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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 pedigree
at 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