Brian O'Neill (Irish: Brian Ó Néill; c. 1604 – 16 August 1617), also known as Bernard[1][2] or Con Brian,[3] was a seventeenth-century Irish noble and the youngest son of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. He joined his parents on the Flight of the Earls and was later found dead in Brussels, possibly killed by an English assassin.
Brian O'Neill Brian Ó Néill | |
|---|---|
| Coat of arms |  |
| Born | c. 1604 Ulster, Ireland |
| Died | 16 August 1617 (aged 13) Brussels, Spanish Netherlands |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Buried | St Anthony's College, Leuven |
| Noble family | O'Neill dynasty |
| Father | Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone |
| Mother | Catherine Magennis |
Family
editBrian O'Neill was the son of Irish lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and his fourth wife Catherine Magennis.[4] Tyrone was Chief of the Name of the O'Neill clan, Tír Eoghain's ruling Gaelic Irish noble family.[5][6] Catherine, Countess of Tyrone, was born into the Magennis family of Rathfriland.[7]
Brian had two full-brothers, Conn and Shane.[7][4] Born c. 1604, Brian was Tyrone's youngest son.[4] Shane was born in 1599,[8][9] and Conn was born c. 1602.[4][10][11] Conversely, the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland claims that Shane was Tyrone's youngest son.[12]
Flight of the Earls
editBrian, Shane and their parents took part in the Flight of the Earls,[10] leaving Ireland for mainland Europe in September 1607.[6] Conn could not be located in time, and was left behind in Ireland.[10][11] As the Irish refugees travelled through Europe, Brian and Shane were left in Leuven in the care of Irish Franciscans. Their parents continued to Rome.[13][14][6] The brothers were raised at St Anthony's College in the company of fellow infant nobles Hugh Albert O'Donnell (son of Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell) and Hugh O'Donnell (son of Cathbarr O'Donnell).[15] Brian became a page to Archduke Albert VII.[16]
Death
editOn 16 August 1617,[17][3] Brian was found dead in his room in Brussels. His death was under suspicious circumstances, as he had been hanged with his hands tied behind his back.[1][18] At the time, his cause of death was not conclusively proven.[18][3][13] Paul Walsh calls Brian's death an "assassinat[ion]".[4] John O'Hart says Brian was "strangled in his bedroom in Brussels... by an English assassin".[16]
Brian was thirteen years old at the time of his death,[4] predeceasing his mother Catherine.[13] His death caused great despair and isolation in his mother, who had lost her husband only the previous year.[13][18]
Brian was buried in St Anthony's College, Leuven.[1]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c McGurk, John (August 2007). "The Flight of the Earls: escape or strategic regrouping?". History Ireland. 15 (4). Archived from the original on 18 April 2024.
- ^ Casway 2003, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Dunlop 1895, p. 196.
- ^ a b c d e f Walsh 1930, p. 31.
- ^ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (13 July 2024). "Tyrone". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Morgan, Hiram (September 2014). "O'Neill, Hugh". Dictionary of Irish Biography. doi:10.3318/dib.006962.v1. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b Casway 2016, p. 73.
- ^ Burke, John, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage. Vol. 2 (107 ed.). p. 3006.
- ^ Walsh, Micheline (1974). "The Will of John O'Neill, Third Earl of Tyrone". Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society. 7 (2): 320–325. doi:10.2307/29740847. JSTOR 29740847.
- ^ a b c Casway 2016, p. 74.
- ^ a b Casway 2003, p. 61.
- ^ Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 1867, p. 459.
- ^ a b c d Casway 2003, p. 62.
- ^ Casway 2016, p. 75.
- ^ Casway 2003, p. 66.
- ^ a b O'Hart, John (1892). "O'Neill (No.2) Irish genealogy". Irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. 1 (5 ed.). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ^ Walsh 1930, p. 9.
- ^ a b c Casway 2016, p. 76.
Sources
edit- Casway, Jerrold (2003). "Heroines or Victims? The Women of the Flight of the Earls". New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua. 7 (1): 56–74. ISSN 1092-3977. JSTOR 20557855.
- Casway, Jerrold (2016). "Catherine Magennis and the Wives of Hugh O'Neill". Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society. 26 (1): 69–79. JSTOR 48568219.
- Dunlop, Robert (1895). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 42. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 188–196.
- Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1867). "PROCEEDINGS AND PAPERS". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 5: 459.
- Walsh, Paul (1930). Walsh, Paul (ed.). The Will and Family of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone [with an Appendix of Genealogies] (PDF). Dublin: Sign of the Three Candles. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2024.