With a descent from heroic figures whose exploits are the very stuff of colourful myth and legend, the O’Neills of today are heirs to a unique heritage.
For centuries at the forefront of key events in Ireland’s history, they experienced both fortune and misfortune, while many have subsequently achieved distinction at an international level.
A number have made their mark on the world of literature, particularly the great American playwright and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature Eugene O’Neill.
Born in 1888, his acclaimed works include Beyond the Horizon and Mourning Becomes Electra while he was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1981 film Reds.
On the screen Dick O’Neill was the American actor whose film credits include Prizzi’s Honor, but he is better known for his role as Charlie Cagney in the popular television police series Cagney and Lacey.
Read here of the dramatic and colourful lives and times of the O’Neills.
