Hession (pronounced "hesh + in") is an old

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 Delbhn ...

Irish surname. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish Ó hOissín. In

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 ...

, it is pronounced "O + hush + een". It appears to originate in

Co. Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

and in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. The Hession surname is predominantly found in these counties in the

Census of Ireland, 1911 The 1911 Census of Ireland was the last census that covered the whole island of Ireland. Censuses were taken at ten-year intervals from 1821 onwards, but the 1921 census was cancelled due to the Irish War of Independence. The original records o ...

. It denotes descent from a person named

Oisín Oisín ( ), Osian, Ossian ( ), or anglicized as Osheen ( ) was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and of ...

, a personal name meaning "little deer", and the name of the poet and warrior of the

fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had n ...

in Irish mythology.

Áed Ua hOissín Áed Ua hOissín (Hugh O'Hession) was consecrated first Archbishop of Tuam in 1152 and died in 1161. He was closely associated with Connacht royalty, and had served as abbot of Tuam. Biography Ua hOissín was the first Archbishop of Tuam and one ...

was the name of two Irish clerics in the 11th and 12th centuries - the

coarb A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish ''comharba'', Latin: ''hērēs''), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears intercha ...

of St. Jarlath (1050) and the first

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

(1152) respectively. George Petrie who unearthed the

High cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

which bears an inscription

wrote that he was assisted by a gentleman of the name O'Heshin who little realised he was digging up the relic of an ancestor. Darby O'Hession (spelt O'Hoysshynne) is the name of a Galway Cleric in the 16th, a vicar choral recorded in that churches first charter of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in 1551. Hession has occasionally been spelt Hessian in Galway and is sometimes falsely assumed to be of German origin - See

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

. MacLysaght suggests a connection with the surname Ussher - which is probably the name of a separate and distinct family of English Origin based in Dublin and later in Galway. This connection with Ussher is apparently the basis for claims the family is of Norman or English Origin, and the use of the Ussher Arms for the family on popular family history sites. The name may be related with similar names Hishon in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

and

Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

. Hishon is the anglicised form of Ó hOiseáin and finds an early reference amongst the Allies of the

MacNamara Mac Conmara (anglicised as MacNamara or McNamara) is an Irish surname of a family of County Clare in Ireland. The McNamara family were an Irish clan claiming descent from the Dál gCais and, after the O'Briens, one of the most powerful families ...

family in Co Clare in the early 14th century. While

is the anglicized form of Ó hOsáin. The

Annals of Loch Ce Annals ( la, wikt:annales, annāles, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The natur ...

record that Domnall Ua Cuirc king of Muscraige was killed by Ua Oisin and Ua Fladhen in 1044, while another Ua Oisin was involved in conflict between the men of

Magh Ithe Mag Itha, Magh Ithe, or Magh Iotha was, according to Irish mythology, the site of the first battle fought in Ireland. Medieval sources estimated that the battle had taken place between 2668 BCE and 2580 BCE (''Anno Mundi'' 2530 or 2618). The opposi ...

and the

Airgíalla Airgíalla (Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all independe ...

in 1055.

People

, first

, died 1161 * Darby O'Hoysshyne

Vicar choral A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK, or (occasionally) collegiate choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars chora ...

of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church - Royal Charter 1551 * Liam Ó hOisín,

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

, fl. 1825-1871 * Roy Hession Evangelist, born London 1908 * Reverend Brian Hession Church of England Priest, pioneering religious film maker and early advocate against stigma in medicine, particularly cancer. 1909-1961. * Annie Hession (Mrs Keane), Traditional Singer * Mairead Ni hOisin, Traditional Singer and Teacher 1892-1978 * Maire Ni Oisin, Actress, An Comhar Dramaoichta 1900-1957 * James Hession,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

, 1912–1999 *

Carl Hession Carl Hession is an Irish composer, arranger and pianist. His background includes many elements of his education in both traditional and modern (including jazz) and classical music. Originally from Galway, Ireland, he participated in competitions ...

, Composer Carl Hession
/ref> *

Paul Hession Paul Hession (born 27 January 1983 in Galway) is an Irish international track and field athlete who is the fastest Irishman in history over 200 metres. He specialises in the sprinting events, particularly the 200 metres. He has won silver and br ...

, Irish international track and field athlete, born 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hession (Surname) Surnames Irish families Surnames of Irish origin

People

See also

References