Summary
Sir Neil O'Neill, 2nd Baronet of Killeleagh (c.1658-90) is depicted in a richly ornamented costume that would have identified him to contemporaries as an indigenous Irish chieftain. He stands in an open landscape, with a mountain in the distance. At his side is an Irish wolfhound, whose metal collar is inscribed with his master's name: 'Sr. Neill O Neall' [sic]. From 1652 onwards, it had been forbidden to export these valuable dogs.
At Sir Neil's feet, lower left, lies a closely observed, though incomplete, suit of Japanese armour. Its presence is a puzzle, for although Japan had been closed to Westerners since the 1620s, John Michael Wright clearly must have had access to such armour. It is of a style called 'Do-Maru', meaning 'round the body'; worn during the period c.1350-1530, it was of a type kept as gifts for eminent people. O'Neill was an uncompromising Roman Catholic, who was to become a Captain of Dragoons in the army of the Catholic, British king, James II (reigned 1685-88) and was to die after fighting at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690… (read more)
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