The O'Connell family, principally of Derrynane, are a Gaelic Irish noble family of

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

. The principal seat of the senior line of the family was

Derrynane House Derrynane House () was the home of Irish politician and statesman, Daniel O'Connell. It is now an National Monument and part of a 320-acre (1.3 km²) national historic park. The house is located on the Iveragh peninsula on the Ring of Ker ...

, now an Irish National Monument.

Ancestry and extraction

According to tradition, they descend from the ancient

Uí Fidgenti The Uí Fidgenti, Fidgeinti, Fidgheinte, Fidugeinte, Fidgente, or Fidgeinte ( or ;In the pronunciation, the -d- is silent, and the -g- becomes a glide, producing what might be anglicized ''Feeyenti'' or ''Feeyenta''. "descendants of, or of the ...

(Uí Chonaill Gabra sept) of

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

, being descendants of

Dáire Cerbba Dáire Cerbba (or Cerba, Cearba, Cearb; meaning "Silver Dáire" or "Dáire the Sharp/Cutting") was a 4th-century Irish dynast who was evidently a king of late prehistoric central northern Munster, called Medón Mairtíne at the time. A frequentl ...

, and are thus cousins of the

O'Donovan The O'Donovans are an Irish family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, Donnubán mac Cathail. During the ...

s and

O'Collins O'Collins is a common anglicized surname of two ancient families of Irish origin: O'Cuilleain and O'Coilean. Origin of O'Cuilleain O'Cuilleain or Cuilliaéan is an extremely ancient Irish name from Gaelic ''cuileann'' and primitive Gaelic '' ...

. Other ancestors, through marriage, include the

Kings of Thomond Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

of the great

O'Brien dynasty The O'Brien dynasty ( ga, label=Classical Irish, Ua Briain; ga, label=Modern Irish, Ó Briain ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) is a noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After becoming ...

, the MacCarthy Mor dynasty of the great

Kingdom of Desmond The Kingdom of Desmond () was a historic kingdom in southwestern Ireland. It was founded in 1118 by Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, King of Munster when the Treaty of Glanmire formally divided the Kingdom of Munster into Desmond and Thomond (, "Nor ...

, the two

O'Sullivan O'Sullivan ( ga, Ó Súilleabháin, Súileabhánach) is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. The surname is associated with the southwestern part of Ireland, and was originally found in Count ...

dynasties Beare and Mor,

O'Callaghan O'Callaghan () or simply Callaghan without the prefix (anglicized from '' Ó Ceallacháin'') is an Irish surname. Origin and meaning Munster The surname means descendant of Ceallachán who was the Eóganachta King of Munster from AD 935 until 9 ...

O'Connor Kerry O'Connor or O'Conor may refer to: People * O'Connor or O'Conor, an Irish clan * O'Connor Sligo, a royal dynasty ruling the northern part of the Kingdom of Connacht * O'Connor (surname), including a list of people with the surname Places * Burnet O ...

, O'Donovan of Clancahill, and the O'Donoghue Dhuv sept of O'Donoghue of the Glens.

Origins

It has been suggested that the O'Connells are a sept of the Corcu Duibne, the Ua Congaile, a kingdom native to County Kerry. While certainly a possibility, and one demanding more research, there still remains more supporting evidence at this time for a descent from the Uí Chonaill Gabra of County Limerick: a family using the sept name of their former kingdom as their surname following its disintegration is not something unheard of in Ireland, and the claims of Count O'Connell to descent from Dáire Cerbba cannot simply be dismissed as career-minded, when the Uí Fidgenti had long since faded and a Corcu Duibne ancestry would have been no less attractive. A descent from the Corcu Duibne would make the O'Connells of Derrynane kin to the

O'Shea O'Shea is a surname and, less often, a given name. It is an anglicized form of the Irish patronymic name Ó Séaghdha or Ó Sé, originating in the Kingdom of Corcu Duibne in County Kerry. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Alicia ...

s and O'Falveys, and descendants of the legendary

Conaire Mór Conaire Mór (the great), son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and ...

, ancestor also of the

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...

monarchs of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Thus the O'Connells are not technically allowed to be of royal extraction because they cannot conclusively prove their patrilineal ancestors to have been kings of any specific septs or territories, even if they might have been. But through marriage they are closely related to the various ancient royal families of

, and in fact to a greater extent than those are to each other. The province of Munster was itself divided into several exclusive provinces but the O'Connells were successful in bridging this.

Notable family members

* John Ó Connell (d. 1740) * James Ó Connell ** Maurice O'Connell, of Tarmons (1703–1770) ***

Baron Moritz O'Connell Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or ...

(1738–1830) *** Daniel O'Connell "of the Stallions" *** Geoffrey O'Connell (1728–1820) * Daniel O'Connell (1701–1770) ** Patrick O’Connell (1703-1794) “The Forefather” **** Morgan O'Connell (1739–1809) *****

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

(1775–1847) "The Liberator" ***** Maurice O'Connell (1801–1853) ***** Morgan O'Connell (1804–1885) ***** Ellen Fitzsimon (1805-1883) ***** John O'Connell (MP) (1810–1858) ***** Daniel O'Connell Jnr (1816–1897) **** John O'Connell (1778–1853) *****

Morgan John O'Connell Morgan O'Connell (27 August 1811 – 2 July 1875) was an Irish Repeal Association politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kerry from the 1835 election until the 1852 election. His father was John O'Connell, younger brother of Daniel ...

(1811–1875) **** Sir James O'Connell, 1st Baronet (1786–1872) ***** later O'Connell Baronets ***

Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (also known as Eileen O'Connell, ) was a member of the Irish gentry and a poet. She was the main composer of ''Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire'', a traditional lament in Irish described (in its written form) as the greate ...

(1743–1800) *** Daniel Charles O'Connell (1745–1833) Cousins of the O'Connells of Derrynane were Sir

Maurice Charles O'Connell Sir Maurice Charles Philip O'Connell KCH (1768 – 25 May 1848) was a commander of forces and lieutenant-governor of colonial New South Wales. Early life Maurice Charles O'Connell was born in Ireland in 1768. He had had a distinguished career ...

and son

Maurice Charles O'Connell (Australian politician) __NOTOC__ Maurice Charles O'Connell (13 January 1812 – 23 March 1879), was a Queensland pioneer and president of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life O'Connell was born at Sydney in 1812. His father was Sir Maurice Charles O'Con ...

. Another cousin was

Daniel O'Connell (journalist) Daniel O'Connell (II) (1849 – 23 January 1899) was a poet, actor, writer and journalist in San Francisco, California, and a co-founder of the Bohemian Club. He was the grand-nephew of Daniel O'Connell (1775–1847), the famed Irish orator and ...

Notes

References

* Burke, Bernard and Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ''Burke's Irish Family Records''. London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. 5th edition, 1976. * Burke, Bernard and Ashworth Peter Burke
A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland
London: Harrison & Sons. 9th edition, 1899. * Cusack, Sister Mary Francis
Life of Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator : His Times - Political, Social, and Religious
New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co. 1872. * Cronnelly, Richard F.
Irish Family History
Dublin. 1864. * O'Connell, Mary Ann Bianconi
The Last Colonel of the Irish Brigade: Count O'Connell
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co. 1892. * O'Hart, John
Irish Pedigrees
Dublin. 5th edition, 1892. * Marquis de Ruvigny, Melville H.
The Nobilities of Europe
London: Melville and Company. 1910. (repr. Adamant Media Corporation, 2000) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties

Ancestry and extraction

Origins

Notable family members

See also

Notes

References