats of mail over and their sharpened axes bytheir side.When Shane was summoned by the Lord Justice he declinedpolitly and invited instead the Justice to attend him. Sydneyaccepted this position and was wined and dined by Shane at Dundalkand that the Lord Sydney should gossip his new child.Shane firmly and succently set out his rights and position indeposing his rival Mathew son of Ferdoragh and his right to claim theancient institution of Ulster. And, noted that these rights came tohim through his people and chiefs which he had no power to surrenderhimself and did not require the intervention of the Queen. The LordJustice was thus impressed with Shane's presentation of his abilityand right to the ownership and governance of Ulster that he agreed tosubmit these points directly to her Majesty for decision.Elizabeth herself was much impressed with Shane's reasoning and adeptdefence of his rights and upheld these rights of ligitimate sucessionto his father Conn Bacach estates.This upholding by Elizabeth 1 however was reversed by her counselorswithin 12 months on the argument that Henry VIII her father hadinherited Ulster from Henry II who by right of conquest held allIreland. Therefore Henry superseded the rights of Conn Bacach whoheld only a life right in the province.As Conn had rebelled with his people these life rights had forfietedto the Crown and therfore Henry held the right to dispose of thelands of the province as he chose and to whomever he chose. Thisforfiture covered not only the rights of the prince or chief but therights of the entire population all being forfiet to the Crown as aform of serfdom and submission.This Crown Counselor reasoning however was flawed in that Henry IIhad never conquered Ulster and never had a submission and regrantfrom the ONeill in 1172 the current kings only claim being that ofthe Duke of Clarence{lionel}, his ancestor being unable to recoverthe conquered lands of the Red Earl [burke] whose daughter Elizabthhe had married.
Shane in the meanwhile had concluded an alliance with Calvagh ODonnell of Tyreconnell This alliance was concluded with the marriageof Shane to ODonnells sister O Neill himself being married to thesister of the Duke of Argyll. James McDonnald kinsmen of thiscountess of Argyll were also aproached by her Majestiesrepresentatives to cool their alliegence to Tyrconnell[Calvagh]In order to counter these English advances againt the alliances ofONeill and Tyreconnell, Shane invaded Brefnie and made the ruler OReilly his vassel, laying waste the countryside. He than invaded ODonnels country on Lock Swilly where he was virtually alone at amonastary and captured Calvagh and his wife whom he ravashed and madehis mistress imprisoning her husband in a dungeon of one of hiscastles.He declared himself chief of Ulster and did not disguise his hatredof the English.He than proceeded to plunder Bregia the Pale leaving no food in thecountry to suport the English force. In those days coyne and liverywas common to all being originally and Irish imposition on the peopleto support their native prince and his force when he passed through.This practice was picked up with foreign armys as well and thereforethe peasant proprietor was always subject to hosting feedingsheltering any force that was in the area for as long as it wished tostay with all necessities they demanded. Between this depridation andthe scourging of the various armys over the countrside to deprive theenemy of comfort and succor the people of Ireland were always reducedto abject poverty and insecurity and distruction of their labor,livestock, shelter and covering.
James McDonald appearing to be an ally in Shane's quest forindependance from the monarchy of England induced this gallowglaschief to give him a daughter in marriage. This alliance made Shane avery troublesome threat to the power of the crown.Elizabeth appointed Sussex[Lord Radclyffe] as Lord Leuitenant withintent he should appease and consilliate Shane. However this LordRadcliffe collected an army which included the forces of Butler[Ormond] and marched to Armagh entreched the Cathederal and sent alarge body of troops into Tyrone to spoil the country.ONeill responded regained the booty and slaughterd many. This invokeda larger calling up and Sussex commandered the Irish of the southagainst Shane the Earls of Kildare, Desmond, Thomond and Clanricard[mcwilliam burkes]
On June 1 1561 this army invaded Tyrone to lake Foyle devistatingthe country. O Neill withdrew to the mountains and forests. O Neillwaited a month as when Sussex food ran out inticed him to a troop ofcows in county Cavan which his spys in the English camp said could becommandered. The troop was sent out to take the cows and weresubsequently ambushed by Shane with 600 troops. However a forwardguard under fitz Williams came to the aid of these ambushed men andsaved the day. Shane retreated but was required to appear before theQueen.He defended his attacks as self defence against the maruadingEnglish, Deputy misuse and asked the Queen to find him a Englishgentlewoman in marriage, and to send him a stifend as the money ofIreland was not sufficient for his needs or for his journy to herpresence.Sussex wrote to the Queen with intent to get her permission topoison Shane but the Queen would have none of this 1561 august plot.In order to get Shane's presence in London his requests that theQueen pay all expences, that he be given an escort and safe passageand a right to return to Ireland at his will and a pardon for all hispast misdeeds and the return of the Armagh cathederal from itsfortified camp of Lord Sussex troop.These demands were met and Shane comandered his cousin TurloghLynnagh O Neill of Strabane to take charge of Tyrone during hisabsence. He proceded in Decmeber of 1561 to England and was met onJan 2 1562.Shane stode through the streets of London to the Court with hisgallowglasses armed ,his long hair flowing and his grey eyes lusterous,tall and statley every inch a prince.He fell on his knees before Elizabeth and read the submission inIrish. Elizabeth recieved him favorably admiring his prowess and goodlooks as she did all her subjects and gave him presents after he haspresented his claims to Ulster anew and her favor of him over Mathewsand his heirs.ONeill however was outsmarted by the Queen in that his safe conductto leave was not dated and the Queen therefore delayed and detainedhim in London on pretexts.After 3 months of delay his mentor Turlog tried to style himself theO Neill but in anticipation of this he attacked Mathew the youngBarron of Dungannon in a wood near Colingford and was pursued to ariver which he could not swim where he was slain. { marbadh}
Elizabeth subseqently let Shane return to Ireland considering Turlogha threat and he had to sign a felity to her to reduce the scots toobedience along with the ONeills of Clanaboy[antrim and down] theMacQuillans of the Route and to see that these cheifs took the oathof allegiance to the Queen. He pledged to aid the deputy in all warsand to permit the Queens garrison to remain at Armagh Cathederal.When Shane arrived in Dublin and found the rumors of Turloghschaginery to be true he immediately proclamed himself loudy to bethe true O Neill by proclamation of Elizabeth 1 and than hasened toTyrone where he was recieved in triuph by the Ulster men.
Calvagh in the meantime had been ransomed from captivity and whenShane required his submitatance to himself O Donnell refusedexpecting the help of the English viceroy who had restored hiscastles and position to him and he had remained loyal to the English.This refusal was also upheld by Mcguire of Fernmanagh.Shane plundered Fermanagh and began to plunder Tyreconnell O Donnellhowever appealed to the viceroy in Dublin and a truce was called.Shane in his dealing with Sussex again proposed a marraige to thisEnglishmans sister in Dublin which Sussex hoped to get Shane in hispower in Dublin.Shane inquired ater the lady with his spys and determined that shewas being used to induce him to Dublin from whence he should neverreturn.
This adaucios and colorful chief continued to worry and troubleElizabeths reign and his neighbors.Sussex was unable through it all to weaken or bring down this chiefand his forces. Sussex army remined unpaid and unfed. On his foraysinto the north no one would assist him. Eventually due to deprivationhe was requred to fall back to the Pale and his campaign of 1563failed.Sussex lost faith with the Queen and the counsel and he was recalledin disgrace.One of the Queens ministers Sir Thomas Cusack approched the Queenwith a proposal to appoint a president of each of the four provincesof Ireland. These being native princes or chiefs of each province aselected by the people.Thomas was very familiar with Ireland having surveyed it.Cusack met with ONeill on Nov 18 1563 at Benburb Shane's housethere. He now became the Govornor of Tyrone.Again an attempt to poison Shane was made but it was never provedthat any other than a wine merchant in Dublin named Thomas Smith wasinvolved.
In 1564 Sussex was recalled. Shane proceded to build a fort on anIsland in Lough Neagh called Foogh ne Gall [hatred of Englismen].Hewas very suspicioous of government spys or incursions to English wayshanging one of his men as a spy and another for eating an Engishbiscuit.He kept 600 men at arms at all times feeding them at his table. Heconsistantly fed a beggar at his gate before tasting food himself.Probably with the double meaning of the christian help to the poorand to be sure the meat at table was not poisoned..He installed his chaplan Terrence Daniel as primate of Armagh.
In 1565 he came down hard on the scot settlers in Antrim theRedshankes breaking them to peices and killing 600 or more in thefield. Sorly Boy and his brother James mac Donald were takenprisoner. James later died of his wounds.This ingratied him to Elizabeth but he could not rest attacking ratherthan remaining quit seizing the castles at Newry and Dundrum thatbelonged to Elizabeth.He invaded Connaght to require tribute. He overawed Clan Ricarddevistated the ORourke county took 4000 head of cattle before him andreteturned to Tyrone.In Jan 1566 Sir Henry Sydney arrived in Dublin which he did not want.In futher aggrandisment Shane now allowed himslef to become aquited tothe McDonalds of Argyll and resettled them in Antrim.This he cemented by marriage of a son and daughter of Argyll to twoof his children by the countess. Shane again dispoiled Clann Ricard insouth Connaght in Feb 1566.He now controlled all the territory from Sligo to Carrickfergus toCalingford to Drogheda and had made a bond with Scotland.Shane alleged again 'that his ancestors were kings of Ulster andUlster was mine and shall be mine with the sword I won them and withthis sword I will keep them'.Sydney could see no further need in negociating with this proud andcompetent leader and retired to prepare for war. Shane also collecthis forces he attempted to inlist the aid of the king of FranceCharles and the PopeHe again proposed a marrige of himself to one of the Argyllprincesses and selected the widow of James Mac Donaald who had diedby his sweep of the scots in Anrtim.The English intercepted hisrequests to Charles of FranceIn due time troops were sent into Loch Foyle with Randolf at theircommand.They fortifiedat Derry where they were joined by the LordDeputy Sydney, the Earl of Kildare, Calvagh O Donnell, Shane McGuireand O Dougherty of Innisowen. Sydney went on to Donegal and found itin ruins except for a castle in the possession of one of O Donnellsrelatives who had been seduced to Shanes side by marriage with Shanessister..When Sydney appeared with his force the catle wassurrendered. Sydney proceeded in his passage around Sligo Mayo andRoscommon and back to the Pale taking castles as he went.
Shane was very conserned with the garrison at Derry,. He went toDerry where he tryed to attack the garrison. However Randolfspiritedly attacked him from the town killing at least 400 of theIrish. Shane was unacustomed to defeat and was attacked by hisenemies on all sides.The viceroy burned and preyed all Dundalk.TheScots crossed the Bann westward and wasted the country.Allaster Mac Donnald brother of the dead James and the imprisonedSorley Boy wrecked his vengance on women and children and comanderedall the cattle he could.In December Calvagh the old O Donnell in desire to requite himselfof all the damages done him by Shane to himself and his country andhis wife wasted Tyrone before him. This old man was so incenced withhis victorys that he fell from his horse but before he died he madehis followers swear allegience to the Crown which his son Hughpromply did at Derry.
Shane in 1567 could get help from no one. His chiefs held in line byhis tyranical power left him.The cardinals of the Church would nothelp him.Help only arrived in the form of the Black Death taking hundreds thathad avoided death by the flux or miasma fell to the desease inMarch.This scourage was followed by fire started in a blacksmithforge which burned the garrison to the ground.
Shane in May of that year tryed to decamp Hugh O Donnell by supriseat his camp at the river Swilly. The forces of Shane were routed hereby superior generalship on the part of O Donnell.The river now hadreturned to high tide and many were drowned in trying to cross itback to their own country. O Neill himself fled down stream to a fordnear Letterkenny where he was able to cross being unrecongnised by ODonnells men stationed at the ford..Shane elected ,in his state of derangment, to throw himself on themercy of the Lord Deputy. He was disuaded from this course by hissecretary Neil Mackever who felt the cause was not yet lost and urgedShane to go to his wifes relatiions the Scots of MacDonald ,theClanaboy taking along with him Sorely Boy who was still his prisonerat Foogh ne Gall.He did this accompanied by his Countess and Sorley Boy, his secretaryand 50 horsemen.He arrived on May 3 a Saturday at the camp of Allaster MacDonald andhis nefew Gillespie.Gillespie,the child of James,whom ONeill had caused the death ofwanted vengance and provoked a fight with Shanes secretary over hisaunt the countess, Lady Argyll,former wife of the slain James.O Neill on hearing the argument took the side of his secretay.Gillespie withdrew from the tent to his men outside who raised afray and began killing Shanes men.The people began thirsting for the blood of Shane in vengance for thekilling of their master and entering the tent killed Shane withtheir swords. Hewing him into peices, killing his secretary and allwho were with him except a few who escaped on their horses.
Allaster MacDonnald caused his mangled corpse to be carried to anabandoned church yard where wraped in an old kern shirt he wasinterred.After four days in this grave of earth the body was dug up by WilliamPiers, Captain, who cut of the head brought this to the Lord Deputy atDrogeheda on the 21 day of June 1567.This prize was carried to Dublinplaced on a stake and hung from the Castle to bleach.
so perished Sahne O Neill, the Great and the Proud, one of the greatfigures of Irish history which has subjectively ignored his legacy orstory.
An act of Attainter was issued by the Parliament to extinguish thename of ONiell and to give to the crown Her heirs and successors allthe territory of Tyrone and Ulster.Turlogh Lynnagh O Neill was placed in posession of parts of the landsof this great leader and prince of the north and proved himselffreindly to the English.Turlog was the son of Niall Culanagh son of Art Oge brother of ConBacach ONeill.
In later times after the death of Turlogh,Hugh ONeill son of Mathewwho had been cruelly run down and murdered least he be in thesuccession was installed by Elizabeth as Earl of Tyrone where in heremained till after the Death of Elizabeth and his own uprisingagainst English rule at the battles of Kinsale and Yellow Ford.
With the flight of this earl with his ally Hugh Roe O Donnell in1607 under the stern rule of James 2 of England, son of Mary Queen ofScots whom Elisabeth had had beheaded to remove her from thesuccession---With this removal of the remaining rebel chiefs of the north the oldGaleic order of gavelkind ,tanistry ,and princedoms was surpassed byEnglish plantation English law and English land tenure ; and theavent of the anglo Asendancy and the Company endevoring to plantIreland with interprises to better their own fortune.
The native Irish desended, not to slowly ,into abject povertyignorance and deprivation below that endured by animals to which theyfinaly could not rise other than to die in the great famine or toimmigrate to other less hostile enviroments in order to survive.Their culture and their language was lost to them as was theirhistory and their confidence in themselves. They became the 'mereirish' and so remained almost till the rising of 1916 when a terriblebeauty was born from the words of a poet and dreamer in aproclaimation to all irishmen and irish women.No nation but the american indians have ben more subdued andpersecuted for their existance than these people, be it whomever theyare.
judi ann
source of this information is the History of Ulster by Ramsey CollesLL MRI 1919 Some of the inforamtion is disjointed in various chaptersof the book I am not real sure if Ferdorach is the same as Mathew orif Mathew is the son of Ferdorach and his son is Hugh making a threegeneration rather than two. Perhaps someone in the group more skilledthan I can disect this inforamtion and clarify it. I am a mere humble old student not a professor or a teacher but only doing my part for the cause.


JudiDonnelly
CopyrightAug 1 2007