Gaelic nobility of Ireland

Last updated

This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others being those nobles descended from the Hiberno-Normans and those granted titles of nobility in the Peerage of Ireland.

Contents

By the time of the Treaty of Limerick, almost all Gaelic nobles had lost any semblance of real power in their (former) domains. Today, such historical titles have no special legal status in the Republic of Ireland, unlike in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland does not confer titles of nobility under its constitution. [1]

From 1943 until 2003 some of the modern representatives of the Gaelic nobility obtained a courtesy recognition as Chiefs of the Name from the Irish government. The practice ended in 2003 following certain scandals (Terence Francis MacCarthy) and under concerns that it was unconstitutional. [2] Disputed titles, as well as those for whom recognition is still pending, are not listed.

Nobles

Clann territories were under the rule and control of a Chief, who was elected by a system called tanistry; voted by descendants (within three generations) of the preceding Chief. The designation as Chief was also referred to as a King (Ri), Lord (Tiarna), or Captain of his countries, all of which were roughly equivalent prior to the collapse of the Gaelic order. The concept of a hereditary "title" originated with the adoption of English law, the policy of surrender and regrant and the collapse of the Gaelic order during the period from approximately 1585–1610. Because the election of a new chief would almost always be from the same family (or families) within a tribal area, each family developed a long history of ruling within an area, which gave rise to the concept of Gaelic nobility. However, ruling titles did not pass by hereditary descent; rather it was by election and bloodshed, given the absence of criminal penalties for the death of an opponent.

All below are flatha (princes) and also descendants in the male line, however distant in some cases, from at least one historical grade of Rí , a Rí túaithe (usually a local petty king), a Ruiri (overking or regional king), or a greater Rí ruirech (king of overkings, also called a provincial king or Rí cóicid). A number of rí ruirech also became Ard Rí and their surviving princely descendants remain claimants to the long vacant, so-called High Kingship. [3] A modern Gaelic noble may be styled a self-proclaimed flaith (prince) or tiarna (lord, count/earl). See also White Rod.

The ancient Gaelic families are divided by race and sept, and by geography.

O'Neill claimants

Other O'Neills did not apply for recognition. The most notable of these is the Prince of the Fews, Don Carlos O'Neill, 12th Marquis of Granja. There is currently a dispute between him and the Prince of Clanaboy (above) over who is the "senior," with the matter appearing unresolvable. [15] However most recently O'Neill of Clanaboy may have gotten the upper hand in the dispute. [16]

The O'Neills of the Fews are a 15th-century branch of the Tyrone or Ó Néill Mór line whereas the O'Neills of Clanaboy are a High Medieval line. Hence the matter is academic, both being somewhat distant from the last sovereigns of Tyrone in Ulster (to 1607), whose plentiful descendants eventually fell into comparative obscurity. [15] Today they are known as the McShane-O'Neills, or the anglicized version- Johnson.

O'Donnell succession

The chosen and recognised heir apparent of the Chief of the Name, Fr. Hugh O'Donel, O.F.M., is Don Hugo O'Donnell, 7th Duke of Tetuan. [17] Other members of the family have disputed this, most notably Fr. Hugh's sister, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, who has even on television and radio disputed the exclusion from the succession process of potential female and female line claimants, but the head of the genealogically-senior line has been firm in his choice of his distant cousin the Duke of Tetuan. [18]

Other Gaelic nobles

MacCarthys Mór

The most recent claimants to the royal title of MacCarthy Mór (Prince of Desmond) are two close relatives, Barry Trant MacCarthy (Mór), now elderly (born 1931), and the younger Liam Trant MacCarthy (Mór) (born 1957). They allege to be descendants of Cormac of Dunguil, younger son of Tadhg na Mainistreach Mac Carthaigh Mór, King of Desmond (died 1426), they claim to belong to the Srugrena sept, but "this is a debunked falsehood"; Sean J Murphy MA who has no proof to the contrary but insists anyway, that any claimant to a Gaelic Chiefship must first be vetted and accepted by him, and that not cooperating with Mr. Murphy means a claimant must be 'bogus'?. Mr. Murphy has also made several attacks on the Chief Herald of Ireland since that Office denied Mr. Murphy's wish to have unfettered access to their archives. [19]

Remaining magnates

There remain other Gaelic nobles who are not of the "senior" lines, but whose descent is recognised in Europe and a number of whom also hold Continental titles.

Additional

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Irish Constitution Archived 16 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Curley, pp. 179–80; Charles Lysaght (in Curley), p. 14
  3. ↑ Curley, pp. 26–7, and following profiles; see also Jaski, pp. 37–40, 89, 99–102; Byrne, pp. 41–2, for academic discussion on the types of rí
  4. ↑ The current O'Conor Don has dropped the style The O'Conor Don, Prince of Connacht used by his father, considering O'Conor Don to be "historically grand enough by itself". Curley, p. 155
  5. ↑ "Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. Vol. xvii, parts iii, iv. [Edited by Mrs. M. D. O'Sullivan.] Pp. 88. Galway. 1937". Irish Historical Studies. 1 (1): 108–109. March 1938. doi:10.1017/s0021121400029801. ISSN   0021-1214.
  6. ↑ Madden, Gerard (2004). History of the O'Maddens of Hy-Many. Tuamgraney, Co. Clare: East Clare Heritage. ISBN   0-9529511-7-7. OCLC   57225706.
  7. ↑ Byrne, F. J. (2001). Irish kings and high-kings (2nd ed.). Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN   1-85182-196-1. OCLC   47920418.
  8. ↑ The MacMorrough Kavanagh Archived 19 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ John O'Hart, Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation, 5th edition, in two volumes, originally published in Dublin in 1892, reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976, Vol. 1, pp. 417-418 and 426-428, One of the most ancient of Gaelic Ireland’s royal lines, the MacDonlevy are often neglected from the recounting of its nobility. They have been obscured to history for two reasons. First, the dynasty’s final patronage of Ulaid fell to the forces of Henry Plantagenet in 1177 centuries before the English implemented the policy of Surrender and regrant, and, so, the MacDonlevy are not represented in the more modern English or Irish peerage, except by a few obscure instances of intermarriage. Second, staunch Roman Catholics and Jacobites, the MacDonlevy line of Captain of his Nation died out in Continental exile with the Stuarts in Paris in the late 19th century decades before the formation of the Republic of Ireland and a half century before the Republic’s brief period of courtesy recognition of these princely titles. As Irish nobles, the MacDonlevy were solely nobles of Gaelic Ireland.
  10. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 35 MacCarwell - Maltby (Sidney Lee Ed.). (1893) New York: MacMillan & Co., p. 52, "As the family originally came from Ulidia, the lesser Uladh, or Ulster, the members of the family are often called in Irish writings, instead of MacDonlevy, Ultach, that is, Ulsterman, and from this the name of MacNulty, Mac an Ultaigh, son of the Ulsterman, is derived."
  11. ↑ Cadet branch of O'Sullivan Mor. See Ellis, p. 157; Curley, p. 116
  12. ↑ Considered by many to now be the O'Donoghue Mor and thus Prince of Locha Léin, but has not yet claimed the title. See Ellis, pp. 137–8, noting "the family has no such intention". But compare Curley, pp. 109–12, who styles O'Donoghue the Prince of Locha Léin anyway, because the senior dynasty have of course gone extinct.
  13. ↑ For the genealogy of the O'Donovans see Donnubán mac Cathail.
  14. ↑ The Clann Somhairle, although claiming Irish ancestry, are also considered a "cadet branch" (maternal line) of the Crovan dynasty, Kings of Mann and the Isles, likely a branch of the Norse-Irish Uí Ímair. See Alex Woolf, The origins and ancestry of Somerled: Gofraid mac Fergusa and 'The Annals of the Four Masters' Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Medieval Scandinavia 15 (2005)
  15. 1 2 Ellis, pp. 231 ff
  16. ↑ Curley, p. 43
  17. ↑ Curley, p. 61
  18. ↑ Curley, pp. 59–62
  19. ↑ "Irish Chiefswatch". Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2020.

Related Research Articles

The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan. The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Donnell dynasty</span> Irish clan

The O'Donnell dynasty were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland.

Conall Gulban was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Cenél Conaill, who founded the kingdom of Tír Chonaill in the 5th century, comprising much of what is now County Donegal in Ulster. He was the son of Niall Noígiallach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Doherty family</span> Irish clan

The O'Doherty family of County Donegal is an Irish clan who were a prominent sept of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél Conaill, and one of most powerful clans of Tír Connaill.

The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi [Dál nAraidi], the seven Lóigisi [Loígis] of Leinster, the seven Soghain of Ireland, and every Conaille that is in Ireland."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullyhogue Fort</span>

Tullyhogue Fort, also spelt Tullaghoge or Tullahoge, is a large mound on the outskirts of Tullyhogue village near Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It has a depressed centre and is surrounded by trees. It is an ancient ceremonial site where the Chiefs of the Clan O'Neill of Tyrone were inaugurated.

Phelim Caoch O'Neill was a prince of the Cenél nEógain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Conor dynasty</span> Irish royal family

The O'Conordynasty are an Irish noble dynasty and formerly one of the most influential and distinguished royal dynasties in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Connacht up until 1475. Having ruled it on and off since 967, they ruled continuously from 1102 to 1475. Moreover, the O'Conor parent house the Uí Briúin and Síol Muireadaigh ruled Connacht on many occasions – but not continuously – between 482 and 956. The house of O'Conor also produced two High Kings of Ireland, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair and his son Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. The family seat is Clonalis House outside Castlerea in County Roscommon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tír Eoghain</span> Gaelic kingdom of ancient and Medieval Ireland

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 the Cenél nEógain people of the Northern Uí Néill and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area. One part of the realm to the north-east broke away and expanded, becoming Clandeboye, ruled by a scion branch of the O'Neill dynasty. In one form or another, Tyrone existed for over a millennium. Its main capital was Dungannon, though kings were inaugurated at Tullyhogue Fort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Donovan family</span> Irish family

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 12th and 13th century, O'Donovan relations relocated from the Bruree/Croom area south to the Kingdom of Desmond and to Carbery, where they were a ruling family for centuries and played a role in the establishment of a feudal society under the MacCarthys. Other septs retreated into the southeast corner of the Ui Fidgheinte territory, reaching from Broadford/Feenagh to the Doneraile area. The northern septs of the O'Donovans did not use a White Rod as the family's position in their original territory was vastly eroded, while several septs of O'Donovans in the southwest territories were semi-autonomous flatha under the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty in Carbery, with the most notable being local petty kings. The family were counted among the leading Gaelic nobility of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Neill dynasty</span> Group of families prominent in Ireland, elsewhere

The O'Neill dynasty are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically one of the most prominent family of the Northern Uí Néill, along with the O'Donnell dynasty. Some O'Neills state that their ancestors were kings of Ailech during the Early Middle Ages, as descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Domnall Mór Ua Cellaigh, 42nd King of Uí Maine and 9th Chief of the Name, died 1221.

The Síol Muireadaigh or Síol Muireadhaigh, was a leading sept of the Connachta group of Gaelic dynasties in medieval Ireland. The name Síol Muireadaigh was also used to refer to the territory occupied by the group which was centered around the ancient royal site of Cruachan on the plains of Connacht in County Roscommon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tully (surname)</span>

Tully is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin, and spelling variations include; Tally, Talley, Tilly, MacTully, MacTilly, MacAtilla, O'Multilly, O'Multully, MacCantully, and Flood. These names are anglicisations of the following Irish names; Ó Taithligh, Ó Maoltuile, Mac Maoltuile, Mac Taichligh, and Mac an Tuile. Mac an Tuile is a corruption of Mac Maoltuile, and has also been anglicised as Flood due to "tuile" in Irish meaning "flood".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Higgins family</span> Irish noble family

O'Higgins is an Irish noble family. Its Ballynary line is descended from Shean Duff O'Higgins, Gaelic Baron of Ballynary, who was married to a daughter of the royal family of O'Conor at Ballintuber Castle in Connacht. Shean Duff O'Higgins himself claimed descent from King Niall of Tara. Historically, many of their ancestors were poets and scholars who enjoyed the patronage of several chiefly families including O'Conor Don, MacDermott, O'Doherty, O'Gara, and MacDonagh.

Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc or Aodh an Macaoimh Tóinleasg was a 12th-century ruler of Tulach Óc and Tír Eogain. He was the first of his family to play a significant role in the high politics of northern Ireland, following the death of the Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn king of Tír Eogain and high king of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Uí Néill</span> Name given to several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland

The Northern Uí Néill was any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall were termed the Southern Uí Néill. The dynasties of the Northern Uí Néill were the Cenél Conaill and Cenél nEógain, named after the two most powerful sons of Niall: Conall and Eógain.

The Cenél nEógain are a branch of the Northern Uí Néill, who claim descent from Eógan mac Néill, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Originally their power-base was in Inishowen, with their capital at Ailech, in modern-day County Donegal in what is now the west of Ulster. Under pressure from the Cenél Conaill, they gradually spread their influence eastwards into modern counties Tyrone and Londonderry, pushing aside the Cruithin east of the River Bann, and encroaching on the Airgiallan tribes west of Lough Neagh. By the 11th century their power-base had moved from Ailech to Tullyhogue outside Cookstown, County Tyrone. By the 12th century the Cenél Conaill conquered Inishowen; however, it mattered little to the Cenél nEóghain as they had established a powerful over-kingdom in the east that had become known as Tír Eoghain, or the "Land of Owen", preserved in the modern-day name of County Tyrone.

References

Genealogical and historical

Irish kingship and lordship

  • Bhreathnach, Edel (ed.), The Kingship and Landscape of Tara. Four Courts Press for The Discovery Programme. 2005.
  • Byrne, Francis J., Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press. 2nd edition, 2001.
  • Charles-Edwards, T.M., Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge. 2000.
  • Dillon, Myles, "The consecration of Irish kings", in Celtica 10 (1973): 1–8.
  • Dillon, Myles, The Cycles of the Kings. Oxford. 1946.
  • FitzPatrick, Elizabeth, Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: A Cultural Landscape Study. Boydell Press. 2004.
  • Jaski, Bart, Early Irish Kingship and Succession. Four Courts Press. 2000.
  • Nicholls, K. W., Gaelic and Gaelicized Ireland in the Middle Ages. Dublin: Lilliput Press. 2nd edition, 2003.
  • O'Donovan, John (ed.), and Duald Mac Firbis, The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach Archived 9 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Dublin: Irish Archaeological Society. 1844. pp. 425–452

Other

  • Duffy, Seán (ed.), Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. 2005.
  • Mac Niocaill, Gearóid, Ireland before the Vikings. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. 1972.
  • Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, Ireland before the Normans. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. 1972.
  • O'Rahilly, Thomas F., Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. 1946.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.