Betrayal of Clannabuidhe

The Betrayal of Clannabuidhe in 1574 was a massacre of the O'Neill clan of Clannaboy by the English forces of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex. The betrayal led to the slaughter of all present, regardless of age or sex, and the executions of Brian Ó Néill, his wife, and his brother-in-law, Rory Oge MacQuillan, and the partitioning of his title of Lord of Clanaboy.

Background

Sir Brian mac Felim Ó Néill was the sovereign Lord of Clanaboy, consisting of what would become Clandeboye, Upper Clandeboye and the Great Ardes, and had been knighted in 1568 for his service to the Crown. However he fell out of favour with the Queen and adopted a scorched earth policy, burning the abbeys, priories and major buildings across the region to prevent any incoming English army using them as garrisons. Ó Néill fought against the English when he learned of plans for imposed settlements. He burned the original colony on his lands of Sir Thomas Smith.

The Massacre

In the hopes of peace, Brian invited Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex to a feast at his castle Edendubhcarrig. After the feast ended, the Earl betrayed Brian's trust and a massacre began. Brian, his wife, brother and children were seized and were forced to watch helplessly as the English forces massacred his guests, up to 500 men, women and children. Brian and his family were then taken to Dublin where they were all hanged, drawn and quartered for treason to the English crown.

Aftermath

Upon his execution, the Lordship of Clanaboy was partitioned in three by the English, as part of their divide and plunder strategy. His tanaiste Con mac Brian was given one moiety, his other son Shane mac Brian one moiety, and the other to their cousin Hugh Ó Néill. In 1586, Con mac Brian was murdered by agents of Hugh, who was then killed in retribution by agents of Shane mac Brian. Eventually Shane's son Sir Henry Ó Néill conformed to the English and converted to Anglicanism, which under the Penal Laws eventually allowed them to acquire the bulk of the estates of their brothers and cousins. His line apparently became extinct, in the male line, in 1855, with the death of Viscount John Bruce Richard Ó Néill. This line of Protestant Clanaboy Ó Néills is now represented by the O'Neill-Chichesters of Shane's Castle.

See also

• Glencoe Massacre, a similar incident in Scotland
• Rathlin Island Massacre

References

Attribution

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