THE following were the chief families of early
settlers, in the counties of Limerick and Clare: De Burgo, Fitzgerald,
Fitzgibbon--a branch of the Fitzgeralds, De Clare, De Lacey, Brown, Barrett,
Roche, Russell, Sarsfield, Stritch, Purcell, Hussey, Harold, Tracey, Trant,
Comyn, White, Walsh, Wolfe, Dongan, Rice, Aylmer, Nash, Monsell, Massy,
etc. The Fitzgeralds, earls of Desmond, had vast possessions in Limerick;
and of the estates of Gerald, the sixteenth earl of Desmond, in the reign
of Elizabeth, about one hundred thousand acres were confiscated in the
county Limerick, and divided amongst the following families: Annesley,
Barkley, Billingsley, Bouchier, Carter, Courtenay, Fitton, Mannering, Stroude,
Trenchard, Thornton, and Uthered. Limerick was formed into a county as
early as the reign of King John, A.D. 1210; and Clare, in the reign of
Elizabeth, A.D. 1565, by the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY* OF LIMERICK AND CLARE
Or Thomond
QUOTING from Connellan, the following have been the noble families in Limerick and Clare, since the reign of Henry the Eighth: O'Brien, earls and marquises of Thomond, earls of Inchiquin, barons of Ibrackan, and barons of Burren, also viscounts of Clare, and barons of Moyarta; Bourke, barons of Castleconnell; Roche, barons of Tarbert; and Fitzgerald, knights of Glin, in the county of Limerick; Sarsfield, vicounts of Kilmallock, in the county of Limerick; Dongan, earls of Limerick; Hamilton, viscounts of Limerick; Fane, viscounts Fane and barons of Loughguire, in Limerick; Southwell, barons Southwell of Castlematross in Limerick; Fitzgibbon, earls of Clare; Perry, earls of Limerick; Quinn, earls of Dunraven and barons of Adare, in Limerick; O'Grady, viscounts Guillamore in Limerick; the lords Fitzgerald, and Vesey or Vesci, in the county of Clare; Massey, barons of Clarina in Limerick; Monsell, barons of Emly.
*Nobility: Baron, Earl, Lord, Marquis, Viscount.
========================================
AS already stated, King Henry the Second gave a grant of the kingdom of Desmond to Robert Fitzstephen and Milo de Cogan. With that Robert Fitzstephen came Maurice Fitzgerald and other Anglo-Norman chiefs, A.D. 1169, who assisted Strongbow in the invasion of Ireland. In 1173, Maurice Fitzgerald was appointed by Henry the Second chief governor of Ireland; and he and his descendants got large grants of land in Leinster and Munster, chiefly in the counties of Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford, Cork, and Kerry. He died, A.D. 1177, and was buried in the abbey of the Grey Friars at Wexford. A branch of the Fitzgeralds were, down to the reign of Elizabeth, earls of Desmond; and had immense possessions in the counties of Cork and Kerry. Another branch of them became barons of Offaly,* earls of Kildare, and dukes of Leinster. The Fitzgeralds trace their descent from the dukes of Tuscany: some of the family from Florence, settled in Normandy, and thence came to England with William the Conqueror. The Geraldines, having frequently joined the Irish against the English, were charged by English writers as having become Irish in language and manners: hence, the origin of the expression; "Ipsis Hibernis Hiberniores" or "More Irish than the Irish themselves." The Fizgeralds, who were created earls of Desmond, became one of the most powerful families in Munster; and several of them were lords deputies of Ireland in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Gerald Fitzgerald, sixteenth earl of Desmond, was one of the greatest subjects in Europe; he held the rank of a "Prince Palatine," with all the authority of a provincial king. Having resisted the Reformation in the reign of Elizabeth, and waged war againt the English government, the earl of Desmond's forces after long contests were defeated, and he himself was slain in a glen near Castle Island, in the county Kerry, on the 11th of November, A.D. 1583; his head was cut off and sent to England, by Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormond, as a present to Queen Elizabeth, who caused it to be fixed on London Bridge. James Fitzgerald (nephew of Gerald, Earl of Desmond) attempting to recover the estates and honours of his ancestors, took up arms and joined the standard of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. This James Fitzgerald was styled Earl of Desmond; but his title not being recognized, he was designated the sugan earl, which signifies the "earl of straw." His forces being at length defeated and himself taken prisoner, he was sent to England along with Florence MacCarthy, and imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he died, A.D. 1608; and thus terminated the once illustrious House of Desmond. The vast estates of Gerald, Earl of Desmond, were confiscated in the reign of of Elizabeth, and granted to various English settlers (called planters or undertakers), on conditions that no planter should convey any part of the lands to any of the "mere Irish": and the English settlers were also prohibited to intermarry with the Irish, and none of the Irish were to be maintained in any family. The following are the names of the new settlers in Ireland who obtained grants of the Desmond estates in Cork and Waterford, thus confiscated: Sir Walter Raleigh,# Arthur Robins, Fane Beecher, Hugh Worth, Arthur Hyde, Sir Warham St. Leger, Hugh Cuffe (in Irish "Durneen"), Sir Thomas Norris, Sir Arthur Hyde, Thomas Say, Sir Richard Beacon (in Irish "Beagan") and (the poet) Edmond Spencer. In the county Kerry, the following persons got grants of the Desmond estates: Sir William Herbert, Charles Herbert, Sir Valentine Brown (ancestor of the earls of Kenmare), Sir Edward Denny, and some grants to the families of Conway, Holly, and others. Of the families who got the Desmond estates in Limerick, an account has been given in the names of the new settlers in "Thomond." The other principal families of the county Cork, were Cogan, Carew (or Carey), Condon (or Canton), De Courcy, Barry, Barnwall, Barrett, Roche, MacGibbon and Fitzgibbon (a branch of the Fitzgeralds); Fleming, Sarsfield, Nagle, Martell, Percival, Russel, Pigott, Prendergast, Lombard, Lavallan, Morgan, Cottor, Meagh (or May), Murrogh, Supple, Stackpole, White, Warren, Hodnet, Harding, Field, Beecher, Hyde, Jephson, Garrett, Kent, Delahide (or Delahoyd), De Spencer, Deane, Daunt, Vincent, Gardiner, Beamish, Courtenay, Cuffe, Gore, Hore, Newenham (or Newman), etc. Coppinger, Gould, Galway, Skiddy, and Terry were, in former times, very numerous and powerful families in Cork. Some of the family "De Courcy" took the Irish name MacPatrick; some of the "DeBarrys," that of MacDavid; the "De la Rupe," that of Roche, who became viscounts of Fermoy; some of the family of "Hodnet" took the name MacSherry, etc. In Kerry, the following have been the chief Anglo-Norman and English families: Fitzmaurice, earls of Kerry, descended from Raymond le Gros, a celebrated warrior who came over with Strongbow. Raymond having formed an alliance with Dermot MacCarthy, King of Desmond, got large grants of land in Kerry, in the territory called Lixnaw. The other principal families were those of Herbert, Brown, Stack, Blennerhasset, Crosbie, Denny, Gunn, Godfrey, Morris, Rice, Spring, etc.
* Offaly: The ancient territory of Offaly comprised a great part of the King's County, with part of the Queen's County and Kildare.
# Sir Walter Raleigh: To Sir Walter Raleigh we are indebted for the
introduction into Great Britain and Ireland (consequent upon his voyage
in A.D. 1585 to colonize Virginia, in North America) of the potato plant,
and the use of tobacco; the former of which has since become an almost
universal article of diet, and the latter a most productive source of revenue.
Sir Walter Raleigh it was who flrst planted potatoes in Ireland, in a field
near Youghal, about A.D. 1610. In his time, too, the publication of newspapers
in England is said to have originated. Copies of the "English Mercurie,"
relating to the threatened descent of the Spanish Armada, are still preserved
in the British Museum,
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY OF CORK AND KERRY
Or Desmond
IN the county Cork the following have been the
noble families, since the reign of King John: De Courcy, barons of Kinsale
and Ringrone; Fitzgerald, earls of Desmond, barons of Decies, and seneschals
of Imokilly; Fielding, earls of Denbigh in England, has the title of earls
of Desmond. Of the Royal Family, the dukes of Clarence were earls of Munster.
The Carews were marquises of Cork; MacCarthy, earls of Clancare, earls
of Clancarthy, earls of Muskerry, and earls of Mountcashel; Barry, barons
of Olethann, viscounts of Buttevant, and earls of Barrymore; Roche, barons
of Castlelough, and viscounts of Fermoy; Boyle, barons of Youghal, Bandon,
Broghill, and Castlemartyr, viscounts of Dungarvan and Kinnalmeaky, earls
of Cork, Orrery, and Shannon, and earls of Burlington in England; Percival,
barons of Duhallow, Kanturk and Ardee, and earls of Egmont; St. Leger,
viscounts of Doneraile; Touchet, earls of Castlehaven; Bernard, earls of
Bandon; White, viscounts of Berehaven, and earls of Bantry; Berkley and
Chetwynd, viscounts of Berehaven; Broderick, viscounts Midleton; Moore,
earls of Charleville; and Moore, earls of Mountcashel; King, earls of Kingston;
O'Callaghan, viscounts of Lismore in Waterford, are originally from Cork;
Evans, barons of Carbery; Deane, barons of Muskerry; Tonson, barons of
Riversdale; and the family of Cavendish, barons of Waterpark.
In the county Kerry the following have been the
noble families since the reign of King John: Fitzmaurice, barons of Lixnaw;
and O'Dorney, viscounts of Clanmaurice, and earls of Kerry; Petty, or Fitzmaurice-Petty,
barons of Dunkerron, viscounts Clanmaurice, earls of Kerry, earls of Shelbourne,
and marquises of Lansdowne in England; Fitzgerald, knights of Kerry; Brown,
earls of Kenmare, and viscounts of Castlerosse; Herbert, barons of Castleisland;
Child, viscounts of Castlemaine, and earls of Tilney in England; Monson
and Palmer, viscounts of Castlemaine; Power, viscounts of Valencia; Crosbie,
viscounts of Brandon, and earls of Glandore; Wynn, barons Hedley; De Moleyns,
barons of Ventry; Hare, barons of Ennismore, and earls of Listowell; and
Spring-Rice, barons Monteagle of Brandon.
Down to the last century, the mountains of Cork
and Kerry were covered with ancient forests of oak, ash, pine, alder, birch,
hazel, and yews of immense size; and afforded retreats to wolves and numerous
herds of red deer. It is needless to speak of the majestic mountains and
magnificent lakes of Kerry, celebrated as they are for their surpassing
beauty and sublime scenery.
========================================
THE NEW SETTLERS IN TIPPERARY AND WATERFORD
Or Ormond and Desies
A.D. 1177, Henry the Second gave a grant of Desies,
or the entire county of Waterford, together with the city, to Robert Le
Poer, who was his marshal. The Le Poers were at various periods from the
thirteenth to the seventeenth century, created barons of Donisle, and of
Curraghmore, viscounts of Desies, and earls of Tyrone; and many of them
changed the name to "Power." The Fitzgeralds, earls of Desmond, had extensive
possessions and numerous castles in the county Waterford, in the baronies
of Coshmore and Coshhride; and had also the title of barons of Desies,
In the reign of Henry the Sixth, A.D. 1447, Sir John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, got grants in Waterford, together with the
castle and land of Dungarvan, and the title of Earl of Waterford, and Viscount
of Dungarvan. The family of Villiers, earls of Jersey in England, got,
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, large possessions in Waterford,
by intermarriage with the Fitzgeralds of Dromana, a branch of the earls
of Desmond; and were created earls of Grandison. The chief families who
settled in Waterford were the following: Aylward, Anthony, Allan, Alcock,
Butler, Brown, Barker, Bolton, Bird, Barron, Burke, Bagg, Boat, Boyd, Creagh,
Carr, Corr, Comerford, Croker, Cook, Christmas, D'Alton, Dobbyn, Disney,
Drew, Ducket, Everard, Fitzgerald Green, Gamble, Gough, Grant, Hale, Jackson,
King, Key, Lombard, Lea or Lee, Leonard, Mandeville, Morgan, Morris, Madan
or Madden, and Mulgan or Mulligan, Newport, Nugent, Osborne, Odell, Power,
Prendergast, Rochfort, Roche, Rice, Sherlock, Strong, Tobin, Usher, Wall,
Walsh, Wadding, Wyse, Woodlock, White, etc. The early English families
principally possessed the territory called from them Gal-tir ("gal;" Irish,
a foreigner; "tir," a country), now the barony of "Gaultiere," and signifying
"the country of the foreigners." The Walshes (called, by the Irish, Brannaghs
or Breathnachs, signifying Britons or Welshmen, as they originally came
from Wales) are still very numerous in Ireland; and there are many respectable
families of them in the counties of Waterford and Kilkenny.
Otho de Grandison, an Anglo-Norman lord, got
a grant of Ormond; but the family of Butler became the chief possessors
of Tipperary. The ancestors of the Butlers came from Normandy to England
with William the Conqueror. Their original name was Fitz-Walter, from Walter
one of their ancestors; and Theobald Fitz-Walter came to Ireland with Henry
the Second, and had the office of Chief Butler of Ireland conferred on
him: the duty attached to which was, to attend at the coronation of the
kings of England, and present them with the first cup of wine. From the
office of Butlership of Ireland, they took the name of "Butler." In the
reign of Edward the Third, Tipperary was formed into the "County Palatinate
of Ormond,"* under the Butlers; who thus became so powerful, that different
branches of them furnished many of the most distinguished families in Ireland.
* County Palatinate of Ormond: A "palatinate" was the province of
a palatine; and a "palatine" was one possessed of such royal privileges,
as to rule in his palatinate almost as a king.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY OF TIPPERARY AND WATERFORD
Or Ormond and Desies
THE following have been the noble families in Tipperary and
Waterford, from the reign of King John to the present time:
In Waterford, Le Poer, barons of Donile and of
Curraghmore, viscounts of Desies, and earls of Tyrone. Beresford, by intermarriage
with the Le Poers, became earls of Tyrone, marquises of Waterford, and
barons of Desies. Fitzgerald, barons of Desies and earls of Desmond; Talbot,
earls of Shrewsbury, in England, and earls of Waterford. and Wexford, in
Ireland; the family of Villiers, earls of Jersey in England, and earls
of Grandison in Ireland; the Scottish family of Maule, earls of Panmure,
have the titles of barons Maule and earls of Panmure in Waterford and Wexford;
the family of Lumley, earls of Scarborough in England, are viscounts of
Waterford; Boyle, earls of Cork, and viscounts of Dungarvan; O'Brien, earls
of Clare, in the reign of James the Second, had also the title of viscounts
of Lismore: O'Callaghan, viscounts of Lismore, but resident in Tipperary;
St. Leger, barons of Kilmeden; Villier and Stuart, barons of Desies; and
Keane, barons Keane of Cappoquin.
In Tipperary: The Dukes of Cambridge, in the
Royal Family, have the title of earls of Tipperary. The Butlers were earls,
marquises and dukes of Ormond, and also had the following titles in Tipperary:
Earls of Carrick, earls of Glengall, viscounts of Thurles, viscounts of
Ikerrin, and barons of Cahir. The MacCarthys were earls of Mountcashel;
afterwards the Davises, and, in modern times, the Moores, are earls of
Mountcashel; the Buckleys, viscounts of Cashel; the Scotts, earls of Clonmel;
the Hely-Hutchinsons, earls of Donoghmore; the Kings, earls of Kingston;
the Yelvertons, viscounts of Avonmore; the Maudes, viscounts Hawarden;
the family of Fairfax, viscounts of Emly (that of Monsell is now baron
of Emly); the Carletons, barons Carleton; the Pritties, barons of Dunally;
the Bloomfields, barons Bloomfield; and the Mathews, earls of Landaff.
========================================
ACCORDING to Connellan, the chief Anglo-Norman or British families
settled in Louth were, De Lacy, De Verdon, De Gernon, De Pepard; De Flemming,
barons of Slane; Bellew, of Barmeath, who had formerly the title of barons
of Duleek; De Bermingham, earls of Loutb, a title afterwards possessed
by the Plunkets; Taaffe, earls of Carlingford (in the peerage of the United
Kingdom, Mr. Chichester Fortescue, late M.P. for the county Louth, was
A.D. 1874, created "baron Carlingford"); Ball, Brabazon, Darcy, Dowdal,
and Clinton, etc.; Fortescue, now earls of Claremont; and, in more modern
times, the family of Gorge, barons of Dundalk; and Foster, viscounts Ferard,
and barons of Oriel.
========================================
THE noble families in Monaghan have been those
of Dawson, barons of Cremorne; Westenra, lords Rossmore; and Blayney, lords
Blayney. The other chief landed proprietors are the families of Shirley,
Leslie, Coote, Corry, and Hamilton, etc.
========================================
IN the Armagh portion of ancient Orgiall, the
following were the chief English families: Acheson, Brownlow, Powell, St.
John, Hamilton, Cope, Rowlston (or Rolestone), etc.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY IN ARMAGH
THE modern noble families in Armagh have been
Acheson, earls of Gosford; Caulfield, earls of Charlemont; and Brownlow,
barons of Lurgan. The Hamiltons in former times had the title of earls
of Clanbrassil.
========================================
ON the "Plantation of UIster," in the reign of
King James the First of England, the following English and Scotch families
obtained extensive grants of the confiscated lands in Fermanagh, as given
in Pinnar's Survey, A.D. 1619, quoted in Harris's 'Hibernica': Sir James
Belford, Mr. Adwick, Sir Stephen Butler, ancestor of the earls of Lanesborough;
John Sedborrow, Thomas Flowerdew, Edward Hatton, Sir Hugh Wirrall, Sir
John Davies, who was Attorney-General to King James the First, and a celebrated
writer; Sir Gerrard Lowther, John Archdall, Edward Sibthorp, Henry Flower,
Thomas Blennerhasset, Sir Edward Blennerhasset, Francis Blennerhasset;
Sir William Cole, ancestor of the earls of Enniskillen; Sir Henry Folliot
(now Ffolliot), Captain Paul Gore, Captain Roger Atkinson, Malcolm Hamilton,
George Humes, Sir John Humes, and John Dunbar. Two or three of the natives
obtained grants, namely, Connor (Mac Shane) O'Neill, 1,500 acres; Bryan
Maguire, 2,000 acres; and Connor Roe Maguire, who obtained large grants,
and was created baron of Enniskillen.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY OF FERMANAGH
THE folloming have been the nohle families in
Fermanagh since the reign of King James the First: Cole, earls of Enniskillen;
Creighton, earls of Erne; Corry, earls of Belmore; Verney, viscounts of
Fermanagh; and Butler, barons of Newtown-Butler, and earls of Lanesborough.
The family of Loftus, marquises of Ely, have a seat in Fermanagh.
========================================
JOHN De Courcy with his forces overran a great
part of Orgiall and Ulidia; and for a period of twenty years carried on
an incessant warfare with the native chiefs. As already mentioned, he fixed
his head-quarters at Downpatrick. After De Courcy had been driven out of
Ireland by his great rivals, the De Lacys, lords of Meath, the latter obtained
possession of Ulidia, and were created earls of Ulster. The De Burgos next
became possessors of Ulidia, and earls of Ulster; which title and possessions
afterwards passed to the Mortimers, earls of March, in England. The chief
settlers in Ulidia, under De Courcy and his successors, were those of Audley,
Bisset, Copeland, Fitzsimon, Chamberlain, Bagnall, Martell, Jordan, Mandeville,
Riddle, Russell, Smith, Staunton, Logan, Savage, Walsh, and White. In the
reign of Queen Mary, the Fitzgeralds, earls of Kildare, obtained Leath
Chathail or "Lecale," a well-known barony in the county Down, anciently
called Magh Inis or the Insular Plain.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY IN DOWN AND ANTRIM
Or Ulidia
THE following noble families in more modern times
settled in the county Down: Hamilton, barons of Clanaboy and earls of Clanbrassil.
Montgomery, earls of Mount Alexander, in the barony of Ards. Cromwell,
viscounts of Ardglass--a title afterwards possessed by the Barringtons.
Hill, barons of Kilwarlin, visconnts of Hillsborongh, and now marquises
of Downshire. Annesley, barons of Glenawley, and viscounts Annesley of
Castlewellan. Rawdon, Hastings, earls of Moira. Jocelyn, barons of Clanbrassil,
and earls of Roden. Stewart, viscounts Castlereagh, now marquises of Londonderry.
Dawney, viscounts of Down. Ward, barons of Bangor, Needham, earls of Kilmorey,
and viscounts of Newry and Mourne. Smyth, viscounts of Strangford. Blackwood,
barons of Dufferin, etc. Down, in irish "Dun" (signifying a fortress),
was in ancient times called Daleathglas, and afterwards DunPadraic or Downpatrick,
from St. Patrick having been buried there. Down comprised the greater part
of ancient Ulidia or Dalaradia; and was, in the reign of Edward the Second,
formed into two counties, namely, Down, and the Ards (or Newtown); but
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, both were formed into the present county
Down, which got its name from the chief town Dune or Downpatrick, and is
Latinized "Dunum."
========================================
THE following have been the noble families in Antrim, in modern times; The viscounts O'Neill; Chichester, earls of Belfast, and marquises of Donegal; earl MacCartney, baron of Lisanoure; Clotworthy, and Skeffington, earls of Massareene; and Vaughan, barons of Lisburn. Antrim was formed into a county in the reign of King Edward the Second: and took its name from the chief town, in Irish Aendruim, which is said to signify the "Handsome Hill:" from "Aen" or "Aon," excellent, and "druim," a hill. It Latinized "Aendromia" and "Antrumnia."
IN the survey of Ulster by Captain Pynnar, A.D.
1619, as stated in Harris's Hibernica, the following English and Scotch
families are given as those who settled in Tyrone: Hamilton, the earl of
Abercorn (more lately the title was "marquis," and now, in 1881, his grace
the Duke of Abercorn is the representative of that ancient family). Sir
George Hamilton, Sir Claude Hamilton, Sir Robert Newcomen, Sir John Drummond,
the Earl of Castlehaven, Sir William Stewart, Sir John Davis. the Lord
Ridgeway, George Ridgeway, Sir Gerrard Lowther, the Lord Burley, Sir Francis
Willoughby, Sir William Cope, John Leigh, William Parsons, Sir Robert Heyborne;
Stewart, Lord of Uchiltree; Captain Saunderson, Robert Lindsay, Alexander
Richardson, Andrew Stewart, David Kennedy, the Lord Chichester, Sir Toby
Caulfield, Sir Francis Roe, Sir Francis Annesley, and the Lord Wingfield.
Since the reign of James the First the following noble families have settled
in Tyrone: the Le Poers were earls of Tyrone, a title which afterwards
passed by intermarriage to the Beresfords. Blount, viscounts Mountjoy,
a title which afterwards passed to the families of Stewart and Gardiner.
Trevor, viscounts Dungannon. Stewart, viscounts Castlestewart. Knox, earls
of Ranfurley. And Alexander, barons of Caledon. Derry: In the reign of
Elizabeth, "O'Cahan's Country" was formed by Sir John Perrott into a county,
which was called from its chief town, the "County of Colerain;" and in
the reign of James the First, on the plantation of Ulster, a company of
undertakers, consisting of merchants and traders from London, got grants
of the "County of Colerain," and town of Derry: hence the city and county
got the name of "Londonderry." Derry, in Irish, "Doire," signifies an Oak
Wood: and the town was anciently called "Doire-Calgach," signifying the
Oak Wood of Calgach, from a chief of that name; and afterwards "Derry-Collimbkille,"
from the abbey founded there by that saint. The territory which now forms
the county Derry was part of Tir-Eoghain or Tirowen; and O'Cahan being
the head chief it was called "O'Cahan's Country." Derry is Latinized "Derria."
The following noble families derive their titles from this county: The
family of Pitt, formerly marquises of Londonderry, a title now possessed
by the Stewarts. Hamilton, earls (now Dukes) of Abercorn, and barons of
Strabane. The families of Hare and Hanger, barons of Coleraine. Part of
ancient Tyrone was, about A.D, 1585, formed into the county Tyrone by the
lord deputy Sir John Perrott. The ancient "Tir-Eogain" has been Latinized
"Tironia," and sometimes "Eugenia." Tirowen in later times was called "O'Neill's
Country."
========================================
ON the confiscation of Tirconnell, and the settlement
of British colonies called the "Plantation of Ulster," in the reign of
King James the First, the following families are, in Pynnar's Survey, A.D.
1619, given as the possessors of Donegal: John Murray got all Boylagh and
Banagh. The following had various districts: Captain Thomas Dutton, Alexander
Cunningham (or Conyngham), John Cunningham, James Cunningham, Cuthbert
Cunningham, Sir James Cunningham, James MacCullagh; William Stewart, the
Laird of Dunduff; Alexander MacAwley, alias Stewart; the Laird of Lusse,
Sir John Stewart, Peter Benson, William Wilson, Thomas Davis, Captain Mansfield,
Sir John Kingsmill, Sir Ralph Bingley, Sir Thomas Coach, Sir George Marburie,
Sir William Stewart, Sir Basil Brooke, Sir Thomas Chichester, Sir John
Vaughan, John Wray, Arthur Terrie, Captain Henry Hart, Captain Paul Gore,
Nathaniel Rowley, William Lynn, and Captain Sandford.
========================================
THE MODERN NOBILITY OF TIRCONNELL
THE following have been the noble families in
Donegal since the reign of James the First: 1. Fitzwilliam, earls of Tirconnell.
2. Richard Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the reign of James the
Second, was created Duke of Tirconnell. 3. The families of Brownlow and
Carpenter have been subsequently earls of Tirconnell. 4. Chichester, earls
of Donegal. 5. Conyngham, earls of Mountcharles. 6. Cockayne, barons of
Cullen. 7. Hewitt, barons of Lifford. Etc. Tirconnell was, about A.D. 1585,
formed into a county by the lord deputy Perrot; and called Donegal, from
its chief town. The names Donegal and Tirconnell are Latinized "Dungallia"
and "Tir-Connellia," and sometimes "Conallia." Donegal, in Irish "Dun-na-nGall,"
signifying the Fortress of the foreigners, got its name, it is said, from
a fortress erected there by the Danes. This ancient territory was called
Tir-Conaill or the Country of Conall, from Conall Gulbin, brother of Owen,
and son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, as already mentioned. In modern
times the head chiefs of this territory were the O'Donnells: hence it was
called "O'Donnell's Country."
========================================
The following were the chief settlers to whom large grants of land
were given in the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First: Hamilton, who
erected a castle at Manorhamilton; and the family of Villiers, dukes of
Buckingham. Skerrard, in after times barons of Leitrim, and the family
of Clements are at present earls of Leitrim. Cavan: The following have
been the noble families in the connty Cavan, since the reign of James the
First; Lambert, earls of Cavan: Maxwell, earls of Farnham; Coote, earls
of Bellamont; Pope, earls of Belturbet; Verney, barons of Belturbet. Amongst
the great landed proprietors, but not resident in the county, were the
marquises of Headford, the earls of Annesley, and the earls of Gosford.
And among the landed proprietors resident in the county have been the earls
of Farnham, the families of Burrowes, Clements, Coote, Humphreys, Nesbitt,
Pratt, Saunderson, Vernon, etc. Cavan is derived from the Irish "Cabhan"
(pronounced "Cawan"), which signifies a hollow place; and corresponds with
the situation of the town of Cavan, which is located in a remarkable hollow.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Brefney O'Rourke was, by the lord deputy,
Sir Henry Sidney, formed A.D. 1565, into the county Leitrim, and so called
from the town of Leitrim; and in the same reign, A.B. 1584, Brefney O'Reilly
was, by the lord deputy, Sir John Perrott, formed into a county, and called
Cavan, from its chief town. Cavan was added to Ulster, and Leitrim was
left in Connaught. The name "Leitrim," in Irish Liath-Druim, signifies
the Grey Hill; and from the town, the county was called Leitrim, as the
county Cavan was called from the town of Cavan. Leitrim is Latinined "Leitrimnia;"
and Cavan, "Cavania."
========================================
KING Henry the Second, having granted to Hugh de Lacy,* for the service of fifty Knights, the Kingdom of Meath, De Lacy divided that ancient Kingdom amongst his various chiefs, who were commonly denominated De Lacy's barons; 1. Hugh Tyrrell obtained Castleknock, and his descendants were for a long period, barons of Castleknock. 2. Gilbert de Angulo (or Nangle) obtained Magherigallen, now the barony of "Morgallion," in Meath. 3. Jocelin, son of Gilbert Nangle, obtained Navan and Ardbraccan. The Nangles were afterwards barons of Navan; and many of them took the Irish name of "MacCostello," and from them the barony of Costello in Mayo derived its name. 4. William de Missett obtained Luin; and his descendants were barons of Lune, near Trim. 5. Adam Feipo or Phepoe obtained Skrine or Skryne, Santreff or Santry, and Clontorth (which means either Clonturk or Clontarf). This family had the title of barons of Skrine, which title afterwards passed to the family of Marward. 6. Gilbert FItzThomas obtained the territories about Kenlis; and his descendants were barons of "Kells." 7. Hugh de Hose obtained Dees or the barony of "Deece," in Meath. 8. Hussey, barons of Galtrim. 9. Richard and Thomas Fleming obtained Crandon and other districts. The Flemings became barons of Slane; and a branch of the family, viscounts of Longford. 10. Adam Dullard or Dollard obtained Dullenevarty. 11. Gilbert de Nugent obtained Delvin; and his descendants were barons of Delvin, and earls of Westmeath. 12. Richard Tuite obtained large grants in Westmeath and Longford; his descendants received the title of barons of Moyashell, in Westmeath. 13. Robert de Lacy received Rathwire in Westmeath, of which his descendants were barons. 14. Jeoffrey de Constantine received Kilbixey, in Westmeath, of which his descendants were barons. 14. William Petit received Castlebreck and Magheritherinan, now the barony of "Magheradernon" in Westmeath. The Petits became barons of Mullingar. 15. Myler Fitzhenry obtained Magherneran, Rathkenin, and Athinorker, now "Ardnorcher." 16. Richard de Lachapelle, brother of Gilbert Nugent, obtained "much land."
* Hugh de Lacy: The De Lacys (see the "Lacy" pedigree) came from
Normandy with William the Conqueror, and were earls of Lincoln in England.
Hugh de Lacy came to Ireland with King Henry the Second, A.D. 1171, and
obtained from that monarch a grant of the whole kingdom of Meath, as already
mentioned. He was lord palatine of Meath, and many years chief governor
of Ireland. He erected numerous castles, particularly in Meath and Westmeath,
as those of Trim, Kells, Ardnorcher, Durrow, etc., and endowed some monasteries.
He is thus described in Holingshed:-- "His eyes were dark and deep-set,
his neck short, his stature small, his body hairy, not fleshy, but sinewy,
strong and compact; a very good soldier, but rather harsh and hasty." It
appears from Hanmer and others, that he was an able and politic man in
state affairs, but very ambitious and covetous of wealth and great possessions;
he is also represented as a famous horseman. De Lacy's second wife was
a daughter of King Roderick O'Connor; and his descendants, the De Lacys,
were lords of Meath, and earls of Ulster, and founded many powerful families
in Meath, Westmeath, and Louth, and also in Limerick, some of whom were
distinguished marshals In the service of Austria and Russia. The castle
of Dearmagh or "Durrow," In the King's County, was erected by De Lacy on
the site of a famous monastery of St. Columkille, which he had thrown down;
and his death was attributed by the uneducated Irish to that circumstance
as a judgment from Heaven. The man who killed De Lacy fled to his accomplices
in the wood of Clair or "Clara;" but it appears from MacGeoghegan and others,
that the Irish attacked and put to the sword the English retinue at the
castle of Durrow, and that having got De Lacy's body into their possession,
they concealed It nenrly ten years, when, A.D. 1195, it was interred with
great pomp in the abbey of Bective, in Meath; Mathew O'Heney, Archbishop
of Cashel, and John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, attending at the ceremony.
-- CONNELLAN.
========================================
Next page (8)
Previous page
