Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage based society such as Ireland prior to the 17th century.
History
The Irish word
clann is a borrowing from the Latin
planta, meaning a plant, an offshoot, offspring, a single child or children, by extension race or descendants. For instance the O'Daly family were poetically known as
Clann Dalaigh, from a remote ancestor called Dalach.
Clann was used in the later Middle Ages both to provide a plurel for surnames beginning with
Mac meaning
Son of. For example "Clann Carthaigh" for the men of the MacCarthy family and "
Clann SuibhneClan Sweeney is an Irish clan of Scottish origin. The clan did not permanently settle in Ireland before the beginning of the fourteenth century, when they became Gallowglass soldiers for the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell. The clan claims an Irish ancestry, from Ánrothán, son of Áed, son of...
" for the men of the MacSweeny family. Clann was also used to denote a subgroup within a wider surname, the descendants of a recent common ancestor. For example, the
Clann Aodha Buidhe or the
O'Neills of Clandeboy whose ancestor was Aodh Buidhe died in 1298. Such a 'clan' if sufficiently closely related, could have common interests in landownership, but any political power wielded by their chief was territorially based.
From ancient times Irish society was organised around traditional kinship groups or clans. These clans traced their origins to larger pre-surname population groupings or clans such as Uí Briúin in Connacht, Dál gCais in Munster, Uí Neill in Ulster, and Fir Domnann in Leinster. Within these larger groupings there tended to be one
sept (division) who through war and politics became more powerful then others for a period of time and the leaders of some were accorded the status of royalty in Gaelic Ireland. Some of the more important septs to achieve this power were Ó Conor in Connacht, Ó Brien of Thomond in Munster, Ó Neill of Clandeboy in Ulster and MacMorrough Kavanagh in Leinster.
The largely symbolic role of High King of Ireland tended to rotate among the leaders of these royal clans. The larger or more important clans were led by a Taoiseach or Chief who had the status of royalty and the smaller and more dependent clans were led by Chieftains. Under Brehon Law the leaders of Irish clans were appointed by their kinsmen as custodians of the clan and were responsible for maintaining and protecting their clan and its property. The clan system formed the basis of society up to the 17th century.
Basis
Often, clans are thought of as based on blood kinship alone; in fact Irish clans would be better thought of as akin to the modern-day corporation. Their ruling structure, whether ruled by a single lord or a council, changed according to needs and the qualities of their membership. As with a modern corporation, the power of clans grew and shrank. Once-powerful clans could in time decline in stature and be amalgamated into once-smaller ones. How this "merger" would be dealt with would be a matter of negotiation based on the respective power of each party. Consequently, Irish clans were composed of those who were related by blood but also by those who were adopted and fostered into the clan as well as those who joined the clan for strategic reasons such as safety or combining of lands and resources.
The end of the clan system
Towards the end of the 16th century, slowly but inexorably English common law was introduced throughout Ireland. Together with a centralized royal administration in which the county and the sheriff replaced the 'country' and the Clan Chief.
The early 17th century was a watershed in Ireland. It marked the destruction of Ireland's ancient Gaelic aristocracy following the Tudor re-conquest and cleared the way for the
Plantation of UlsterThe Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster by people from Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by the monarchy began in 1609. All land owned by Irish chieftains the Ó Neills and Ó Donnells were confiscated...
. . In 1607 the senior Gaelic Chiefs of Ulster left Ireland to recruit support in Spain but they never reached their intended destination and instead eventually arrived in Rome where they remained for the rest of their lives (See:
Flight of the EarlsThe Flight of the Earls refers to the departure from Ireland on 14 September 1607 of Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell.-Background to the exile:...
). After this point, the English authorities in Dublin established real control over all of Ireland for the first time, bringing a centralised government to the entire island, and successfully disarmed the native clans and their lordships.
Later developments and "revival"
However, despite the loss of their traditional lands and forced emigration into the service of Catholic monarchs across Europe, the spirit of the Irish clans remained. To this day the majority of Irish people in Ireland and around the world can tell you the name of the clan from which they descend. The growing influence of the Gaelic League at the turn of the twentieth century rekindled an interest in Gaelic culture and prompted a cultural revival.
In the 1940s Edward MacLysaght, the Chief Herald of Ireland, drew up a list of over 240 Irish clans. The first modern Irish “clans“ were reformed in the latter half of the twentieth century. Today such groups are organised in Ireland and in every continent around the world.
In 1989 an independent organisation,
Clans of IrelandClans of Ireland is an independent organisation established in 1989 with the purpose of creating and maintaining a Register of Clans.-Background:...
, was formed under the leadership of Rory O'Connor, the elected Chieftain of the “O'Connor Kerry Clan“, with the purpose of creating and maintaining a Register of Clans. This organisation is widely recognised as an authority on Irish Clans and its Register of Irish Clans can be consulted on its website.