Górdún Ó Neill

Colonel Gordon O'Neill, was an officer in King James II's Irish army who fought at the Siege of Derry, the Battle of the Boyne, and the Battle of Aughrim for the Jacobites. Birth and origins Gordon was born, about 1650 or about 1652 as the only child of Felim O'Neill of Kinard and his third wife Jean Gordon. His father was a prominent member of the O'Neill dynasty and one of the leaders of the Confederates. His mother was Scottish, a daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, and the widow of Claud Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Strabane. His parents were both Catholic. They had married in November 1649. Early life He was a young child during the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653). His father was executed in 1653 after the defeat. Williamite War Gordon O'Neill raised a regiment for King James II in 1689 and became a colonel in the Irish army. He was the Member of Parliament for County Tyrone in the brief Patriot Parliament called by James II in 1689. During the Williamite war in Ireland, he saw action in Ulster, at the Siege of Derry, the Battle of the Boyne, and the Battle of Aughrim, where he was left for dead but was picked up by some Scottish Williamite officers who recognised him.