Denis Armar O'Conor, O'Conor Don (; 1912–10 July 2000) was hereditary Chief of the Name O'Conor, and is a direct descendant of

Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair (old spelling: Tairrdelbach Mór Ua Conchobair; 1088 – 1156) anglicised Turlough Mór O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). Family background and early life ...

, the last

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

with a surviving male-line lineage and was seen by some as a nominal claimant to that defunct position.

Early years

Denis Armar O'Conor was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in January 1912. His father Charles William O'Conor, the son of

Denis Maurice O'Conor Denis Maurice O'Conor (; 24 July 1840 – 26 July 1883) was an Irish barrister and Liberal Party politician who represented County Sligo in the House of Commons. The second son of Denis O'Conor, O'Conor Don and the brother of Charles Owen O' ...

(younger son of Denis O'Conor, O'Conor Don), and Ellen Isabella Kevill-Davies daughter of Rev. William Trevalyan Kevill-Davies of Croft Castle. His father was the nephew of Charles Owen O'Conor, O'Conor Don. Charles William lived at Ashley Moor house close to his mothers family home of

Croft Castle Croft Castle is a English country house, country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before bei ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. His mother Evelyn Lowry-Corry was the daughter of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Hon. Armar Lowry-Corry, (a younger son of the

Armar Lowry-Corry, 3rd Earl Belmore Armar Lowry-Corry, 3rd Earl Belmore (28 December 1801 – 17 December 1845), styled Viscount Corry from 1802 to 1841, was an Irish nobleman and politician. Background and career Lowry-Corry was the eldest son of Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Be ...

) and Geraldine King-King daughter of

James King King James King King (6 November 1806 – 17 June 1881) was a British Conservative Party politician. King King was the eldest son of James Simpkinson King (1767–1842) and Emma, daughter of Edward Vaux. He studied at Balliol College, Oxford, recei ...

of Staunton Park House,

. His grandmother Geraldine was also a niece of Lieutenant General Colin MacKenzie. The young Denis won a classical bursary to Downside where he was captain of

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

Life

He went to the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

in 1930. He continued to

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

there and was also noted for his horsemanship, originally learned from his father and honed while

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

. Despite the harsh discipline at Sandhurst, he managed to lead a hectic social life in

. In 1931, he was commissioned to the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regim ...

and served in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. India especially gave him the opportunity to

hunt Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

, play

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

, go

pig-sticking Boar hunting is the practice of hunting wild boar, feral pigs, warthogs, and peccaries. Boar hunting was historically a dangerous exercise due to the tusked animal's ambush tactics as well as its thick hide and dense bones rendering them difficu ...

and

shoot Shoot most commonly refers to: * Shoot (botany), an immature plant or portion of a plant * Shooting, the firing of projectile weapons * Photo shoot, a photography session; an event wherein a photographer takes photographs Shoot may also refer t ...

. He had one of the highest handicaps at polo in India and China during his time there, and played against the

American army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

; in China he owned and trained horses, one of which, Kilrea, won several races in Hong Kong. A wild and spirited young man with an eye for the girls, he enjoyed Army life in the East "to the limit and often beyond". In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, O'Conor saw action at the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk () was fought around the French Third Republic, French port of Dunkirk, Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies of World War II, Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle ...

, however he saw no further action due to a training accident involving a grenade. However, he continued in the military in a training and administrative capacity. He retired with the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1946 and moved to live in

Roundwood Roundwood, historically known as Tóchar ( , meaning 'the causeway'), is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, Roundwood had a population of 907 people. Geography Roundwood is located where the R755 road joins the ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, where his father had bought a farm. He was not well off and he abandoned farming to become a representative for a firm that sold tractors to farmers. Later he became an inspector for the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which was founded ...

. Field sports were an important to him all his life. He hunted foxhounds,

beagles The Beagle is a small breed of scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instin ...

Otterhound The Otterhound is an English dog breed. It is a scent hound and is currently recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide.

and

Basset Hound The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of scent hound. The Basset Hound was developed in Great Britain from several now-extinct strains of France, French basset breeds. It was bred primarily for hunting rabbit and hare on foot, moving slowly en ...

at various times. He was a former

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Delgany Delgany () is a small rural village in County Wicklow in Ireland, located on the R762 road which connects to the N11 road (Ireland), N11 road at the Glen of the Downs. It is about south of Dublin city centre. While it is an older more rural se ...

Beagles The Beagle is a small breed of scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting rabbit or hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instin ...

, a popular pack among university students (whose real interest lay in courting, not

). He became an acknowledged expert on hounds of all types - and was asked to judge at various shows throughout Ireland and occasionally in England. His love of dogs and his way with them was legendary. In the early 1970s, he moved to

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. O'Conor succeeded as O'Conor Don on the death in 1981 of his second cousin, Father Charles O'Conor, the former provincial of the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

in Ireland. Whereas the Jesuits in their austere way had insisted that Fr. O'Conor not call himself O'Conor Don, Denis O'Conor acclaimed the title with relish, and enjoyed its prerogatives to the full. However, Denis was not to inherit the family estate of Clonalis outside

Castlerea Castlerea ( ; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 2,348 at the 2022 census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled castle' (''Caisl ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. He became chairman of historical and genealogical societies, a regular presiding presence at community events and was even involved in tourist promotion. He was founding member of the Council of Irish Chieftains, consisting of the descendants of the few princely families whose pedigrees have been authenticated by the

Chief Herald of Ireland The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald authorises the granting of arm ...

. He used his position to promote an interest in Irish heritage from genealogy, local history to archaeology. He became president of the

Genealogical Society in 1991 and President of the

Genealogical Society of Ireland The Genealogical Society of Ireland () is a voluntary non-governmental organisation promoting the study of genealogy, heraldry, vexillology and social history in Ireland and amongst the Irish diaspora as open access educational leisure pursuits ...

in 1999. He was also deputy chairman of the

Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains () is an organisation which was established to bring together claimants to be surviving Chiefs of the Name from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. Issues As a republic, the Constitution of Irela ...

. Because he was divorced, O'Conor was precluded from following the family tradition of becoming a member of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

but he joined and eventually became Grand Prior of the Irish priory of the Oecumenical Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem, which contributes to the relief of leprosy. His also taught disabled children to ride.

Personal life

He married, in 1936, Elizabeth Marris, daughter of Rev. Stanley Punshon Marris, and had issue: *Desmond Roderic O'Conor (b. 22 September 1938), a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, formerly of

Schroders Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1804, it employs over 6,000 people worldwide in 38 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It is traded on ...

and then regional director of

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

for

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, who was married on 23 May 1964 to Virginia Williams, daughter of British

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Michael S. Williams and had issue; **Emma Joy O'Conor (b.17 Apr 1965) **Philip Hugh O'Conor (b. 17 Feb 1967), married Rebecca Eagan daughter of Michael Francis Eagan on the 3 April 1993 and had issue; ***Eochy Jack O'Conor (b. 28 Dec 1993) *** Piers Montgomery O'Conor (b. 28 Aug 1995) ***Adelaide Grace O'Conor (b. 24 Jul 1998) ***Barley Josh O'Conor (b. 5 Sep 2006) **Denise Sarah O'Conor (b. 8 Dec 1970) Denis O'Conor's marriage to Elizabeth did not long outlast the birth of their only son. Elizabeth subsequently married

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

. In 1943, O'Conor married Rosemary O'Connell-Hewett, daughter of former

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

Capt. James Pearse Bowen O'Connell-Hewett, and a direct descendant of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

, the 19th-century Irish Liberator, through his daughter

Ellen O'Connell Ellen Fitzsimon (1805 – 27 January 1883) was an Irish poet from a politically prominent family. Her work was published in major periodicals, and at least two of her poems became songs associated with the Irish diaspora. Early life Ellen F ...

, and had a daughter and two sons. *Gail O'Conor (b.1943 - d.1957), died aged thirteen. *Kieran Denis O'Conor (b. 28 October 1958), a senior lecturer in

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

at the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, who was married on 26 August 1988 to Karena Mary, daughter of Roderick Morton of

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; , ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of Dublin 6. Ranelagh was originally a village called Cullenswood. It has a history of conflict, including the at ...

by his wife Teresa Winifred O'Shee daughter of J. J. O'Shee and had issue; **Eoin Roderic O'Conor (b. 14 Mar 1992) **Hugh Armar O'Conor (b. 6 Apr 1996) *Rory Dominic O'Conor (b. 1 January 1963), who was married on 21 August 1999 to Cecilia Emily Gleeson daughter of David Gleeson. The O'Conor Don died on 10 July 2000 aged 88 and was buried at the family plot at St. Joseph's Cemetery in

on the edge of the family estate. His eldest son, Desmond, who lives in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, succeeded as O'Conor Don.

Ancestry

Descent from High King of Ireland

Denis O'Conor Don is reputedly descended from the

via the following line of descent: * Denis O'Conor Don * Charles William O'Conor *

* Denis O'Conor Don * Owen O'Conor, O'Conor Don * Denis O'Conor * Charles O'Conor * Denis O'Conor * Cathal Oge O'Conor * Cathal O'Conor * Sir Hugh O'Conor Don * Dermod O'Conor Don * Carbery O'Conor, O'Conor Don * Owen Ceach O'Conor, O'Conor Don * Fedlim Geancach Ó Conchobair Donn,

King of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

Toirdhealbhach Óg Donn Ó Conchobair Toirdhealbhach Óg Donn Ó Conchobair (Turlough O'Connor) (died 9 December 1406) was a King of Connacht, a kingdom which lies west of the River Shannon in Ireland. He was the son of Aedh mac Tairdelbach Ó Conchobair. Few single members of the ...

Aedh mac Tairdelbach Ó Conchobair Aedh mac Tairdelbach Ua Conchobair was King of Connacht briefly in 1342, and died in 1345. References * ''Annals of Ulster'' aaUniversity College Cork* ''Annals of the Four Masters'' aaUniversity College Cork* ''Chronicum Scotorum'' aaUniversi ...

Toirdelbach Ó Conchobair Toirdelbach Ó Conchobair, anglicised Turlough O'Conor, was one of a number of claimants to the kingship of Connacht in the disastrous aftermath of the Second Battle of Athenry. He overthrew Rory na BhFeadh but was himself overthrown in 1318. Reg ...

Hugh O'Conor Hugh O'Conor (born 19 April 1975) is an Irish actor, writer, director, and photographer. In 2020, he was listed as number 49 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Career His first film appearance was opposite Liam Nees ...

* Eoghan MacRuaidrí O'Conor * Ruaidrí MacAedh O'Conor *

* Cathal Crobhdearg O'Conor,

Distinctions

Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Latin language, Latin: ''Ordo Militaris et Hospitalis Sancti Lazari Hierosolymitani'') is a Christianity, Christian Order of chivalry, order that was statuted in 1910 by a counc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconor Don, Denis 1912 births 2000 deaths

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), bar ...

British Army personnel of World War II Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers