In 1641 the town was taken by Owen Roe O'Neill, but shortly afterwards it was recaptured by Lord Inchiquin.
In 1585 Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot undertook the shiring of Ulster (excluding the counties Antrim and Down, which had already taken shape); and his work, though of little immediate effect owing to the rising of Hugh O'Neill, served as a basis for the division of the territory at the plantation of Ulster in the reign of James I.
O'NEILL, the name of an Irish family tracing descent from Niall, king of Ireland early in the 5th century, and known in Irish history and legend as Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Aedh (Hugh) O'Neill, chief of the Cinel Eoghain, or lord of Tir-Eoghain (Tir-Owen, Tyrone) at the end of the 12th century, was the first of the family to be brought prominently into conflict with the Anglo-Norman monarchy, whose pretensions he took the lead in disputing in Ulster.
Niall Og O'Neill, one of the four kings of Ireland, accepted knighthood from Richard II.
