Clans of Ireland on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Clans of Ireland (
An invitation for nominations is sent each September to all clans which have "maintained their registration with Clans of Ireland for three consecutive years or more". As of 2021, the Clans of Ireland website indicated that "no more than four individuals can receive the award each year".
The order is administered by a council who are appointed by the board of Clans of Ireland. The order's statutes dictate that three members of council, including the chair must be drawn from the board of Clans of Ireland and a further two must be independent. Once appointed, the order's council is autonomous in its decisions and feedback is not given on unsuccessful nominations. The order's council convenes each Spring to consider the nominations received. The names of the successful nominations are published on 17 March ( St. Patrick's Day). Recipients have sometimes been inducted at a ceremony in Dublin in April when they have received their insignia. Inductees are designated as ''Companions of the Order of Clans of Ireland'' or in Irish ''Compánach Fhinte na hÉireann'' and may use the post-nominal letters CIOM.
The order's insignia was designed by
Appointments to the order are made each year, and presentations made at a ceremony sometimes overseen by a related dignitary. For example, a number of 2013 conferrings were presented by the then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht at the Irish Embassy in Italy.
From 2011 to 2020, between one and seven appointments were made to the order annually. There were no appointments to the order in 2015. Notable past inductees have included:
* (2011)
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
: ''Finte na hÉireann'') is an independent organisation established in 1989 with the purpose of creating and maintaining a register of Irish clans
Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...
. The patron of the organisation is Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
, President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
.
Background and foundation
The influence of theGaelic League
(; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
(formed in 1893 as ''Conradh na Gaeilge'') "rekindled" an interest in Irish clans
Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...
in the early 20th century. In the 1940s, Edward MacLysaght
Edgeworth Lysaght, later Edward Anthony Edgeworth Lysaght, and from 1920 Edward MacLysaght ( ga, Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta; 6 November 1887 – 4 March 1986) was a genealogist of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames b ...
, the Chief Herald of Ireland
The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...
, wrote a list of Irish clans and published several works on the history and background of Irish families.
During the late 1980s, Rory O'Connor wrote to Irish newspapers and individuals, encouraging the organisation of Irish clan associations. On 6 November 1989, a press conference was held in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
to announce the opening of an umbrella body for these clan associations, Clans of Ireland (''Finte na hÉireann''). The purpose of the new body was to support and co-ordinate the activities of these clan associations and to create a "Register of Clans".
Organisation
The board of directors of Clans of Ireland meets several times each year at the Chapter House in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. In 2012, Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland, became patron of Clans of Ireland.Order of Clans of Ireland
In 2010, the 21st anniversary of its foundation, Clans of Ireland instituted the Order of Clans of Ireland, an order of merit established to honour individuals who contributed to Irish culture and heritage or who have brought honour to their clan.Structure and appointment
An invitation for nominations is sent each September to all clans which have "maintained their registration with Clans of Ireland for three consecutive years or more". As of 2021, the Clans of Ireland website indicated that "no more than four individuals can receive the award each year".
The order is administered by a council who are appointed by the board of Clans of Ireland. The order's statutes dictate that three members of council, including the chair must be drawn from the board of Clans of Ireland and a further two must be independent. Once appointed, the order's council is autonomous in its decisions and feedback is not given on unsuccessful nominations. The order's council convenes each Spring to consider the nominations received. The names of the successful nominations are published on 17 March ( St. Patrick's Day). Recipients have sometimes been inducted at a ceremony in Dublin in April when they have received their insignia. Inductees are designated as ''Companions of the Order of Clans of Ireland'' or in Irish ''Compánach Fhinte na hÉireann'' and may use the post-nominal letters CIOM.
Insignia
The order's insignia was designed by heraldic art
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
ist Tim O'Neill, who also worked on a number of commissions for the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland
The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...
. The insignia consists of a gold medal under an azure blue ribbon on a gold bar. One side of the medal is styled after the Book of Kells
The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New ...
and shows a chieftain passing a light to two younger figures, while the reverse shows a traditional Irish harp
The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring great ...
.
Companions of the Order (Members)
Appointments to the order are made each year, and presentations made at a ceremony sometimes overseen by a related dignitary. For example, a number of 2013 conferrings were presented by the then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht at the Irish Embassy in Italy.
From 2011 to 2020, between one and seven appointments were made to the order annually. There were no appointments to the order in 2015. Notable past inductees have included:
* (2011) James O'Higgins Norman
James O'Higgins Norman PC, MStJ, FRSA holds the UNESCO Chair on Tackling Bullying in Schools and Cyberspace at Dublin City University. He is the director of the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, and a member of the Governm ...
, author and academic at Dublin City University
Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...
* (2012) Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
, President of Ireland
* (2012) Nollaig Ó Muraíle
Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's ''Leabhar na nGenealach'' in 2004. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009.
Life and career
A native of Knock, County Mayo, Ó ...
RIA, author and academic at NUIG who transcribed and translated MacFhirbhisigh's Great Book of Irish Genealogies
* (2013) Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
, President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
1997–2011.
* (2013) Pádraig Ó Fiannachta
Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (1927 – 15 July 2016) was an Irish-language scholar, poet and priest from the Kerry Gaeltacht. He is perhaps best known for producing a translation of the Christian Bible into the Irish language.
Biography
Ó Fiannachta ...
, Irish-language scholar, poet and priest.
See also
*Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains
The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains ( ga, Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann) is an organisation which was established to bring together the surviving Chiefs of the Name from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. As a republic, the Cons ...
*Irish honours system
Ireland has no formal honours system. Proposals to introduce one have been made by various groups at different times. The Order of St. Patrick, established by the British monarchy in the Kingdom of Ireland in 1783, has been in abeyance for d ...
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clans Of Ireland Irish clans