O'Boylan

The O'Boylan (

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 ...

: ''Ó Baoigheallain'') or O'Boyland sept came from '' Airgíalla'', having their principal stronghold in the barony of

Dartrey Dartrey Forest (sometimes Dartrey Estate or Dawson Grove Estate) is a forest and estate near Rockcorry in north-west County Monaghan, Ireland. It was formerly part of the Barony of Dartrey and was the country estate of the Dawson family, who h ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

. They soon spread to reach eastern

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

, across County Monaghan and southern

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 into the northern part of County Louth. They also established themselves to the south of their original territory, in County Cavan and

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

. The name is still found most frequently in those areas, but invariably with the prefix O. From the 8th century, the O'Boylan (''Ó Baoigheallain'') sept are cited as early kings of

Dartraighe Dartraighe (older spelling: Dartraige), anglicised as ''Dartree'', ''Dartry'' or ''Dartrey'', was an Irish territory or tuath in medieval Ireland which stretched north to Clones and south to the Dromore River. It was later incorporated into Co ...

in present day

. The territory of the ''Ó Baoigheallain'' during early medieval times stretched from Fermanagh to Louth before being reduced to the region of Dartry by the MacMahons after the Norman invasion. They did, however, remain powerful, and in O'Dugan's fourteenth-century "Topographical Poem" they are called "the bold kings of Dartry," and are praised for their horsemanship. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oboyle Surnames