Mac an Bhaird
Encyclopedia
The Mac an Bháird family was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland
. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicized forms coming down to us as MacAward, McWard, MacEward, MacEvard, Macanward, M'Ward, and its most commonly used variant today: Ward
. The name means 'son of the bard
' and has no connection with the English
name Ward, which originated from the Saxon word weard meaning watchman or guardian. Additionally, considerable numbers of Latin
, French
, and Spanish
variants can be found in Continental records: Vardeo, Bardeo, U Bart, Wardeum, Vyardes, Wardeus, not to mention Verdaeorum familiae: the Ward family.
. Possibly as early as the third century AD, they migrated to the province of Connacht
as one of the Tribes of the Six Soghain
, under the leadership of Eocha, a son of Sodhán Salbhuidhe na Sreath - Sogan of the Battle-lines, or Sogan of the Preys - who in turn was the son of Fiacha Araidhe, a third century King of Ulster and a direct ancestor of all the Wards of Ireland. They were one of the leading clans of the Soghain
in what is now County Galway
and were based at Muine Casáin (or Muine an Chasáin) in the modern parish of Ballymacward
(Baile Mhic an Bháird) in that county, in a territory known as Uí Maine. This is the parent sept
of all Mac an Bháird septs. Eventually, as many as seven branches of the sept may have established themselves in this area, though only two of them are known today. They were frequently employed as bards by the O'Kellys and O'Connor
s, a profession that would become a hereditary right, as it was with others of Ireland's learned classes in such fields as law
, history
, and medicine
.
(also called the Book of the O'Kellys), extending back to quasi-historical and mythological times. This work was compiled c. 1380, a massive, oversized vellum
book written in Irish, for Muircertach ua Ceallaigh (O’Kelly), Bishop of Clonfert from 1378 to 1394. Also found in this work are quatrains paying tribute to the long reign and continuing prosperity of the Uí Dhiarmada (i.e., the descendants of Diarmuid Mac an Bháird), praising the Mac an Bháirds in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél Rechta, one of the six Sodhán tribes. Rendered into English, it reads: "Though long has been their honorable possession of their patrimony, that domain still rests with the house of Uí Dhiarmada." The next quatrain tells us: "Chiefs of Cinél Rechta of lasting fame are the strong Uí Dhiarmada, the race of the bard, the well-armed stern warriors of Ulster descent."
Counting backwards from the chief of the name at the time the poem was written (Seán Mac an Bháird, about 1370 AD), the genealogy
continues to the beginning of the tenth century, providing historical documentation for the original Mac an Bháird sept to about the year 900. Continuing back, it records various mythological and quasi-historical ancestors, particularly useful because it substantiates the ancient tradition that the Mac an Bháirds are not descended from Maine Mór, a Munster
king from whom the Uí Maine tribe was named, nor the Gaels
. Quite possibly they are descended from a pre-Gaelic Celtic tribe, the Picts
, Cruitháin, or Érainn - they may all be the same tribe - anciently settled in Ireland. The same poem refers to three branches of the Mac an Bháirds within this general territory. One of them was located near Ballymacward, at Annagh
. Of the other two, only speculation is possible. Flynn surmises one of them was probably the branch residing at Cooloortan in Abbeyknockmoy
, and the third may conceivably have been a branch of the sept continued in the MacWards of Doon
.
The poem continues, exhorting Seán Mac an Bháird to hold on to “the gladsome region handed down through twenty generations” into which the foreigners, so the poet boasts, never set foot.
In addition to their great skills as composers in bardic verse, it was recorded around the eleventh century their noted expertise as keepers of the horse for the Uí Maine chieftains. The duties of the keepers of the horse were apparently shared by all the members of the Uí Maine stemming from the “race of Sodhán.” It was a position of high honor at a time when frequent dynastic wars and tribal feuds necessitated regional princes having their war equipment at the ready, not least their prestigious household cavalry. It was an office they held for many years before it was recorded by the eleventh century scribe.
of Uí Maine. Numerous entries for other members of the various Mac an Bháird septs can be found in the Irish annals, but especially within the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annala Rioghachta Éireann), compiled by The Four Masters in Donegal in the 1630s. Nearly forty entries for the name appear in this work, spanning a period of five hundred twenty years. In collaboration with Micheál Ó Cléirigh and his team of scholars in Ireland, the entire effort was supervised by Father Hugh Ward (Aedh Mac an Bháird), rector and guardian of the great Irish College of St. Anthony
in Louvain
, the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium
), and the most important Irish publishing center in Europe for nearly fifty years. Indeed, Dr. William Reeves
, the late nineteenth century Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
and a noted Irish scholar himself, considered Hugh Ward to be the founder of Irish archaeology. Many other entries for Mac an Bháirds are recorded in the Annals of Tigernach, the Annals of Loch Cé, the Annals of Connaught, and the Annals of Ulster.
, County Donegal
- the most prolific of all the Mac an Bháird septs - and in a nearby area called Tirhugh (Tír Aodh). Other branches of the family formed new septs near Ballymote, County Sligo, and in the territory of Oriel
, near Farney
, County Monaghan
. Many references are recorded for Mac an Bháirds who were their septs' chief of the name. The Tirconnell sept provided the O'Donnell
s with some of Ireland's greatest bardic poets, while other Mac an Bháird poets and their works are associated with the O'Neills
, the Maguries, the MacMahons, and a variety of other Irish and Anglo-Irish
chieftains. Perhaps the last of the family's great bardic poets was Pádraig Óg Mac an Bháird, who composed his works towards the end of the seventeenth century.
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
, who left Ireland in 1607 with his patron, Rory O'Donnell, during the event known as "the Flight of the Earls
," wrote what many consider to be the finest elegiac poem in the Irish language: A bhean fuair faill ar an bhfeart, rendered into an English language version by Mangan that he called Lament for the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell.
The last Mac an Bháird chief of the name to be recognized by the English, Aedh Mac an Bháird in Galway, died in 1592, though others continued as chief of the name until at least 1668. These Mac an Bháird chieftains retained residences in three different castles in the area during the early- and mid-seventeenth century, at Ballymacward, Carrowantanny, and in the village of Annagh. Their last castle was the one in Annagh, whose remnants were demolished some years ago. The area today is called Castle Park.
, whose distinguished career with the Irish Brigade
in the Service of France under the French King Louis XVI earned him promotion to the rank of General in the French Army
. Despite his loyal service to the struggling new French Republic after the Revolution
began in 1789, Irish military men were always suspected of harboring royalist sympathies. General Ward was arrested and imprisoned on October 10, 1793 along with his valet, John Mallone of Limerick. They were tried by the revolutionary tribunal, condemned, and sent to the guillotine
in 1794.
In Scotland during the 1800s when Irish immigrants came to find work during the famine. Facing a hostile Presbyterian work culture where most employers would not hire Catholics the McWard's found it easier to find employment by abbreviating their names to Ward.
In the Americas, two Wards in the nineteenth century make an interesting contrast. In Texas
, listed as a defender of the Alamo in 1836, is "William Ward of Ireland,” his name being inscribed on a monument to the Alamo dead in San Antonio
. Just over a decade later, in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, one Edward Ward fought with the St. Patrick's Battalion of the Mexican Army
- El Batallón San Patricios - a hard-fighting unit composed mostly of recent Irish and German
immigrants to the United States
who, for various reasons (often as a result of religious discrimination within the American army), gave their allegiance to the Mexican state.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicized forms coming down to us as MacAward, McWard, MacEward, MacEvard, Macanward, M'Ward, and its most commonly used variant today: Ward
Ward (surname)
Ward is a popular Old English origin and Old Gaelic origin surname dating to before the Norman conquest of 1066.The Old English name derives from an occupational surname for a civil guard/keeper of the watch, or alternately as a topographical surname from the word "werd" .The Old Gaelic surname...
. The name means 'son of the bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
' and has no connection with the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
name Ward, which originated from the Saxon word weard meaning watchman or guardian. Additionally, considerable numbers of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
variants can be found in Continental records: Vardeo, Bardeo, U Bart, Wardeum, Vyardes, Wardeus, not to mention Verdaeorum familiae: the Ward family.
Ancestry
The origin of the Mac an Bháird septs lay in the province of UlsterUlster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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...
. Possibly as early as the third century AD, they migrated to the province of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west 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...
as one of the Tribes of the Six Soghain
Soghain
The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin, and stated of them:...
, under the leadership of Eocha, a son of Sodhán Salbhuidhe na Sreath - Sogan of the Battle-lines, or Sogan of the Preys - who in turn was the son of Fiacha Araidhe, a third century King of Ulster and a direct ancestor of all the Wards of Ireland. They were one of the leading clans of the Soghain
Soghain
The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin, and stated of them:...
in what is now County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
and were based at Muine Casáin (or Muine an Chasáin) in the modern parish of Ballymacward
Ballymacward
Ballymacward is a village in County Galway, Ireland, on the R359 regional road between the main road and rail networks which traverse east-west, 10 miles from Ballinasloe and approximately 30 miles from Galway City...
(Baile Mhic an Bháird) in that county, in a territory known as Uí Maine. This is the parent sept
Sept (social)
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
of all Mac an Bháird septs. Eventually, as many as seven branches of the sept may have established themselves in this area, though only two of them are known today. They were frequently employed as bards by the O'Kellys and O'Connor
O'Connor
O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin, originally meaning Ó Conchobhair .-Law and Politics:*Sandra Day O'Connor O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin, originally meaning Ó Conchobhair ("grandson/descendant of Conchobhar").-Law and Politics:*Sandra Day O'Connor O'Connor is a surname of Irish origin,...
s, a profession that would become a hereditary right, as it was with others of Ireland's learned classes in such fields as law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
.
Leabhar Ua Maine
Twenty-four generations of the family are recounted in Leabhar Ua MaineLeabhar Ua Maine
Leabhar Ua Maine is an Irish genealogical compilation, created c...
(also called the Book of the O'Kellys), extending back to quasi-historical and mythological times. This work was compiled c. 1380, a massive, oversized vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
book written in Irish, for Muircertach ua Ceallaigh (O’Kelly), Bishop of Clonfert from 1378 to 1394. Also found in this work are quatrains paying tribute to the long reign and continuing prosperity of the Uí Dhiarmada (i.e., the descendants of Diarmuid Mac an Bháird), praising the Mac an Bháirds in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél Rechta, one of the six Sodhán tribes. Rendered into English, it reads: "Though long has been their honorable possession of their patrimony, that domain still rests with the house of Uí Dhiarmada." The next quatrain tells us: "Chiefs of Cinél Rechta of lasting fame are the strong Uí Dhiarmada, the race of the bard, the well-armed stern warriors of Ulster descent."
"Cruas connacht clanna sogain"
The succeeding Mac an Bháird generations are listed in "cruas connacht clanna sogain" ("rigorous Connacht family of the Sogan"), describing the ancient tradition that the Sodháin are descended from Conaill Cearnach, the great mythological hero of Ulster’s Knights of the Red Branch, and three of his descendants, one of whom is Sodhán Salbhuidhe, just as they leave Ulster. In this version of the family's descent, Sodhán’s son eventually settles the tribes in Connacht, where they are given land by the legendary (and probably mythological) Queen Maeve. The poem continues, praising the “brownish, fair-haired” Mac an Bháirds as trustworthy and loyal, while their gatherings are occasion for the chief of the name to be surrounded “by his fearless, active, well-armed, genial band.”Counting backwards from the chief of the name at the time the poem was written (Seán Mac an Bháird, about 1370 AD), the genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
continues to the beginning of the tenth century, providing historical documentation for the original Mac an Bháird sept to about the year 900. Continuing back, it records various mythological and quasi-historical ancestors, particularly useful because it substantiates the ancient tradition that the Mac an Bháirds are not descended from Maine Mór, a 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...
king from whom the Uí Maine tribe was named, nor the Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
. Quite possibly they are descended from a pre-Gaelic Celtic tribe, the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
, Cruitháin, or Érainn - they may all be the same tribe - anciently settled in Ireland. The same poem refers to three branches of the Mac an Bháirds within this general territory. One of them was located near Ballymacward, at Annagh
Annagh
Annagh is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland. On the 1609 Ulster Plantation map it is split into two townlands named Shannaontra and Shannaititr...
. Of the other two, only speculation is possible. Flynn surmises one of them was probably the branch residing at Cooloortan in Abbeyknockmoy
Abbeyknockmoy
Abbeyknockmoy is a village and parish in County Galway, Ireland. It is best known for the nearby ruins of the 12th century Cistercian abbey, established with the Kings of Connacht as its benefactors. The abbey was the burial site of King Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair and contains fine examples...
, and the third may conceivably have been a branch of the sept continued in the MacWards of Doon
Doon
Doon can refer to:Geography and places:*River Doon, Scotland*Loch Doon, Scotland*Doon River, New Zealand*Doon, Iowa, USA*Doon, County Cavan, Ireland*Doon, County Offaly, Ireland*Doon, County Limerick, Ireland...
.
The poem continues, exhorting Seán Mac an Bháird to hold on to “the gladsome region handed down through twenty generations” into which the foreigners, so the poet boasts, never set foot.
In addition to their great skills as composers in bardic verse, it was recorded around the eleventh century their noted expertise as keepers of the horse for the Uí Maine chieftains. The duties of the keepers of the horse were apparently shared by all the members of the Uí Maine stemming from the “race of Sodhán.” It was a position of high honor at a time when frequent dynastic wars and tribal feuds necessitated regional princes having their war equipment at the ready, not least their prestigious household cavalry. It was an office they held for many years before it was recorded by the eleventh century scribe.
The first Mac an Bháirds
The first of the family to adopt Mac an Bháird as a surname was Eoghan Mac an Bháird, sometime around the eleventh century, most likely in tribute to a noted ancestor. The first written reference to the Mac an Bháirds historically seems to be a death notice for the famous Maol Íosa Mac an Bháird (d. 1173), a renowned bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Uí Maine. Numerous entries for other members of the various Mac an Bháird septs can be found in the Irish annals, but especially within the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annala Rioghachta Éireann), compiled by The Four Masters in Donegal in the 1630s. Nearly forty entries for the name appear in this work, spanning a period of five hundred twenty years. In collaboration with Micheál Ó Cléirigh and his team of scholars in Ireland, the entire effort was supervised by Father Hugh Ward (Aedh Mac an Bháird), rector and guardian of the great Irish College of St. Anthony
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
in Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), and the most important Irish publishing center in Europe for nearly fifty years. Indeed, Dr. William Reeves
William Reeves (bishop)
William Reeves was an Irish antiquarian and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death...
, the late nineteenth century Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore
The Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Down, Connor and Dromore; comprising all County Down and County Antrim, including the city of Belfast.-History:...
and a noted Irish scholar himself, considered Hugh Ward to be the founder of Irish archaeology. Many other entries for Mac an Bháirds are recorded in the Annals of Tigernach, the Annals of Loch Cé, the Annals of Connaught, and the Annals of Ulster.
Late medieval times
By the fifteenth century, the Mac an Bháirds had branched out from Galway and established new septs in Tirconnell (Tír Conaill) near LettermacawardLettermacaward
Leitir Mhic an Bhaird or Leitir Mhic a' Bhaird is a Gaeltacht village in the Rosses region of County Donegal, Ireland. The village, known colloquially as Leitir , is between the larger towns of Glenties and Dungloe.-Amenities:The village has two shops, 'Clerkins', a family run service station, and...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
- the most prolific of all the Mac an Bháird septs - and in a nearby area called Tirhugh (Tír Aodh). Other branches of the family formed new septs near Ballymote, County Sligo, and in the territory of Oriel
Airgíalla
Airgíalla or Airgialla was the name of an Irish federation and Irish kingdom which first formed around the 7th century...
, near Farney
Farney
Farney may refer to:*Farney, Monaghan - a barony in County Monaghan, Ireland, based on a mediaeval Gaelic kingdom*Monaghan GAA - a nickname for the current Monaghan GAA team, derived from the preceding...
, County Monaghan
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Many references are recorded for Mac an Bháirds who were their septs' chief of the name. The Tirconnell sept provided the O'Donnell
O'Donnell
O'Donnell , which is derived from the forename Domhnaill were an ancient and powerful Irish family, kings, princes, and lords of Tír Chonaill in early times, and the chief allies and sometimes...
s with some of Ireland's greatest bardic poets, while other Mac an Bháird poets and their works are associated with the O'Neills
O'Neill dynasty
The O'Neill dynasty is a group of families that have held prominent positions and titles throughout European history. The O'Neills take their name from Niall Glúndub, an early 10th century High King of Ireland from the Cenél nEógain...
, the Maguries, the MacMahons, and a variety of other Irish and Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
chieftains. Perhaps the last of the family's great bardic poets was Pádraig Óg Mac an Bháird, who composed his works towards the end of the seventeenth century.
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird
Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish Bardic poet, c. 1600 - c. 1610?Eoghan Ruadh was a member of the Mac an Bhaird clan of professional poets, originally from County Galway with a more notable branch settleing in County Donegal in the 14th or 15th century.His surviving compositions as A...
, who left Ireland in 1607 with his patron, Rory O'Donnell, during the event known as "the Flight of the Earls
Flight of the Earls
The Flight of the Earls took place on 14 September 1607, when Hugh Ó Neill of Tír Eóghain, Rory Ó Donnell of Tír Chonaill and about ninety followers left Ireland for mainland Europe.-Background to the exile:...
," wrote what many consider to be the finest elegiac poem in the Irish language: A bhean fuair faill ar an bhfeart, rendered into an English language version by Mangan that he called Lament for the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell.
The last Mac an Bháird chief of the name to be recognized by the English, Aedh Mac an Bháird in Galway, died in 1592, though others continued as chief of the name until at least 1668. These Mac an Bháird chieftains retained residences in three different castles in the area during the early- and mid-seventeenth century, at Ballymacward, Carrowantanny, and in the village of Annagh. Their last castle was the one in Annagh, whose remnants were demolished some years ago. The area today is called Castle Park.
Mac an Bhaird's abroad
Other Mac an Bháirds of note include Conchobhar Mac an Bháird (d. abt. 1641), most often known by his religious name, Cornelius. A Franciscan based in Louvain, he endured great hardships as part of a Counter-Reformation mission to seventeenth century Scotland. In the eighteenth century we find Tomás Mac an Bháird, born in Dublin in 1749 and educated at the Collège des Irlandais in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, whose distinguished career with the Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade may refer to:* Irish Brigade , the Jacobite brigade in the French army, 1690–1792 * Irish Brigade , pro-Union Civil War brigade of Irish immigrants...
in the Service of France under the French King Louis XVI earned him promotion to the rank of General in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
. Despite his loyal service to the struggling new French Republic after the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
began in 1789, Irish military men were always suspected of harboring royalist sympathies. General Ward was arrested and imprisoned on October 10, 1793 along with his valet, John Mallone of Limerick. They were tried by the revolutionary tribunal, condemned, and sent to the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
in 1794.
In Scotland during the 1800s when Irish immigrants came to find work during the famine. Facing a hostile Presbyterian work culture where most employers would not hire Catholics the McWard's found it easier to find employment by abbreviating their names to Ward.
In the Americas, two Wards in the nineteenth century make an interesting contrast. In Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, listed as a defender of the Alamo in 1836, is "William Ward of Ireland,” his name being inscribed on a monument to the Alamo dead in San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Just over a decade later, in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, one Edward Ward fought with the St. Patrick's Battalion of the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
- El Batallón San Patricios - a hard-fighting unit composed mostly of recent Irish and German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrants to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who, for various reasons (often as a result of religious discrimination within the American army), gave their allegiance to the Mexican state.
Notable poets
- Aodh Mac an Bháird, d.1635
- Aodh mac Diarmada Mac an BhairdAodh mac Diarmada Mac an BhairdAodh mac Diarmada Mac an Bhaird, Irish poet, fl. c. 1200 - 1600.Aodh was a member of the Mac an Bhaird bardic family of County Galway and County Donegal.Only one extant poem Le héanmhnaoi cuirthear clú ban, has been safely attributed to Aodh...
- Conchobhar Mac an Bháird (Cornelius Ward)
- Diarmaid Mac an BhairdDiarmaid Mac an BhairdDiarmaid Mac an Bhaird, fl. 1670, Irish poet.A son of Laoiseach Mac an Bhaird, Diarmaid was a member of the Clann Mac an Bhaird and one of the last classically trained bardic file . He appears to have lived in what is now County Monaghan though he clearly had associations with Clandeboye, as a poem...
- Eoghan Mac an BhairdEoghan Mac an BhairdEoghan Mac an Bhaird, Irish poet, fl. between 1200 and 1600.Eoghan was a member of the Mac an Bhaird family of professional poets during the era of High Medieval Ireland....
- Eoghan Ruadh Mac an BhairdEoghan Ruadh Mac an BhairdEoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish Bardic poet, c. 1600 - c. 1610?Eoghan Ruadh was a member of the Mac an Bhaird clan of professional poets, originally from County Galway with a more notable branch settleing in County Donegal in the 14th or 15th century.His surviving compositions as A...
- Fearghal Óg Mac an BhairdFearghal Óg Mac an BhairdFearghal Óg Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish bardic poet, born by 1550, died after 1616.A member of the Donegal branch of the learned Mac an Bhaird family, he was the son of Fearghail mheic Dhomhnaill Ruaidh Mac an Bhaird, who died in 1550....
- Fearghail mheic Dhomhnaill Ruaidh Mac an BhairdFearghail mheic Dhomhnaill Ruaidh Mac an BhairdFearghal mac Domhnuill Ruaidh mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish bardic poet, died 1550.A member of the Donegal branch of the learned Mac an Bhaird family...
- Gofraidh mac Briain Mac an BhairdGofraidh mac Briain Mac an BhairdGofraidh mac Briain Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish bardic poet, fl. sixteenth-century.A member of the Mac an Bhaird family of professional poets, Gofraidh is known from three surviving poems, Lámh indiu im thionnsgnamh, a Thríonóid, Dairt sonn dá seoladh go Tadhg and Doirbh don chéidsheal cinneamhuin...
- Laoisioch Mac an BhairdLaoisioch Mac an BhairdLaoisioch Mac an Bhaird, Gaelic-Irish poet, fl. c. sixteenth-century.A member of the Mac an Bhaird family of professional poets, Laoisioch is known from two surviving poems, A fhir ghlacas a ghalldacht, Dairt sonn dá seoladh go Tadhg and Mo chean duitsi, a thulach thall.-External links:*...
- Maolmuire mac Cú Uladh Mac an Bháird
- Pádraig Óg Mac an Bháird
- Uilliam Óg Mac an Bháird
Source
- The Alamo Reader: A Study in History; ed. Todd Hansen; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2003
- Annals of Connacht/Annála Connachta; ed. A. Martin Freeman; Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1983
- Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland/Annála Ríoghachta Éireann—From the Earliest Period to the Year 1616 (7 Vols.); The Four Masters, ed. John O’Donovan; New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1966
- Annals of Loch Cé/Annála Locha Cé: A Chronicle of Irish Affairs from A.D. 1014 to A.D. 1590 (2 Vols.); ed. William M. Hennessy; Dublin: Éamonn de Búrca Publications, 2000
- Annals of Tigernach (2 Vols.); ed. Whitley Stokes; Dyfed: Llanerch Publishing, 1993
- Annals of Ulster/Annála Uladh (Annála Senait) (4 Vols.); ed. Seán Mac Airt; Dublin: Éamonn de Búrca, 1998
- Ballymacward - The Story of an East Galway Parish; John S. Flynn; Naas: Leinster Leader, Ltd., 1991
- Book of Hy Many (Leabhar Uí Maine) also known as the Book of the O'Kellys; R.A.S. Macalister; Dublin: Stationary Office of Éire, for the Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1942
- The Irish Franciscan Mission to Scotland, 1619-1646; ed. Cathaldus Giblin, OFM; Dublin: Assisi Press, 1964
- The Louvain Papers 1606-1827; edd. Brendan Jennings and Cathaldus Giblin; Baile Átha Cliath: Coimisiún Láunghscríbhinní na hÉireann, 1968
- Origins and Early History of the Ward Family in Ireland; Tadhg B. Mac an Bháird; Anoka, Minnesota: unpublished manuscript, 2002
- Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature, Robert Welsh, 1996. ISBN 0-19-280080-9
- Shamrock and Sword: the St. Patrick’s Battalion in the U.S.-Mexican War; Robert Ryal Miller; Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989
- The Wadding Papers, 1614-1638; ed. Brendan Jennings; Dublin: Irish Manuscript Commission, 1953