Eugene M O'Neill (September 10, 1850 – November 26, 1926) was an Irish-born American lawyer and newspaper owner.

Biography

O'Neill was born in Clonroche,

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

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 ...

, the son of Hugh O'Neill, headmaster of town school, and Kate (Navin) O'Neill. He received his primary education at the local school run by his father then went to

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, where he graduated at age 17. After graduation, O'Neill emigrated to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, in the United States, in March 1867. At the time, O'Neill's brother, Daniel O'Neill, was publisher, editor, and owner of the ''

Pittsburgh Dispatch The ''Pittsburgh Dispatch'' was a leading newspaper in Pittsburgh, operating from 1846 to 1923. After being enlarged by publisher Daniel O'Neill (editor), Daniel O'Neill it was reportedly one of the largest and most prosperous newspapers in the Un ...

'', and O'Neill started work on the paper as a reporter. He worked at the paper as an editorial writer until 1874, when he began practicing law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

and practiced in both county and city courts for three years. In 1875, he was elected City Councilman of Pittsburgh, the only political office he ever accepted. When his brother died on 30 January 1877, O'Neill took over management of the paper, a position he retained until again retiring from newspaper work in March 1902. In addition to practicing law and his work in journalism, O'Neill was an active investor in real estate and industry, accumulating a fortune which at his death was estimated at $8,000,000. Eugene married Daniel's widow, Mrs Emily Martha "Emma" (Seely) O'Neill. They had no children. The couple lived in the family home "Linden House" in Pittsburgh, located on the corner of

Penn Avenue Penn Avenue is a major arterial street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, Wilkinsburg, in Pennsylvania, United States. Its western terminus lies at Gateway Center (Pittsburgh), Gateway Center in Downtown Pi ...

and Linden Street. O'Neill died on 26 November 1926 at St Luke's Hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

after a three-month illness. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. After his death, he was interred at the

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and b ...

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20081228024059/http://www.esatclear.ie/~lorcand/history.htm#O%27Neill {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Eugene M 1850 births 1926 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States People from County Wexford American newspaper executives Mass media in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh City Council members 19th-century American newspaper editors Burials at Allegheny Cemetery