De Barry Family
Encyclopedia
Cambro-Norman
Cambro-Norman is a term used for Norman knights who settled in southern Wales after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Some historians suggest that the term is to be preferred to Anglo-Norman for the Normans who invaded Ireland after 1170 — many of whom originated in Wales. However, the term...
origins which once had extensive land holdings in Wales and County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The founder of the family was a knight who assited in the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
and Wales during the 11th century. As compensation for his services, the ancestor of the family, Odo de Barri, was awarded lands in south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
including the island of Barri in the Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
estuary near Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. The family name derives from the Norman-French "de Barri" (of Barri). In the following decades, many family members assisted in the Norman invasion of Ireland
Norman Invasion of Ireland
The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...
. For their services, King John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
awarded them extensive baronies in the Kingdom of South Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
, specifically the defunct Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
kingdom (O'Lethan and Imokilly) with its late seat at Castlelyons
Castlelyons
Castlelyons is a small village in East County Cork in the Province of Munster in Ireland. It is situated south of Fermoy. In the 2002 census it recorded a population of 211....
.
Ancestry
Odo de Barry was the grantee of the immense manor of ManorbierManorbier
Manorbier is a village on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales.The name means the 'Manor of Pyr'.-History:The Norman knight Odo de Barri was granted the lands of Manorbier, Penally and Begelly in gratitude for his military help in conquering Pembrokeshire after 1003. The first castle was motte...
in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, which included the manors of Jameston and Manorbier Newton, as well as the manors of Begelly
Begelly
Begelly is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated in the south of the county, 7 km north of Tenby. In addition to the village, the parish includes the hamlet of Thomas Chapel and a web of small settlements associated with the 19th century anthracite mining industry. ...
and Penally
Penally
Penally is a coastal village near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey, with neighbouring St.Deiniol's Well, and Penally Training Camp .Served by Penally railway station Penally is a coastal village near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The...
. He built the first motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
at Manorbier. His son, William FitzOdo de Barry, is the common ancestor of the Barry family in Ireland. He rebuilt Manorbier Castle
Manorbier Castle
Manorbier Castle is a Norman castle located in the village of Manorbier, five miles south-west of Tenby, West Wales.-Construction:Manorbier is a rectangular enclosure castle, curtain walls, and round and square towers. Its tower gateway was protected by a great door and portcullis as well as roof...
in stone and the family retained the lordship of Manorbier until the 15th century.
Issue of William FitzOdo de Barry
He had sons: RobertRobert de Barry
Robert de Barry was a Cambro-Norman warrior from Manorbier in Pembrokeshire who participated in the colonisation of the Kingdom of Desmond following the Norman invasion of Ireland.-Nesta:...
, Philip
Philip de Barry
Philip de Barry , was a Cambro-Norman warrior from Manorbier in Pembrokeshire who participated in the colonisation of Kingdom of Desmond following the Norman invasion of Ireland...
, Walter and Gerald
Giraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
(better known as Giraldus Cambrensis) by Angharad (also known as Hangharad) daughter of Gerald de Windsor
Gerald de Windsor
Gerald de Windsor, also known as Gerald FitzWalter, was the nobleman in charge of the Norman forces in Wales in the late 11th century. Notably, he was the progenitor of the FitzGerald and de Barry dynasties of Ireland...
(died 1135) and Nest ferch Rhys (died after 1136). After Gerald's death, Nest's sons married her to Stephen, her husband's constable of Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
Castle, by whom she had another two sons; the eldest was Robert Fitz-Stephen.
- Robert de Barry accompanied his half-uncle Robert Fitz-Stephen in the Norman invasion of IrelandNorman Invasion of IrelandThe Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...
. He took part in the Siege of Wexford and was killed at the battle of LismoreLismore, County WaterfordLismore is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located where the N72 road crosses the River Blackwater.-History:It was founded by Saint Mochuda, also known as Saint Carthage. In the 7th century, Lismore was the site of the well-known Lismore Abbey. It is also home to Lismore Castle, the...
in 1185. - Philip de Barry came to Ireland in 1185 to assist his half-uncle Robert Fitz-Stephen, and his first cousin Raymond FitzGeraldRaymond FitzgeraldRaymond FitzGerald , nicknamed Le Gros, was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland....
(also known as Raymond Le Gros), in their efforts to recover lands in the modern county CorkCounty CorkCounty Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
- the cantredCantredCantred can mean:* a cantref, an obsolete administrative subdivision of Wales* one of the Baronies of Ireland, an obsolete administrative subdivision of Ireland...
s of Killede, Olethan and Muscarydonegan. These cantreds or baronies had been expropriated by another (half) first cousin, Ralph Fitz-Stephen (died 1182), the grandson of Nesta by Stephen, Constable of Cardigan. Robert Fitz-Stephen eventually ceded these territories to Philip de Barry, his half-nephew. On 24 February 1206, King John I of England confirmed William de Barry, Philip's son, in the possession of these territories and, by letters patentLetters patentLetters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
, conferred on him the Lordships of Castlelyons, Buttevant and Barry's Court in East Cork http://mccarthy.montana.com/Articles/BattleOfCallann.html. The family would eventually acquire the honours of Viscount Buttevant and Earl of BarrymoreEarl of BarrymoreEarl of Barrymore is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created for David Barry in 1627/28. Lord Barrymore held the subsidiary titles of Baron Barry , and Viscount Buttevant in the County of Cork in Ireland...
.
Barryscourt Castle
Barryscourt Castle
Barryscourt Castle is a castle located in eastern County Cork in southern Ireland, close to the town of Carrigtwohill.-History:...
was the seat of the Barry family from the 12th to the 17th centuries.
The name of the town of Buttevant
Buttevant
Buttevant is a medieval market town, incorporated by charter of Edward III, situated in North County Cork, Ireland.While there may be reason to suggest that the town may occupy the site of an earlier settlement of the Donegans, Carrig Donegan, the origins of the present town are clearly and...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, is believed to derive from the war cry of the De Barry family: "Boutez-en-Avant", roughly translating as "Kick your way through".
Irish descendants
The most prominent Gaelic neighbours of the de Barrys were the MacCarthy ReaghMacCarthy Reagh
The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
dynasty, rulers of the principality or petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
of Carbery. For the most part, with not a great many exceptions, the two families kept on good terms, and also regularly intermarried. The de Barrys are descended from several of the MacCarthy Reagh princes through their daughters. Likewise the Barrys intermarried with the also powerful MacCarthys of Muskerry.
Some Barrys eventually became so Gaelicized that a paternal Gaelic lineage was found for them. They were made to descend from Fothach Canann, 5th son of the famous Lugaid Mac Con
Lugaid mac Con
Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mother was Sadb ingen Chuinn, daughter of the former High...
of the Dáirine
Dáirine
The Dáirine , later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They appear to have derived from the Darini of Ptolemy and to have been related to the Ulaid and Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland...
or Corcu Loígde
Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde , meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centered in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of Munster, the Dáirine, of whom they were the principal royal sept...
.
Uí Liatháin
The Uí LiatháinUí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
or "Sons of Liathán", whose long decayed and essentially defunct kingdom the de Barrys by total coincidence came to occupy, are famous for having raided Britain in ancient times from their fortresses in Wales and Cornwall. Notable is the fact that the de Barry family descend maternally, through Angharad and Nesta, from the ancient Welsh Prince Cunedda
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern , was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Gwynedd.-Background and life:The name Cunedda derives from the Brythonic word , meaning good hound. His genealogy is traced back to Padarn Beisrudd, which literally translates as Paternus of the...
, whose sons were the very Britons who ended the Uí Liatháin's dominance in Wales.