While there he, like his other O'Neill cousins, constantly planned the return of his father and the restoration of the Gaelic order in Ulster. He became titular colonel of the Regiment of Tyrone on the death of his half-brother Henry at the request of his father.
He was constantly working on his father's return and the reinstatement of the Gaelic order in Ulster, just like his other O'Neill cousins did. Upon his half-brother Henry's passing, he became titular colonel of the Regiment of Tyrone at his father's behest.