Donnell O'Neill (Irish:Domhnall Ua Néill) was a king ofTyrone inmedieval Ireland. He was the son ofBrian O'Neill of thebattle of Down.[1] O'Neill was king of Tyrone on several occasions contesting the kingship with his kinsmanNiall Culanach andBrian O'Neill who both had the support of theEarldom of Ulster.[1]
O'Neill was seemingly only a boy when his father was killed at theBattle of Down in 1260. He married Gormflaith, the daughter ofDonnell Óg O'Donnell, king ofTyrconnell. His father-in-law was killed in 1281 by O'Neill's cousin and rival,Hugh Boy O'Neill, at theBattle of Desertcreat.[2] O'Neill is perhaps best known for sending a Remonstration toPope John XXII in 1317, in which he complains of the actions of the English in Ireland, calling on the Pope to supportEdward Bruce asKing of Ireland (brother ofRobert the Bruce, King of Scots).[3][4]
In 1283 Hugh Boy died and O'Neill assumed the kingship. Three years laterRichard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, forcibly removed O'Neill and installed O'Neill's cousin and Hugh Boy's brother,Niall Culanach O'Neill, as king in his place. In 1290 O'Neill would regain the kingship only to be deposed once more by the earl in 1291 in favour of Niall. That year he killed his rival, however before he could reclaim the kingship, the earl had installed Hugh Boy's son,Brian as king in his place.[2]
With the support of his brother Niall, O'Neill would rebuild his strength and at theBattle of Creeve in 1295 would defeat the combined forces of Brian and the English, with the former being killed. O'Neill once more took the kingship of Tyrone.[2] A period of relative calm between the O'Neill rivals appears to have ensued over the next decade, however in 1306 one Donnell Tuirtreach O'Neill was killed in O'Neill's household.[2]
De Burgh would continue to undermine O'Neill's kingship, and having extended the earldom all the way along the north coast to Inishowen exerted pressure on Tyrone. In 1312-1313 Dermot O'Cahan acknowledged de Burgh as his overlord and that his lands atGlenconkeyne were held from him. These lands were then granted to the Clandeboye O'Neill's, the offspring of Hugh Boy who sought to retake the kingship of Tyrone.[2]
In 1314 O'Neill sought the aid of theking of Scotland,Robert Bruce, against the Normans.[2]Edward Bruce was sent to Ireland and during theBruce campaign in Ireland. Despite this in 1314 he was asked for his aid against Bruce. With the defeat of Bruce in 1318, O'Neill was deposed from the kingship in 1319 by the Normans andHenry O'Neill of theClandeboye O'Neill's.[1] O'Neill fled to Fermanagh where he received the protection of Flaherty Maguire, however he and his supporters were plundered by the inhabitants. Not long after this he regained his kingship however his son and successor, Brian, was killed inMaghera by the Clandeboye O'Neill's and Henry MacDavill.[2][5]
O'Neill died in 1325 at Lough Laoghaire, the location of acrannog nearDungannon.[1][6] That same year his son Cooley (Cú Uladh) was killed by O'Neill's nephews through his brother Niall.[6] He had another son,Áed Remar O'Neill, who became king of Tyrone in 1345. He was succeeded by Hugh Boy O'Neill's grandsonHenry.[citation needed]
Donnell O'Neill Cadet branch of theCenél nEógain Died: 1325 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Tyrone 1st reign 1283-1286 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Niall Culanach O'Neill | King of Tyrone 2nd reign 1290-1291 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Brian O'Neill | King of Tyrone 3rd reign 1295-1319 | Unknown |
| Unknown | King of Tyrone 4th reign Aft. 1319-1325 | Succeeded by |
