| Brian O'Neill | |
|---|---|
| High King of Ireland | |
| Reign | 1258–1260 |
| Predecessor | Rory O'Connor (1166–1198) |
| Successor | none (Edward Bruce claimant 1315–1318) |
| King of Tyrone | |
| Reign | 1238–1260 |
| Predecessor | Donnell Og O'Neill |
| Successor | Hugh Boy O'Neill |
| Died | c. 14 May 1260 nearDownpatrick,Ireland |
| Issue | Donnell O'Neill |
| Dynasty | Northern Uí Néill (Cenél nEógain) |
| Father | Niall Roe O'Neill |
| Mother | Nuala Ní Conchobair |
Brian O'Neill, also known asBrian "of the battle of Down"O'Neill (Irish:Brian Chatha an Dúna Ua Néill; diedc. 14 May 1260), was theHigh King of Ireland from 1258 to 1260.
In 1230 Hugh O'Neill (Aedh Ó Néill), king of Tyrone, died and was succeeded by Donnell MacLaughlin.[1] MacLaughlin however was removed in 1238 by theJusticiar of Ireland,Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Lord of Offaly, andHugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, who installed "the son of O'Neill", presumed to have been Brian, and took the hostages of the Cenel Owen and Cenel Connell.[1][2] However it may have been Brian's cousin Donnell, who afterwards was killed by MacLaughlin.[citation needed] After this O'Neill claimed the kingship of theO'Neill dynasty as well asTyrone, possibly with the aid ofHugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster.[3]
In revenge, O'Neill with the aid ofMelaghlin O'Donnell, king ofTyrconnell, defeated MacLoughlin and ten of his closest kinsmen at the battle of Camergi, somewhere within Tyrone north ofOmagh, in 1241.[4][5][6] 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.
In 1244,Henry III of England sent letters to various Gaelic Irish lords, including O'Neill, requesting their aid in a military campaign against theKingdom of Scotland. In the end the issue was sorted out diplomatically.[7] Copies of the letter were also distributed to O'Neill's sub-chiefs including histánaiste, Hugh Boy O'Neill.[7]
A consequence of this infighting between the rival factions of the Cenél Eoghain allowed the Normans to advance deeper into Gaelic Ulster, however in 1243 de Lacy died.[5] Thus theEarldom of Ulster reverted to the English Crown and was taken over by royal administrators.[4][5] John FitzGeoffrey, the king's chief governor in Ireland, erected a bridge across theRiver Bann and built castles atColeraine andBallyroney inIveagh. From here FitzGeoffrey was able to penetrate deeper into Tyrone.[5]
Despite ending MacLoughlin aspirations to the kingship, O'Neill would form a marriage alliance with them, however this resulted in a war with theO'Donnells ofTyrconnell.[citation needed] Subsequently in 1248 O'Neill backed the king of Tyrconnell, Rory O'Cannon (Ruaidri Ua Canannáin), against the claims of O'Donnell.[6] O'Cannon had been set up in the kingship by FitzGerald, however rather than backing him, entered Tyrconnell and removed him in favour of Goffraid O'Donnell.[8][9]
O'Cannon, who had been expelled to Tyrone,[10] and O'Neill, once again led their forces into Tyrconnell to confront O'Donnell, however they were defeated with O'Cannon slain.[9]
That same yearJohn FitzGeoffrey, who replaced FitzGerald as Justiciar in 1246,[10] entered Tyrone and took the submission and hostages of O'Neill.[8] A resolution had been adopted at a meeting of the Cenel Owen that "since the power of the Foreigners was over the Gaeidhel of Erinn, to give hostages to the Foreigners, and to make peace with them, for the sake of their country."[8][9]
In 1249 the king of Connacht, Felim O'Connor, was given refuge from the Normans by O'Neill.[6] In 1252, O'Neill and his brother gave their submissions to the Justiciar of Ireland, who had marched to Armagh with a large force. A Rory O'Neill was given as hostage.[11]
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.[5][6][12] He also launched an offensive against the Normans inLeinster.[7] That same year the son of Maurice FitzGerald led his forces into Tyrone to attack O'Neill, however he failed to take his submission or hostages and after battle suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of O'Neill.[13]
In 1255 he made a pact with Felim O'Connor's sonHugh, where by allowing Hugh free rein in the kingdom ofBreifne, he would aid O'Neill against the Normans of the earldom who were eroding his territory.[5]
In 1257 the king of Tyrconnell, Goffraid O'Donnell, had been mortally wounded in battle against the FitzGeralds, and O'Neill used this opportunity to try to exact Tyrconnell's submission. As the Cenel Connell discussed what to do, Goffraid's youngest brother, Donnell Og, returned from fosterage and was conferred the chieftainship of Tyrconnell. He refused to submit O'Neill stating the Scottish proverb "Every man should have his own world".[12]
FitzGerald in 1252 had built a castle at Caoluisce, on the banks ofLough Erne, near modern-dayBelleek, County Fermanagh, 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".[4][5] Whilst he received hostages from O'Connor and from O'Brien ofThomond, along with several other minor Kings fromMeath andMunster,[7] his claim was not recognised by those of the Irish closest to him including the other O'Neill factions, the O'Donnells of Tyrconnell, the MacMahons ofAirgíalla, and the O'Rourkes of Breifne.[5] Indeed the following year O'Donnell would lead an attack into Tyrone.[12]
In 1260 O'Neill along with his O'Connor allies, launched an attack on the Normans of theEarldom of Ulster at Drumderg, near its capital atDownpatrick in modernCounty Down, Northern Ireland.[5] 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 subsequentbattle of Down.[5] TheAnnals of Inisfallen state that the forces recruited by the Normans consisted mostly of native Irish and that the Normans played only a minor role.[14]
In the battle, O'Neill was killed along with many other Irish nobles including over a dozen members of theO'Cahans. O'Neill's head was cut off by the Normans and sent to KingHenry III of England,[15] a sign of how dangerous his coalition was thought to be.[5]
After this battle, Brian would become known in Irish asBrian Chatha an Dúna, meaning 'Brian of the Battle of Down'.[citation needed]
Brian was the son of Niall Roe (Ruadh), and grandson ofÁed in Macáem Tóinlesc.[16] His wife was Nuala O'Connor (Ní Conchobair), a daughter ofRory O'Connor the lastHigh King of Ireland before theNorman invasion. Therefore, through his mother, he would have been descended fromBrian Boru.[further explanation needed]
After Brian's death the kingship of the Cenel Owen and with it Tyrone was taken by his cousin's son,Hugh Boy O'Neill, ancestor of theClandeboye O'Neill's, who also had the support of the earldom of Ulster. Upon Hugh's death in 1283 Brian's sonDonnell seized the kingship, which until 1295 was highly contested between him and his second-cousinNiall Culanach and Hugh Boy's sonBrian, until he won outright control by killing his opponents.[16]
Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe wrote the lamentAoidhe mo chroidhe ceann Briain (Brian's head is the care of my heart).[17]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Brian O'Neill (High-King of Ireland) Cadet branch of theCenél nEógain Died:c. 14 May 1260 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Rory O'Connor | — TITULAR — High King of Ireland 1258–1260 | Vacant Title next held by Edward Bruce |
| Preceded by | King of Ailech 1238–1260 | Succeeded by |
| King of Tyrone 1238–1260 | ||
