Irish genealogy

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Irish genealogy is the study of individuals and families who originated on the island of Ireland.

Origins

feast days (see Irish annals).[citation needed
]

Its cultivation reached a height during the Late Medieval Era with works such as Leabhar Ua Maine, Senchus fer n-Alban, Book of Ballymote, De Shíl Chonairi Móir, Book of Leinster, Leabhar Cloinne Maoil Ruanaidh and the Ó Cléirigh Book of Genealogies. This tradition of scholarship reached its zenith with Leabhar na nGenealach, composed mainly between 1649 and 1650 in Galway.[citation needed]

Genealogy had at first served a purely serious purpose in determining the legal rights of related individuals to land and goods. Under

Fenechas, ownership of land was determined by Agnatic succession, female ownership being severely limited.[citation needed
]

Over time, genealogy was pursued for its own merits by the Gaelic learned classes. From c. 1100, various families such as

Burke, Plunkett, Nugent, Bermingham and others.[citation needed
]

Some clans, such as Mac Fhirbhisigh and Ó Duibhgeannáin were originally hereditary

Ó Domhnallain) were dispossessed royalty who were forced to find another profession (see also Irish medical families
).

The transmission of this body of lore (Irish: seanchas) has resulted in detailed knowledge on the origins and history of many of the tribes and families of Ireland. An anglicised tradition has continued since the 17th-century, translating many of the scripts into English. The practise of genealogy continues to be of importance among the Irish and its diaspora. Historians (such as Dáibhí Ó Cróinín and Nollaig Ó Muraíle) consider the Irish genealogical tradition to have the largest national corpus in Europe.[citation needed]

Irish genealogical dogma

Over the course of several centuries, an evolving

Míl Espáine. This ignored variant traditions, including those recorded in their own works. The reasons behind the doctrine's adoption is rooted in the policies of dynastic and political propaganda.[citation needed
]

The doctrine dates from the 10th–12th centuries, as demonstrated in the works of Eochaid ua Flainn (936–1004); Flann Mainistrech (d. 1056); Tanaide (d. c. 1075); and Gilla Cómáin mac Gilla Samthainde (fl. 1072). Many of their compositions were incorporated into the compendium Lebor Gabála Érenn.[citation needed]

It was enhanced and embedded in the tradition by successive generations of historians such as Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (d. 1372), Gilla Íosa MacFhirbhisigh (fl. 1390–1418) and Flann Mac Aodhagáin (fl. 1640). By 1600 it was refined to the point that certain Anglo-Irish families were given spurious Gaelic ancestors and origin legends, such was their immersion in Gaelic culture.

The first Irish historian who questioned the reliability of such accounts was Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (d. 1671), whose massive Leabhar na nGenealach included disparate and variant recensions. Unlike Geoffrey Keating Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, he did not attempt to synthesise the material into a unified whole, instead recording and transmitting it unaltered. However, historians as late as such as Eugene O'Curry (1794–1862) and John O'Donovan (1806–1861) sometimes accepted the doctrine and a nationalistic interpretation of Irish history uncritically. During the 20th century the doctrine was reinterpreted by the work of historians such as Eoin MacNeill, T. F. O'Rahilly, Francis John Byrne, Kathleen Hughes (historian), and Kenneth Nicholls.[citation needed]

See also O'Rahilly's historical model, Genetic history of Europe, Genetic history of the British Isles.

Genealogical compilations

The following are manuscripts consisting of genealogies in whole or part.

Lost works

  • Psalter of Cashel
  • Book of Cuanu
  • Book of Dub Dá Leithe
  • Leabhar Airis Cloinne Fir Bhisigh
  • Leabhar Airisen Ghiolla Iosa Mhec Fhirbhisigh
  • Synchronisms of Flann Mainstreach
  • The Chronicle of Ireland
  • Norse-Gaelic pedigrees from the Great Book of Lecan (section)[1]

Organisations

Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry

21st-century Irish genealogy

Notable Irish genealogists

References

Notes

  1. Duald Mac Firbis, On the Fomorians and the Norsemen
    . Christiania: J. Chr. Gundersens Bogtrykkeri. 1905. See Bugge's introduction.

Sources

Further reading

External links

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