Gaelic Genealogy
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Gaelic Genealogy
Irish genealogy is the study of individuals and/or families who originated on the island of Ireland. Origins Genealogy was cultivated since at least the start of the early Irish historic era. Upon inauguration, Bards and poets are believed to have recited the ancestry of an inaugurated king to emphasise his hereditary right to rule. With the transition to written culture, oral history was preserved in the monastic settlements. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín believed that Gaels, Gaelic genealogies came to be written down with or soon after the practise of annalistic records, annals been kept by monks to determine the yearly chronology of feast days (see Irish annals). Its cultivation reached a height during the Late Medieval Era with works such as ''Leabhar Ua Maine'', ''Senchus fer n-Alban'', ''Book of Ballymote'', ''De Shíl Chonairi Móir'', ''Book of Leinster'', ''Leabhar Cloinne Maoil Ruanaidh'' and the ''Ó Cléirigh Book of Genealogies''. This tradition of scholarship reached its ...
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Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the List of islands of the British Isles, second-largest island of the British Isles, the List of European islands by area, third-largest in Europe, and the List of islands by area, twentieth-largest on Earth. Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2022, the Irish population analysis, population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the List of European islan ...
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Leabhar Na NGenealach
''Leabhar na nGenealach'' ("Book of Genealogies") is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671. The original 17th century manuscript was bequeathed to University College Dublin (UCD), by Dublin solicitor Arthur Cox in 1929, and can be consulted iUCD Library Special Collections The manuscript can be viewed online at ', which is available i and i Leabhar na nGenealach, was reprinted, and published in a five volume edition in Dublin in 2004 as ''The Great Book of Irish Genealogies''. Description and compilation Described by Eoin MacNeill ''"by far the largest and fullest body of Irish genealogical lore"'', it contains roughly twice as much material as found in the Book of Ballymote and the Book of Lecan. It preserves notes on families from all parts of Ireland, G ...
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Kavanagh (surname)
Kavanagh or Kavanaugh is a surname of Irish origin, Caomhánach in Irish. It is properly ''Mac Murchadha Caomhánach'' (an example of an Irish agnomen; see ''Ó Catharnaigh Sionnach'' or Fox of Fir Teathbha), but is often now rendered 'Caomhánach' or rarely 'Ó Caomhánaigh'. Origin and history "Kavanagh" and "Kavanaugh" are anglicised variations of the Irish surname Caomhánach (Cʌoṁʌ̃nʌċ in traditional Gaelic script). The surname was first assumed by Domhnall Caomhánach (the eldest son of the 12th-century king of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada) in Ireland.Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation by John O'Hart – Published 1892, Volume 1, Page 493 A considerable number of anglicised variations of Caomhánach exist, with some of the most common being: "Kavanagh", " Cavanagh", "Kavanaugh" and " Cavanaugh". The surname was possibly adopted by Síl Fáelchán clansmen in preference to the earlier name ''MacMurrough'', given the prestige associa ...
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Clan Kelly
Clan Kelly is a Scottish clan. The clan does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, therefore the clan has no standing under Scots Law. Clan Kelly is considered an armigerous clan, meaning that it is considered to have had at one time a chief who possessed the chiefly arms, however no one at present is in possession of such arms. The only evidence for clan Kelly is a reference to Kelly of that ilk by Alexander Nisbet, who blazoned the arms '' or, a saltire sable between four fleurs-de-lis azure''. The surname ''Kelly'' has multiple different origins, with the name originating in England, Ireland and Scotland. The clan name may be variant of Kelloe, a barony in the lands of Home in Berwickshire. There is also a Kelloe in Durham and another in Northumberland. An early Scottish bearer of the name was William de Kellaw, who was bailiff to Alexander III in 1278. Another was Richard de Kellow, who is recorded in 1338 as a witness to a charter in Roxburghshire. The ...
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O'Donnell Dynasty
The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Origins Like the family of O'Neill, that of O'Donnell of Tyrconnell was of the Uí Néill, i.e. descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Ireland at the beginning of the 5th century; the O'Neill, or Cenél nEógain, tracing their pedigree to Eógan mac Néill, and the O'Donnells, or Cenél Conaill, to Conall Gulban, both sons of Niall. Conall was baptised by St. Patrick. Arms and motto The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity after a vision before the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge, having seen a chi-rho in the sky, and thence the motto ''In Hoc Signo Vinces'', telling him he would be victorious with the sign of the cross. The chi-rho was adopted on a banner, the labarum, upheld on a vexillum, ...
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O'Neill Dynasty
The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern Uí Néill, along with the O'Donnell dynasty. The O'Neills hold that their ancestors were kings of Ailech during the Early Middle Ages, as descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Two of their progenitors were High Kings of Ireland, Niall Glúndub (from whom they take their name) and Domnall ua Néill. From 1232 until 1616, the O'Neill were sovereign kings of Tír Eógain, holding territories in the north of Ireland in the province of Ulster; particularly around modern County Tyrone, County Londonderry and County Antrim, in what is now Northern Ireland. After their realm was merged with the Kingdom of Ireland and the land was caught up in the Plantation of Ulster, they were involved in a number of significant events, such as Tyrone's Re ...
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O'Conor Don
The O'Conor family (Middle Irish: ''Ó Conchubhair''; Modern ga, Ó Conchúir) are an Irish noble house and were one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Connacht up until 1475. Having ruled it on and off since 967, they ruled continuously from 1102 to 1475. Moreover, the O'Conor parent house the Uí Briúin and Síol Muireadaigh ruled Connacht on many occasions – but not continuously – between 482 and 956. The house of O'Conor also produced two High Kings of Ireland, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair and his son Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. The family seat is Clonalis House outside Castlerea in County Roscommon. The current O'Conor Don is Desmond O'Conor (b. 22 September 1938) who lives in Rotherfield, East Sussex in England. History The Ó Conor ''Don'' is the head of a lineage which provided about one hundred Kings of Connacht, thirty Chiefs of the Name and two High ...
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Mac An Bhaird
The Mac an Bháird family ( ga, Clann an Bháird) was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicised forms coming down as ''MacAward'', ''McWard'', ''MacEward'', ''MacEvard'', ''Macanward'', ''M'Ward'', and its most commonly used variant today: ''Ward''. The name means 'son of the bard' and has no connection with the English name Ward, which originated from the Saxon word ''weard'' meaning watchman or guardian. Additionally, considerable numbers of Latin, French, and Spanish variants can be found in Continental records: ''Vardeo'', ''Bardeo'', ''U Bart'', ''Wardeum'', ''Vyardes'', ''Wardeus'', not to mention ''Verdaeorum familiae'': the Ward family. Ancestry The origin of the Mac an Bháird septs lay in the province of Ulster. Possibly as early as the third century AD, they migrated to the province of Connacht as one of the tribes of the six Soghain, under the leadership of Eocha, a son of Sodhán Salbhuidhe na Sreath ...
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Mac Aodhagáin
Mac Aodhagáin (English: ''Egan'' or ''Keegan''), is an Irish Gaelic clan of Brehons who were hereditary lawyers - firstly to the Ó Conchobhair Kings of Connacht, and later to the Burkes of Clanricarde. The earliest surviving Irish law manuscript, '' In Senchas Már'', was written prior to 1350 at a school (patronised by the Mac Aodhagáin) at Duniry, near Loughrea. Other branches of the clann maintained schools at Park, outside Tuam, and at Ballymacegan in Co. Tipperary. The work known as Leabhar Breac was produced by one of their students, while Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh may have studied at Ballymacegan under Flann Mac Aodhagáin up to the year 1643. Naming conventions The surname has been Anglicised in a variety of ways, including as Mac Egan, Egan, Eagan, Keegan, McKeegan, or Keigan, McKiegan, and McKagan. Annalistic references * ''AC1225.30 Tadc O Finnachta, an officer of Aed son of Ruaidri Conchobairwas killed by Mac Aedacan's men on a plundering raid in this same ...
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Ó Duibhgeannáin
The Ó Duibhgeannáin () clan were a family of professional historians in medieval and early modern Ireland. They originated in the kingdom of Annaly (formerly called Tethbae) on the east bank of the Shannon (mostly situated in what is now County Longford) and later migrated into Connacht. Writing in 1921 the Irish historian, Fr. Paul Walsh stated that "The celebrated Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh ... informs us that the O Duigenans followed the profession of historiographers under the families of Clann Mhaiolruanaidh and Conmhaicne in Magh Rein, that is, with the Mac Dermotts and the MacDonoughs in the west, and with the O Farrells in the territory of Annaly." The earliest known reference to a bearer of the surname dates to 1296, when, according to the ''Annals of the Four Masters'', "Maelpeter O'Duigennan, Archdeacon of Breifny, from Drumcliff to Kells, died." Less than thirty years later in the year 1323 (according to the same source) – "Gillapatrick O'Duigennan, Chief Histo ...
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Mac Fhirbhisigh
MacFirbis ( ga, Mac Fhirbhisigh), also known as Forbes, was the surname of a family of Irish hereditary historians based for much of their known history at Lecan, Tireragh (now ''Lackan'', Kilglass parish, County Sligo). They claimed descent from Dathí (d.418?/428?), said to be one of the last pagan Kings of Connacht, and were thus one of the many families who sprang from the Uí Fiachrach dynasty. The progenitors of the MacFirbis family descend from Amhailgadh, whose brothers included Fiachra Ealg (ancestor of O'Dowd) and Eocha Breac (ancestor of O'Shaughnessy). History Based initially at Cong, the family may have been erenaghs prior to becoming historians and genealogists to the Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe (branch of the Uí Fiachrach based in north Connacht) and several other patrons. While this was their main function, they also appear to have served as poets and brehons to their patrons, possibly even musicians. Among the earliest known members of the family were Amhlaoibh Mór ...
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Ó Cléirigh
O'Cleary ( ga, Ó Cléirigh) is the surname of a learned Gaelic Irish family. It is the oldest recorded surname in Europe — dating back to 916 CE — and is cognate with cleric and clerk. The O'Clearys are a sept of the Uí Fiachrach dynasty, who ruled the Kingdom of Connacht for nearly two millennia. As Connachta, the O'Cleary's ruled the kingdom of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne for nearly 800 years. They are the descendants of Fiachrae, son of the High King Eochaid Mugmedon, and elder brother of legendary High King Niall of the Nine Hostages. According to legend, they ultimately trace their ancestry back to the mythical Fir Bolg, as well as to Milesius, and consequently to Japheth, son of Noah. During the Norman conquest of Ireland, they were expelled from their land and replaced by their cousins the O'Shaughnessy's. From the early 11th or 12th century, they were based in Tír Chonaill, located in modern-day County Donegal, where they served as poet-historians, scribes and secretari ...
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