Tír Eoghain Tyrone orTír Eoghain (Irish) | |||||||||||
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| 5th century–1607 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Tyrone in the early 16th century | |||||||||||
| Status | Túatha ofAilech (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 (meaningLand ofEoghan), also known asTyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom ofGaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-dayCounty Tyrone,County Armagh,County Londonderry andCounty Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of theCenél nEógain people of theNorthern Uí Néill and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of otherGaels in the area. One part of the realm to the north-east broke away and expanded, becomingClandeboye, ruled by a scion branch of theO'Neill dynasty. In one form or another, Tyrone existed for over a millennium. Its main capital wasDungannon, though kings were inaugurated atTullyhogue Fort.
Upon its foundation in the 5th century, Tyrone was a sub-kingdom of the largerAileach, which represented the powerbase of the Uí Néill (descendants ofNiall of the Nine Hostages) in the north of Ireland. The territory ofEoghan mac Néill was initially based inInishowen and expanded out from there under his descendants. Periodically, during the time of Aileach, the leaders of Tyrone established themselves asHigh Kings of Ireland, providing in total of thirteen High Kings from the 6th to the 10th centuries. The first wasMuirchertach mac Muiredaig and the last from this period wasDomnall ua Néill. Three later Tyrone claimants to the High Kingship wereDomnall Ua Lochlainn andMuirchertach Mac Lochlainn in 12th century and finallyBrian 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 theO'Neill dynasty) andTyrconnell (under theO'Donnell dynasty). Between themselves and theLordship of Ireland, they competed in the north for hegemony over the Ulster region, but their influence frequently went far beyond the regional. In the 14th century, pushing eastwards, Tyrone benefited from the Gaelic reasurgence and was able to establishClandeboye. Sometimes a sub-kingdom of Tyrone, it soon asserted its own authority and became a prominent player in its own right. With the creation of theCrown of England'sKingdom of Ireland in the 16th century, Tyrone would be brought into theTudors' sphere of influence, but was a major source of Gaelic Irish resistance, before, while and after being subordinated. From the rebellion ofShane the Proud to theNine Years' War underHugh O'Neill and later, Tyrone leaders were involved in the subsequentIrish Rebellion of 1641 andIrish Confederate Wars (particularlyOwen Roe O'Neill).
From the 5th century founding of Cenél nEógain, thetuatha was a sub-unit of the larger kingdom ofAilech (which they typically held the kingship to), along with theirCenél Conaill cousins, fellow descendants ofNiall of the Nine Hostages. The initial ascent of Ailech had coincided with the decline of theUlaid, whose kingdom ofUlster 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 theMeic 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 asTyrconnell.
Following theNorman 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 NormanEarldom of Ulster in the 14th century.
With the ascent ofHenry VIII to the English throne, the politics of theTudor monarch's Lordship of Ireland would come to have a dramatic effect on all of Ireland, including the Kingdom of Tyrone. One of the premierOld English (Norman) forces in Ireland, since the Middle Ages, had been theFitzGerald dynasty. During theWars of the Roses, they had been loyal to theHouse of York, despite the eventual victory of theHouse of Lancaster (including the Tudors), who were supported by their rivals from theButler dynasty. Despite having backing the losing side in the War, the FitzGeralds remained influential in Ireland and difficult to unseat. The King of Tyrone,Conn Bacagh O'Neill, in a personal capacity, carried the sword of state before his uncleGerald Og FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare when he was madeLord 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 theTower of London. Before he had left, Gerald had placed his 21-year-old sonSilken Thomas FitzGerald in charge of the Lordship of Ireland in his absence.[4] The FitzGeralds had many enemies inDublin, 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 toSt. 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 ofGaelic Ireland, or at least some of the most influential parts of it, this included; the O'Neills of Tyrone (his cousin) and the O'Briens ofThomond, as well as theO'Carrolls ofÉile, O'Connor Falys ofOffaly and the O'Mores ofLaois who backed him up for the attacks on theEnglish Pale.[4] The EnglishArchbishop of Dublin,John Alen, died during the Siege of Dublin in controversial circumstances.[4] As the tide began to turn against them, Thomas surrendered toLeonard Grey at Maynooth and was given safe passage to ask for mercy from the King in London but was executed atTyburn with his uncles in 1537.[4] This issue was not concluded though, as back in Ireland theGeraldine League was founded in 1539 by the O'Neills of Tyrone, the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell, the O'Briens of Thomond and other clans, to support the claim of the 14-year-old,Gerald FitzGerald to thenow forfeited title of theEarldom of Kildare. The boy was then living under the guardianship of his aunt, Eleanor McCarthy, Queen of Tyrconnell. This Gaelic alliance under the auspicies of the Geraldine League was able to menace theEnglish Pale, looting and sackingArdee andNavan, before Conn Bacagh O'Neill andManus O'Donnell were dealt a thorough defeat at theBattle of Belahoe by Grey andGerald Aylmer in 1539.
Tyrone was invaded in 1541 by an army underAnthony St Leger, which saw the final defeat of the Geraldine League and the young titular Earl of Kildare fled to Catholic Europe, becoming aKnights Hospitaller. The King of Tyrone's eldest sonPhelim Caoch O'Neill was taken hostage and died the following year. While the FitzGeralds had not been treated with magnaminity, Henry VIII as part of his plan to construct aKingdom of Ireland adopted a policy ofsurrender and regrant, whereby, the Gaelic kings who held sway on the ground beyond the bounds of the old Lordship of Ireland could surrender their sovereignty, but be awarded a title in thePeerage of Ireland and keep their lands, so long as they swore allegiance to the King, adopted English law and became members of the newAnglican Church that Henry was creating. This offer was opened up to Conn Bacagh O'Neill through St Leger, who accepted and went to London in 1542, pledging allegiance to Henry VIII: he was rewarded handsomely in terms of money and land and was also madeEarl of Tyrone.[5][6] The heir to the Earldom would be given the titleBaron Dungannon and with the favourite son Phelim Caoch O'Neill dead (he was killed by theMacDonnells of Antrim), Conn made sure to have the patent made out toFeardorcha (Matthew) O'Neill, an illegitimate son. This choice skipped over the legitimateTanist of Tyrone,Shane O'Neill, who was raised by his foster-family theO'Donnelly clan.[7][8]
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 sonBrian O'Neill over the rights to the Earldom of Tyrone. By this time,Elizabeth I had come to the throne of England and Ireland: she was keen to come to an agreement with Shane O'Neill, if he would submit to her authority and the Lord Deputy. However, Shane greatly distrusted the Lord Deputy, who at the time wasThomas Radclyffe, the Earl of Sussex. So the authorities instead backed Brian O'Neill. Sussex tried to encircle Shane O'Neill by incitingTyrconnell against him, but Shane's men were able to captureCalvagh O'Donnell.[a] Deep inside Gaelic country, Sussex was garrisoningArmagh Cathedral (which had been founded as a monastery bySt. Patrick but had recently been declaredAnglican under the Tudors), before Shane O'Neill's men engaged the English at theBattle of the Red Sagums in July 1561, destroying much of Sussex's army. Shane had himself inaugurated as The Ó Néill atTullyhogue 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 intervened directly and agreed to treat with the "rebel" chief in London, with the Earl of Kildare andEarl 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 fromuirrithe, which had been abrogated since the days of her father. This left Shane as the hegemon of Ulster withMagennis ofIveagh,O'Hanlon ofOrior,Maguire ofFermanagh and others forced to subordinate themselves.[7] While Shane had been in London, theTanist of Tyrone,Turlough Luineach O’Neill had killed off Brian O'Neill, Shane's rival.[5] Boosted by his new found royal favour, Shane's Tyrone moved against the MacDonnells of Antrim at theBattle of Glentaisie in 1565, claiming to be hammering Her Majesty's Scottish enemies (all the while building power for himself). Far from please the English, this powerful Gaelic prince struck fear into the English administration in Ireland: SirHenry Sidney, Tudor arch-colonialist, sought to succeed in suppressing Tyrone where Sussex had failed. TheDublin-based Irish Parliament moved to strip Shane of right to the title The Ó Néill and gave the Crown legal title to Ulster.[5] Writing as "Defender of the Faith", O'Neill now tried to invoke Catholic solidarity in reaching out to Catholic powers to help him force the English from Ireland, including:Charles IX of France,Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine andMary, Queen of Scots. This had the effect of making him be branded a "traitor" by the English government and subsequently, he raided theEnglish 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 theBattle of Farsetmore in May 1567. Tyrone had failed to get the ascent of Tyrconnell's new chiefSir Hugh O'Donnell to join with them against the English and recognise Shane as King of Ulster (in fact Tyrconnell were raiding Tyrone territories atStrabane). During the battle, the forces of Tyrone were surprised and defeated by Tyrconnell, with many deaths. Shane O'Neill, out of options, threw himself on the mercy of a warband fromClan MacDonald of Dunnyveg atCushendun. Unbeknownst to him,William Piers, commander of the English garrison atCarrickfergus, had already cut a deal with the Scots Gallowglass and so they assassinated him (the English portrayed the incident as a drunken Gaelic brawl).Brian McPhelim O'Neill, Shane's distant cousin from theClandeboye, is also believed to have provided intelligence to Piers.[6] In the aftermath of these troubles, by the 1570s, the forces of Tudor England had moved towards a policy of explicitcolonisation in Ulster with the "Enterprise of Ulster", moving against even loyal Gaelic lords (theMunster Plantations were also in genesis in the south). This effected Clandeboye more than Tyrone, as Tyrone was under the strong leadership ofTurlough Luineach O’Neill as The Ó Néill. Showing military prowess in conflict with theEarl of Essex, the English granted him the right to retain a force of 300 Scots Gallowglass, confirmation of his lands in Tyrone and a title as Earl of Clanconnel. With events heating up in Munster, Turlough kept contacts open withStewart Scotland andHabsburg Spain. In 1593, infirm and of old age, Turlough stood aside in Tyrone forHugh O'Neill, Baron of Dungannon, a son of Matthew O'Neill (Turlough had killed Hugh's older brother Brian back in 1562). As a child, the English had taken Hugh O'Neill "into protection" and raised him in theEnglish Pale just outsideDublin.
During the reign ofStuart monarchJames I, Tyrone would be reduced further with the barony of Loughinsholin in its north-east being transferred to the new county ofLondonderry. The Ó Néill rebelled several times, attempts to reassert sovereignty. The last attempt of substance was underAodh Mór Ó Néill, Earl of Tyrone, who fled in 1607 in what became known as theFlight of the Earls, where he and many of his allies (particularly among Ulster Gaeldom) fled Ireland.[9][10]
The succession to the claim of being the O'Neill of Tyrone, depended on the position taken on the questioned legitimacy ofFeardorcha (Matthew) O'Neill. His successorHugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone had several sons, some of whom went into exile after he fled Ireland and others were murdered by the English authorities. Hugh's original heir was Hugh Oge O'Neill (1585–1609), Baron of Dungannon, but he pre-deceased his father. Two others were serving in theSpanish Army; Colonel Henry O'Neill and GeneralJohn O'Neill. Another son, Bryan O'Neill, was strangled in his bedroom inBrussels by English spies. It was John O'Neill who was recognised as 3rd Earl of Tyrone (or Conde de Tyrone) byPope Urban VIII and his sponsorIsabella Clara Eugenia in theSpanish Netherlands. John O'Neill died in 1641 and upon his death, he left his claims to his nine-year-old Spanish-born illegitimate son, Hugo Eugenio O'Neill (1633-1660), who only lived a couple of decades more without issue.[11] Another illegitimate son was Patrick O'Neill (who, being illegitimate, did not claim the right to the Earldom of Tyrone). During the reign ofJames II of England, Patrick's son James O'Neill moved toMartinique under French dominion and his illegitimate descendants lived there for many following generations. They became culturallyFrenchified. One female scion married aBaron von Bodman from theGrand Duchy of Baden.
The people who lived in Tyrone wereIrish Gaels (mostly from theNorthern Uí Néill but also others), with someHighland Scots mercenaries in later times. Although the territory was ruled by the O'Neills for most of its history, a variety of otherIrish clans also lived in Tyrone, some with different hereditary roles.[12] These are listed bySeán Mór Ó Dubhagáin in his works on pre-Norman 12th century Ireland. The second most senior clan, also from the Cenél nEógain kindred, were theÓ Catháin (O'Cahan),[12] who ruled a sub-kingdom synonymous with the barony ofColeraine, then known asFir na Craoibhe. This, along withTirkeeran andKeenaght, 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 theCiannachta Glenn Geimin,[12] anEberian group distantly kindred to theEóganachta in Munster, who remained in the area subsequently but in much reduced form.
Below is a list of the O'Neill sovereign Kings of Tyrone.[13] The Kings of Tyrone was inaugurated atTullyhogue Fort with various other clans in the kingdom playing a special role. Tyrone itself was later divided betweenCounty Tyrone,County Armagh andCounty Coleraine (laterCounty Londonderry) in theKingdom of Ireland.
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