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Conn Bacagh O'Neill Conn Bacach mac Cuinn Ó Néill | |
|---|---|
| 1st Earl of Tyrone | |
| Born | 1480 Ireland |
| Died | July 1559 (aged about 79) Leinster, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Issue | Matthew O'Neill Shane O'Neill Phelim Caoch O'Neill |
| Parents | Conn Mór O'Neill Eleanor Fitzgerald |
| Occupation | Politician, soldier |
Conn Bacagh O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (Irish: Conn Bacach mac Cuinn Ó Néill; c. 1480 – July 1559) was an Irish lord who ruled over Tyrone from 1519 to 1558. In 1541 O'Neill travelled to England to submit to Henry VIII as part of the surrender and regrant policy that coincided with the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland. He was made Earl of Tyrone, but his plans to pass the title and lands on to a chosen successor Matthew were thwarted by a violent succession dispute that led to another son, Shane O'Neill, emerging triumphant.
His grandson Hugh O'Neill eventually succeeded him as Earl and became head of the O'Neill of Tyrone dynasty. Hugh continued his grandfather's alliance with the Crown until his eventual leadership of Tyrone's Rebellion and later Flight of the Earls led to the collapse of the power of the traditional Irish lords in Ulster.
Conn's epithet of bacagh (Irish: bacach) meant "the lame".