Gordon O'Neill

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Gordon O'Neill, was an Irish colonel in King James II's army who fought in the Battle of the Boyne and the Battle of Aughrim for the Jacobites. He was a son of .

Biography[]

Gordon was born, probably in 1650, as the only child of Felim O'Neill of Kinard and his third wife Jean Gordon. His father was a prominent member of the O'Neill dynasty and one of the leaders of the Confederates. His mother was Scottish, a daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, and the widow of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane. His parents were both Catholic. They had married in November 1649.[1]

He was a young child during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653). His father was executed in 1653 after the defeat.[2]

Gordon O'Neill raised a regiment for King James II in 1689 and became a colonel in the Irish army. During the Williamite war in Ireland, he saw action in Ulster, at the Battle of the Boyne, and the Battle of Aughrim,[3] where he was left for dead but was picked up by some Scottish Williamite officers who recognised him. He recovered from his wounds, and took his regiment to France after the Treaty of Limerick in 1692. There, it was known as the Régiment de Charlemont.[4] He was still alive in 1704.

The 17th-century Irish poet Dermot McMurray (Irish: Diarmuid Mac Muireadhaigh) is believed to be the author of a Gaelic poem about him.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Webb 1878, p. 417: "In November 1649 he married Lady Jane Gordon a daughter of the Marquis of Huntly and the widow of Lord Strabane."
  2. ^ Dunlop 1895, p. 207, left column, line 50: "... he was executed as a traitor on 10 March 1652-3."
  3. ^ Graham 1841, p. 277:"... distinguished himself with his nephew, Captain Manus O'Kane, at the Siege of Derry and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Aughrim."
  4. ^ D'Alton 1855, p. 473: "In the brigades commissioned for the French service, of that style 'Regiment of Charlemont', commanded by Gordon O'Neil at its first formation ..."

References[]

  • D'Alton, John (1855). Illustrations, historical and genealogical, of King James's Irish army list, 1689. Dublin: Published by the author. OCLC 838655763.
  • Dunlop, Robert (1895). "O'Neill, Phelim 1604?–1653". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 42. New York: MacMillan and Co. pp. 204–208. OCLC 8544105.
  • Graham, Rev. John (1841). Ireland Preserved; or the Siege of Londonderry and the Battle of Aughrim with Lyrical Poetry and Biographical Notes (2nd ed.). Dublin: Hardy and Walker. OCLC 00992682. – Short biographies in the biographical notes
  • Webb, Alfred (1878). "O'Neill, Sir Felim". Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son. pp. 416–418. OCLC 122693688.

External links[]

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