O'Neill was born in Tralibane, near Bantry, County Cork. At an early age he heard the music of local musicians, among them Peter Hagarty, Cormac Murphy and Timothy Dowling. At the age of 16, he became a cabin boy on an English merchant vessel. On a voyage to New York, he met Anna Rogers, a young emigrant whom he later married in Bloomington, Illinois. The O'Neills moved to Chicago, and in 1873 O'Neill became a Chicago policeman. He rose through the ranks quickly, eventually succeeding Joseph Kipley as the Chief of Police from 1901 to 1905. He had the rare distinction, in a time when political "pull" counted for more than competence, of being re-appointed three times to the position by two different mayors. He was a flautist, fiddler and piper and was part of the vibrant Irish community in Chicago at the time. During his time as chief, O'Neill recruited many traditional Irish musicians into the police force, including Patrick O'Mahony, James O'Neill, Bernard Delaney, John McFadden and James Early. He also collected tunes from some of the major performers of the time including Patsy Touhey, who regularly sent O'Neill wax cylinders and visited him in Chicago. He also collected tunes from a wide variety of printed sources. O'Neill retired from the police force in 1905. After that, he devoted much of his energy to publishing the music he had collected. His musical works include:
Irish Folk Music: A Fascinating Hobby. Appendix A contains O'Farrells Treatise and Instructions on the Irish Pipes, published 1797-1800; appendix B is Hints to Amateur Pipers by Patrick J. Touhy.
Irish Minstrels and Musicians, biographies of musicians, including those from whom he collected tunes in Chicago.
Legacy
In 2000, a life-size monument of Francis O’Neill playing a flute was unveiled next to the O'Neill family homestead in Tralibane, Co. Cork. The monument, and a commemorative wall were erected through the efforts of the Captain Francis O'Neill Memorial Company. Chief O'Neill's life is memorialized in the musical play Music Mad: How Chief O'Neill Saved the Soul of Ireland, which premiered in Chicago in 2012. Written by Adam B. Whiteman with the approval and acceptance of Francis O'Neill's great-granddaughter, Mary Lesch, the show contains both dramatized content and material from O'Neill's own writings. Peter Hagarty and Francis O'Neill are memorialized in the song, Píobaire Bán, written by Tim O'Riordan and recorded by Patrick O'Sullivan on the CD One More Time. In August 2013, the inaugural Chief O'Neill Traditional Music Festival took place in Bantry, County Cork, just a few miles from Tralibane. The 2013 event marked the centenary of the publication of O'Neill's Irish Minstrels and Musicians. The event has taken place annually since. "Chief O'Neill's Pub and Restaurant" in the Avondale neighborhood bears his name and displays related memorabilia.
