Cornelius Mahoney Sheehan, known as Neil Sheehan, was an influential American journalist. As a reporter for The New York Times in 1971, Sheehan obtained the classified Pentagon Papers from Daniel Ellsberg. His series of articles revealed a secret United States Department of Defense history of the Vietnam War, leading to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971). This case was pivotal as it invalidated the United States government's use of a restraining order to halt publication.

Sheehan received the Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for his 1988 book A Bright Shining Lie, which detailed the life of Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann and the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War.