(O)Neill;
Variant Spellings; Nail, Neal, Neale, Neill, O'Neal, O'Neill, Nihill.
The Ulster O’Neills were the most important of the O’Neill septs though there were a number of others in the country.
The O’Neills of Thormond were chieftains in the area around Bunratty, while today the Nihils of Co. Clare are said to come from the Thormond O’Neills. There is an O'Neill sept in the barony of Rathvilly Co. Carlow and O’Neills are also found in Waterford and south Tipperary.
The Ulster O'Neills are the most famous of that name and through the years have contributed largely to the history of the country. The ancestor of the sept appears to be Donell O’Neill whose grandfather Niall, King of Ireland was killed in battle with the Norsemen in 919 A.D.; the family occupied territory in Tir Eoghan (Tyrone) and Meath. In the fourteenth century a branch of the Tyone O’Neills migrated to Antrim where they became known as the Clandeboy O’Neills.
The O’Neills known to us from history were Con Bacach (The Lame) O’Neill (1484 -1559), first Earl of Tyrone; Shane (The Proud) O'Neill (1530-1567) Hugh O’ Neill (1540-1616) second Earl of Tyrone: Owen Roe O’Neill (1590-1649); Sir Phelim O’Neill (1604-1653) and Hugh O’Neill (d.1660). Sir Nial O’Neill (1658-1690) was killed at the Battle of the Boyne. O’Neills were prominent as 'Wild Geese' officers in the French Army.
Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) the American writer was the son of James O’Neill (1849- 1920) an American actor who was an Irish emigrant.
Coat of Arms
(O)Neill
Where the Families Lived (Blue Area)
Addresses for More Information
Ireland
Centre for Irish Genealogical and Local Studies, Carraig, Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. (Sean Murphy, MA, Director)
General Register Office, 8-11 Lombard Street East, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 671 1000
Website http://www.doh.ie/manual/chap4/gere.htm
National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 478 3711
National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Telephone (01) 603 0200
Website www.heanet.ie/natlib
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, 66 Balmoral Street, Belfast BT9 6NYY, Northern Ireland
Telephone (01232) 251319.
Website http://proni.nics.gov.uk/index.htm
University College Dublin, Adult Education Office, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Website http://www.ucd.ie/delltti
Britain
Family Records Centre, London, England.
Website http://pro.gov.uk/about/frc/default.htm
Public Records Office, Kew, Surrey, England.
Website http://www.pro.gov.uk
General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Website http://www.open.gov.uk/index.html
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales.
Website http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.htm
North America
Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, Family History Information, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Website http://lds.org/en/ 2 how do I begin/0- how do I begin.html
Family Tree Maker’s Genealogy Site
Website http://www.familytreemaker.com/index.html
The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), P.O. Box 619 Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.
Website http://tiari.ie
Irish Genealogical Society International, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Website http://www.rootsweb.com irish/index.html
New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston Massachusetts, USA.
Website http://nehgs.org/main-01.htm
Australasia
Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
Website http://www.alphalink.com/au/esv
National Archives of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Website http://www.aa.gov.au/AA_WWW/AA_Home_Page.html
National Archives of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
Website http://www.archives.dia.gov.nz
List of Links
Cyndi’s List of Genealogical Sites on the Internet: Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Website http://www.cyndilist.com/ireland.htm
UK and Ireland Genealogical Information Service.
Website http://www.genuki.org.uk
Copyright © 1998 by A. MacDarragh Burke, MD
All Rights Reserved.