Hugh O'Neill, 4th Baron Dungannon explained

Hugh O'Neill
4th Baron Dungannon
Tenure:1587–1608
Predecessor:Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Successor:Title attainted in 1608
Birth Place:Ulster, Ireland
Death Date:24 September 1609 (aged 24)
Death Place:Rome, Papal States
Burial Place:San Pietro in Montorio, Rome
Father:Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone
Mother:Siobhán O'Donnell

Hugh O'Neill, 4th Baron Dungannon[1] (– 24 September 1609) was an Irish nobleman. He was the son and heir to Irish Gaelic lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, though he predeceased his father. His title was attainted in 1608.

Dungannon accompanied his family and countrymen on the Flight of the Earls, leaving Ireland for mainland Europe. A few months after settling in Rome, Dungannon became violently ill after catching fever during a holiday to Ostia. He remained ill for a year before dying in Rome. He is buried alongside his father and two half-uncles in San Pietro in Montorio.

Biography

Hugh O'Neill was born, specifically before December 1585. His father was Irish lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War.[2] His mother was Tyrone's second wife, Siobhán O'Donnell, who was a daughter of clan chief Hugh McManus O'Donnell. He had had several older sisters, Sarah, Mary and Alice, and a younger brother, Henry.

Hugh became Baron Dungannon after his father was named the Earl of Tyrone on 10 May 1587. His mother Siobhán died in January 1591. According to Tyrone's letters, Hugh was in fosterage in August 1594.

In 1603, he received a new patent which elevated him to the baronage of Dungannon.[3]

By September 1607, Dungannon was to be married to a daughter of Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll.[4] However, Tyrone's snap decision to flee Ireland put an end to these plans. Dungannon accompanied his father on the Flight of the Earls in 1607. Because of this, his title was attainted. The Irish refugees settled in Rome, where they were provided with a paltry pension from Pope Paul V.

The Irish nobles proved to be unhappy with the Italian climate and their poor accommodation. In early July 1608, Dungannon travelled to Ostia, a coastal town fifteen miles west of Rome, for a holiday and change of air. He was accompanied by fellow nobles Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell and Cathbarr O'Donnell, and clergyman Donal O’Carroll. Unfortunately, the men "all agreed that that particular place [was] one of the worst and most unhealthy for climate in all Italy".[5] Ostia's marshlands were ridden with mosquitoes,[6] and after four days the young nobles became violently ill with fevers.[7]

After a year of illness, Dungannon died in Rome, unmarried, on 24 September 1609. He was 24 years old. His father could not afford to pay for the funeral, so the new Spanish ambassador in Rome, the Conde de Castro, funded the funeral with 400 crowns.

Dungannon was buried in San Pietro in Montorio, where Tyrconnell, Cathbarr, and eventually his father Tyrone were also buried. Part of the inscription on his tomb (in Latin, translated to English) reads: "His lamentable death dashed the hopes which all had placed In him for his exemplary talents and distinction of soul and Body so propitious for a future favourable return to that Country once again."

References

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. p. 3006
  2. Morgan . Hiram . Hiram Morgan . September 2014 . O'Neill, Hugh . . 10.3318/dib.006962.v1 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230926084624/https://www.dib.ie/biography/oneill-hugh-a6962 . 26 September 2023 . 3 May 2024.
  3. McGurk . John . August 2007 . The Flight of the Earls: escape or strategic regrouping? . . 15 . 4 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240418050425/https://www.historyireland.com/the-flight-of-the-earls-escape-or-strategic-regrouping/ . 18 April 2024.
  4. Campbell, Archibald, seventh earl of Argyll (1575/6–1638), magnate and politician . 2024-09-12 . 2004 . en . 10.1093/ref:odnb/4471 . Callow . John .
  5. FitzPatrick . Elizabeth . August 2007 . San Pietro in Montorio, burial-place of the exiled Irish in Rome, 1608-1623 . live . . 15 . 4 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240301114633/https://www.historyireland.com/san-pietro-in-montorio-burial-place-of-the-exiled-irish-in-rome-1608-1623/ . 1 March 2024.
  6. Casway . Jerrold . 2009 . O'Donnell, Nuala . . 10.3318/dib.006696.v1 . 18 April 2024.
  7. O'Byrne . Emmett . Emmett O'Byrne . October 2009 . O'Donnell (Ó Domhnall), Ruaidhrí . . en . 10.3318/dib.006701.v1 . 2024-04-15.