Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Seán Ó Néill,
anglicised Shane O'Neill (c. 1530 - 2 June 1567), nicknamed 'Seán an
díomais', was an Irish chief of the Ó Néill clan of Ulster in the mid
16th century. Shane O'Neill's career was marked by his ambition to be
The Ó Néill Mór - chief of all the O'Neills. This brought him into
conflict with competing branches of the O'Neill family and with the
English government in Ireland, who recognised a rival claim. Shane's
support was considered worth gaining by the English even during the
lifetime of his father Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (died 1559). But
rejecting overtures from Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, the lord
deputy from 1556, Shane refused to help the English against the Scottish
settlers on the coast of Antrim, allying himself instead with the
MacDonnells, the most powerful of these immigrants.