Born: July 17th, 1943
Died: June 3rd, 2023
Conor Myles John, The O’Brien, who has died in his 80th year was 32nd direct male descendent of Brian Boru. He was, above all other titles, hereditary chief of the O’Brien clan, but generally referred to by his courtesy title, Lord Inchiquin.
The O’Briens remained unequivocally one of the royal families of the island of Ireland from the 11th century until Conor’s ancestor, Murrough, was forced to surrender his Gaelic royal status to Henry VIII in the 16th century, when he became Baron of Inchiquin and Earl of Thomond.
Were it not for the fate of Anglo-Irish history, Conor may have borne a royal mantle on his shoulders. That he was a noble man by birth and deed was undeniable, but history ordained that Conor’s qualities of character would remain largely as a reminder, in contemporary Ireland, of the personification of a Gaelic princely chief from our medieval past.
In 1991 Conor became a founder member of the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains, an informal association of the descendants of recognised Gaelic chieftains. This alliance of the descendants of Gaelic noble families created a living link between ancient and contemporary Ireland.
As the only representative of the three families on the Standing Council most associated with Irish royalty, who continued to live in Ireland, he accepted the chairmanship for a second term in 2017 on the retirement of Maj Gen David, The O’Morchoe.
The O’Brien was central to the organisation of the O’Brien Clan Association culminating, in 1992, in the first gathering of the O’Briens as a clan since the end of the Gaelic era. This was followed in 2003 with a festival to celebrate the millennial accession of Brian Borumha as high king of Ireland and again in 2014 with a millennial commemoration of the Battle of Clontarf, at which the great king died.
In 2018, he was co-signatory to a memorandum of understanding between the Standing Council and Clans of Ireland. He represented the Standing Council on the Board of Clans of Ireland until his death.
Conor was born in Surrey on July 17th, 1943. Having been educated at Eton College, he served in the British army in the Middle East, Far East and Europe from 1962 to 1975. His association with the Far East continued when he worked in banking and trading in Hong Kong and Singapore until 1982 when he came to Ireland to succeed his uncle, Phaedrig, as The O’Brien and Baron of Inchiquin. He developed the ancestral Dromoland Estate into one of the premier sporting estates in the country. The main activity was a driven shoot, but it was possibly best known among the wider public as a venue for the local point-to-point races, hunter trials and one-day event. However, his over-riding passion was motor racing.
Conor, The O’Brien who died on June 3rd, 2023, is survived by his wife, Helen, and daughters, Lucia and Slaney.