Colonel Shane O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone (; ; also anglicised John O'Neill; 28 October 1599 – 29 January 1641) was an Irish-born nobleman, soldier and member of the Spanish nobility who primarily lived and served in continental Europe. He fought for Spain in the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) and the Reapers' War.

O'Neill was born during the Nine Years' War in Ireland, the son of Irish confederate leader Hugh O'Neill. Shane O'Neill and his extended family permanently left Ireland in 1607 due to hostility from the English-led government. O'Neill grew up in the Spanish Netherlands. By 1610 he had become his father's eldest surviving son, and he eventually moved to Spain to serve in the Spanish army. Though James I of England had attainted his father's title (Earl of Tyrone) in 1614, the Spanish court made O'Neill the third holder of the equivalent Spanish title El Conde de Tyrone. O'Neill was also de jure 6th Baron Dungannon from 1610 to 1614 by patent of the original earldom.

O'Neill succeeded his elder half-brother Henry as colonel of the original Irish regiment (tercio) in the Netherlands. He was a major supporter of a proposed 1627 Spanish invasion of Ireland. O'Neill professionally clashed with fellow Irish noble-turned-soldier Hugh Albert O'Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, even though their fathers had been wartime allies. Following military success at the Siege of Fuenterrabía, O'Neill was appointed a member of the Council of War in 1640. His duties to the Spanish military impeded his lifelong desire to return to Ireland and stage a revolution against English rule. O'Neill died in Catalonia at the Battle of Montjuïc in 1641, and was succeeded by his son Hugo Eugenio O'Neill as both Earl and colonel of the regiment.

Early life

Nine Years' War Shane O'Neill was born in Dungannon on 28 October [O.S. 18 October] 1599,. "Seaan was born in October, 1599."; . "Born in October 1599..."; . "...born in October 1599..."; . In a letter dated Sunday 28 October 1599, it is stated that "The Earl of Tyrone's wife was brought to bed of Thursday was sevennight, of a son, whose name is Shane O'Neill, and O'Connor Sligo is his godfather." This would make Shane's birthdate 18 October 1599 exactly, as stated by . In New Style dating, his birth took place on 28 October 1599. during Ireland's Nine Years' War. His father was Irish lord Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, chief of the O'Neill clan, Tír Eoghain's ruling Gaelic Irish noble family. His mother was Hugh's fourth wife Catherine Magennis, daughter of Sir Hugh Magennis, Baron of Iveagh. The Magennis family were based in Rathfriland. O'Neill had two younger full-brothers, Conn Ruadh (born ) and Brian (born ).: Shane was the eldest of Hugh and Catherine's sons; : birthdates of Conn and Brian; : Conn and Brian were Shane's full-brothers. He also had various elder half-siblings on his father's side, including Conn Mac An Iarla, Rose, Alice, Hugh and Henry.

From the 1590s to 1603, Hugh O'Neill led a confederacy of Irish clans against the Tudor conquest of Ireland. He made Donough O'Connor Sligo, a loyalist who submitted to the confederacy through intimidation, Shane's godfather to further enmesh him into the confederacy. Shane was born during a period when the confederacy had won many victories over the English Crown. Catherine was present at Hugh's camp when she was four months pregnant with Shane.

Flight of the Earls

English officials repeatedly antagonised Hugh O'Neill following his surrender in 1603. Possibly facing arrest for a treasonous plot, in September 1607 he decided to abruptly leave Ireland for continental Europe along with ninety of his followers. At the time his ally, the Anglo-Irish politician Garret Moore, was housing Shane and Shane received his education alongside Moore's family. On the afternoon of 9 September, Hugh left Moore's house with his son as they prepared to depart Ireland. On 14 September, at the age of eight, Shane left Ireland with his parents during the Flight of the Earls. His brother Conn was left behind in the rush. Hugh O'Neill was accompanied by his wartime ally Rory O'Donnell, patriarch of the comparatively powerful O'Donnell clan of Tyrconnell. The refugees hoped to reach Spain but King Philip III turned them away due to fears of violating the Anglo-Spanish peace treaty. Thus the refugees spent the winter in the Spanish Netherlands.

In mid-December, the refugees received news that Archduke Albert VII, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, wanted them to leave his states. O'Neill, along with many of the nobles' children, was left in the Spanish Netherlands whilst his parents proceeded to Rome. He was educated by Franciscans at St Anthony's College, Leuven, in the company of his brother Brian and fellow nobles Hugh Albert O'Donnell (son of Rory O'Donnell) and Hugh O'Donnell (son of Cathbarr O'Donnell).

Dealings with Philip III Two of O'Neill's half-brothers died from illnesses in quick succession—Hugh in Rome in 1609; Henry in Aranda in 1610. Their father aimed to strengthen Philip III's favour toward Shane, now his eldest surviving son. However, Philip III sought to avoid appearing to side with Irish rebels, which could instigate warfare with England. In 1613, Shane went to the court at Brussels as a page to the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, Albert VII's wife and joint sovereign. Hugh O'Neill continued to compel the Spanish government to grant his son special privileges which could be of use to his exiled countrymen. In September 1614, Hugh sent another petition to Philip III asking him to make Shane a Knight of the Military Order of Santiago. In November, the Infanta wrote in support of Shane. Philip III refused this, stating that other individuals of merit must be attended to first, but that he would consider anything that could be done for Shane.

Henry O'Neill had been the colonel of the first Irish regiment in the Spanish army, known as the "Old Irish Regiment" () or "Regiment of Tyrone". His death left a vacant colonelcy. The English had previously conspired against the formation of the Irish regiment and had planted spies there. Archbishop Florence Conroy feared that the English would try to fill the vacancy with a colonel sympathetic to the English government. Two weeks after Henry's death, Conroy wrote to Philip III, urging him to immediately appoint Henry's cousin Owen Roe O'Neill to the colonelcy. Hugh instead requested that Shane be appointed. Philip III granted this request, and recommended that Owen Roe should instead be made major of the regiment. Though Owen Roe had failed in his bid to take command, within a few years of Henry's death he was promoted to sergeant-major of the regiment. As Shane was still pursuing his studies, Owen Roe served as acting commander until Shane was old enough to assume leadership. During his tenure, Owen Roe played a key role in making the regiment into a valuable asset to the Spanish military.

In 1615, Hugh's chaplain Fr. Chamberlain arrived in Brussels to arrange a marriage between Shane and the daughter of Don Juan de Mancicidor (Secretary for War in the Archduke's government). The English representative in Flanders, William Trumbull, warned his government that the marriage would increase the standing of the exiled Irish community. In Trumbull's opinion, "it is high time some underhand means were used to prevent the match". Trumbull was apparently successful; he reported that arguments against the marriage had been put forward, and the marriage did not take place.

Succession as Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill died in Rome in July 1616. Though English authorities no longer recognised the title Earl of Tyrone since it had been attainted in 1614, the Spanish court granted Shane the equivalent Spanish title . Officially Shane was the third of this title.. "John succeeded to his father's Spanish title of Conde de Tyron..."; p. 13. fn. 4. "Spain recognised Great Hugh's title of second Earl of Tyrone translating it by 'Conde de Tyron'; although not recognised in England the title was granted by Spanish Kings to several O'Neills until the end of the seventeenth century. Officially John was the third of this title." . "Spain had recognised Great Hugh's title of second Earl of Tyrone translating it by Conde de Tyrone and although the title was no longer recognised in England it was granted by Spanish kings to a line of O Neills in rightful succession to the end of the seventeenth century. And so, when his father died in Rome in 1616, John succeeded to the Spanish title as third Conde de Tyrone..." Additionally, he was de jure 6th Baron Dungannon from 1610 to 1614 by patent of the earldom of Tyrone, though not recognised as such by the Irish House of Lords.

O'Neill became estranged from his mother Catherine due to arguments over his father's will. They disputed over their shares of the late earl's pension as well as the maintenance of his dependents. Hugh's unhappy retainers asked his secretary to inform Shane that his mother was refusing to give them the money bequeathed to them. The claimants asked for Shane's support and even suggested that Catherine be "enclosed in a convent of nuns". They cautioned Shane to send someone to Rome to deposit his father's money and valuables in a bank before his mother could.

In August 1617, O'Neill's 13-year-old brother Brian was found hanged in his room in Brussels with his hands tied behind his back, possibly killed by an English assassin or accidentally killed during a children's game. Despite their arguments over his father's will, O'Neill was said to be greatly saddened at his mother's death in March 1619. On 9 June 1623, the Infanta Isabella wrote to Philip IV of Spain, requesting that he ask James I of England to have O'Neill restored to his estates.

Career

Old Irish Regiment

O'Neill began his military career in 1615 and assumed command of the "Regiment of Tyrone". Like his cousins and other Irish refugees, he had ambitions to return to Ireland with the regiment to take back his lands and restore his family's rank. O'Neill used his influence with Pope Urban VIII to have his former tutor Hugh MacCaghwell installed as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in early 1626. MacCaghwell died in September that year, and O'Neill organised the erection of a monument in the Sant'Isidoro a Capo le Case, a Catholic church in Rome.

Proposed Spanish invasion of Ireland