Welcome to the  O'Neill Country Historical Society

Welcome

Established in 1985, the O'Neill Country Historical Society is one of the foremost historical societies in Ireland. Its main aim is to research, record and publish the history of that area along the valley of the River Blackwater which straddles the border between counties Armagh and Tyrone. It promotes knowledge and understanding of this area's heritage through publications, lectures and seminars.

The Society

Many of the defining political events and movements of Irish history have their origins within this geographical area, from the Battle of Benburb in 1646, to the formation of the orange Order in 1795 at Loughgall to the early Civil Rights protests of 1969 at Dungannon and Caledon. The area also has a rich industrial heritage, having once been a major centre for the Ulster linen industry, while it has also experienced its share of 19th century sectarian conflict and economic deprivation. Throughout volumes of Duiche Neill, can be found a rich source of scholarly articles covering almost every aspect of the social, political and economic history of this region.

Under the editorship of Proinsias Ó Conluain and later, Charles Dillon, Dúiche Néill has won acclaim among not only the local population, but among academics and professional historians throughout Ireland and abroad.

The area is closely associated with the O'Neill Clan, and on ancient maps is part of what was commonly referred to as O'Neill Land or O'Neill Country. The Society is not a genealogical society of the O'Neills but much of the history of this area up to the mid-17th century is closely associated with the O'Neills. The "O'Neill Country" has provided the setting for some of the seminal events of Irish Political history, from the Battles of the Yellow Ford in 1598 and Benburb in 1646, to the formation of the Orange Order at Loughgall in 1795. Most of the great issues and developments in Irish history - the iron age Celtic economy, the arrival of Christianity, the Viking invasion, the Ulster Plantation, the 1798 rebellion, the Great Famine, the land agitation of the 1880s, the sectarian outrages of the 19th century, the war of independence in the early 20th century - impinged upon this small area in some way, great or small and these stories are chronicled in the volumes of Duiche Neill.