The Mac Cana were a

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

clan who held lands in Clancann and Clanbrasil in what is now northern

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

, and had the title of 'Lords of Clanbrasil'. It is the origin of the surname McCann.

Etymology

The name ''Mac Cana'' means "son of Cana". This literally means " cub/whelp", and is claimed to be a term for a young warrior.Quinn, Sean. ''Surnames in Ireland''. Irish Genealogy Press, 2000. p.54

History

The Mac Cana originated as chiefs of ''Cenél Aengusa'', the name of a kindred and its territory in

Tír Eoghain Tír Eoghain (), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of ...

.AJ Hughes and William Nolan (editors). ''Armagh: History and Society''. Geography Publications, 2001. p.318 In the 12th and 13th centuries they extended their lands along the south of Lough Neagh where they gave their name to the territory of Clancann (''Clann Chana''), later the barony of Oneilland West. This lay in northern

between the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

and River Blackwater. They also became chiefs of the neighbouring territory of Clanbrassil (''Clann Bhreasail''), east of the Bann, later the barony of

Oneilland East Oneilland East (, the name of an ancient Gaelic district) is a barony in the north-east of County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is also called Clanbrasil (from ''Clann Bhreasail'', "offspring of Breasal"). It lies in the north-east corner of t ...

. The main settlement in Clanbrassil,

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

, was originally named ''Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana'' ("ridge of Mac Cana's townland"). Nearby

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

(''Port an Dúnáin'') is believed to be named after a fort of the Mac Cana. An English map from the early 1600s shows a prominent house at

Maghery Maghery ()Placenames NI
is a small

in Clancann, which was probably the last residence of the Mac Cana chiefs. The Mac Cana and their neighbours were

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the powerful O'Neill dynasty of Tyrone. During the Nine Years' War (1594–1603), the O'Neills and their allies fought against English expansion in Ireland. Following the English victory and

Flight of the Earls The Flight of the Earls ( ir, Imeacht na nIarlaí)In Irish, the neutral term ''Imeacht'' is usually used i.e. the ''Departure of the Earls''. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí' and is sometimes seen. took place in Se ...

, the English seized the lands of the O'Neills and their allies. This would seem to include the Mac Cana. This land was colonized by English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, during the plantation of Ulster. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Mac Cana re-took Lurgan and Portadown from the settlers. Irish rebels killed about 100 captured British settlers at Portadown by forcing them off the bridge into the River Bann, and shooting those who tried to swim to safety. Known as the

Portadown massacre The Portadown massacre took place in November 1641 at Portadown, County Armagh, during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Irish Catholic rebels, likely under the command of Toole McCann, killed about 100 Ulster Protestants by forcing them off the b ...

, it was the biggest such massacre during the rebellion. The rebels were likely under the command of Toole McCann.Mac Cuarta, Brian. ''Ulster 1641: Aspects of the Rising''. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast, 1993. p.126 Following the Irish Confederate Wars and Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, the area was re-taken by the English. Toole McCann was captured and executed by English forces in 1653, although he denied ordering the massacre. Under the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652, Irish rebels and many native Irish Catholics lost most of their land. Some were given poorer lands in

Connaught 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 ...

or Clare, and others were exiled from Ireland. This may be the origin of the

McGann Origin McGann is an Irish surname, derived from the Gaelic ''MagAnnaidh'', an Old Irish translation or sept of the ''Mac Cana'' clan. Etymology The ''Cana'' particle is a personal name meaning 'Irish wolf, cub/whelp', although some sources clai ...

s, an anglicised Connaught variant of 'Mac Cana'.

References

{{reflist Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties