MacFirbis ( ga, Mac Fhirbhisigh), also known as
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
, was the
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
of a family of
Irish hereditary
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...
historians based for much of their known history at Lecan,
Tireragh
Tireragh () is a barony in County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in th ...
(now ''Lackan'',
Kilglass
Kilglass or Kilglas () is a rural townland in County Sligo, Ireland, in the hinterland of Enniscrone.
The area is the location of an Anglican church, built in 1829 with funding provided by the Board of First Fruits, and renovated in 1996. The ...
parish,
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
).
They claimed descent from
Dathí (d.418?/428?), said to be one of the last pagan
Kings of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...
, and were thus one of the many families who sprang from the
Uí Fiachrach
The Uí Fiachrach () were a royal dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the ''coicead'' or ''fifth'' of Connacht (a western province of Ireland) at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent ...
dynasty. The progenitors of the MacFirbis family descend from Amhailgadh, whose brothers included Fiachra Ealg (ancestor of
O'Dowd
O'Dowd ( ga, Ó Dubhda) is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Mayo and County Sligo. The clan name originated in the 9th century as a derivative of its founder Dubda mac Connmhach. They descend in the paternal ...
) and Eocha Breac (ancestor of
O'Shaughnessy
Ó Seachnasaigh, O'Shaughnessy, collectively Uí Sheachnasaigh, clan name Cinél nAedha na hEchtghe, is a family surname of Irish origin. The name is found primarily in County Galway and County Limerick. Their name derives from Seachnasach mac ...
).
History
Based initially at
Cong, the family may have been
erenagh
The medieval Irish office of erenagh (Old Irish: ''airchinnech'', Modern Irish: ''airchinneach'', Latin: ''princeps'') was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing the ...
s prior to becoming historians and genealogists to the Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe (branch of the Uí Fiachrach based in north
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...
) and several other patrons. While this was their main function, they also appear to have served as poets and
brehon
Brehon ( ga, breitheamh, ) is a term for a historical arbitration, mediative and judicial role in Gaelic culture. Brehons were part of the system of Early Irish law, which was also simply called " Brehon law". Brehons were judges, close in impo ...
s to their patrons, possibly even musicians.
Among the earliest known members of the family were
Amhlaoibh Mór mac Fir Bhisigh (died 1138), Domhnall na Sgoile Mac Fir Bhisigh (fl.c. 1250) and
Gilla Isa Mac Fir Bisigh, who died in 1301.
In the late medieval era the most well known was
Giolla Íosa Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh fl. 1390–1418.
The Mac Fhirbhisigh, long after moving to Lecan (Lacken),
Tireragh
Tireragh () is a barony in County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in th ...
, built Lacken Castle (Castle Forbes, ), now ruined, in
Kilglass
Kilglass or Kilglas () is a rural townland in County Sligo, Ireland, in the hinterland of Enniscrone.
The area is the location of an Anglican church, built in 1829 with funding provided by the Board of First Fruits, and renovated in 1996. The ...
parish in 1560. Here they kept a school of poetry and history. They lost possession of the castle before 1625.
[O'Donovan (1993:167f).]
Fear Dorcha MacFhirbhisigh (fl.c. 1600?) was noted as well-travelled in Scotland, showing how far afield members of the clan would venture in practising their art.
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh (fl.c.1640-January 1671) compiled
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 ...
, a massive compilation of Irish genealogies.
See also
*
Fear Bisigh mac Domhnaill Óig
*
Great Book of Lecan
*
Yellow Book of Lecan
*
Ó Duibhgeannáin
*
Irish genealogy
References
Sources
* ''The Celebrated Antiquary'',
Nollaig Ó Muraíle,
Maynooth
Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...
, 1996.
* ''Irish Leaders and Learning Through the Ages'', Fr.
Paul Walsh
Paul may refer to:
* Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, 2004. (ed. Nollaig Ó Muraíle).
*John O'Donovan (ed., trans.), ''The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach, Commonly Called O'Dowda's Country'', Irish archaeological society, 1993
p. 168
External links
Forbes family pedigreeat Library Ireland
Irish families
Surnames of Irish origin
Irish writers
Mac Fhirbhisigh
Surnames
Irish Brehon families
Irish chroniclers
Mac Fhirbhisigh
Roman Catholic families
Gaels
{{Ireland-historian-stub