Mac Cana
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The Mac Cana or MacCan
Etymology
The name Mac Cana means "son of Cana". This literally means "cub/whelp", and is claimed to be a term for a young warrior.[3]
History
The Mac Cana originated as chiefs of Cenél Aengusa, the name of a kindred and its territory in
The Mac Cana and their neighbours were vassals of the powerful O'Neill dynasty of Tyrone. During the Nine Years' War (1594–1603), the O'Neills and their allies fought against English expansion in Ireland. Following the English victory and Flight of the Earls, the English seized the lands of the O'Neills and their allies. This would seem to include the Mac Cana. This land was colonized by English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, during the plantation of Ulster.[5]
During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Mac Cana re-took Lurgan and Portadown from the settlers.[5] Irish rebels killed about 100 captured British settlers at Portadown by forcing them off the bridge into the River Bann, and shooting those who tried to swim to safety. Known as the Portadown massacre, it was the biggest such massacre during the rebellion. The rebels were likely under the command of Toole McCann.[7] Following the Irish Confederate Wars and Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, the area was re-taken by the English. Toole McCann was captured and executed by English forces in 1653, although he denied ordering the massacre.[8]
Under the
Due to
References
- ^ "Maccan Lords of Clan Crassell".
- ^ "Mac Canna - Irish Names and Surnames".
- ^ Quinn, Sean. Surnames in Ireland. Irish Genealogy Press, 2000. p.54
- ^ a b c d AJ Hughes and William Nolan (editors). Armagh: History and Society. Geography Publications, 2001. p.318
- ^ a b c Lutton, SC. "The Rise and Development of Portadown". Review – Journal of the Craigavon Historical Society Vol. 5 No. 2. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ISBN 9780940134447.
- ^ Mac Cuarta, Brian. Ulster 1641: Aspects of the Rising. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast, 1993. p.126
- ^ Ellis, Beresford. Eyewitness to Irish History. John Wiley & Sons, 2007. p.109
- ISBN 9780940134003.
- ^ John O' Hart (editor). Irish Pedigrees: The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. 1876.