Robert William Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baron Rathcavan, (8 June 1883 – 28 November 1982), known as Sir Hugh O'Neill, 1st Baronet, from 1929 to 1953, was an Ulster Unionist member of both the

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and the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Background and education

O'Neill was the third son of Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill, and the uncle of Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, Hugh O'Neill was subsequently

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. He served as a Major in the

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Political career

Although O'Neill contested the constituency of

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

in 1906, he was first elected to the Westminster Parliament for Mid-Antrim in 1915, he later represented Antrim and then North Antrim. O'Neill was also elected to represent Antrim in the

Northern Ireland House of Commons The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wi ...

in 1921 and served as its first

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, before standing down from his seat in 1929. On 17 June 1929 he was created a Baronet, of Cleggan in the

County of Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...

. In 1934, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Antrim The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his jud ...

. From 1933 to 1939, O'Neill was the Chairman of the 1922 Committee. He sat on the

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, and was the sole surviving member of that body immediately prior to his death in 1982. He was also a member of its northern relation, the Privy Council of Northern Ireland and the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. From 1939 to 1940, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma, and was the

Lord Lieutenant of Antrim A list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Antrim, located in Northern Ireland. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. G. E. C., ed. Vicary Gibbs, ''The Complete ...

from 1949 to 1959. O'Neill retired from the Westminster Parliament in 1952, having become the

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

the previous year, and was raised to the

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as Baron Rathcavan, of The Braid in the County of Antrim, on 11 February 1953.

Personal life

Lord Rathcavan died in 1982 at the age of 99 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Phelim.

References

Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Biographies
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External links

Background and education

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links