Raymond O'Neill, 4th Baron O'Neill

Colonel Raymond Arthur Clanaboy O'Neill, 4th Baron O'Neill, KCVO, TD (born 1933) is a Northern Irish peer, retired reservist officer and public administrator. He served as he served as Lord Lieutenant of Antrim between 1994 and 2008.

Early and personal life

O'Neill was born on 1 September 1933,[1] the son of Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill (died 1944). Raymond inherited the title when his father was killed in action in Italy during the Second World War.[2] His mother Ann (a noted society hostess and the grand-daughter of the 11th Earl of Wemyss) remarried, firstly in 1945 to the press magnate Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere, and secondly (after Rothermere divorced her in 1951) to the writer Ian Fleming (died 1964) in 1952.[3]

O'Neill attended Eton and the Royal Agricultural College.[1]

In 1963, O'Neill married Georgina Mary Scott, eldest daughter of Lord George Scott. Together they had three sons. His wife predeceased him, dying in 2017.[1]

Career

Military service

O'Neill was given an emergency commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1952.[4] The following year, he was transferred into the North Irish Horse, a unit in the Territorial Army, with the same rank;[5] he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1956 (with seniority from 1967),[6] Captain in 1961,[7] and temporary Major in 1964 (which was made substantive in 1967).[8] He was granted the acting rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1971.[9]

Between 1986 and 1991, he was Honorary Colonel D (North Irish Horse) Squadron, The Royal Yeomanry, in 1986;[10][11] and between 1988 and 1993, he was Honorary Colonel 69 (North Irish Horse) Signal Squadron, 32 (Scottish) Signal Regiment (Volunteers). He was granted the honorary rank of Colonel in 1993.[12][13]

Public service

O'Neill also held a number of public offices alongside his army commitments. He was chairman of the Ulster Countryside Committee between 1971 and 1971, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board from 1975 to 1980, the Northern Ireland National Trust Committee from 1981 to 1991, and the Northern Ireland Museums Council from 1993 to 1998. He was President of the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society from 1984 to 1986. In 1967, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for County Antrim, and he served as Lord Lieutenant between 1994 and 2008.[1]

O'Neill was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[14]

References

1. "O'Neill, 4th Baron, (Raymond Arthur Clanaboy O'Neill)". Who's Who 2019. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-28894. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
2. Burke's Peerage (2003), vol. 2, pp. 3009, 3012.
3. "Fleming [née Charteris], Ann Geraldine Mary [other married names Ann Geraldine Mary O'Neill, Lady O'Neill; Ann Geraldine Mary Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere]", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed., Oxford University Press, May 2014). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
4. The London Gazette, 13 February 1953 (supplement 39778), p. 969.
5. The London Gazette, 5 February 1954 (supplement 40094), p. 852.
6. The London Gazette, 28 August 1956 (supplement 40867), p. 4967.
7. The London Gazette, 24 October 1961 (supplement 42498), p. 7759.
8. The London Gazette, 1 September 1967 (supplement 44401), p. 9666.
9. The London Gazette, September 1971 (supplement 45465), p. 9657.
10. The London Gazette, 22 July 1986 (supplement 50603), p. 9661.
11. The London Gazette 11 November 1991 (supplement 52713), p. 17247.
12. The London Gazette, 11 April 1988 (supplement 51295), p. 4312.
13. The London Gazette, 19 April 1993 (supplement 53278), p. 6957.
14. The London Gazette, 31 December 2008 (supplement 58929), p. 3.