The O'Byrne family ( ga, Ó Broin) is an

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 ...

clann that descend from Bran mac Máelmórda,

King of Leinster The kings of Leinster ( ga, Rí Laighín), ruled from the establishment of Leinster during the Irish Iron Age, until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasion ...

, of the Uí Faelain of the

Uí Dúnlainge The Uí Dúnlainge, from the Old Irish "grandsons (or descendants) of Dúnlaing", were an Irish dynasty of Leinster kings who traced their descent from Dúnlaing mac Énda Niada. He was said to be a cousin of Énnae Cennsalach, eponymous ances ...

. Before the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...

they began to colonise south Wicklow. There are many famous people with this Irish last name. This includes Anna O’Byrne, an Australian singer and actress, and Anna Marie O’Byrne, an American model.

History

The seat of the most famous branch of the ''Ó Broin'' (''Uí Broin'' or ''Branaigh'') was at Ballinacor and controlled the surrounding lands, part of ''Críoch Branach''. During the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the Fitzmaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines an ...

, the warlord Hugh O'Byrne gave support to the

Earl of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates ...

, and died during the second rebellion. His son Fiach McHugh O'Byrne took over the chieftainship and together with

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast ...

lord

James Eustace, 3rd Viscount Baltinglass James FitzEustace of Harristown, 3rd Viscount Baltinglass (1530–1585) James FitzEustace, the eldest son of Rowland Eustace, 2nd Viscount Baltinglass and Joan, daughter of James Butler, 8th Baron Dunboyne. He was born in 1530 and died in Spain ...

, continued hostilities to the English administration. A large English force under the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...

Earl Grey de Wilton was sent to subdue them, only to be ambushed and defeated at the battle of Glenmalure on 25 August 1580, losing over 800 dead. Fiach also helped in the escape of

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell ( Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donne ...

from

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...

in 1591 and Hugh Roe stayed with O'Byrne at Ballinacor,

Glenmalure Glenmalure () is a 20-kilometre long U-shaped glacial valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Glenmalure is an important base for climbing in the Wicklow mountains, and particularly accessing the massif of Lugnaquilla, and contains one of ...

. In 1595, Ballinacor was occupied by a Tudor garrison, with Fiach later expelling the garrison, and destroying the fort. Fiach was betrayed and killed by the forces of the Lord Deputy of Ireland at Fananerin on 8 May 1597. He was

drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

and his head was sent to Dublin Castle and placed on a spike. The head was later pickled and sent to England. The

Leabhar Branach The Leabhar Branach (), also called the (Poem) Book of the O'Byrnes is an Early Modern Irish anthology of poetry collected in the early 17th century. It consists of poetry in praise of the O'Byrne family, who ruled a region known as ''Gabhal Rag ...

, a book of Irish-language poetry in praise of the clan, was compiled in the early 17th century.

Felim McFiach O'Byrne Féilim mac Fiach Ó Broin (died 1630) was the son of Fiach mac Aodh Ó Broin and Rose O'Toole. He was a Gaelic chieftain who in 1600 submitted to Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England ...

, Fiach's son, was confirmed in his father's lands by patent of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen ...

after submitting to her authority, however these were lost under patent of

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

. He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Wicklow in 1613 and died in 1630. The O'Byrnes have long been close to their kinsmen the

O'Toole family The O'Toole ( ga, Ó Tuathail) family of Leinster, formerly one of the leading Royal families of that province, descended from Tuathal Mac Augaire, King of Leinster (died 958), of the Uí Muiredaig branch of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. Not al ...

Heraldry

*Arms: Gules a chevron between three dexter hands couped at the wrist Argent. *Crest: A mermaid with comb and mirror proper. *Motto:

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

:''certavi et vici'' (I have fought and I conquered).

References

External links

The O'Byrnes and the Shiring of Wicklow
at Wicklow County Council
Clann O'Byrne: The Official Webpage
at Clann O'Byrne

at My Genealogy {{DEFAULTSORT:Obyrne Ancient Irish dynasties Irish families Gaels

History

Heraldry

See also

References

Further reading

External links