O'Hanlon Sept
Encyclopedia
The Ó h-Anluain family was an agnatic extended family comprising one of a string of dynasts along the Ulster-Leinster border. Depending on the advantage to the sept, the named leader—The Ó Hanlon—supported either the Earl of Tyrone
or authorities within the English Pale. During the 15th century, ties were close with the famed Earls of Kildare. Frequently, members of the sept would be on either side of a rebellion. Some would be outlawed; others pardoned; some ending up on the winning side.
They were second in the borderland line, east to west, comprising the followers of The Macgennis, The Ó Hanlon, The O'Neill of the Fews, The MacMahon, The O'Reilly and The O'Rourke. Behind the Ulster line were the lands of other septs, including those of The O'Neill and The O'Donnell.
The heart of "Ó Hanlon's Countrie" was centered on the south central Ulster
, in what is now Ireland
, beginning some 1,000 years ago. The oldest on record is Flaithbheartach Ua'h-Anluain, Lord of Ui-Niallain, whose murder in the year 983 AD is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters
. The clan is documented in several of the earliest written histories of Ireland
and appears in medieval tales, Elizabethan documents, the Plantation of Ulster
, and traditional Irish songs.
The modern (anglicised) version of the name is usually given as Hanlon or Ó Hanlon, but there are many variants: Handlon, Handlan, Hanlan, Hanlen, Hanlin, Hanlyn etc. Occasionally some variants of the names Hanly, Hanley and Handly are also derived from Ua'h-Anluain, although Hanly is usually the anglicised form of Ua'h-Ainlighe, an ancient Roscommon
sept (the oldest on record is Donal O'Hanly, Bishop of Dublin from 1085 to 1096).
. By the 5th century, Common Era, the sept held territory in and around the modern barony of O'Neilland, on the southwest shore of Lough Neagh
. As the O'Neills rose in prominence from Dungannon
to the west, the Ó Hanlons moved to territory west of Armagh City. For half a millennium, they served as kings of Orior. The chietain's name was synonymous with the territory which was better known as "Ó Hanlon's Country". It comprised about one-third of modern Co. Armagh, predominatly the eastern third, and also included a large tract of Co. Louth, from Faughart
to Ravensdale
, and then over the Cooley mountains to Omeath
near Carlingford
. The peak of land acquisition was in 1504; in 1505 the territory beyond the Gap of the North was granted to the Earl of Kildare. Two of the earliest maps of Ulster, Jobson's Ulster maps (c. 1590) and Norden's map of Ireland (1610), both show Ó Hanlon's Country. In 1586, when Sir John Perrot
created the County of Armagh
, Ó Hanlon's country accounted for one of the five baronies: Armaghe, Toaghriny, Orier, Fuighes (Fews) and Onylane (O'Neilland). In later times "Orier" became the Baronies of Orior Upper and Orior Lower, the southernmost two of Armagh's eight Baronies. It is often overlooked that the Gaelic territory of Orior predates and extended beyond the Barony of that name in County Armagh. Ó Hanlon's Country extended southwards into northern County Louth and to the East it encroached slightly into County Down. Before the county lines were finalised, some old maps show the old Ó Hanlon seat of Loughgilly in County Down.
, north of Armagh City. Even after the sept moved east toward Loughgilly
, Loch gCál was retained as a summer residence. When Edmond Mortimer arrived in Ireland in 1380, the Norman invasion of the 12th century was followed by two centuries in which the indigenous, native Gaelic aristocracy successfully adopted to European economic norms. The Gaelic leadership was beginning to interact with the Angevin
colonial leadership; they were even beginning to inter-marry. Mortimer and his colonial peers knew the island beyond the English Pale to be roughly organized along the lines of the four historic kingdoms: Leinster
(Laigen), Munster
(Mumu), Connaught
(Connachta), and Ulster
(Ulad). The lead septs of these four kingdoms were considered the peak of the island's native, royal aristocracy: The Kavanaughs, The MacCarthys, The O'Connors and The O'Neills. Supporting these four families were other, called the "Roydama," who were also considered eligible to be acclaimed "Ard Ridgh" or "High King." The Annals of The Four Masters recorded the Ó Hanlons as Lords of Orior and members of the Roydama: "Mortimer came to Ireland with great powers, as Lord Justice; whereupon the Irish nobility repaired to [pay their court to] him, and among others the Roydamna of Ireland, i.e. Niall O'Neill, Ó Hanlon, O'Farrell, O'Reilly, O'Molloy, Mageoghegan, and the Sinnach Fox, with many other nobles."
Outside of the ancient lands held at Oneilland, the site of the O'Hanlon's longstanding seat prior to the Plantation of Ulster was Loughgilly
, with its glacier formed lake, at the southwestern end of the vale, or glen, of Clare, through which flows the Cusher river. At the northeastern end of the glen, the rock of Tanderagee rose to support the family's castle. Having secured the northern lowlands of Co. Armagh and the highlands approaching and surroundng Sliab Gullion, the Ó Hanlons located the chieftain's gateway strongholds on the approaches from Armagh City and eastern Ulster in the north, and Dublin and the English Pale in the south." The northern roads converged on the modern village of Tandragee, which in Gaelic means "back to the wind"; the approaches from Dublin and the English Pale had to force the Gap of the North, and the chieftain's stronghold adjacent to Forkill at Mullagh. The third stronghold, Mullaghglass
, guarded the road north from the Sassenach frontier town of Newry
. Closer to the center of the Ó Hanlon lands than Tanderagee and Forkill, Mullaghglass is also the easternmost edge of a tract of land stretching from the Newry vale to the Fews, passing Camlough
lake and the northern slope of Sliab Gullion, to which the sept retreated after the fall of the Gaelic north. After the Plantation of Ulster
, Oliver St John
(the Lord Deputy of Ireland) took over and rebuilt Ó Hanlon Castle. During the Ulster Rebellion of 1641 the clann attempted to take back their lands, but it ended in disaster and the castle burnt down. Having passed out of the family it became known as Tandragee Castle
and remained a ruin for 200 years, until it was completely rebuilt by the Comtes de Salis
, and later the Dukes of Manchester
.
Down between the two southernmost strongholds lay the Shean Friary. On the southwestern side of the Ring of Gullion, between the O’Hanlon manors at Forkhill and Mullaghbane lies the townland of Shean. Shean is about ten miles south-west of Newry and comprises about a thousand acres at the extreme southern under of the Barony of Upper Orior, sometimes spelled Seean and Syan. Shean is at the southern and eastern foot of Sliab Brac, the mountain west of Forkhill and facing Sliab Gullion. The O’Hanlon sept’s spiritual needs during the century and a half when the Roman rite was publicly prohibited in Ireland was provided by Franciscan friars secretly housed at Shean. Catholic priests and others were harried, hunted and executed. The secret Shean friary lay in the great forest of Dunreavy, extending from Baile na Cleire (modern-day Ballsmill) to Fathom. Facing it to the south is Castle Roche, several miles beyond Dungooley, the northern most post of the old English Pale, end of Dublin’s colonial reach for many years. Lexicographers have traced the name to the Gaelic word for “fairy mound.” The O’Hanlon manor at Forkill was located in Shean, bounded by Dungooley, Co. Louth, and Longfield, Carrive, Shanroe and Carrickasticken in Armagh. In addition to the ruins of the Franciscan friary, other archaeological sites in Shean include Carrickinaffrin, an ancient enclosure and a and a cairn at Cairan Hill. Despite surrender and regrant under her father, first Queen Elizabeth confiscated O’Hanlon territory in 1571, granting all of Orior to a Captain Thomas Chatterton. He was unable to found a settlement as required. The Chatterton grant was revoked, and Sir Eochaidh “Oghy” O’Hanlon of Tanderagee was able to reassert control over south Armagh. Even after the Nine Years’ War, English settlers struggle to colonize south Armagh. As late as 1659, there were no colonists in Shean. When the region was reduced to Crown ownership, Upper Orior was renamed Stonebridge Manor and sold to Richard Jackson. He made his seat at Forkill, and managed his lands forty years.
, those holding the Ó Hanlon and Hanlon names diverged socially, some assimilating into colonial Irish society and others staying rooted to their Gaelic past. The years 1590 to 1690 mark a century dividing past and present. Prior to those years, there was only one "Gaelic" sept. After those years, each branch of the family chose—or was forced to choose—to remain tied to their aboriginal identity or two identified with the Irish colonial elite. The Ó Hanlons had always been marchland brokers between the English Pale and the Gaelic north. Now they were forced to divide themselves along those lines. Two members of the sept best personify these widening challenges: Sir Eochaidh "Oghy" Ó Hanlon and the Tory outlaw, Count Aodh Ruadh ("Redmond") Ó Hanlon.
Eochaidh "Oghy" Ó Hanlon, son of Shane Oge Ó Hanlon, maintained his seat at Tandragee, near modern Poyntzpass
, Co. Armagh. By Irish tradition (Brehon law) he was Chief of his name and Lord of Upper and Lower Orior. In 1595, he married the sister of the Earl of Tyrone
. This made his son and heir, Eochaidh Og Ó Hanlon, great grandson to the Earl of Kildare and blue blood of Plantagenet kings. Young Oghy was also great grandson of Conn O'Neill, Prince of Ulster, and all the ties to the Gaelic aristocracy that entailed. When he was exiled to service under the King of Sweden, he took the blood of Irish and English kings with him.
As such, the Baron, his heir and their immediate family living at Tandragee Castle were an example of the mixing which occurred between the elites of these two, contending cultures. When Henry VIII acceded to the English throne, in 1541, he inherited the administration, rights and privileges accorded to him by the Irish colony of the English Crown. Outside of the English Pale, however, the colony was inchoate in the minds of the Irish. Some chieftains had sworn allegiance to various individual monarchs, but the colony itself was never stronger than the power the Lord Deputy could muster to control the chieftains capable of pressing upon the English Pale. So the second Tudor monarch instituted a policy of "surrender and regrant
". Under this policy, the Gaelic chiefs surrendered their lands, but were re-granted them with an English title after swearing allegiance to the Crown. The offer was reiterated when Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558. Several of the Irish princes accepted this offer, the first being Hugh O'Neill in 1587 who was given the English title Earl of Tyrone. Oghy Ó Hanlon followed his example and had his lands re-granted by letters of patent in the same year. He became a Knight under English law, "Sir" Eochaidh Oghy Ó Hanlon, hereditary royal standard bearer north of the River Boyne. But in doing so he placed his people's land under English law, allowing for a shiring of Armagh, effectively abolished Brehon law, the chieftaincy it supported, and the Ó Hanlon sept's direct rights to the land. Both O'Neill and Ó Hanlon made the choice while facing armed force from Dublin Castle
. Three years earlier, in August 1584, with the new Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot's army marching on a Gaelic held Newry, both Ó Hanlon and Turlough Luineach O'Neill
waited until the Lord Deputy was within half a mile of the town before reluctantly giving their sons to him as hostages, and ending the invasion.
Though an English peer, Eochaidh never made the cultural transition. He kept his Gaelic ways. As John O'Donovan
edited into O'Daly's Tribes of Ireland,
Spenser was referring to the Gaelic proverb, applied when someone was heavily native in their appearance and actions. Such people
were "as Irish as Ó Hanlon's breech." Spenser was not denigrating The Ó Hanlon, as much as he was noting that erstwhile English families such as the Fitzsimons of Cos. Cavan and Down, had 'gone native' over the years. Sir Eochaidh was a archetype of the Gaelic nation.
, Ó Hanlon's Country, Count Redmond Ó Hanlon
was the son of Loughlin Ó Hanlon, thought by some to be the rightful heir to the castle at Tandragee. As a young man he worked as a footboy to Sir George Acheson of Markethill
, but became fiercely anti-English. He spent several years in exile with the French army and tried to organise a French invasion of Ireland to depose the British. He was popular in France where he was reportedly awarded the courtesy title of Count Ó Hanlon (the English title was extinguished in the family with the death of Sir Eochaidh Ó Hanlon; the family lost Tandragee castle during the Plantation of Ulster in 1609). When the French negotiations failed, Aodh Ruadh returned to Armagh in 1671 and became a notorious highwayman
or rapparee
. A real-life Robin Hood
, Redmond robbed the English settlers, extorted protection money from the Scots, and was adored by the largely Catholic
peasantry. A letter from the era states that his criminal activities were bringing in more money than the King's revenue collectors, and therefore the outlaw Count was easily able to bribe military officers and public officials. In 1674 the government of King Charles II
put a price on his head with posters advertising for his capture, dead or alive. He was eventually murdered in his sleep by his foster brother and close associate Art MacCall Ó Hanlon at Eight Mile Bridge near Hilltown
on April 25, 1681. Art received a full pardon and two hundred pounds for murdering his leader. As had become the custom in English-ruled Ireland, there were gruesome displays of his body parts including his head which was placed on a spike over Downpatrick
jail. His remains are said to lie in a family plot in the Church of Ireland
cemetery
in Letterkenny
, County Donegal
. Undoubtedly the most famous man to carry the Ó Hanlon name, Redmond's popularity was immortalised in the pulp fiction of the era and in poems, ballads, and folktales which survive to the present day.
, Ó Hanlon control over land in Co. Armagh dwindled. At the outbreak of the English Civil War
in 1641, two members of the sept still held land under English law. Aodh Buide Ó Hanlon held the largest tract, 2,045 acres stretching from the northern slope of Sliab Gullion northwest toward Belleeks at the edge of the Fews. And Padraig MacRory Ó Hanlon held another 133 acres. The acreage held by Aodh Buide and Padraig Ó Hanlon lay at the center of those lands associated with the family over the next two centuries.
and the Penal Laws following the defeat of James II
, the descendants of Sir Eochaidh and his people of the Ó Hanlon nation could only hold land, or even leases, if they conformed to the rites of the Church of Ireland
. Adherents to the Roman rite
could not practice law, could not bear arms, and could not serve in public office. Following the Battle of the Boyne, Tandragee became the heart of the Order of the Orange
. The Ó Hanlons remaining in County Armagh retreated to Armagh City or their former heartland in the south, in and around the parish of Killevy.
The Ó Hanlons of Newry. Among those who conformed to the Church of Ireland's rites were the Ó Hanlons of Newry, direct descendants of Padraig Mor Ó Hanlon, a son of Eochaidh Og Ó Hanlon, the last lord of Orior and heir to Sir Eochaidh. Padraig's son, Edmond, served under James II. His son, Felix, remained in Killevy parish as the Jacobite officers followed the King into exile, as did Felix's son, Edmond. By the second half of the 18th century, this branch relocated to the town of Newry. Hugh of Newry's (1721–1807) sons conformed, and one, Padraig, was admitted to the Irish bar. He served first as a Magistrate for Cos. Tyrone and Armagh. In 1808, Orangemen circulated information in Dublin Castle against his loyalty. He was cleared on inquest by the Duke of Richmond
.
Following his move to Mill Street in the 18th century, Hugh O’Hanlon headed the most notable Roman Catholic family in Newry. Hugh was a direct descendant of Sir Eochaidh, and through him the lords of Orior. The family moved down east from south Armagh’s hill communities to the west. Hugh’s father was Hugh Ruadh O’Hanlon of Killeavy and his uncle was the “Bard of Armagh,” Patrick Donnelly, Bishop of Dromore (1679–1716). This branch of the family took part in the Volunteer Movement. Hugh of Newry served on Dublin’s Catholic Committee. He is also thought to have founded, in part, the Bank of Newry, dying in 1808. The O’Hanlon vault in Newry’s Saint Mary’s Cemetery bears the O’Hanlon coat-of-arms.
Hugh Padraig O’Hanlon, Jr., eldest son of Hugh of Newry, was admitted to the bar after the ban against Roman Catholics was lifted, and was known locally as “Counselor O’Hanlon.” The Counselor was a member of the Volunteer Movement, but was radicalized and moved briefly out of the colonial circle of his father, becoming an Irish nationalist of United Ireland. Moving the Newry branch into the nationalist, republican camp, Hugh, Jr. was friend and acquaintance to Theobald Wolfe Tone
, mentioned in the Tone’s diaries. O’Hanlon became publican of the Crown Inn at 106-108 Hill Street, Newry, where the local chapter of the United Irishmen was formed and met. Though many United men were reprised against following the defeats at the Battle of Ballynahinch
and the Battle of Vinegar Hill
, Hugh and his brother escaped censure. In 1812, Hugh, Jr. supported the failed campaign of John Philpot Curran
, Master of the Rolls, as Member of Parliament
(Westminster) for Newry. At a dinner in Curran’s honour, held at the Whitecross Hotel in Margaret Street, Hugh was lauded for efforts made on behalf of the Patriot-lawyer’s election.
During Daniel O’Connell’s agitation for Catholic Emancipation through repeal of the remaining apartheid laws, Hugh, Jr. campaign furiously for religious tolerance and equal protection of the laws. In 1826, however, he departed for colonial India
. He became a leading barrister. In 1846, he raised funds in Calcutta for Famine relief. Hugh O’Hanlon III, Counselor O’Hanlon’s eldest son, returned from colonial service in India to become a London barrister in the Irish Colonial Office at Westminster. There, Hugh III founded Ireland’s system of local government through a pilot program for Newry in the form of a Westminster bill, for “Better Lighting, Watching, Cleansing and Paving.” The legislative system proved so successful that it was applied nationally. Hugh III was then applied Law Advisor to Dublin Castle
, a peak appointment in the colonial order. Other sons of Hugh, Jr. included Pringle, who served in the First Bengal Cavalry; another, Edward, died in colonial service at Rangoon, in the British East Indies.
The Ó Hanlons of Dublin. Included among those who also passed into Irish colonial society was the Colonel Ó Hanlon of 1821, who petitioned to resume Sir Eochaidh Ó Hanlon's honorary position as Royal Standard Bearor to the King (or Queen) "north of the river Boyne". During the visit of George IVth
to Ireland in 1821, the Colonel was permitted to resume the position. George the IVth was the first English monarch to visit the Irish colony since Richard II
.
The Ó Hanlon ruled the eastern portion of the medieval kingdom of Oirghialla, capitaled at Clones in modern Co. Monaghan. To him fell the duty of protecting Oirghialla's eastern march against Ulstermen pushed to the seaboard in the 5th century, Common Era. The region stretched from Lough Neagh's shore adjacent to the Tyrone/Armagh border all the way to Carlingford Lough. It was called Croich na n'Airthear, i.e. regio Orientalium, later preserved in the names attached to the baronies of Orior.
The title "The Ó Hanlon" was extinguished at English law, and the last Chief of the Name took the English title, "Baron of Orior". The Ó Hanlon title (Barony) is believed to have died with that first holder, Sir Oghy (Eocha) Ó Hanlon in 1600. At the time Sir Eochaidh's death, his heir, Eochaidh "Ochy" Og, was leading the Ó Hanlons fighting with the Earl of Tyrone the Nine Years War (1596–1603) against the English Crown and its colonial elite in the Pale. As such, the title could not pass to the Baron's heir. Oghie Oge's omission from the plantation would appear to confirm this. As would the inclusion of Oghie Oge's two sons Felim and Brian as a single entry; if either of them had inherited a title, they would surely have been listed separately. Oghie Oge was still alive at the time of the Plantation. Ee only died in 1611, fighting for the King of Sweden against the Poles.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has an early patent of 1609 (Document ref. D/1854) in which King James I
grants to Patrick Ó Hanlon in perpetuity various towns and lands near Mountnorris, County Armagh. It is unknown if this is one of the two Patrick Hanlons named above in the plantation, and/or if this might refer to the seven townlands granted to the descendants of Sir Oghy Ó Hanlon. Whatever their history, the lands did not remain in Ó Hanlon hands for long: the Mountnorris estate shortly afterwards became the property of Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia
(an Englishman).
As for the title "The Ó Hanlon", it existed at Gaelic law, not English, or even the Irish law developed after the declaration of the Republic. Presumably, a gathering of the Ó Hanlons could still declare one of their own "The Ó Hanlon" in the same manner of other septs and clans.
1: The Ó Hanlon Blazon and Coat of Arms
According to Burke's General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the Ó Hanlon/Hanlon name has four blazons registered (pages 453 & 752). The four blazons are:
The first two are for the descendants of the Ó Hanlons of Armagh
. These are those most often seen and are shown below. The third is used by the Hanlons of Kent
, England
, and the fourth by another Hanlon branch in England; these last two are very rarely seen.
Ó Hanlon Coat of Arms (1) The Boar is the symbol of Bravery and ermine signifies nobility or royalty. Ó Hanlon Coat of Arms (2)
The boar was an ancient Celtic motif used well before medieval heraldry came into being to symbolise courage, aggression and savagery. This choice for the Ó Hanlons of Armagh would have been a none-too-subtle message implying Gaelic defiance and hinting at the Ó Hanlons' military strength and courage.
2: The Ó Hanlon crest
3: The Ó Hanlon motto
This varies from family to family, but the following are known to have been used:
4: The Ó Hanlon war cry
, one of Ireland's most famous and powerful kings, whose genealogy predates written history in Ireland. Niallan or "Niall of the Nine Hostages" had a son Eochaidh Dubhlen, who had three sons in the 4th century AD known as The Three Collas:
Colla da Crioch appears in the Milesian genealogies as the 91st in his line and died in 357
AD. His descendant Anluain appears nine generations later as the 100th, probably born around the end of the 7th century AD The name Anluain comes from the Gaelic words 'an' = great and 'luain' = champion. It appears that the 104th in this line, Anluain's great great grandson Flaitheartach Ua'h-Anluain, was the first to use the Ua'h-Anluain surname. (See Milesian genealogy below.) Clann Ua'h-Anluain (in English: Clann Ó Hanlon) are therefore the descendants of Anluain.
332 C.E. The Ultonians of Ulster are defeated on the fields of Farney, by the three Collas, brothers who subsequently divided their conquered swordlands between them.
470 C.E. Colla dna Crioch, or “Colla of the Earth”, had a descendant, “Daire.” son of Finnchad. Daire lived on a hill amidst the drumlins of north Co. Armagh, south of Lough Neagh on the approaches to the Blackwater river. Saint Padraig asked for the hill, a place to site his cathedral.
500 C.E. Navan Rath, just outside Armagh City, becomes the ruined capital of ancient Ulster, acclaimation place of Ulster kings since about 350 BC. The conquering Collas located their own coronation sites in the swordlands secured, comprising modern-day Armagh, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Louth. These lands of the three Collas are called Airgillia or Oriel. Their progeny become the septs O’Hanlon, MacMahon, Maguire and MaCann. The O’Hanlon held the territory around Saint Padraig’s future settlement at Armagh and was descended through Niallan. Daire, common ancestor to the septs O’Hanlon, MacMahon, Maguire and McCann offered Saint Padraig a church site lower down on the hill on which the chieftain’s rath was located. This was the site of Patrick’s first Church. Once Daire was converted, the Saint was given the hill-top site, including the rath. A second church arose, and became the locus of schools and religious establishments. Armagh was transformed into one of Europe’s leading seats of learning, the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. Daire, ancestor to the O’Hanlons, endowed the bishop with lands surrounding the town to support its inhabitants. A group of twenty townlands were gifted to the church at a very early date including the historic Navan.
This line was committed to memory by bards and was eventually transcribed when the first missionaries brought writing to Ireland in the 5th century AD The ancient writings from the 5th century onwards were compiled in 1632-1636 by a Franciscan
monk, Michael O'Clery
, into a volume which became known as the Milesian genealogies and survived to modern times.
, his brother (their uncle) was Fiacha Sraibhtine
, the 120th High King of Ireland
, and their mother was Aileach, the daughter of the King of Alba (Scotland
). But they aspired to more. Some time early in the 4th century, about 320 AD, the three Collas descended upon the ancient but decaying Kingdom of Uladh (Ulster) with an army of Firbolg kinsmen from the Province of Connaught. After a battle of seven days they slayed Ulster's king, Fergus, and conquered a large portion of southwestern Ulster which they declared the Kingdom of Oirialla (Old Irish: Airgíalla
),(English: Oriel). Colla da Crioch was the first King of Airghialla
. Also known as Oirghialla or Oirghiall, the territory name was later anglicised to Oriel and sometimes Uriel.
But the Collas did not stop there. In 323 AD, Carioll (Colla Uais) became the 121st monarch of all Ireland by slaying his uncle, King Fiacha, in the Battle of Dubhcomar assisted by his brothers. The victory was short-lived: Colla Uais was deposed four years later by his cousin Muireadach Tireach, son of the previous King Fiacha. This was almost disastrous for all three Collas as they were banished to Alba (Scotland) to live at their grandfather's court. Peace was soon made and they returned to rule Oriel. Colla da Crioch's descendants ruled the Kingdom of Airghialla for the next thousand years.
.
Ireland did not have family names until the 10th century as patronyms were the tradition. Under this system a man would take his father's first name as his own last name. For example:
Patrick John = Patrick, son of John
Owen Patrick = Owen, son of Patrick, grandson of John
This was not easy to follow as the second name would change with each generation. In the example above, Patrick's son Owen would be Owen Patrick: there would be no mention of old grampa John. To make matters worse, only a handful of names were used at all, so there could be several people with identical first AND last names!
In the 10th century King Brian Boru
ordered that the clanns take a family name for each sept. Many of the various families descended of Niall of the Nine Hostages took the name Ua'Niall (descendants of Niall), and the Ua'Niall sept was amongst the most powerful in Ireland, ruling most of central and north Ulster. But, in the East of Airghialla in a territory known as Airthir, the Kings of Airthir distinguished themselves from the rest of their O'Neil clansmen by taking the name Ua'h-Anluain (descendants of Anluain). Hence the Ua'h-Anluain became recognised as a separate sept in the 10th century, but were closely related to the Ua'Niall. It is indeed in the 10th century, in the year 983 AD, that the earliest written reference is found to the clann by name. The Annals of The Four Masters 983 AD, chapter 6 record that:
M983.6 Flaithbheartach Ua hAnluain, lord of Ui-Niallain, was treacherously slain by the Ui-Breasail.
1027 C.E. In the Annals of the Four Masters (M1027.9), Cathalan-Ua-Crichain, Lord of Fearnmhagh, and of the Airghialla in general, and Culocha Ua Gairbhith, Lord of Ui-Meath, mutually fell by each other.
1150 C.E. In the last days of the kingdom, the O’Hanlon chief had established himself as Lord of O’Neillland (north Armagh) while The O’Neill lorded over Tyrone. O'Neilland was the kingdom of Airgialla's northeastern outpost, adjacent to the kingdom of Tyrone. It was a federation of tribes and sub-kingdoms, e.g. Ui Cremthainn (now Fermanagh), Ui Nad Sluaigh (now the Clogher Valley part of Tyrone), Airthir (now Orior). Each of these territories was ruled by a branch of descendants of one of the Three Collas. There were constant battles amongst the various Lords to decide which would rule Airghialla as a whole. Power shifted frequently, and many different tribes laid claim to the title Lord of Airghialla - however briefly. The Annals of the Four Masters record such a struggle in 1027 where two Lords in Airghialla both fought to the death.
U1211.1 The Foreigners came to Narrow-Water, until Aedh Ua Neill assembled [Cenel-]Conaill and [Cenel-] Eogain and the Airghialla, so that they [the Foreigners] were killed by him.
In the end, however, after half a century of skirmishes, the foreigners won more than they lost. Following the conquest the descendants of Colla da Crioch mostly remained in their territories, but these were no longer part of a unified Kingdom of Airghialla. From this time on, after the Norman conquest, the term Airghialla was used to describe a much reduced area approximately equal to modern day County Monaghan
.
Almost all of the Kingdom of Airthir was retained by The Ó Hanlons who lost only the southern tip of their territory to the conquerors. The Ó Hanlons continued to rule Orior without interruption for the next four centuries and were known henceforth as the Lords of Orior.
The Ó Hanlons lost the town of Dundalk
in the South of Airthir (modern day County Louth), but were allowed to stay as paying tenants. The town's coat of arms still has an ermine boar representing the Ó Hanlons supporting a shield with the De Verdon coat of arms (representing the Norman conquerors).
1246. The O’Hanlons move south from O’Neilland. Murrough O’Hanlon described in as “Lord of Orier.” Orier included most of modern-day eastern Co. Armagh, stretching well into Louth, and over the Cooley mountains to the shore of Carlingford Lough
.
1254. Following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, “The O’Hanlon” is listed among the Ulster chieftains to whom the English King Henry III
appealed for aid in his war against the Scots.
1273. Eochaidh “Eochy” O’Hanlon is listed as ‘king of Orghialla’. It is the first known use of the name “Eochaidh”, which means “horseman” or “jockey” in Gaelic, in the sept. The persists in the sept through the 17th century.
1285. Edward I sends The O’Hanlon a gift. It is a robe.
1312. Edward II styles The O’Hanlon, Nigellus, as “Duke of Orior.”
1310. The O’Hanlon imposed ‘black rents’ upon English colonists living in and around Dundalk. Black Rent was insurance against incursions and other plundering; a colonist paid the rent, The O’Hanlon did not raid them in response to their trespass. It is thought that he levied the rent over areas south of Dundalk, too.
1314-1315. The O’Hanlon sept changes allegiances when Edward Bruce
, in support of his brother Robert Bruce
, in his war against the English, invaded Ireland and swept southwards. The two brothers were working to establish a kingdom of the Celtics, uniting Ireland and Scotland in a western monarchy to oppose further erosion of Gaelic society. The O’Hanlons support the effort enthusiasticallu; Bruce had seized O’Hanlon’s son and heir, sent him to Scotland and demanded The O’Hanlon’s good faith. This was a tenuous period for the English colony, as the colony was now reduced to a strip of territory centred on Dublin. It reached no further north than Dundalk, and ended at Roche Castle immediately facing The O’Hanlon’s manor at Forkill.
1321. Manus O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, is blinded by sept members under the leadership of his kinsman, Niall, son of Cu-Uladh O’Hanlon, on Spy Wednesday. Niall becomes lord of Orior, submitting to Edward III
. The men of Dundalk march north and kill Niall.
1341. The men of Dundalk entered into a treaty with The O’Hanlon, formalizing the payment of Black Rent, and the document is approved by Edward III.
April 23, 1346. Edward III grants protection to the O’Hanlon sept, security in their territorial lands, and in their possessions. But they must ‘behave’.
c. 1350. Recorded in the Register of Archbishop Sweteman, “Malachy O’Hanloyn, King of Erthyr” was admonished to restore certain goods and clothing taken by a member of the O’Hanlon sept from the Archbishop’s retinue.
1366. The Archbishop of Armagh several times excommunicated Malachy O’Hanlon, with all the members of the sept, as thieves of Church goods. A December 7, 1366 entry in the Archbishop’s ledger notes that the O’Hanlons promised amendment and restitution, upon absolution, and they behaved worse and were again sentenced.
Sept. 18, 1367. Recorded in the Register of Archbishop Sweteman, “O’Handeloyn had prevented the clergy of the Cathedral from performing divine service in the church and had hindered and despoiled them”. O’Hanlon deceived the Archbishop, even after receiving absolution for past crimes.
1380. The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, was slain along with many English allies in a battle against The Magennis of Iveagh.
1391. The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, is killed in an inter-sept civil war.
1422. The O’Hanlon and the sept joined a predominantly Ulster-manned force, accompanying the Lord Deputy and English colonial allies on an expedition into Connachta.
1423. The O’Hanlon, with the Ulster Gaels attacked the English colonists of Louth and Meath, exacting black rents and taking plunder.
1424. The Lord Deputy and an army from Dublin ride against The O’Hanlon and other Ulster chieftains, forcing their renewed submission. This bonanza ended when the English sent a determined Viceroy to Ireland in 1424.
In the early 1490s, Henry VII
appointed his son Henry
, Duke of York
, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
. The future Henry the VIIIth did not actually go to Ireland. The Duke of York sent Sir Edward Poynings
to Ireland as to serve as Lord Deputy. Poynings arrived on October 13, 1495, with a large army. He arrived on an island deeply divided in its collective identity. The emerging division was between the new Tudor royal administration (and its followers) and some of the Old English colonial elite, and their new allies among a resurgent Gaelic aristocracy. This was the result of English policy, administered between 1478–1492, when Gerald Fitzgerald
, 8th Earl of Kildare, served as Lord Deputy. During these years, inter-marriage between the O'Neills of Tyrone and the Fitzgeralds brought the lead Gaelic sept into alliance with the leading Old English family.
The closer working relationship between Kildare and O'Neill gave Kildare access to the services of O'Neill's circle of leaders among the Roydama. Kildare worked closely with Malachi Ó Hanlon and The Magennis. Lord Deputy Poynings pursued a strategy of driving wedges between O'Neill and his allieds (including The Ó Hanlon and his neighbor, The Magennis), especially when those wedges would also prevent further bonding between the Gaelic lords and the Geraldine power base at Kildare. He demanded hostages (the sons, and heirs, of Ó Hanlon and Magennis) in order to secure their good behavior. When Ulster's march, or border, lords would not give up their sons, the Lord Deputy took the largest army assembled by the English colonists north to burn out both Orior and Iveagh, homelands to the Ó Hanlons and the Magennis. Being first through the Gap of the North, the Ó Hanlons were especially hard hit. Kildare advise Malachi Ó Hanlon to provide his son to Dublin Castle, to end the violence. So the Ó Hanlons suffered several defeats at the hands of Poynings. But they were supported quietly by their ally in the deposed Lord Deputy, Earl Kildare, who was widely rumoured to have supported the Ó Hanlons in their ongoing rebellion against the Tudor Crown. Following the Lord Deputy's raid, the Earl was charged with treason and the Act of Attainder (Nov. 1495) charged him with "encouraging Ó Hanlon," among other acts against the King. Ó Hanlon and Magennis testified on behalf of Kildare, in a deposition taken by the Archbishop of Armagh, Octavian de Palatio.
1564. Shane O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, rebels against Elizabeth I. The O’Hanlon chooses to ride with the O’Neill. The Crown responds by seizing, in 1569, most of Orior. It is granted to Thomas Chatterton. He was required to ‘subdue the natives’ in Co. Armagh. He failed.
1569. By the Act of Confiscation, Elizabeth I transfers the O'Hanlon territory to the adventurer, Thomas Chatterton.
1573. Elizabeth I gives authority to Chatterton for "seven years to invade, subdue or expel, or bring to mercy the people of Ohrere.”
1585 O'Daly writes "The Tribes of Ireland".
1587. The O’Hanlon resubmits to the Tudors, and is knighted Sir Eochaidh O’Hanlon, Baron of Orior. He is re-granted his lands on the condition of ‘loyalty’. Oghy O’Hanlon, ‘chief and captain of his nation’ surrendered his territories in “Upper and Nether Orrye” on September 20, 1587. A new patent was issued on December 1, 1587, whereby O’Hanlon was confirmed in his lands for life, then to his heirs male, failing those, to his brothers. At the same time, Sir Oghie agreed to maintain twelve footmen called kerne and eight horsemen, all well armed, to attend upon the Lord Deputy, or other Governor of Ulster, in all hostings and risings and to maintain them in food and all necessities. Significantly the document also provided for the extinction of the title, The O’Hanlon of Orior. Sir Oghie agreed to pay the Queen £60 per year.
1593-1603, C.E. During the Nine Years’ War, Sir Eochaidh moves his allegiance to accommodate the moving siege lines between Ulster and the English Pale. At times he was allied with Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone; at times he was allied with Henry Bagenal of Newry, the Queen’s Marshal. A Turlough O’Hanlon fought for the Gaelic army under O’Neill at the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1598), in which Bagenal was killed.
The Nine Year War (1594–1603). After ascending to the throne in 1558, Queen Elizabeth I proclaimed herself head of the Irish Church
(the Act of Supremacy), and went about replacing the "Old English" clergy and administrators with newly appointed Englishmen. The deposed "Old English" had fallen out of favour for their acquired local habits of dress, speaking Gaelic, and moderate sympathies with the native Irish. (After all, by the late 16th century it had been four hundred years since their arrival in Ireland with the Anglo-Norman advance.) The new administration was vehemently anti-Gael, but also anti-Catholic. To their horror, this meant the Galls (Gallic descendants of the Normans) suddenly found themselves out of favour too. Discontent led to an uprising of the Northern clanns in 1594. It was led by the O'Neills - including some of the Ó Hanlons under Oghy Og, Sir Eocha's son - and the O'Donnells, supported by their new allies the Galls. The rebellion started in Ulster
and spread all over Ireland to become the Nine Years' War.
The Galls and the Gaels hoped for help from Catholic Spain but it was slow in coming. In September 1601, after seven years war in Ireland, the Spanish Armada
sent 4,000 men to help Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell. But the Armada landed at Kinsale in the South, while O'Neill and O'Donnell's strongholds were way up in the North. Against the odds, the Gaels marched South through enemy territory to meet the Spanish, and arrived in a matter of weeks with 12,000 men to lay siege to the English at Kinsale. By December 1601, the combined Spanish and Gael forces had the upper hand, but had been reduced to 10,000 men. Impatient to leave, the Spanish demanded an attack which took place on Christmas Eve
1601. It was disastrous and losing the Battle of Kinsale effectively marked the end of the Nine Years War. Although the war ended formally only in March 1603 when O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone submitted to the English.
1599 Dymmock’s ‘Treatise on Ireland’ notes that Sir Oghie O'Hanlon, on April 28, 1599, could muster two hundred foot and forty horse for the Earl of Tyrone. His territory reached from Newry to Armagh and was mostly ‘without woods’.
1602, First Census of the Fews. This census was taken in 1602 to record the clanspeople of Turlagh MacHenry O'Neill, chief of the Fews (a Barony in southern Armagh neighbouring Orior). It survives today as the first census taken in Ireland and records five Ó Hanlon clansmen living as tenants:
Many O Hanlon, Shane O Hanlon, Brain O Hanlon, Hugh O Hanlon, Glessny O Hanlon
Turlagh MacHenry O'Neill was a half brother to the mighty Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and had initially cooperated with the English before joining his brother's forces in the Nine Years War. After his brother's defeat at Kinsale, Turlagh received a pardon in 1602 for himself and all his clanspeople. Since the pardon did not extend to his brother's people, The Census of The Fews was compiled to list who the pardon applied to.
Murder Committed before their rebellion, intrusion on Crown lands, and debts to the Crown excepted from their pardon. [Date destroyed] Lord Deputy's warrant dated 24 June 1602.
1604. Wasted during the Nine Years’ War, Orior falls into successive crop failures and famines. Burden with relief of his people, Sir Eochaidh sells seven townlands adjacent to Newry.
1605. For his participation in the Nine Years' War on the side of O'Neill and the Gaelic lords young Oghie Og Ó Hanlon, son of the late Sir Oghy, could reasonably have expected to be charged with treason and hung - or worse. But he surrendered and in return Oghie Og was attainted, then pardoned on 12 February 1605. His family (i.e. his brothers, wife and sons) were able to stay on the family estates. But the pardon included a provision that Oghie Og himself must leave Ireland for exile in Europe. He is said to have done so and to have joined the Catholic armies of France and Spain in their wars against The Netherlands.
1607, Flight of the Earls. On September 14, 1607, the Earls of Tyrone and Donegal (The O'Neill and O'Donnell) fled Ireland with some 90 family and friends. The Flight of The Earls was construed by the English as an admission of guilt, and all those who left were charged with treason in their absence and their lands and livestock "reverted to the Crown".
The Ó Hanlons could count themselves lucky, for in the absence of Oghie Og they knew the British did not consider them a threat, so felt safe enough to stay. They lost Hanlon castle but otherwise kept their lands while all around them their allies lost everything.
1608. Four years later his son and heir, Eochaidh Og, sided with Sir Cahir O’Dochertaigh in the ill-fated 1608 Rebellion. Eochaidh Og was denied succession and exiled to service for the King of Sweden, then fighting the Catholic army of the King of Poland.
1609, Plantation of Ulster. In the Plantation of Ulster most of the remaining Gaelic chieftains had their lands escheated (confiscated) and reassigned to Scottish or English foreigners. Only a few lucky "natives" were awarded land grants. In the "Precinct of Orier" the Ó Hanlons figured prominently: they accounted for 10 of the 39 grants made to "natives".
PLANTATION OF ULSTER - PRECINCT OF ORIER
1611. The O’Hanlons are ousted from control of Orior, and from their castle at Tanderagee, which is taken over by Oliver St. John.
1641. The O’Hanlons join the 1641 rebellion, under the leadership of Sir Phelim O’Neill. Ardall O’Hanlon was injured fighting with Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill at the Battle of Clones. In Co. Armagh, the sept regains Tandragee Castle for a few years, until the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell
, arrives to put all Ireland down. The remaining O’Hanlon landowners were dispossessed through the Act of Settlement in Ireland (1652).
1662. Hugh O’Hanlon petitions Charles II
for a restoration of the O’Hanlon lands in Co. Armagh, but is denied as much in the Act of Settlement passed in 1662.
1669. Dispossessed but remaining in the southern highlands of their former homeland, the O’Hanlons take to a life of crime against the English colonial administration, its colonists, and their collaborators among the former Gaels, now Irish. These “Tories” or “Raparees” become skilled highwaymen. Loughlin O’Hanlon of Killeavy is sentenced to death for horse theft; sentence later commuted.
1674. Aodh Ruadh “Redmond” O’Hanlon is first recorded as active on the highways of Co. Armagh. He was proclaimed as an outlaw and a reward of £10 was offered for his capture.
disposed for their loyalty to James Stuart. Redmond himself is depicted as crafty, yet well-mannered. A Gaelic Robin Hood coming to the rescue of a fair maiden and her distressed fiancée, as her chastity (and his property) were threatened by a debauched son of the colonial elite ruling south Armagh.
and O'Hanlon
Earl of Tyrone
The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland.It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of the Kingdom of Ireland...
or authorities within the English Pale. During the 15th century, ties were close with the famed Earls of Kildare. Frequently, members of the sept would be on either side of a rebellion. Some would be outlawed; others pardoned; some ending up on the winning side.
They were second in the borderland line, east to west, comprising the followers of The Macgennis, The Ó Hanlon, The O'Neill of the Fews, The MacMahon, The O'Reilly and The O'Rourke. Behind the Ulster line were the lands of other septs, including those of The O'Neill and The O'Donnell.
The heart of "Ó Hanlon's Countrie" was centered on the south central Ulster
Ulster
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...
, in what is now Ireland
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...
, beginning some 1,000 years ago. The oldest on record is Flaithbheartach Ua'h-Anluain, Lord of Ui-Niallain, whose murder in the year 983 AD is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
. The clan is documented in several of the earliest written histories of Ireland
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...
and appears in medieval tales, Elizabethan documents, the Plantation of Ulster
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
, and traditional Irish songs.
The modern (anglicised) version of the name is usually given as Hanlon or Ó Hanlon, but there are many variants: Handlon, Handlan, Hanlan, Hanlen, Hanlin, Hanlyn etc. Occasionally some variants of the names Hanly, Hanley and Handly are also derived from Ua'h-Anluain, although Hanly is usually the anglicised form of Ua'h-Ainlighe, an ancient Roscommon
Roscommon
Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...
sept (the oldest on record is Donal O'Hanly, Bishop of Dublin from 1085 to 1096).
Ó Hanlon's Country
The ancestors of the Ó hAnluain sept originated in the kingdom of Airgialla, centered on the modern-day Co. Monoghan with a capital at ClonesClones
Clones is a small town in western County Monaghan, in the 'border area' of the Republic of Ireland. The area is part of the Border Region, earmarked for economic development by the Irish Government due to its currently below-average economic situation...
. By the 5th century, Common Era, the sept held territory in and around the modern barony of O'Neilland, on the southwest shore of Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
. As the O'Neills rose in prominence from Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...
to the west, the Ó Hanlons moved to territory west of Armagh City. For half a millennium, they served as kings of Orior. The chietain's name was synonymous with the territory which was better known as "Ó Hanlon's Country". It comprised about one-third of modern Co. Armagh, predominatly the eastern third, and also included a large tract of Co. Louth, from Faughart
Faughart
Faughart is a town in County Louth, Ireland, situated between Forkill and Dundalk. It was the birthplace of St. Brigid , and Edward Bruce is buried in the graveyard on the hill above the town. Bruce, who had taken the title King of Ireland, was defeated and killed at the Battle of Faughart in 1318....
to Ravensdale
Ravensdale, County Louth
Ravensdale is an area of Ireland located at the foothills of the Cooley Mountains on the Cooley Peninsula. It is positioned approximately 8 km to the north of Dundalk, County Louth. The M1 motorway between Dublin and Belfast runs past it. The district is heavily wooded and the housing is...
, and then over the Cooley mountains to Omeath
Omeath
Omeath is a village on the R173 regional road in County Louth, Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. It is roughly mid way between Dublin and Belfast, very near the County Louth and County Armagh / County Down border. Omeath has a population of 439, and is approximately from...
near Carlingford
Carlingford, County Louth
Carlingford is a coastal town and townland in northern County Louth, Ireland. It is situated between Carlingford Lough and Slieve Foy, sometimes known as Carlingford Mountain...
. The peak of land acquisition was in 1504; in 1505 the territory beyond the Gap of the North was granted to the Earl of Kildare. Two of the earliest maps of Ulster, Jobson's Ulster maps (c. 1590) and Norden's map of Ireland (1610), both show Ó Hanlon's Country. In 1586, when Sir John Perrot
John Perrot
Sir John Perrot served as Lord Deputy of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor conquest of Ireland...
created the County of Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Ó Hanlon's country accounted for one of the five baronies: Armaghe, Toaghriny, Orier, Fuighes (Fews) and Onylane (O'Neilland). In later times "Orier" became the Baronies of Orior Upper and Orior Lower, the southernmost two of Armagh's eight Baronies. It is often overlooked that the Gaelic territory of Orior predates and extended beyond the Barony of that name in County Armagh. Ó Hanlon's Country extended southwards into northern County Louth and to the East it encroached slightly into County Down. Before the county lines were finalised, some old maps show the old Ó Hanlon seat of Loughgilly in County Down.
Ó Hanlon Strongholds: Loch gCál, Loughgilly, Toin re Gaoith, Mullagh & Mullaghglass
Anciently, the O'Hanlons - when sitting as kings of Aithir - kept their residence, and the sept's assembly, at Loch gCálLoughgall
Loughgall is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 285 people.Loughgall was named after a small nearby loch. The village is at the heart of the apple-growing industry and is surrounded by orchards. Along the village's main street...
, north of Armagh City. Even after the sept moved east toward Loughgilly
Loughgilly
Loughgilly is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the main Armagh to Newry road, about halfway between the two. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 69 people. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area....
, Loch gCál was retained as a summer residence. When Edmond Mortimer arrived in Ireland in 1380, the Norman invasion of the 12th century was followed by two centuries in which the indigenous, native Gaelic aristocracy successfully adopted to European economic norms. The Gaelic leadership was beginning to interact with the Angevin
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
colonial leadership; they were even beginning to inter-marry. Mortimer and his colonial peers knew the island beyond the English Pale to be roughly organized along the lines of the four historic kingdoms: Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
(Laigen), 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...
(Mumu), Connaught
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...
(Connachta), and Ulster
Ulster
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...
(Ulad). The lead septs of these four kingdoms were considered the peak of the island's native, royal aristocracy: The Kavanaughs, The MacCarthys, The O'Connors and The O'Neills. Supporting these four families were other, called the "Roydama," who were also considered eligible to be acclaimed "Ard Ridgh" or "High King." The Annals of The Four Masters recorded the Ó Hanlons as Lords of Orior and members of the Roydama: "Mortimer came to Ireland with great powers, as Lord Justice; whereupon the Irish nobility repaired to [pay their court to] him, and among others the Roydamna of Ireland, i.e. Niall O'Neill, Ó Hanlon, O'Farrell, O'Reilly, O'Molloy, Mageoghegan, and the Sinnach Fox, with many other nobles."
Outside of the ancient lands held at Oneilland, the site of the O'Hanlon's longstanding seat prior to the Plantation of Ulster was Loughgilly
Loughgilly
Loughgilly is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the main Armagh to Newry road, about halfway between the two. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 69 people. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area....
, with its glacier formed lake, at the southwestern end of the vale, or glen, of Clare, through which flows the Cusher river. At the northeastern end of the glen, the rock of Tanderagee rose to support the family's castle. Having secured the northern lowlands of Co. Armagh and the highlands approaching and surroundng Sliab Gullion, the Ó Hanlons located the chieftain's gateway strongholds on the approaches from Armagh City and eastern Ulster in the north, and Dublin and the English Pale in the south." The northern roads converged on the modern village of Tandragee, which in Gaelic means "back to the wind"; the approaches from Dublin and the English Pale had to force the Gap of the North, and the chieftain's stronghold adjacent to Forkill at Mullagh. The third stronghold, Mullaghglass
Mullaghglass
Mullaghglass is a small village north of Newry in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was named after the nearby townland of Mullaghglass, although the village itself is within the townland of Latt . In the 2001 Census it had a population of 135. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council...
, guarded the road north from the Sassenach frontier town of Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
. Closer to the center of the Ó Hanlon lands than Tanderagee and Forkill, Mullaghglass is also the easternmost edge of a tract of land stretching from the Newry vale to the Fews, passing Camlough
Camlough
Camlough or Camloch is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is near Bessbrook and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion. It had a population of 910 people in the 2001 Census.- 1920s :...
lake and the northern slope of Sliab Gullion, to which the sept retreated after the fall of the Gaelic north. After the Plantation of Ulster
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
, Oliver St John
Oliver St John, 1st Viscount Grandison
Sir Oliver St John, 1st Viscount Grandison was an English soldier who became Lord Deputy of Ireland.-Early years:He was the second son of Nicholas St John of Lydiard Park in Wiltshire and Purley Park in Berkshire, by his wife Elizabeth , daughter of Sir Richard Blount of Mapledurham House in...
(the Lord Deputy of Ireland) took over and rebuilt Ó Hanlon Castle. During the Ulster Rebellion of 1641 the clann attempted to take back their lands, but it ended in disaster and the castle burnt down. Having passed out of the family it became known as Tandragee Castle
Tandragee Castle
Tandragee Castle, Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland was built in 1837 by George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester as the family's Irish home. The Duke of Manchester acquired the estate through his marriage to Millicent Sparrow ....
and remained a ruin for 200 years, until it was completely rebuilt by the Comtes de Salis
Jerome, 4th Count de Salis-Soglio
Jerome de Salis, 4th Count de Salis-Soglio DL, JP, FRS , Illustris et Magnificus was an Anglo-Grison-Irish noble, visionary, vegetarian and landowner....
, and later the Dukes of Manchester
Duke of Manchester
Duke of Manchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1719 for the politician Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester, who notably served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The Duke of Manchester is styled His Grace.-Origin and descent:The Montagu family...
.
Down between the two southernmost strongholds lay the Shean Friary. On the southwestern side of the Ring of Gullion, between the O’Hanlon manors at Forkhill and Mullaghbane lies the townland of Shean. Shean is about ten miles south-west of Newry and comprises about a thousand acres at the extreme southern under of the Barony of Upper Orior, sometimes spelled Seean and Syan. Shean is at the southern and eastern foot of Sliab Brac, the mountain west of Forkhill and facing Sliab Gullion. The O’Hanlon sept’s spiritual needs during the century and a half when the Roman rite was publicly prohibited in Ireland was provided by Franciscan friars secretly housed at Shean. Catholic priests and others were harried, hunted and executed. The secret Shean friary lay in the great forest of Dunreavy, extending from Baile na Cleire (modern-day Ballsmill) to Fathom. Facing it to the south is Castle Roche, several miles beyond Dungooley, the northern most post of the old English Pale, end of Dublin’s colonial reach for many years. Lexicographers have traced the name to the Gaelic word for “fairy mound.” The O’Hanlon manor at Forkill was located in Shean, bounded by Dungooley, Co. Louth, and Longfield, Carrive, Shanroe and Carrickasticken in Armagh. In addition to the ruins of the Franciscan friary, other archaeological sites in Shean include Carrickinaffrin, an ancient enclosure and a and a cairn at Cairan Hill. Despite surrender and regrant under her father, first Queen Elizabeth confiscated O’Hanlon territory in 1571, granting all of Orior to a Captain Thomas Chatterton. He was unable to found a settlement as required. The Chatterton grant was revoked, and Sir Eochaidh “Oghy” O’Hanlon of Tanderagee was able to reassert control over south Armagh. Even after the Nine Years’ War, English settlers struggle to colonize south Armagh. As late as 1659, there were no colonists in Shean. When the region was reduced to Crown ownership, Upper Orior was renamed Stonebridge Manor and sold to Richard Jackson. He made his seat at Forkill, and managed his lands forty years.
Various branches of the Ó Hanlon sept
After the Battle of the BoyneBattle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
, those holding the Ó Hanlon and Hanlon names diverged socially, some assimilating into colonial Irish society and others staying rooted to their Gaelic past. The years 1590 to 1690 mark a century dividing past and present. Prior to those years, there was only one "Gaelic" sept. After those years, each branch of the family chose—or was forced to choose—to remain tied to their aboriginal identity or two identified with the Irish colonial elite. The Ó Hanlons had always been marchland brokers between the English Pale and the Gaelic north. Now they were forced to divide themselves along those lines. Two members of the sept best personify these widening challenges: Sir Eochaidh "Oghy" Ó Hanlon and the Tory outlaw, Count Aodh Ruadh ("Redmond") Ó Hanlon.
Sir Eochaidh "Oghy" Ó Hanlon
The origins of the colonial O’Hanlons lay in two sons of Sean, The O’Hanlon (c. 1510-1575). In addition to Sir Eochaidh O’Hanlon, last of the Name, there was also his brother, Feidliminh, and his four sons. All supported the Tudor monarchy, more or less, during the Nine Years’ War and were granted lands in south Armagh for their loyalty to the Crown.Eochaidh "Oghy" Ó Hanlon, son of Shane Oge Ó Hanlon, maintained his seat at Tandragee, near modern Poyntzpass
Poyntzpass
Poyntzpass is a village on the border between County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1987 people....
, Co. Armagh. By Irish tradition (Brehon law) he was Chief of his name and Lord of Upper and Lower Orior. In 1595, he married the sister of the Earl of Tyrone
Earl of Tyrone
The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland.It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of the Kingdom of Ireland...
. This made his son and heir, Eochaidh Og Ó Hanlon, great grandson to the Earl of Kildare and blue blood of Plantagenet kings. Young Oghy was also great grandson of Conn O'Neill, Prince of Ulster, and all the ties to the Gaelic aristocracy that entailed. When he was exiled to service under the King of Sweden, he took the blood of Irish and English kings with him.
As such, the Baron, his heir and their immediate family living at Tandragee Castle were an example of the mixing which occurred between the elites of these two, contending cultures. When Henry VIII acceded to the English throne, in 1541, he inherited the administration, rights and privileges accorded to him by the Irish colony of the English Crown. Outside of the English Pale, however, the colony was inchoate in the minds of the Irish. Some chieftains had sworn allegiance to various individual monarchs, but the colony itself was never stronger than the power the Lord Deputy could muster to control the chieftains capable of pressing upon the English Pale. So the second Tudor monarch instituted a policy of "surrender and regrant
Surrender and regrant
During the Tudor conquest of Ireland , "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-feudal system under the English legal system...
". Under this policy, the Gaelic chiefs surrendered their lands, but were re-granted them with an English title after swearing allegiance to the Crown. The offer was reiterated when Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1558. Several of the Irish princes accepted this offer, the first being Hugh O'Neill in 1587 who was given the English title Earl of Tyrone. Oghy Ó Hanlon followed his example and had his lands re-granted by letters of patent in the same year. He became a Knight under English law, "Sir" Eochaidh Oghy Ó Hanlon, hereditary royal standard bearer north of the River Boyne. But in doing so he placed his people's land under English law, allowing for a shiring of Armagh, effectively abolished Brehon law, the chieftaincy it supported, and the Ó Hanlon sept's direct rights to the land. Both O'Neill and Ó Hanlon made the choice while facing armed force from Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
. Three years earlier, in August 1584, with the new Lord Deputy Sir John Perrot's army marching on a Gaelic held Newry, both Ó Hanlon and Turlough Luineach O'Neill
Turlough Luineach O'Neill
Toirdhealbhach Luineach Mac Néill Chonnalaigh Ó Néill , the earl of the Clan-Connell, was inaugurated as the King of Tyrone, upon Shane O’Neill’s death...
waited until the Lord Deputy was within half a mile of the town before reluctantly giving their sons to him as hostages, and ending the invasion.
Though an English peer, Eochaidh never made the cultural transition. He kept his Gaelic ways. As John O'Donovan
John O'Donovan (scholar)
John O'Donovan , from Atateemore, in the parish of Kilcolumb, County Kilkenny, and educated at Hunt's Academy, Waterford, was an Irish language scholar from Ireland.-Life:...
edited into O'Daly's Tribes of Ireland,
Spenser was referring to the Gaelic proverb, applied when someone was heavily native in their appearance and actions. Such people
were "as Irish as Ó Hanlon's breech." Spenser was not denigrating The Ó Hanlon, as much as he was noting that erstwhile English families such as the Fitzsimons of Cos. Cavan and Down, had 'gone native' over the years. Sir Eochaidh was a archetype of the Gaelic nation.
Count Aodh Ruadh "Redmond" Ó Hanlon
Born around 1640 in PoyntzpassPoyntzpass
Poyntzpass is a village on the border between County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1987 people....
, Ó Hanlon's Country, Count Redmond Ó Hanlon
Redmond O'Hanlon (outlaw)
Redmond O'Hanlon was a 17th-century Irish tóraidhe or rapparee , and an important figure in the Irish Rebellion of 1641.- Early life :...
was the son of Loughlin Ó Hanlon, thought by some to be the rightful heir to the castle at Tandragee. As a young man he worked as a footboy to Sir George Acheson of Markethill
Earl of Gosford
Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford. The Acheson family descends from the Scottish statesman Sir Archibald Acheson, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh, who later settled in Markethill, County Armagh...
, but became fiercely anti-English. He spent several years in exile with the French army and tried to organise a French invasion of Ireland to depose the British. He was popular in France where he was reportedly awarded the courtesy title of Count Ó Hanlon (the English title was extinguished in the family with the death of Sir Eochaidh Ó Hanlon; the family lost Tandragee castle during the Plantation of Ulster in 1609). When the French negotiations failed, Aodh Ruadh returned to Armagh in 1671 and became a notorious highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
or rapparee
Rapparee
Rapparees were Irish guerrilla fighters who operated on the Jacobite side during the 1690s Williamite war in Ireland. Subsequently the name was also given to bandits and highwaymen in Ireland - many former guerrillas having turned to crime after the war was over...
. A real-life Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, Redmond robbed the English settlers, extorted protection money from the Scots, and was adored by the largely Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
peasantry. A letter from the era states that his criminal activities were bringing in more money than the King's revenue collectors, and therefore the outlaw Count was easily able to bribe military officers and public officials. In 1674 the government of King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
put a price on his head with posters advertising for his capture, dead or alive. He was eventually murdered in his sleep by his foster brother and close associate Art MacCall Ó Hanlon at Eight Mile Bridge near Hilltown
Hilltown, County Down
Hilltown is a small village within the townland of Carcullion in County Down, Northern Ireland. Hilltown is the main village of the parish of Clonduff which also contains rural areas and another village named Cabra...
on April 25, 1681. Art received a full pardon and two hundred pounds for murdering his leader. As had become the custom in English-ruled Ireland, there were gruesome displays of his body parts including his head which was placed on a spike over Downpatrick
Downpatrick
Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the county town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to Saint Patrick. It had a population of 10,316 at the 2001 Census...
jail. His remains are said to lie in a family plot in the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
, 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...
. Undoubtedly the most famous man to carry the Ó Hanlon name, Redmond's popularity was immortalised in the pulp fiction of the era and in poems, ballads, and folktales which survive to the present day.
Aboriginal
Following the Plantation of UlsterPlantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
, Ó Hanlon control over land in Co. Armagh dwindled. At the outbreak of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in 1641, two members of the sept still held land under English law. Aodh Buide Ó Hanlon held the largest tract, 2,045 acres stretching from the northern slope of Sliab Gullion northwest toward Belleeks at the edge of the Fews. And Padraig MacRory Ó Hanlon held another 133 acres. The acreage held by Aodh Buide and Padraig Ó Hanlon lay at the center of those lands associated with the family over the next two centuries.
Passing as ascendancy
Following the Act for the Settlement of Ireland (1652)Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest.-Background:...
and the Penal Laws following the defeat of James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, the descendants of Sir Eochaidh and his people of the Ó Hanlon nation could only hold land, or even leases, if they conformed to the rites of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. Adherents to the Roman rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
could not practice law, could not bear arms, and could not serve in public office. Following the Battle of the Boyne, Tandragee became the heart of the Order of the Orange
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
. The Ó Hanlons remaining in County Armagh retreated to Armagh City or their former heartland in the south, in and around the parish of Killevy.
The Ó Hanlons of Newry. Among those who conformed to the Church of Ireland's rites were the Ó Hanlons of Newry, direct descendants of Padraig Mor Ó Hanlon, a son of Eochaidh Og Ó Hanlon, the last lord of Orior and heir to Sir Eochaidh. Padraig's son, Edmond, served under James II. His son, Felix, remained in Killevy parish as the Jacobite officers followed the King into exile, as did Felix's son, Edmond. By the second half of the 18th century, this branch relocated to the town of Newry. Hugh of Newry's (1721–1807) sons conformed, and one, Padraig, was admitted to the Irish bar. He served first as a Magistrate for Cos. Tyrone and Armagh. In 1808, Orangemen circulated information in Dublin Castle against his loyalty. He was cleared on inquest by the Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox KG, PC was a British soldier and politician and Governor General of British North America.-Background:...
.
Following his move to Mill Street in the 18th century, Hugh O’Hanlon headed the most notable Roman Catholic family in Newry. Hugh was a direct descendant of Sir Eochaidh, and through him the lords of Orior. The family moved down east from south Armagh’s hill communities to the west. Hugh’s father was Hugh Ruadh O’Hanlon of Killeavy and his uncle was the “Bard of Armagh,” Patrick Donnelly, Bishop of Dromore (1679–1716). This branch of the family took part in the Volunteer Movement. Hugh of Newry served on Dublin’s Catholic Committee. He is also thought to have founded, in part, the Bank of Newry, dying in 1808. The O’Hanlon vault in Newry’s Saint Mary’s Cemetery bears the O’Hanlon coat-of-arms.
Hugh Padraig O’Hanlon, Jr., eldest son of Hugh of Newry, was admitted to the bar after the ban against Roman Catholics was lifted, and was known locally as “Counselor O’Hanlon.” The Counselor was a member of the Volunteer Movement, but was radicalized and moved briefly out of the colonial circle of his father, becoming an Irish nationalist of United Ireland. Moving the Newry branch into the nationalist, republican camp, Hugh, Jr. was friend and acquaintance to Theobald Wolfe Tone
Theobald Wolfe Tone
Theobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...
, mentioned in the Tone’s diaries. O’Hanlon became publican of the Crown Inn at 106-108 Hill Street, Newry, where the local chapter of the United Irishmen was formed and met. Though many United men were reprised against following the defeats at the Battle of Ballynahinch
Battle of Ballynahinch
The Battle of Ballynahinch was fought outside Ballynahinch, County Down, on 12 June, during the Irish rebellion of 1798 between British forces led by Major-General George Nugent and the local United Irishmen led by Henry Munro .-Background:...
and the Battle of Vinegar Hill
Battle of Vinegar Hill
The Battle of Vinegar Hill was an engagement during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 21 June 1798 when over 15,000 British soldiers launched an attack on Vinegar Hill outside Enniscorthy, County Wexford, the largest camp and headquarters of the Wexford United Irish rebels...
, Hugh and his brother escaped censure. In 1812, Hugh, Jr. supported the failed campaign of John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran
John Philpot Curran was an Irish orator, politician and wit, born in Newmarket, County Cork. He was the son of James and Sarah Curran.-Career:...
, Master of the Rolls, as Member of Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
(Westminster) for Newry. At a dinner in Curran’s honour, held at the Whitecross Hotel in Margaret Street, Hugh was lauded for efforts made on behalf of the Patriot-lawyer’s election.
During Daniel O’Connell’s agitation for Catholic Emancipation through repeal of the remaining apartheid laws, Hugh, Jr. campaign furiously for religious tolerance and equal protection of the laws. In 1826, however, he departed for colonial India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He became a leading barrister. In 1846, he raised funds in Calcutta for Famine relief. Hugh O’Hanlon III, Counselor O’Hanlon’s eldest son, returned from colonial service in India to become a London barrister in the Irish Colonial Office at Westminster. There, Hugh III founded Ireland’s system of local government through a pilot program for Newry in the form of a Westminster bill, for “Better Lighting, Watching, Cleansing and Paving.” The legislative system proved so successful that it was applied nationally. Hugh III was then applied Law Advisor to Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
, a peak appointment in the colonial order. Other sons of Hugh, Jr. included Pringle, who served in the First Bengal Cavalry; another, Edward, died in colonial service at Rangoon, in the British East Indies.
The Ó Hanlons of Dublin. Included among those who also passed into Irish colonial society was the Colonel Ó Hanlon of 1821, who petitioned to resume Sir Eochaidh Ó Hanlon's honorary position as Royal Standard Bearor to the King (or Queen) "north of the river Boyne". During the visit of George IVth
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
to Ireland in 1821, the Colonel was permitted to resume the position. George the IVth was the first English monarch to visit the Irish colony since Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
.
The Ó Hanlon title
The lands between the strongholds enclosed the "creaght" of the sept, the unit of land under Gaelic law used for the pasturing and seasonal droving of the nation's herds. Governing the creaghts and strongholds for the sept was the Chief of the Name, "The Ó Hanlon." Under Gaelic law, all male relations sharing the same great grandmother with the dying Chieftain were eligible for "acclaimation" as the next Chief of the Name at the sept's coronation stone, Cairn Magha at Clontygora,or "the Slaughter Stone".The Ó Hanlon ruled the eastern portion of the medieval kingdom of Oirghialla, capitaled at Clones in modern Co. Monaghan. To him fell the duty of protecting Oirghialla's eastern march against Ulstermen pushed to the seaboard in the 5th century, Common Era. The region stretched from Lough Neagh's shore adjacent to the Tyrone/Armagh border all the way to Carlingford Lough. It was called Croich na n'Airthear, i.e. regio Orientalium, later preserved in the names attached to the baronies of Orior.
The title "The Ó Hanlon" was extinguished at English law, and the last Chief of the Name took the English title, "Baron of Orior". The Ó Hanlon title (Barony) is believed to have died with that first holder, Sir Oghy (Eocha) Ó Hanlon in 1600. At the time Sir Eochaidh's death, his heir, Eochaidh "Ochy" Og, was leading the Ó Hanlons fighting with the Earl of Tyrone the Nine Years War (1596–1603) against the English Crown and its colonial elite in the Pale. As such, the title could not pass to the Baron's heir. Oghie Oge's omission from the plantation would appear to confirm this. As would the inclusion of Oghie Oge's two sons Felim and Brian as a single entry; if either of them had inherited a title, they would surely have been listed separately. Oghie Oge was still alive at the time of the Plantation. Ee only died in 1611, fighting for the King of Sweden against the Poles.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has an early patent of 1609 (Document ref. D/1854) in which King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
grants to Patrick Ó Hanlon in perpetuity various towns and lands near Mountnorris, County Armagh. It is unknown if this is one of the two Patrick Hanlons named above in the plantation, and/or if this might refer to the seven townlands granted to the descendants of Sir Oghy Ó Hanlon. Whatever their history, the lands did not remain in Ó Hanlon hands for long: the Mountnorris estate shortly afterwards became the property of Francis Annesley, 1st Viscount Valentia
Viscount Valentia
Viscount Valentia is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It has been created twice. The first creation came in 1621 for Henry Power. A year later, his kinsman Sir Francis Annesley, 1st Baronet, was given a "reversionary grant" of the viscountcy, which stated that on Power's death Annesley would be...
(an Englishman).
As for the title "The Ó Hanlon", it existed at Gaelic law, not English, or even the Irish law developed after the declaration of the Republic. Presumably, a gathering of the Ó Hanlons could still declare one of their own "The Ó Hanlon" in the same manner of other septs and clans.
Heraldry
Though regarded as Irish sept arms now, the arms historically associated with the Gaelic Ó Hanlon sept are thought to have been adopted by Sir Eochaidh Ó Hanlon at the time of Surrender and Regrant under Henry Tudor. The arms may incorporate older sept icons, such as the boar, the lizard, and the earthen mound.1: The Ó Hanlon Blazon and Coat of Arms
According to Burke's General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the Ó Hanlon/Hanlon name has four blazons registered (pages 453 & 752). The four blazons are:
- Argent on a mount vert, a boar passant proper, armed or.
- Vert on a mount in base proper a boar passant ermine.
- Gules, three crescents argent.
- Gules, three plates argent.
The first two are for the descendants of the Ó Hanlons of Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
. These are those most often seen and are shown below. The third is used by the Hanlons of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
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...
, and the fourth by another Hanlon branch in England; these last two are very rarely seen.
Ó Hanlon Coat of Arms (1) The Boar is the symbol of Bravery and ermine signifies nobility or royalty. Ó Hanlon Coat of Arms (2)
The boar was an ancient Celtic motif used well before medieval heraldry came into being to symbolise courage, aggression and savagery. This choice for the Ó Hanlons of Armagh would have been a none-too-subtle message implying Gaelic defiance and hinting at the Ó Hanlons' military strength and courage.
2: The Ó Hanlon crest
- "A lizard displayed vert" is the crest described in Burke's General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. This crest appears on the Hanlon tomb of 1708 in LetterkennyLetterkennyLetterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
, County DonegalCounty DonegalCounty 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...
. - A hand grasping a dagger appears on the Ó Hanlon tomb of 1759 in Newtown Cemetery, Lordship, County LouthCounty LouthCounty Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
3: The Ó Hanlon motto
This varies from family to family, but the following are known to have been used:
- Sine Macula: translates to "without stain" or "untainted".
- Le dsais: translates to "By all means". (Source: website quoting Irish Family Mottoes by Tomas O'Baoill).
- Re Et Merito: translates to "By Reality and Merit". (Source: 1759 Ó Hanlon tomb in County Louth.)
4: The Ó Hanlon war cry
- "Ard Cullaigne Abaugh!," or "Defend the Wooded Heights," thought to refer to the Gap of the North. The Gap was a gateway to Ulster from the English Pale, and the duty to hold it for the Gaels was historically assigned to the men of Orior.
Niall of the Nine Hostages, the Three Collas & The Milesian Genealogies
The Ua hAnluain sept is descended from Niall of the Nine HostagesNiall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
, one of Ireland's most famous and powerful kings, whose genealogy predates written history in Ireland. Niallan or "Niall of the Nine Hostages" had a son Eochaidh Dubhlen, who had three sons in the 4th century AD known as The Three Collas:
- Muireadach, or Colla da Chrioch (Colla Fo Críth) : "Colla of the two countries", i.e. Ireland & Scotland.
- Carioll, or Colla UaisColla UaisColla Uais , son of Eochaid Doimlén, son of Cairbre Lifechair, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His given name was Cairell...
: "Colla the Noble", 121st Monarch of Ireland. - Meann, or, Colla Meann : "Colla the Famous".
Colla da Crioch appears in the Milesian genealogies as the 91st in his line and died in 357
357
Year 357 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Iulianus...
AD. His descendant Anluain appears nine generations later as the 100th, probably born around the end of the 7th century AD The name Anluain comes from the Gaelic words 'an' = great and 'luain' = champion. It appears that the 104th in this line, Anluain's great great grandson Flaitheartach Ua'h-Anluain, was the first to use the Ua'h-Anluain surname. (See Milesian genealogy below.) Clann Ua'h-Anluain (in English: Clann Ó Hanlon) are therefore the descendants of Anluain.
332 C.E. The Ultonians of Ulster are defeated on the fields of Farney, by the three Collas, brothers who subsequently divided their conquered swordlands between them.
470 C.E. Colla dna Crioch, or “Colla of the Earth”, had a descendant, “Daire.” son of Finnchad. Daire lived on a hill amidst the drumlins of north Co. Armagh, south of Lough Neagh on the approaches to the Blackwater river. Saint Padraig asked for the hill, a place to site his cathedral.
500 C.E. Navan Rath, just outside Armagh City, becomes the ruined capital of ancient Ulster, acclaimation place of Ulster kings since about 350 BC. The conquering Collas located their own coronation sites in the swordlands secured, comprising modern-day Armagh, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Louth. These lands of the three Collas are called Airgillia or Oriel. Their progeny become the septs O’Hanlon, MacMahon, Maguire and MaCann. The O’Hanlon held the territory around Saint Padraig’s future settlement at Armagh and was descended through Niallan. Daire, common ancestor to the septs O’Hanlon, MacMahon, Maguire and McCann offered Saint Padraig a church site lower down on the hill on which the chieftain’s rath was located. This was the site of Patrick’s first Church. Once Daire was converted, the Saint was given the hill-top site, including the rath. A second church arose, and became the locus of schools and religious establishments. Armagh was transformed into one of Europe’s leading seats of learning, the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. Daire, ancestor to the O’Hanlons, endowed the bishop with lands surrounding the town to support its inhabitants. A group of twenty townlands were gifted to the church at a very early date including the historic Navan.
This line was committed to memory by bards and was eventually transcribed when the first missionaries brought writing to Ireland in the 5th century AD The ancient writings from the 5th century onwards were compiled in 1632-1636 by a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monk, Michael O'Clery
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
, into a volume which became known as the Milesian genealogies and survived to modern times.
The Ó Hanlons in the Milesian genealogies
Generation numbers as given in the Milesian genealogies.
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James II of England James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland... .". |
Kings of Oirialla
It can certainly be said that the three Collas were of noble descent. Their father was the son of the legendary Niall of the Nine HostagesNiall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
, his brother (their uncle) was Fiacha Sraibhtine
Fiacha Sraibhtine
Fiacha Sraibhtine, son of Cairbre Lifechair, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. On his father's death, Fothad Cairpthech and Fothad Airgthech, sons of Lugaid mac Con, had taken the throne jointly, but within the year Fothad Airgthech killed his...
, the 120th High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, and their mother was Aileach, the daughter of the King of Alba (Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
). But they aspired to more. Some time early in the 4th century, about 320 AD, the three Collas descended upon the ancient but decaying Kingdom of Uladh (Ulster) with an army of Firbolg kinsmen from the Province of Connaught. After a battle of seven days they slayed Ulster's king, Fergus, and conquered a large portion of southwestern Ulster which they declared the Kingdom of Oirialla (Old Irish: Airgíalla
Airgíalla
Airgíalla or Airgialla was the name of an Irish federation and Irish kingdom which first formed around the 7th century...
),(English: Oriel). Colla da Crioch was the first King of Airghialla
Kings of Fer Manach
Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries the Kings of Fermanagh O'hEignigh, O'Maolruanaidh and O'Dubhdara were drawn from the Kingdom of Airghialla, Other names include Oirghiall, Oriel, Airgéill and Uriel. The oldest and more correct form is Airghialla denoting both the territory and the name used...
. Also known as Oirghialla or Oirghiall, the territory name was later anglicised to Oriel and sometimes Uriel.
But the Collas did not stop there. In 323 AD, Carioll (Colla Uais) became the 121st monarch of all Ireland by slaying his uncle, King Fiacha, in the Battle of Dubhcomar assisted by his brothers. The victory was short-lived: Colla Uais was deposed four years later by his cousin Muireadach Tireach, son of the previous King Fiacha. This was almost disastrous for all three Collas as they were banished to Alba (Scotland) to live at their grandfather's court. Peace was soon made and they returned to rule Oriel. Colla da Crioch's descendants ruled the Kingdom of Airghialla for the next thousand years.
The Surname Ua'h-Anluain
938 C.E. The Ó Hanlons are cited throughout Ireland's ancient texts under the clan's ancient name of Ua'h-Anluain. The name means descendants of Anluain. Anluain was the head of one of the septs of Ui'Niallan, the descendants of King Niall of the Nine Hostages. He was probably born around the end of the 7th century. The first mention of the name O’Hanlon (Ui Anluain) was in the first millennium, in the year 938 in the Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
.
Ireland did not have family names until the 10th century as patronyms were the tradition. Under this system a man would take his father's first name as his own last name. For example:
Patrick John = Patrick, son of John
Owen Patrick = Owen, son of Patrick, grandson of John
This was not easy to follow as the second name would change with each generation. In the example above, Patrick's son Owen would be Owen Patrick: there would be no mention of old grampa John. To make matters worse, only a handful of names were used at all, so there could be several people with identical first AND last names!
In the 10th century King Brian Boru
Brian Boru
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...
ordered that the clanns take a family name for each sept. Many of the various families descended of Niall of the Nine Hostages took the name Ua'Niall (descendants of Niall), and the Ua'Niall sept was amongst the most powerful in Ireland, ruling most of central and north Ulster. But, in the East of Airghialla in a territory known as Airthir, the Kings of Airthir distinguished themselves from the rest of their O'Neil clansmen by taking the name Ua'h-Anluain (descendants of Anluain). Hence the Ua'h-Anluain became recognised as a separate sept in the 10th century, but were closely related to the Ua'Niall. It is indeed in the 10th century, in the year 983 AD, that the earliest written reference is found to the clann by name. The Annals of The Four Masters 983 AD, chapter 6 record that:
M983.6 Flaithbheartach Ua hAnluain, lord of Ui-Niallain, was treacherously slain by the Ui-Breasail.
The Kingdom of Airgialla
1004. The O’Hanlons are the de jure rulers of territory beginning at the townlands supporting the bishop at Armagh and stretching in an arc south and east to the mountains overlooking Viking settlements on Carlingford Lough. The last High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, makes a royal visit to Orior and Armagh in 1004, assessing the Viking presence. A decade later, Brian Boru defeated the combined forces of the Norsemen at Clontarf, assisted by The O’Hanlon. The king died at Clontarf. His body was carried through Orioron its way to internment at Armagh.1027 C.E. In the Annals of the Four Masters (M1027.9), Cathalan-Ua-Crichain, Lord of Fearnmhagh, and of the Airghialla in general, and Culocha Ua Gairbhith, Lord of Ui-Meath, mutually fell by each other.
1150 C.E. In the last days of the kingdom, the O’Hanlon chief had established himself as Lord of O’Neillland (north Armagh) while The O’Neill lorded over Tyrone. O'Neilland was the kingdom of Airgialla's northeastern outpost, adjacent to the kingdom of Tyrone. It was a federation of tribes and sub-kingdoms, e.g. Ui Cremthainn (now Fermanagh), Ui Nad Sluaigh (now the Clogher Valley part of Tyrone), Airthir (now Orior). Each of these territories was ruled by a branch of descendants of one of the Three Collas. There were constant battles amongst the various Lords to decide which would rule Airghialla as a whole. Power shifted frequently, and many different tribes laid claim to the title Lord of Airghialla - however briefly. The Annals of the Four Masters record such a struggle in 1027 where two Lords in Airghialla both fought to the death.
The Kingdom of Airthir
In the south east of Airghialla lay the Kingdom of Airthir, meaning Eastern (i.e. Eastern Airghialla). This was the stronghold of the Ua'h-Anluain. Airthir covered a large tract of what is now southern County Armagh, spilling over slightly into Counties Down, Louth and Monaghan. The Kingdom of Airthir was also known as Ind-tÁirthir, Oirthir and later Orior.The Middle Ages
By the Middle Ages Clann Ua'h-Anluain was one of Ireland's dynastic families and the clann's deeds are thoroughly documented in The Annals of The Four Masters, The Annals of Ulster, The Annals of Connacht and Mac Carthaigh's Book. They are cited as medieval chiefs of Ui Meith Tiri, Lords of Airthir, and occasionally Kings of Uí Nialláin, and Lords of Airghialla. (See Hanlons in ancient Irish texts for citations).End of The Kingdom of Airghialla
The Kingdom of Airghialla was broken up by the Saxon-Gall (Anglo-Norman) advance into Ireland in the late 12th and early 13th century. The Annals of Ulster record the Norman advance and a rare victory for the Airghialla:U1211.1 The Foreigners came to Narrow-Water, until Aedh Ua Neill assembled [Cenel-]Conaill and [Cenel-] Eogain and the Airghialla, so that they [the Foreigners] were killed by him.
In the end, however, after half a century of skirmishes, the foreigners won more than they lost. Following the conquest the descendants of Colla da Crioch mostly remained in their territories, but these were no longer part of a unified Kingdom of Airghialla. From this time on, after the Norman conquest, the term Airghialla was used to describe a much reduced area approximately equal to modern day 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...
.
Almost all of the Kingdom of Airthir was retained by The Ó Hanlons who lost only the southern tip of their territory to the conquerors. The Ó Hanlons continued to rule Orior without interruption for the next four centuries and were known henceforth as the Lords of Orior.
The Ó Hanlons lost the town of Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
in the South of Airthir (modern day County Louth), but were allowed to stay as paying tenants. The town's coat of arms still has an ermine boar representing the Ó Hanlons supporting a shield with the De Verdon coat of arms (representing the Norman conquerors).
1246. The O’Hanlons move south from O’Neilland. Murrough O’Hanlon described in as “Lord of Orier.” Orier included most of modern-day eastern Co. Armagh, stretching well into Louth, and over the Cooley mountains to the shore of Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet that forms part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down and on its southern shore is County Louth...
.
1254. Following the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, “The O’Hanlon” is listed among the Ulster chieftains to whom the English King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
appealed for aid in his war against the Scots.
1273. Eochaidh “Eochy” O’Hanlon is listed as ‘king of Orghialla’. It is the first known use of the name “Eochaidh”, which means “horseman” or “jockey” in Gaelic, in the sept. The persists in the sept through the 17th century.
1285. Edward I sends The O’Hanlon a gift. It is a robe.
1312. Edward II styles The O’Hanlon, Nigellus, as “Duke of Orior.”
1310. The O’Hanlon imposed ‘black rents’ upon English colonists living in and around Dundalk. Black Rent was insurance against incursions and other plundering; a colonist paid the rent, The O’Hanlon did not raid them in response to their trespass. It is thought that he levied the rent over areas south of Dundalk, too.
1314-1315. The O’Hanlon sept changes allegiances when Edward Bruce
Edward Bruce
Edward the Bruce , sometimes modernised Edward of Bruce, was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland, then pursued his own claim in Ireland. He was proclaimed High King of Ireland, but was eventually defeated and killed in...
, in support of his brother Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce or Robert the Bruce may refer to:*Robert the Bruce, King of Scots , Earl of Carrick and Lord of Annandale; victor at the Battle of Bannockburn*Robert Bruce , his illegitimate son...
, in his war against the English, invaded Ireland and swept southwards. The two brothers were working to establish a kingdom of the Celtics, uniting Ireland and Scotland in a western monarchy to oppose further erosion of Gaelic society. The O’Hanlons support the effort enthusiasticallu; Bruce had seized O’Hanlon’s son and heir, sent him to Scotland and demanded The O’Hanlon’s good faith. This was a tenuous period for the English colony, as the colony was now reduced to a strip of territory centred on Dublin. It reached no further north than Dundalk, and ended at Roche Castle immediately facing The O’Hanlon’s manor at Forkill.
1321. Manus O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, is blinded by sept members under the leadership of his kinsman, Niall, son of Cu-Uladh O’Hanlon, on Spy Wednesday. Niall becomes lord of Orior, submitting to Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. The men of Dundalk march north and kill Niall.
1341. The men of Dundalk entered into a treaty with The O’Hanlon, formalizing the payment of Black Rent, and the document is approved by Edward III.
April 23, 1346. Edward III grants protection to the O’Hanlon sept, security in their territorial lands, and in their possessions. But they must ‘behave’.
c. 1350. Recorded in the Register of Archbishop Sweteman, “Malachy O’Hanloyn, King of Erthyr” was admonished to restore certain goods and clothing taken by a member of the O’Hanlon sept from the Archbishop’s retinue.
1366. The Archbishop of Armagh several times excommunicated Malachy O’Hanlon, with all the members of the sept, as thieves of Church goods. A December 7, 1366 entry in the Archbishop’s ledger notes that the O’Hanlons promised amendment and restitution, upon absolution, and they behaved worse and were again sentenced.
Sept. 18, 1367. Recorded in the Register of Archbishop Sweteman, “O’Handeloyn had prevented the clergy of the Cathedral from performing divine service in the church and had hindered and despoiled them”. O’Hanlon deceived the Archbishop, even after receiving absolution for past crimes.
1380. The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, was slain along with many English allies in a battle against The Magennis of Iveagh.
1391. The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior, is killed in an inter-sept civil war.
15th century: Henry VII & VIII
1407. Archbishop Fleming’s Register records on May 1 that the Archbishop excommunicated “Argallus O’Hanlan, Captain of his Nation, Malachy O’Hanlan and Odo McLoy, together with their familiar aiders and abettors, for various injuries inflicted upon himself and his tenants, especially for the slaying of Maurice Ddowgenan, his tenant and falconer.” Fleming instructed the clergy to post “the excommunication and interdict on Sunday and festivals in all their churches and market places, while clad in albs and stoles, with cross erect, bells and candles, until further order.” At the same time he warned “all, English and Irish, within his diocese to refrain from conversation, eating or drinking with the above-named persons, and desired that they should not be sold bread, beer, salt or any of the necessities of life.”1422. The O’Hanlon and the sept joined a predominantly Ulster-manned force, accompanying the Lord Deputy and English colonial allies on an expedition into Connachta.
1423. The O’Hanlon, with the Ulster Gaels attacked the English colonists of Louth and Meath, exacting black rents and taking plunder.
1424. The Lord Deputy and an army from Dublin ride against The O’Hanlon and other Ulster chieftains, forcing their renewed submission. This bonanza ended when the English sent a determined Viceroy to Ireland in 1424.
In the early 1490s, Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
appointed his son Henry
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. The future Henry the VIIIth did not actually go to Ireland. The Duke of York sent Sir Edward Poynings
Edward Poynings
Sir Edward Poynings KG was an English soldier, administrator and diplomat, Lord Deputy of Ireland under King Henry VII of England.-Early life:...
to Ireland as to serve as Lord Deputy. Poynings arrived on October 13, 1495, with a large army. He arrived on an island deeply divided in its collective identity. The emerging division was between the new Tudor royal administration (and its followers) and some of the Old English colonial elite, and their new allies among a resurgent Gaelic aristocracy. This was the result of English policy, administered between 1478–1492, when Gerald Fitzgerald
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
Gerald Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, KG , known variously as "Garret the Great" or "The Great Earl" , was Ireland's premier peer...
, 8th Earl of Kildare, served as Lord Deputy. During these years, inter-marriage between the O'Neills of Tyrone and the Fitzgeralds brought the lead Gaelic sept into alliance with the leading Old English family.
The closer working relationship between Kildare and O'Neill gave Kildare access to the services of O'Neill's circle of leaders among the Roydama. Kildare worked closely with Malachi Ó Hanlon and The Magennis. Lord Deputy Poynings pursued a strategy of driving wedges between O'Neill and his allieds (including The Ó Hanlon and his neighbor, The Magennis), especially when those wedges would also prevent further bonding between the Gaelic lords and the Geraldine power base at Kildare. He demanded hostages (the sons, and heirs, of Ó Hanlon and Magennis) in order to secure their good behavior. When Ulster's march, or border, lords would not give up their sons, the Lord Deputy took the largest army assembled by the English colonists north to burn out both Orior and Iveagh, homelands to the Ó Hanlons and the Magennis. Being first through the Gap of the North, the Ó Hanlons were especially hard hit. Kildare advise Malachi Ó Hanlon to provide his son to Dublin Castle, to end the violence. So the Ó Hanlons suffered several defeats at the hands of Poynings. But they were supported quietly by their ally in the deposed Lord Deputy, Earl Kildare, who was widely rumoured to have supported the Ó Hanlons in their ongoing rebellion against the Tudor Crown. Following the Lord Deputy's raid, the Earl was charged with treason and the Act of Attainder (Nov. 1495) charged him with "encouraging Ó Hanlon," among other acts against the King. Ó Hanlon and Magennis testified on behalf of Kildare, in a deposition taken by the Archbishop of Armagh, Octavian de Palatio.
16th Century: Submission & Nine Years War
1537. Dublin Castle implements the Reformation in Ireland, dissolving monasteries and other religious institutions. This includes the ancient convent of St.Moninna at Killeavy, refuge for the women of the O’Hanlon sept. A smaller chapel and sanctuary survives until 1612, when the last Abbess, Alicia O’Hanlon, is removed from the precincts.1564. Shane O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, rebels against Elizabeth I. The O’Hanlon chooses to ride with the O’Neill. The Crown responds by seizing, in 1569, most of Orior. It is granted to Thomas Chatterton. He was required to ‘subdue the natives’ in Co. Armagh. He failed.
1569. By the Act of Confiscation, Elizabeth I transfers the O'Hanlon territory to the adventurer, Thomas Chatterton.
1573. Elizabeth I gives authority to Chatterton for "seven years to invade, subdue or expel, or bring to mercy the people of Ohrere.”
1585 O'Daly writes "The Tribes of Ireland".
1587. The O’Hanlon resubmits to the Tudors, and is knighted Sir Eochaidh O’Hanlon, Baron of Orior. He is re-granted his lands on the condition of ‘loyalty’. Oghy O’Hanlon, ‘chief and captain of his nation’ surrendered his territories in “Upper and Nether Orrye” on September 20, 1587. A new patent was issued on December 1, 1587, whereby O’Hanlon was confirmed in his lands for life, then to his heirs male, failing those, to his brothers. At the same time, Sir Oghie agreed to maintain twelve footmen called kerne and eight horsemen, all well armed, to attend upon the Lord Deputy, or other Governor of Ulster, in all hostings and risings and to maintain them in food and all necessities. Significantly the document also provided for the extinction of the title, The O’Hanlon of Orior. Sir Oghie agreed to pay the Queen £60 per year.
1593-1603, C.E. During the Nine Years’ War, Sir Eochaidh moves his allegiance to accommodate the moving siege lines between Ulster and the English Pale. At times he was allied with Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone; at times he was allied with Henry Bagenal of Newry, the Queen’s Marshal. A Turlough O’Hanlon fought for the Gaelic army under O’Neill at the Battle of the Yellow Ford (1598), in which Bagenal was killed.
The Nine Year War (1594–1603). After ascending to the throne in 1558, Queen Elizabeth I proclaimed herself head of the Irish Church
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
(the Act of Supremacy), and went about replacing the "Old English" clergy and administrators with newly appointed Englishmen. The deposed "Old English" had fallen out of favour for their acquired local habits of dress, speaking Gaelic, and moderate sympathies with the native Irish. (After all, by the late 16th century it had been four hundred years since their arrival in Ireland with the Anglo-Norman advance.) The new administration was vehemently anti-Gael, but also anti-Catholic. To their horror, this meant the Galls (Gallic descendants of the Normans) suddenly found themselves out of favour too. Discontent led to an uprising of the Northern clanns in 1594. It was led by the O'Neills - including some of the Ó Hanlons under Oghy Og, Sir Eocha's son - and the O'Donnells, supported by their new allies the Galls. The rebellion started in Ulster
Ulster
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...
and spread all over Ireland to become the Nine Years' War.
The Galls and the Gaels hoped for help from Catholic Spain but it was slow in coming. In September 1601, after seven years war in Ireland, the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
sent 4,000 men to help Hugh O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell. But the Armada landed at Kinsale in the South, while O'Neill and O'Donnell's strongholds were way up in the North. Against the odds, the Gaels marched South through enemy territory to meet the Spanish, and arrived in a matter of weeks with 12,000 men to lay siege to the English at Kinsale. By December 1601, the combined Spanish and Gael forces had the upper hand, but had been reduced to 10,000 men. Impatient to leave, the Spanish demanded an attack which took place on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
1601. It was disastrous and losing the Battle of Kinsale effectively marked the end of the Nine Years War. Although the war ended formally only in March 1603 when O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone submitted to the English.
1599 Dymmock’s ‘Treatise on Ireland’ notes that Sir Oghie O'Hanlon, on April 28, 1599, could muster two hundred foot and forty horse for the Earl of Tyrone. His territory reached from Newry to Armagh and was mostly ‘without woods’.
17th Century: End of the Gaelic Lords
1600, November 17 Sir Eochaidh is, by some accounts, slain at the pass of Carlingford, fighting on the English side, bearing the Royal Standard for the Lord Deputy, Lord Mountjoy. For his loyalty and his services in this war against the Earl of Tyrone, King James I bestowed upon his family seven townlands.1602, First Census of the Fews. This census was taken in 1602 to record the clanspeople of Turlagh MacHenry O'Neill, chief of the Fews (a Barony in southern Armagh neighbouring Orior). It survives today as the first census taken in Ireland and records five Ó Hanlon clansmen living as tenants:
Many O Hanlon, Shane O Hanlon, Brain O Hanlon, Hugh O Hanlon, Glessny O Hanlon
Turlagh MacHenry O'Neill was a half brother to the mighty Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and had initially cooperated with the English before joining his brother's forces in the Nine Years War. After his brother's defeat at Kinsale, Turlagh received a pardon in 1602 for himself and all his clanspeople. Since the pardon did not extend to his brother's people, The Census of The Fews was compiled to list who the pardon applied to.
Murder Committed before their rebellion, intrusion on Crown lands, and debts to the Crown excepted from their pardon. [Date destroyed] Lord Deputy's warrant dated 24 June 1602.
1604. Wasted during the Nine Years’ War, Orior falls into successive crop failures and famines. Burden with relief of his people, Sir Eochaidh sells seven townlands adjacent to Newry.
1605. For his participation in the Nine Years' War on the side of O'Neill and the Gaelic lords young Oghie Og Ó Hanlon, son of the late Sir Oghy, could reasonably have expected to be charged with treason and hung - or worse. But he surrendered and in return Oghie Og was attainted, then pardoned on 12 February 1605. His family (i.e. his brothers, wife and sons) were able to stay on the family estates. But the pardon included a provision that Oghie Og himself must leave Ireland for exile in Europe. He is said to have done so and to have joined the Catholic armies of France and Spain in their wars against The Netherlands.
1607, Flight of the Earls. On September 14, 1607, the Earls of Tyrone and Donegal (The O'Neill and O'Donnell) fled Ireland with some 90 family and friends. The Flight of The Earls was construed by the English as an admission of guilt, and all those who left were charged with treason in their absence and their lands and livestock "reverted to the Crown".
The Ó Hanlons could count themselves lucky, for in the absence of Oghie Og they knew the British did not consider them a threat, so felt safe enough to stay. They lost Hanlon castle but otherwise kept their lands while all around them their allies lost everything.
1608. Four years later his son and heir, Eochaidh Og, sided with Sir Cahir O’Dochertaigh in the ill-fated 1608 Rebellion. Eochaidh Og was denied succession and exiled to service for the King of Sweden, then fighting the Catholic army of the King of Poland.
1609, Plantation of Ulster. In the Plantation of Ulster most of the remaining Gaelic chieftains had their lands escheated (confiscated) and reassigned to Scottish or English foreigners. Only a few lucky "natives" were awarded land grants. In the "Precinct of Orier" the Ó Hanlons figured prominently: they accounted for 10 of the 39 grants made to "natives".
PLANTATION OF ULSTER - PRECINCT OF ORIER
-
- LAND GRANTS TO NATIVES
Grant
No.Name Acres 3 Tirlogh Groome Ó Hanlon, gent. 140 4 Shane McShane Ó Hanlon, gent. 100 5 Shane McShane Ó Hanlon, gent. 100 6 Oghie Oge Ó Hanlon's two sons,
Felim and Brian, gents200 7 Rorie McFerdoragh Ó Hanlon, gent. 120 8 Shane Oge McShane Roe Ó Hanlon, gent. 120 11 Patrick McManus Ó Hanlon
and Ardell Moore O'Mulchrewe120 12 Redmond McFerdoragh Ó Hanlon 60 30 Patrick Moder (Ó Hanlon ?), gent. 120 39 Ardill McFelim Ó Hanlon, gent. 80
- LAND GRANTS TO NATIVES
1611. The O’Hanlons are ousted from control of Orior, and from their castle at Tanderagee, which is taken over by Oliver St. John.
1641. The O’Hanlons join the 1641 rebellion, under the leadership of Sir Phelim O’Neill. Ardall O’Hanlon was injured fighting with Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill at the Battle of Clones. In Co. Armagh, the sept regains Tandragee Castle for a few years, until the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, arrives to put all Ireland down. The remaining O’Hanlon landowners were dispossessed through the Act of Settlement in Ireland (1652).
1662. Hugh O’Hanlon petitions Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
for a restoration of the O’Hanlon lands in Co. Armagh, but is denied as much in the Act of Settlement passed in 1662.
1669. Dispossessed but remaining in the southern highlands of their former homeland, the O’Hanlons take to a life of crime against the English colonial administration, its colonists, and their collaborators among the former Gaels, now Irish. These “Tories” or “Raparees” become skilled highwaymen. Loughlin O’Hanlon of Killeavy is sentenced to death for horse theft; sentence later commuted.
1674. Aodh Ruadh “Redmond” O’Hanlon is first recorded as active on the highways of Co. Armagh. He was proclaimed as an outlaw and a reward of £10 was offered for his capture.
Depiction the Ó Hanlon sept, or sept members, in popular media
Depiction of the sept O’Hanlon and its members in popular culture dates to the emergence of early mass media in Great Britain after the Restoration. The Irish common folk’s preservation – and perhaps well-intended enhancement—of Comte Aodh Ruadh O’Hanlon’s life and exploits established an image which mass media vehicles would exploit in future years. This was a trend even as the descendants and relatives of the Comte remained the victims of circumstances established by the system of apartheid created through the Penal Laws after 1690. In 1862, William Carelton’s Redmond, Count O’Hanlon, The Irish Raparee, An Historical Tale was published in Dublin and London. The non-fiction work was one a series of novels published by Carelton in the wake of the Celtic revival of the 18th century and its echoes through the 19th century. Not unlike Blacksploitation of the 1970s, it is heavily laden with stereotypes appealing to the mass culture of its day, an industrialized proletarian and emerging bourgeoisie suffering from cultural dislocation and the identity crisis it produced. Works like Carelton’s sold because they allegedly offered ‘authenticity’ is a world remaking itself and increasing cut off from the system of relationships which sustained the pre-industrial society. In Redmond, Count O’Hanlon, Carelton presents little or no information regarding the Comte or his family, except that they were JacobitesJacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
disposed for their loyalty to James Stuart. Redmond himself is depicted as crafty, yet well-mannered. A Gaelic Robin Hood coming to the rescue of a fair maiden and her distressed fiancée, as her chastity (and his property) were threatened by a debauched son of the colonial elite ruling south Armagh.
Lists of prominent Hanlons and Ó Hanlons, those with an Irish derivation
These may be found at HanlonHanlon
Hanlon is a surname often associated with, but not necessarily tied to, the O'Hanlon Sept. The name may denote:* Jim Hanlon American-born lawyer* Alfred Hanlon, British-born acrobat * Alfred Charles Hanlon, New Zealand lawyer...
and O'Hanlon
O'Hanlon
O'Hanlon is an Irish surname associated with the Ó hAnluain sept. As with other similar names, the added prefix "O'" means "son of" .Notable people with that surname include:* Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian* Bill O'Hanlon, American psychologist...