Art MacBaron O'Neill
{{Short description|Irish landowner and soldier}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Irish English|date=September 2020}}
Art MacBaron O'Neill (Irish: Art mac Baron Ó Néill; died 1618) was an Irish landowner and soldier of the Elizabethan and early Stuart eras. He is sometimes referred to as Arthur O'Neill.
Biography
O'Neill was part of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster, the son of Matthew O'Neill, 1st Baron Dungannon. His 'middle name' was a patronymic, referring to his father's title.
His father's other children were Brian O'Neill, Cormac MacBaron O'Neill and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.{{Cite web |last=O'Byrne |first=Emmet |date=October 2009 |editor1-last=McGuire |editor1-first=James |editor2-last=Quinn |editor2-first=James |title=O'Neill (Ó Neill), Matthew (Feardorcha) |url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/oneill-o-neill-matthew-feardorcha-a6954 |access-date=21 March 2022 |website=Dictionary of Irish Biography}} John O'Hart referred to Art as illegitimate (i.e. not the son of Matthew's wife Siobhán).{{Sfn|O'Hart|1892|p=723}} Hiram Morgan similarly referred to Art as Tyrone's half-brother.{{Cite journal |last=Morgan |first=Hiram |date=2005 |title=Gaelic Lordship and Tudor Conquest: Tír Eoghain, 1541-1603 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27725334?seq=4 |journal=History Ireland |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=38–43 |issn=0791-8224}} Jerrold Casway called Art "[Tyrone's] older half-brother".{{Cite journal |last=Casway |first=Jerrold |date=2016 |title=Catherine Magennis and the Wives of Hugh O’Neill |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48568219 |journal=Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=69–79 |issn=0488-0196}} Conversely, Emmett O'Byrne stated that all four of Matthew's sons were legitimate.
O'Neill ruled over Oneilland south of Lough Neagh.Casway 1984, p. 9. He could speak fluent English unlike many of his relations.
O'Neill fought alongside his brother during Tyrone's Rebellion (1594-1603). Despite a series of defeats against the Irish Army that culminated in the burning of their capital at Dungannon and retreat into the woods, they were able to agree the Treaty of Mellifont which restored them to royal favour under the new King James I. O'Neill and his brothers were pardoned for their past activities and had their lands restored to them. He died in 1618.Morgan 1999, pp. 86-87.
Family
O'Neill had nine sons, one of whom was Owen Roe O'Neill who served as a mercenary in the Spanish Army for many years before returning to Ireland during the Irish Confederate Wars. Six of his other sons died during Tyrone's Rebellion, and Brian O'Neill was hanged as an outlaw in 1607. The two remaining sons also served in the Spanish Army.Casway 1984, p. 10.
Notes
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References
- {{citation |last=Casway |first=Jerrold |title=Owen Roe O'Neill and the Struggle for Catholic Ireland |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1984}}
- {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Art MacBaron}}
Category:People of Elizabethan Ireland
Category:17th-century Irish people
Category:16th-century Irish landowners
Category:People from County Tyrone
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:16th-century Irish military personnel
{{citation |last=Morgan |first=Hiram |title=Tyrone's Rebellion |publisher=Boydell Press |year=1999}}
- {{Cite book |last=O'Hart |first=John |author-link=John O'Hart |url=https://archive.org/details/irishpedigrees00unkngoog/ |title=Irish Pedigrees: Or, the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation |date=1892 |publisher=James Duffy & Co. |edition=5th |volume=I |location=Dublin |oclc=7239210}}
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