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Ó Néill

The surname Ó Néill (anglicised O’Neill) is one of the most common to be found in Ulster. It derives from the quite shadowy character Niall Naoighiallach, or Niall of the Nine Hostages, who lived around the period 379 – 405, and is reputed in legend to have been the kidnapper or the young Patrick, later Saint Patrick.
Descendants of this Niall (Néill is the genitive form of Niall) moved and extended their territories from the area around the Inis Eoghain peninsula southward into modern day south Co. Derry and Co. Tyrone. Indeed, both Inis Eoghain and Tír Eoghain take their names from the Cenél Eoghain, the kindred of Eoghain who populated it. The Cenél Chonaill, the kindred of Conaill who were also descendants of the great Niall, moved to the west from Inis Eoghain and formed Tír Chonaill.
Branches of the Ó Néill moved down into the area of south Co Armagh, but the surname is synonymous to this day with Tír Eoghain, where the Ó Néill had their powerbase. The spiritual home of the Ó Néill could be said to be at Tulach Óg, outside Cookstown, where the inauguration site of their family’s leader can still be seen. Other families which gave allegiance to the Ó Néill family, and played roles in the administration, such as Ó Donnghaile (Donnelly), Ó Doibhlin (Devlin), Ó hÁgáin (O’Hagan) and Ó Coinn (Quinn) all still have strong ties with this area.

Perhaps the most historically significant Ó Néill is Aodh Ó Néill, the Hugh O’Neill who led Ulster in rebellion against Elizabethan rule between 1593 and 1601, scoring famous victories in battle at Clontibret in 1594 and at the Yellow Ford on the River Blackwater in 1598. He was, however, later routed at Kinsale in 1601 and, having entered into treaty with the English Crown in 1603, departed for the Continent in 1607 to seek foreign aid for his cause. He failed in his mission and died in Rome in 1616, having never returned to Ireland.

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