Sean (or Shane) The Proud O'Neill 1528-1567
Even by the standards of the 16th century, Sean O'Neill, uncle of Hugh O'Neill , was not a nice man. According to O'Faolain, when Sean presented himself at the court of Queen Elizabeth in 1562, his reputation had preceded him. The court "knew that he was enormously rich - he must have owned a hundred thousand cows" (and the land to graze them) "..he had murdered his brother, or caused him to be murdered; killed off his nephew, or caused him to be killed; believed that he kept his mistress, the Countess of Argyle, in chains in a cellar until, of evenings, when the wine was in his brain, he chose to have her up for his pleasure; as they guessed that she had betrayed her husband to become O'Neill's woman; and that while she was in O'Neill's arms, her husband, Calvach O'Donnell was being shown to the people outside in chains like a baboon. They believed he had swarms of children. They had heard of his gigantic potations, of the vast cellars at Dundrum where two hundred tuns of wine were stored at a time, and of his strange habit of burying himself to the neck in sand to cool his mad blood. They knew he was dangerous and would have to be placated."
By modern standards, Sean sounds like a monster, a Caligula or Stalin. Eventually, as with all monsters, his unbridled ambitions and lust for power and land overextended itself. After he was defeated by the O'Donnells, he found himself without a friend or ally to harbour him. He fled to the Scottish controlled Antrim glens, and while negotiating terms, a fight broke out and Sean was killed. His head was sent south to be stuck on a spike outside Dublin Castle.
TO BE CONCLUDED
The above is based mainly on Sean O'Faolain's book "The Great O'Neill",
available from Fred Hanna .
Published by Mercier Press
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Ireland.
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Last updated September 2000.
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