The Arms of O'Sullivan Mór	The Arms of O'Sullivan-Beare
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In Irish O'Sullivan is O Súileabháin. The derivation of the name is in dispute among scholars. There is no doubt that the root word is súil (eye), but whether it is to be taken as one-eyed or hawk-eyed must be left an open question. While not quite as numerous as Murphy and Kelly, Sullivan, which is by far the commonest surname in Munster, comes third in the list for all Ireland. Almost eighty per cent of the Sullivans (or O'Sullivans) in Ireland today belong to the counties of Cork and Kerry, the remaining being mostly of Co. Limerick, or of the city of Dublin, in which, of course, families from all the four provinces are found.

However, according to O'Heerin's Topography, the O'Sullivans, before they settled in Cork and Kerry, were Princes of Eoghanacht Mór, Cnoc-Graffan, a territory in the barony of Middlethird, county Tipperary, which is said to have embraced the districts of Clonmel, Cahir, Clogheen, Carrick-on-Suir, and Cashel of the Kings, in the fifth and sixth centuries; and are thus mentioned:

"O'Sullivan, who delights not in violence
Rules over the extensive Eoghanacht of Munster
About Cnoc-Graffan broad lands he obtained
Won by his victorious arms, in conflicts and battles."

The O'Sullivans are believed to have traded with Cornwall, Bristol, and places in the East; are said to have had ships, yawls, and many boats; and some of them to have been noted sailors and commanders at sea. The figure-head of their ships (as represented on a seal in possession of Mr. T. Murtogh O'Sullivan, in India, which has been submitted to us for inspection) was a sailor standing upright in a boat with a fish in each hand extended over his head, which are believed to have been Scripture emblems of the Christian Church. This branch of the O'Sullivan family, it would appear, were the pioneers of the O'Sullivans, who first settled in Kerry; the O'Sullivan Mór family following soon after. From their bravery and prowess the O'Sullivans were by their own people styled the "No surrenders;" and by their British neighbours they were called Austria, France, and Germany, in which countries they held high commands.

The territory of the O'Sullivans of Cappanacusha Castle, adjoined that of the O'Sullivan Mór; extended from the barony of Dunkerron, co. Kerry, to the present Williamstown and Millstreet; and was bounded as follows: On the north, by Williamstown and Millstreet; south of Kenmare; west by Dunkerron; and east, by Glancrought.

It was not until after the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 1170's that the O'Sullivans came to the fore. Their origin, however, is illustrious: descended from Eoghan (Owen) Mór, the father of the famous Oilioll Olum, King of Munster, they were, with the O'Callaghans, the MacCarthys and the O'Keefes, one of the leading families of the Munster Eoghanacht. In Cork and Kerry they became very numerous and powerful, dividing into a number of branch septs of which O'Sullivan Mór and O'Sullivan Beare were the most important. The former had his principal castle at Dunkerron on the shore of Kenmare Bay; the latter was lord of the modern baronies of Beare and Bantry. Other branch septs include MacGillucuddy; O'Sullivan Cumurhagh or Mac Muirrihertigg; O'Sullivan of Glenbeigh; O'Sullivan of Caneah and Glanacrane; O Sullivan of Culemagort; O'Sullivan of Cappanacuss; O'Sullivan of Capiganine; O'Sullivan of Fermoyle and Ballycarna and O'Sullivan of Ballyvicillaneulan. The Mac Crehans of Iveragh are also given as descended from the O'Sullivans, as are the MacCraths.

Though seldom appearing in any of the Annals before 1400, they were prominent in the sixteenth century. Outstanding at that period was Donal O'Sullivan Beare. Following the disastrous battle of Kinsale, which changed the Gaelic order forever, Donal O Sullivan Beare managed to regain Dunboy Castle with a force of 143 men, including a few Spaniards. Carew, with 4,000 men, attacked from sea and from land and for 21 days Dunboy held out, until hardly a stone remained. Then, while O Sullivan Beare went to meet a Spanish ship, which had landed too late and on the wrong side of the peninsula, his constable, Richard MacGeoghegan, was killed and the castle was breached. Carew and his men killed every man, woman and child inside the castle. O Sullivan Beare decided to make his way north to Leitrim with his remaining people to seek refuge with his ally, O Rourke. At the end of December 1602, with 400 fighting men and 600 civilians, they began their 200 mile trek-two weeks of appalling cold, hardship and bitter tragedy. The Annals of the Four Masters said of O Sullivan, "He was not a day or night during this period without a battle, or being vehemently and vindictively pursued; all of which he sustained and responded to with manliness and vigour". Sadly, his main enemies were Irish chieftains anxious to win approval from their new masters. Day by day the party struggled on. At the wide River Shannon, they killed some of their horses and crossed with boats made from their skins strengthened with osiers. At Aughrim they were attacked by the Anglo-Irish. They fought back and killed both leaders, Sir Thomas Burke and Captain Malby. Eventually, they reached Brian O Rourke's castle at Leitrim. Of the original 1,000 who had started out, only 35 reached their destination.

Elizabeth I died the next year. Her nephew, James I, came to the throne and the Irish chieftains, full of hope, went to London. They got no welcome there from James and no restitution of their territories. There was nothing for them at home and so they were forced to go abroad. Donal O Sullivan Beare, whose wife and children had been guarded by the MacSweeneys, took flight with his family to Spain in 1604. Here, Philip 111 treated him kindly, created him Knight of St. James and Count of Berehaven, and gave him a monthly pension of 300 pieces of gold. He was killed, accidentally, in Madrid in 1618, aged 58. His son, Donal, had been killed at the siege of Belgrade. Dermot, his brother, and Dermot's wife - the only woman to survive the epic march from Dunboy - had also gone to Spain. Dermot, who lived to be 100 and had been Lord of Dursey Castle at the entrance to Bantry Bay, had a son who had been in Spain since childhood. Together with other Irish youths he had been sent there as a hostage (the kings of Spain gave no aid to Ireland without collateral).

Philip O Sullivan Beare (1590-1660) was destined for the Spanish navy and served faithfully, even if his mind was more occupied with the study of Latin, history and politics. Fortunately, he left a most useful contemporary account of the Elizabethan period in Ireland, which was published in Latin in Lisbon in 1621.

From then on, the story of the O Sullivans is diffuse, exemplified by characters pursuing diverse careers both at home and in the old and new worlds: soldiers, sailors, poets and writers predominate. In Brady and Cleeve's 1985 "A Biographical Dictionary of Irish Writers" there are no less than fifteen O Sullivans.

John O Sullivan (1700-46), born in Kerry, was sent to Paris and Rome to be educated for the priesthood but, changing his mind, he returned to Ireland. The penal laws presented him with the choice of forfeiting his estates or changing his religion. He chose the former and returned to France, where he joined the army and saw much service. When Prince Charles Stuart was planning his assault on Scotland in 1745, John O Sullivan was chosen as his adjutant and quartermaster-general. From then until Prince Charles' escape after Culloden, when he boarded a French frigate captained by another Irishman, Antoine Walsh, John O Sullivan was by the Prince's side. Despite the defeat at Culloden he was knighted for his services by James III, the Old Pretender.

Tadhgh Gaolach O Sullivan (1715-95) was a poet born in County Kerry. His work was mostly political or sentimentally religious and Dr Douglas Hyde, the Gaelic scholar, has described it as "very musical and mellifluous".

Owen Roe O Sullivan (1748-84) was also born in Kerry. He abandoned farm labouring to become a teacher. His weakness for women, and theirs for him, disrupted his life so much that he had to give up teaching. He joined the army, but eventually returned to school teaching. He wrote many poems and songs, some of which still linger on today. He has come to be regarded as a great lyric poet.

Two O Sullivan brothers were in France at the time of the Revolution. Charles O Sullivan, grandson of an Irish emigrant who had settled at Nantes, was a royalist. He had saved his brother, John, an ardent revolutionary, from the militant Vendeans. Later, John, a former fencing master, became a notorious terrorist. With the cruel pro-consul, Carrier, he organized the sinking of barges filled with priests and other citizens-a diabolical way of bypassing the guillotine or the expense of gunfire. John even betrayed his own royalist brother, Charles, who was guillotined. When the inevitable revulsion against the horror set in, John O Sullivan came before the Revolutionary Tribunal, which found him guilty of many atrocities and murders, but set him free "because he did not act with criminal revolutionary intention". He was, they averred, "merely a revolutionary with a perverted moral sense".

Morty Óg O Sullivan, a dispossessed O Sullivan of Berehaven, was a captain in the Irish Brigade in France. He served in Austria in Maria Theresa's army and was at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. The following year he was another of the many Irishmen who supported Prince Charles Stuart at the battle of Culloden. After the defeat of the Scots, he went to sea to earn his living smuggling to and from France, from the conveniently indented Munster coast. He also smuggled "Wild Geese", young men escaping from the frustrations of English rule in Ireland who wanted to join the Irish Brigade in France. The export of Irish wool was also forbidden, but Morty Óg smuggled it to France to finance his adventures, until he was caught and shot dead. Many ballads have been written in remembrance of Morty Óg O Sullivan.

"If you can't beat them, join them", has long been the motivation of the many Irish who travelled no further across the sea than to England. Many went on from there to take part in the expansion of the British Empire. One of these pragmatic Irishmen was Sir Richard Sullivan (1752-1806), born in Dublin, the son of Benjamin Sullivan of County Clare. These Sullivans made a life for themselves in India. Benjamin Sullivan was a Supreme Court judge in Madras. Another member of the family, Lawrence, was chairman of the East India Company. The climate did not agree with Richard, who returned to England where he began writing political history, including a history of Ireland. One of his three sons, Charles Sullivan, was Admiral of the Fleet.

Another Sullivan, Rear-Admiral Ball Sullivan (1780-1857), had fourteen children; four of his sons were in the British navy. In the First World War, Vice-Admiral Norton Allen Sullivan took part in the battle of Jutland in 1916. John O Sullivan of Bantry won the Victoria Cross in that same war.

An impressive number of O Sullivans were literary. Their diaries, political treatises, poems, plays and songs are testimony to the endurance and versatility of this great clan. In the eighteenth century, Bantry in County Cork was a seedbed of brilliant, if impoverished, O Sullivans. Alexander Martin O Sullivan (1830-84) worked as a government clerk while still a teenager, during the terrible famine of 1845 to 1849. Moved by this experience, he joined William Smith O Brien's Young Ireland movement. Afterwards, he worked as a reporter on the Liverpool Daily Post, and when he returned to Ireland he got a job as assistant editor of the Nation. Inevitably there was conflict between those who sought an Irish republic by peaceful means and those who wanted instant and violent action.

A.M. O Sullivan joined the Home Rule movement and was elected to Parliament and, as editor of the Nation, he began an unpopular temperance campaign. His legal studies led to his being called both to the Irish and English Bar. He handed over the Nation to his brother, Timothy Daniel O Sullivan, but over-exertion had damaged A.M.'s health and he did not live for much longer.

Timothy Daniel Sullivan (1827-1914) was a politician, journalist and poet. He wrote many popular nationalist songs, including "God Save Ireland", and "Ireland, Boys, Hurrah", which was sung by both sides during the American Civil War.

Alexander Martin Sullivan's second son, also Alexander Sullivan (1871-1959), was a distinguished barrister. He was the last to hold the title of King's Serjeant in Ireland. Because he was a constitutional nationalist, opposed to physical force, his life was threatened, as was his father's before him, by the men of violence who also burned his County Cork home. He was practising successfully at the English Bar until 1949, when the Costello coalition government repealed the External Relations Act. Feeling himself to be an alien in England, he retired from the English Bar.

Perhaps because of their rich Kerry literary background, many of the O Sullivans have been dedicated folklorists. Muiris O Suileabhain (1904-50) was born on the Great Blasket Islands off the Kerry coast. He joined the Garda Siochana (the Irish police force) and, while stationed in Connemara, he wrote Fiche Bliain ag Fas (Twenty Years A-Growing), an account of his childhood on the Blaskets, which became an international classic.

Sean O Sullivan (1906-64) studied art in Dublin and London and, at the age of 21, was the youngest artist ever to be elected to the Royal Hibernian Academy. He had a genius for portraiture and painted leading politicians, painters and writers.

In England the Sullivans mostly dropped the O prefix. Joseph Sullivan left Ireland to become a bandmaster at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He was the father of the great Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), whose music, coupled with W. S. Gilbert's witty lyrics, was to fill theatres, with amusing light operas such as "The Pirates of Penzance", "The Mikado" and "The Gondoliers". Arthur Sullivan was also a composer of hymns: particularly well-known are his "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".

Barry Sullivan's (1821-88) father left Ireland to join the British army and was invalided out after the battle of Waterloo. Barry soon abandoned his law studies to tour Ireland with a theatre company. He made his first important appearance in London, playing Hamlet. From then on he toured Europe and America as Hamlet. In Australia, his acting in Shakespearean drama was so popular that he remained there for three years. For twenty years he was confined to two principal roles, Hamlet and Richard IV. He said he appeared 3,500 times in each part.

In the United States of America, notable Sullivans appear with great regularity. General John O Sullivan (1744-1808) opened hostilities in the American Revolution by capturing a fort and taking a cannon. He was a personal friend of George Washington and, at the siege of Boston, he watched the English sail away. He and his brother James were lawyers by profession and helped in the establishment of the new nation. James was twice elected Governor of Massachusetts. There were, in fact, four Sullivan boys, all sons of Owen Sullivan, who had emigrated from Limerick in 1723 and had founded an exclusive school in New England.

Louis Henri Sullivan (1856-1924) always referred to himself as "of mongrel origin". His father was a musician who, in the course of his European wanderings, married a French-German wife. In Chicago, where they lived during his youth, Louis Henri had the benefit of grandparents of three nationalities. He became one of America's visionary architects, pursuing his "form follows function" theory. He designed many of Chicago's important public buildings, including the Auditorium.

Building sites and boxing gloves were outlets for the poor who had the physical strength but lacked education. Irish immigrants were highly rated in the boxing ring, particularly John L. Sullivan (1858-1 91 8), who was born in Boston of parents who had come from Tralee, County Kerry. His father was a small man, but his mother weighed 180 pounds and it was undoubtedly from her that John L. inherited his prodigious physique, which led him to become one of the most famous boxers in the history of the sport. He began to live recklessly and was reduced to making vaudeville appearances. His second wife reformed him and he ended his career as a temperance lecturer.

James Edward Sullivan (1860-1914), whose parents were from Kerry, was self-educated. He became a successful publisher in the United States and started the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States and New York's Public School Athletic league. He also opened the first public playground. He was American director of the Olympic Games and represented President Theodore Roosevelt and President Taft at the Olympic Games of 1908 and 1912.

Timothy Daniel Sullivan (1862-1913), son of emigrants to New York, progressed from Tammany Hall politics and saloon-keeping to leadership of the Democratic Party in the Bowery. His commercial enterprises, which embraced theatres and gambling, made him a millionaire. He turned down leadership of Tammany Hall in favour of his good friend, the incorruptible Charles W. Murphy. He donated generously to charity and was elected to Congress. When his wife Helen Fitzgerald died, he lost interest in life and died soon afterwards.

Irish construction workers contributed to the dangerous job of erecting the Statue of Liberty, while the dedication speech for its opening ceremony in 1886 was delivered by John L. O Sullivan, the Irish-American statesman and editor who coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny".

Anne Sullivan (1866-1936) taught Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind from the age of nineteen months, to talk by lip-feeling. She was so successful that Helen Keller graduated from Radcliffe College, became a writer and linguist and worked for the physically handicapped.

It was Pat Sullivan, an Australian cartoonist, who created "Felix the Cat" for the New York Herald in 1919, while Ed Sullivan (1902-74) brought the Sullivan name into millions of American homes with his weekly variety show which ran from 1948 to 1971.

Irish-Canadians feature among the Sullivans of North America. William Henry Sullivan (1864-1929) started as a lumberman and ended up as a civic leader. Born of Irish parents at Port Dalhousie, Ontario, he moved to Louisiana where he founded the town of Bogalusa and became its mayor.

O Sullivans visiting the lakes of Killarney in County Kerry will find their name commemorated in the names of places such as, for instance, a stretch of water known as O Sullivan's Punch Bowl. At Muckross Abbey there are tombs of many distinguished O Sullivans of past centuries.

Heraldry

O'Sullivan Mór: Arms: Per fess, the base per pale, in chief Or a dexter hand couped at the wrist Gules grasping a sword erect blade entwined with a serpent proper between two lions rampant respecting each other of the second, on a dexter base Vert a stag trippant Or, on the sinister base per pale Argent and Sable a boar passant counterchanged. Crest: On a ducal coronet Or a robin redbreast holding in the beak a sprig of of laurel all proper. Motto: Lamh foisteanach abú

O'Sullivan-Beare: Arms: Per pale Argent and Sable, a fess between in chief a boar passant and in base another counter passant all counterchanged armed hoofed and bristled Or. Crest: On a lizard Vert a robin redbreast proper. Motto: Lamh foisteanach abú

Ancient genealogy

Note: "Irish Pedigrees or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation", by John O'Hart is one of the best known Irish genealogical publications in the world. The first edition appeared in 1876, but was followed by several subsequent editions that added greatly to the overall size of the work. The most quoted edition was published in New York in 1923, twenty years after the author's death. It is worth mentioning here that the original work did not include and heraldic (coat of arms) information and that this was added to posthumous publications by unscrupulous publishers, presumably to increase sales. In general, O'Hart is a dubious source, at best, for such information.

O'Hart used many sources to compile the information that appears in his major work. His principal sources were Gaelic genealogies, like those of O'Clery, MacFirbis and O'Farrell. Along with the Gaelic annals, especially the Annals of the Four Masters, O'Hart was able to 'reconstruct' the medieval and ancient pedigree that appears here. He also used later sources, like the works of Burke, Collins, Harris, Lodge and Ware to extend these lineages into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But arguably the most important information contained in these genealogies came where O'Hart gathered the details directly from the families concerned, often from private papers or family tradition.

Irish mythology records that every family was descended from a certain Milesius of Spain who in about 500 BC led his followers to invade and conquer Ireland. The Christian monks who wrote these genealogies down in the 9th century, 2,500 years after Milesius, also added their own beliefs. So they recorded that Milesius was the 36th in descent from Adam! O'Hart, being both an ardent believer in the Gaelic myths and Christianity, followed their example. In his Gaelic genealogies a number representing the generation of descent from Adam precedes every generation. O'Hart showed, probably incorrectly, that every Gaelic family was descended from four of Milesius's family. These were his three sons, Heber, Ir and Heremon, and his uncle Ithe. These four were considered the 'stem' lines of the genealogies that followed. The latest scientiific evidence suggests that while the Celts had an overwhelming cultural influence on Ireland, the numbers of them that invaded Ireland were not all that huge and from the genetic point of view they are just a part of the mix that made up the Irish population.

While he undertook a great deal of research, using the majority of available published sources, many Gaelic scholars have superseded his work over the last 100 years. He was not familiar with the abundant unpublished Gaelic manuscript sources available. These have shown that many of his genealogies are incorrect for the years prior to 1600 AD. Furthermore, O'Hart was not a professional historian or genealogist, and had little training in using the esoteric sources he consulted. As a consequence he misunderstood a great deal about Gaelic society and culture, a world which had largely disappeared from Ireland long before he put pen to paper. He was also credulous in using the sources he did consult, believing that the myths were fact.

In short, while the pedigrees below are interesting, they should be read with a sceptical eye, and the further back you go, the more sceptical your eye should become.

The descent of O'Sullivan
1. Adam
2. Seth
3. Enos
4. Cainan
5. Mahalaleel
6. Jared
7. Enoch
8. Methuselah
9. Lamech
10. Noah divided the world amongst his three sons, begotten of his wife Titea: viz., to Shem he gave Asia, within the Euphrates, to the Indian Ocean; to Ham he gave Syria, Arabia, and Africa; and to Japhet, the rest of Asia beyond the Euphrates, together with Europe to Gadea (or Cadiz).
11. Japhet was the eldest son of Noah. He had fifteen sons, amongst whom he divided Europe and the part of Asia which his father had allotted to him.
12. Magog: From whom descended the Parthians, Bactrians, Amazons, etc.; Parthalon, the first planter of Ireland, about three hundred years after the Flood; and also the rest of the colonies that planted there, viz., the Nemedians, who planted Ireland, Anno Mundi three thousand and forty-six, or three hundred and eighteen years after the birth of Abraham, and two thousand one hundred and fifty-three years before Christ. The Nemedians continued in Ireland for two hundred and seventeen years; within which time a colony of theirs went into the northern parts of Scotland, under the conduct of their leader Briottan Maol, from whom Britain takes its name, and not from "Brutus," as some persons believed. From Magog were also descended the Belgarian, Belgian, Firbolgian or Firvolgian colony that succeeded the Nemedians, Anno Mundi, three thousand two hundred and sixty-six, and who first erected Ireland into a Monarchy. [According to some writers, the Fomorians invaded Ireland next after the Nemedians.] This Belgarian of Firvolgian colony continued in Ireland for thirty-six years, under nine of their Kings; when they were supplanted by the Tuatha-de-Danann (which means, according to some authorities, "the people of the god Dan," whom they adored), who possessed Ireland for one hundred and ninety-seven years, during the reigns of nine of their kings; and who were then conquered by the Gaelic, Milesian, or Scotic Nation (the three names by which the Irish people were known), Anno Mundi three thousand five hundred. This Milesian or Scotic Irish Nation possessed and enjoyed the Kingdom of Ireland for two thousand eight hundred and eighty-five years, under one hundred and eighty-three Monarchs; until their submission to King Henry the Second of England, Anno Domini one thousand one hundred and eighty-six.
13. Boath, one of the sons of Magog; to whom Scythia came as his lot, upon the division of the Earth by Noah amongst his sons, and by Japhet of his part thereof amongst his sons.
14. Phœniusa Farsaidh (or Fenius Farsa) was King of Scythia, at the time when Ninus ruled the Assyrian Empire; and, being a wise man and desirous to learn the languages that not long before confounded the builders of the Tower of Babel, employed able and learned men to go among the dispersed multitude to learn their several languages; who sometime after returning well skilled in what they went for, Phœniusa Farsaidh erected a school in the valley of Senaar, near the city of Æothena, in the forty-second year of the reign of Ninus; whereupon, having continued there with his younger son Niul for twenty years, he returned home to his kingdom, which, at his death, he left to the oldest son Nenuall; leaving to Niul no other patrimony than his learning and the benefit of the said school.
15. Niul, after his father returned to Scythia, continued some time at œothena, teaching the languages and other laudable sciences, until upon report of his great learning he was invited into Egypt by Pharaoh, the King; who gave him the land of Campus Cyrunt, near the Red Sea to inhabit, and his daughter Scota in marriage; from whom their posterity are ever since called Scots; but, according to some annalists, the name "Scots" is derived from the word Scythia. It was this Niul that employed Gaodhal [Gael], son of Ethor, a learned and skilful man, to compose or rather refine and adorn the language, called Bearla Tobbai, which was common to all Niul's posterity, and afterwards called Gaodhilg (or Gaelic), from the said Gaodhal who composed or refined it; and for his sake also Niul called his own eldest son "Gaodhal."
16. Gaodhal (or Gathelus), the son of Niul, and ancestor of Clan-na-Gael, that is, "the children or descendants of Gaodhal". In his youth this Gaodhal was stung in the neck by a serpent, and was immediately brought to Moses, who, laying his rod upon the wounded place, instantly cured him; whence followed the word "Glas" to be added to his named, as Gaodhal Glas (glas: Irish, green; Lat. glaucus; Gr. glaukos), on account of the green scar which the word signifies, and which, during his life, remained on his neck after the wound was healed. And Gaodhal obtained a further blessing, namely-that no venomous beast can live any time where his posterity should inhabit; which is verified in Creta or Candia, Gothia or Getulia, Ireland, etc. The Irish chroniclers affirm that from this time Gaodhal and his posterity did paint the figures of Beasts, Birds, etc., on their banners and shields, to distinguish their tribes and septs, in imitation of the Israelites; and that a "Thunderbolt" was the cognisance in their chief standard for many generations after this Gaodhal.
17. Asruth, after his father's death, continued in Egypt and governed his colony in peace during his life.
18. Sruth, soon after his father's death, was set upon by the Egyptians, on account of their former animosities towards their predecessors for having taken part with the Israelites against them; which animosities until then lay raked up in the embers, and now broke out in a flame to that degree, that after many battles and conflicts wherein most of his colony lost their live, Sruth was forced with the few remaining to depart the country; and, after many traverses at sea, arrived at the Island of Creta (now called Candia), where he paid his last tribute to nature.
19. Heber Scut (scut: Irish, a Scot), after his father's death and a year's stay in Creta, departed thence, leaving some of his people to inhabit the Island, where some of their posterity likely still remain; "because the Island breeds no venomous serpent ever since." He and his people soon after arrived in Scythia; where his cousins, the posterity of Nenuall (eldest son of Fenius Farsa, above mentioned), refusing to allot a place of habitation form him and his colony, they fought many battles wherein Heber (with the assistance of some of the natives who were ill-affected towards their king), being always victor, he at length forced the sovereignty from the other, and settled himself and his colony in Scythia, who continued there for four generations. (Hence the epithet Scut, "a Scot" or "a Scythian," was applied to this Heber, who was accordingly called Heber Scot.) Heber Scot was afterwards slain in battle by Noemus the former king's son.
20. Baouman;
21 Ogaman; and
22. Tait, were each kings of Scythia, but in constant war with the natives; so that after Tait's death his son,
23. Agnon and his followers betook themselves to sea, wandering and coasting upon the Caspian Sean for several (some say seven) years in which time he died.
24. Lamhfionn and his fleet remained at sea for some time, after his father's death, resting and refreshing themselves upon such islands as they met with. It was then the Cachear, their magician or Druid, foretold that there would be no end of their peregrinations and travel until they should arrive at the Western Island of Europe, now called Ireland, which was the place destined for their future and lasting abode and settlement; and that not they but their posterity after three hundred years should arrive there. After many traverses of fortune at sea, this little fleet with their leader arrived at last and landed at Gothia or Geulia-more recently called Lybia, where Carthage was afterwards built; and, soon after, Lamhfionn died there.
25. Heber Glunfionn was born in Gothia, where he died. His posterity continued there to the eighth generation; and were kings or chief rulers there for one hundred and fifty years-some say three hundred years.
26 Agnan Fionn;
27. Febric Glas;
28. Nenuall;
29. Nuadhad;
30. Alladh;
31. Arcadh; and
32. Deag: of these nothing remarkable is mentioned, but that they lived and died kings in Gothia or Getulia.
33. Brath was born in Gothia. Remembering the Druid's prediction, and his people having considerably multiplied during their abode in Geulia, he departed thence with a numerous fleet to seek out the country destined for their final settlement, by the prophecy of Cachear, the Druid above mentioned; and, after some time, he landed upon the coast of Spain, and by strong hand settled himself and his colony in Galicia, in the north of that country.
34. Breoghan (or Brigus) was king of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal-all of which he conquered. He built Breoghan's Tower or Brigantia in Galicia, and the city of Brigantia or Braganza in Portugal-called after him; and the kingdom of Castile was then also called after him Brigia. It is considered that "Castile" itself was so called from the figure of a castle which Brigus bore for his Arms on his banner. Brigus sent a colony into Britain, who settled in that territory now known as the counties of York, Lancaster, Durham, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, and, after him were called Brigantes; whose posterity gave formidable opposition to the Romans, at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain.
35. Bilé; was king of those countries after his father's death; and his son Galamh [galav] or Milesius succeeded him. This Bilé had a brother named Ithe.
36. Milesius, in his youth and in his father's life-time, went into Scythia, where he was kindly received by the king of that country, who gave him his daughter in marriage, and appointed him General of his forces. In this capacity Milesius defeated the king's enemies, gained much fame, and the love of all the king's subjects. His growing greatness and popularity excited against him the jealousy of the king; who, fearing the worst, resolved on privately dispatching Milesius our of the way, for, openly, he dare not attempt it. Admonished of the king's intentions in his regard, Milesius slew him; and thereupon quitted Scythia and retired into Egypt with a fleet of sixty sail. Pharaoh Nectonibus, then king of Egypt, being informed of his arrival and of his great valour, wisdom, and conduct in arms, made him General of all his forces against the king of Ethiopia then invading his country. Here, as in Scythia, Milesius was victorious; he forced the enemy to submit to the conqueror's own terms of peace. By these exploits Milesius found great favour with Pharaoh, who gave him, being then a widower, his daughter Scota in marriage; and kept him eight years afterwards in Egypt. During the sojourn of Milesius in Egypt, he employed the most ingenious and able persons among his people to be instructed in the several trades, arts, and sciences used in Egypt; in order to have them taught to the rest of his people on his return to Spain. [The original name of Milesius of Spain was "Galamh" (gall: Irish, a stranger; amh, a negative affix), which means, no stranger: meaning that he was no stranger in Egypt, where he was called "Milethea Spaine," which was afterwards contracted to "Miló Spaine" (meaning the Spanish Hero), and finally to "Milesiius" (mileadh: Irish, a hero; Lat. miles, a soldier).] At length Milesius took leave of his father-in-law, and steered towards Spain; where he arrived to the great joy and comfort of his people; who were much harassed by the rebellion of the natives and by the intrusion of other foreign nations that forced in after his father's death, and during his own long absence from Spain. With these and those he often met; and, in fifty-four battles, victoriously fought, he routed, destroyed, and totally extirpated them out of the country, which he settled in peace and quietness. In his reign a great dearth and famine occurred in Spain, of twenty-six years' continuance, occasioned, as well by reason of the former troubles which hindered the people from cultivating, and manuring the ground, as for want of rain to moisten the earth - but Milesius superstitiously believed the famine to have fallen upon him and his people as a judgment and punishment from their gods, for their negligence in seeking out the country destined for their final abode, so long before foretold by Cachear their Druid or magician, as already mentioned - the time limited by the prophecy for the accomplishment thereof being now nearly, if not fully, expired. To expiate his fault and to comply with the will of his gods, Milesius, with the general approbation of his people, sent his uncle Ithe, with his son Lughaidh [Luy], and one hundred and fifty stout men to bring them an account of those western islands; who, accordingly, arriving at the island since then called Ireland, and landing in that part of it now called Munster, left his son with fifty of his men to guard the ship, and with the rest travelled about the island. Informed, among other things, that the three sons of Cearmad, called Mac-Cuill, MacCeacht, and MacGreine, did then and for thirty years before rule and govern the island, each for one year, in his turn; and that the country was called after the names of their three queens - Eire, Fodhla, and Banbha, respectively: one year called "Eire," the next "Fodhla," and the next "Banbha," as their husbands reigned in their regular turns; by which names the island is ever since indifferently called, but most commonly "Eire," because that MacCuill, the husband of Eire, ruled and governed the country in his turn the year that the Clan-na-Milé (or the sons of Milesius) arrived in and conquered Ireland. And being further informed that the three brothers were then at their palace at Aileach Neid, in the north part of the country, engaged in the settlement of some disputes concerning their family jewels, Ithe directed his course thither; sending orders to his son to sail about with his ship and the rest of his men, and meet him there. When Ithe arrived where the (Danann) brothers were, be was honourably received and entertained by them; and, finding him to be a mail of great wisdom. and knowledge, they referred their disputes to him for decision. That decision having met their entire satisfaction, Ithe exhorted them to mutual love, peace, and forbearance; adding much in praise of their delightful, pleasant, and fruitful country; and then took his leave, to return to his ship, and go back to Spain. No sooner was he gone than the brothers; began to reflect on the high commendations which Ithe gave of the Island; and, suspecting his design of bringing others to invade it, resolved to prevent them, and therefore pursued him with a strong party, overtook him, fought and routed his men and wounded himself to death (before his son or the rest of his men left on ship-board could come to his rescue) at a place called, from that fight and his name, Magh Ithe or "The plain of Ithe" (an extensive plain in the barony of Raphoe, county Donegal); whence his son, having found him in that condition, brought his dead and mangled body back into Spain, and there exposed it to public view, thereby to excite his friends and relations to avenge his murder. [Note: that all the invaders and planters of Ireland, namely, Parthalonians, Neimhedh, the Firbolgs, Tuatha-de-Danann, and Clan-na-Milé, where originally Scythians, of the line of Japbet, who had the language called Bearla-Tobbai or Gaoidhilg [Gaelic] common amongst them all; and consequently not to be wondered at, that Ithe and the Tuatha-de-Danann understood one another without an Interpreter - both speaking the same language, though perhaps with some difference in the accent]. The exposing of the dead body of Ithe had the desired effect; for, thereupon, Milesius made great preparations in order to invade Ireland - as well to avenge his uncle's death, as also in obedience to the will of his gods, signified by the prophecy of Cachear, aforesaid. But, before he could effect that object, he died, leaving the care, and charge of that expedition upon his eight legitimate sons by his two wives before mentioned. Milesius was a very valiant champion, a great warrior, and fortunate and prosperous in all his undertakings: witness his name of "Milesius," given him from the many battles (some say a thousand, which the word "Milé" signifies in Irish as well as in Latin) which he victoriously fought and won, as well in Spain, as in all the other countries and kingdoms be traversed in his younger days. The eight brothers were neither forgetful nor negligent in the execution of their father's command; but, soon after his death, with a numerous fleet well manned and equipped, set forth from Breoghan's Tower or Brigantia (now Corunna) in Galicia, in Spain, and sailed prosperously to the coasts of Ireland or lnis-Fail, where they met many difficulties and various chances before they could land: occasioned by the diabolical arts, sorceries, and enchantments used by the Tuatha-de-Danann, to obstruct their landing; for, by their magic art, they enchanted the island so as to appear to the Milesians or Clan-na-Milé in the form of a Hog, and no way to come at it (whence the island, among the many other names it had before, was called "Muc-Inis or "The Hog Island"); and withal raised so great a storm, that the Milesian fleet was thereby totally dispersed and many of them cast away, wherein five of the eight brothers, sons of Milesius, lost their lives. That part of the fleet commanded by Heber, Heremon, and Amergin (the three surviving, brothers), and Heber Donn, son of Ir (one of the brothers lost in the storm), overcame all opposition, landed safe, fought and routed the three Tuatha-de Danann Kings at Slieve-Mis, and thence pursued and overtook them at Tailten, where another bloody battle was fought; wherein the three (Tuatha-de-Danann) Kings and their Queens were slain, and their army utterly routed and destroyed: so that they could never after give any opposition to the Clan-na-Milé in their new conquest; who, having thus sufficiently avenged the death of their great uncle Ithe, gained the possession of the country foretold them by Cachear, some ages past, as already mentioned. Heber and Heremon, the chief leading men remaining of the eight brothers, sons of Milesius aforesaid, divided the kingdom between them (allotting a proportion of land to their brother Amergin, who was their Arch-priest, Druid, or magician; and to their nephew Heber Donn, and to the rest of their chief commanders), and became jointly the first of one hundred and eighty-three Kings or sole Monarchs of the Gaelic, Milesian, or Scottish Race, that ruled and governed Ireland, successively, for two thousand eight hundred and eighty-five years from the first year of their reign), Anno Mundi three thousand five hundred, to their submission to the Crown of England in the person of King Henry the Second; who, being also of the Milesian Race by Maude, his mother, was lineally descended from Fergus Mór MacEarca, first King of Scotland, who was descended from the said Heremon - so that the succession may be truly said to continue in the Milesian Blood from before Christ one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine years down to the present time. Heber and Heremon reigned jointly one year only, when, upon a difference between their ambitious wives, they quarrelled and fought a battle at Ardeath or Geshill (Geashill, near Tullamore in the King's County), where Heber was slain by Heremon; and, soon after, Amergin, who claimed an equal share in the government, was, in another battle fought between them, likewise slain by Heremon. Thus, Heremon became sole Monarch, and made a new division of the land amongst his comrades and friends, viz.: the south part, now called Munster, he gave to his brother Heber's four sons, Er, Orba, Feron, and Fergna; the north part, now Ulster, he gave to Ir's only son Heber Donn; the east part or Coigeadh, Galian, now called Leinster, be gave to Criomthann-sciath-bheil, one of his commanders; and the west part, now called Connaught, Heremon gave to Un-Mac-Oigge, another of his commanders; allotting a part of Munster to Lughaidh (the son of Ithe, the first Milesian discoverer of Ireland), amongst his brother Heber's sons. From these three brothers, Heber, Ir, and Heremon (Amergin dying without issue), are descended all the Milesian Irish of Ireland and Scotland, viz.: from Heber, the eldest brother, the provincial Kings of Munster (of whom thirty-eight were sole Monarchs of Ireland), and most of the nobility and gentry of Munster, and many noble families in Scotland, are descended. From Ir, the second brother, all the provincial Kings of Ulster (of whom twenty-six were sole Monarchs of Ireland), and all the ancient nobility and gentry of Ulster, and many noble families in Leinster, Munster, and Connaught, derive their pedigrees; and, in Scotland, the Clan-na-Rory - the descendants of an eminent man, named Ruadhri or Roderick, who was Monarch of Ireland for seventy years (viz., from Before Christ 288 to 218). From Heremon, the youngest of the three brothers, were descended one hundred and fourteen sole Monarchs of Ireland: the provincial Kings and Hermonian nobility and gentry of Leinster, Connaught, Meath, Orgiall, Tirowen, Tirconnell, and Clan-na-boy; the Kings of Dalriada; all the Kings of Scotland from Fergus Mór MacEarea, down to the Stuarts; and the Kings and Queens of England from Henry the Second down to tile present time. The issue of Ithe is not accounted among the Milesian Irish or Clan-na-Milé, as not being descended from Milesius, but from his uncle Ithe; of whose posterity there were also some Monarchs of Ireland (see Roll of the Irish Monarchs, infra), and many provincial or half provincial Kings of Munster: that country upon its first division being allocated to the sons of Heber and to Lughaidh, son of Ithe, whose posterity continued there accordingly. This invasion, conquest, or plantation of Ireland by the Milesian or Scottish Nation took place in the Year of the World three thousand Ova hundred, or the next year after Solomon began the foundation of the Temple of Jerusalem, and one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine years before the Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ; which, according to the Irish computation of Time, occurred Anno Mundi five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine: therein agreeing with the Septuagint, Roman Martyrologies, Eusebius, Orosius, and other ancient authors; which computation the ancient Irish chroniclers exactly observed in their Books of the Reigns of the Monarchs of Ireland, and other Antiquities of that Kingdom ; out of which the Roll of the Monarchs of Ireland, from the beginning of the Milesian Monarchy to their submission to King Henry the Second of England, a Prince of their own Blood, is exactly collected. [As the Milesian invasion of Ireland took place the next year after the laying of the foundation of the Temple of Jerusalem by Solomon, King of Israel, we may infer that Solomon was contemporary with Milesius of Spain; and that the Pharaoh King of Egypt, who (1 Kings iii. 1,) gave his daughter in marriage to Solomon, was the Pharaoh who conferred on Milesius of Spain the hand of another daughter Scota.] Milesius of Spain bore three Lions in his shield and standard, for the following reasons; namely, that, in his travels in his younger days into foreign countries, passing through Africa, he, by his cunning and valour, killed in one morning three Lions; and that, in memory of so noble and valiant an exploit, he always after bore three Lions on his shield, which his two surviving sons Heber and Heremon, and his grandson Heber Donn, son of Ir, after their conquest of Ireland, divided amongst them, as well as they did the country: each of them. bearing a Lion in his shield and banner, but of different colours; which the Chiefs of their posterity continue to this day: some with additions and differences; others plain and entire as they had it from their ancestors.
37. Heber Fionn. This Heber Fionn was the first Milesian Monarch of Ireland, conjointly with his brother Heremon. Heber was slain by Heremon, Before Christ, 1698.
38. Conmaol: his son; was the twelfth Monarch.
39. Eochaidh Faobhar Glas: his son; the 17th Monarch.
40. Eanna Airgthach: his son; was the 21st Monarch; and the first who caused silver shields to be made.
41. Glas: his son.
42. Ros: his son.
43. Rotheacta: his son.
44. Fearard: his son.
45. Cas: his son,
46. Munmoin: his son; was the 25th Monarch; and the first who ordained his Nobles to wear gold chains about their necks.
47. Fualdergoid: his son; was the 26th Monarch; and the first who ordered his Nobility to wear gold rings on their fingers.
48. Cas Cedchaingnigh: his son. This Cas was a learned man; he revised the study of the laws, poetry, and other laudable sciences (which were) much eclipsed and little practised since the death of Amergin Glungheal, one of the sons of Milesius, who was their Druid or Archpriest, and who was slain in battle by his brother Heremon soon after their brother Heber's death.
49. Failbhe Iolcorach: his son; was the first who ordained that stone walls should be built as boundaries between the neighbours' lands.
50. Ronnach: his son.
51. Rotheachta: his son; was the 35th Monarch.
52. Eiliomh Ollfhionach: his son.
53. Art Imleach: his son; the 38th Monarch.
54. Breas Rioghacta: his son; the 40th Monarch.
55. Seidnae Innaridh: his son; was the 43rd Monarch; and the first who, in Ireland, enlisted his soldiers in pay and under good discipline. Before his time, they had no other pay than what they could gain from their enemies.
56. Duach Fionn: his son; died B.C. 893.
57. Eanna Dearg: his son; was the 47th Monarch. In the twelfth year of his reign he died suddenly, with most of his retinue, adoring their false gods at Sliabh Mis, B.C. 880 years.
58. Lughaidh Iardhonn: his son.
59. Eochaidh (2): his son.
60. Lughaidh: his son; died B.C. 831.
61. Art (2): his son; was the 54th Monarch; and was slain by his successor in the Monarchy, who was uncle to the former Monarch.
62. Olioll Fionn: his son.
63. Eochaidh (3): his son.
64. Lughaidh Lagha: his son; died B.C. 730.
65. Reacht Righ-dearg: his son; was the 65th Monarch; and was called "Righ-dearg" or the red king, for having a hand in a woman's blood: having slain queen Macha of the line of Ir, and (see No. 64, on the "Roll of the Monarchs," page 60), the only woman that held the Monarchy of Ireland. He was a warlike Prince and fortunate in his undertakings. He went into Scotland with a powerful army to reduce to obedience the Pictish nation, then growing refractory in the payment of their yearly tribute to the Monarchs of Ireland; which having performed, he returned, and, after twenty years' reign, was slain in battle by his Heremonian successor, B.C. 633.
66. Cobthach Caomh: son of Reacht Righ-dearg.
67. Moghcorb: his son.
68. Fearcorb: his son.
69. Adhamhra Foltcain: his son; died, B.C. 412.
70. Niadhsedhaman: his son; was the 83rd Monarch. In his time the wild deer were, through the sorcery and witchcraft of his mother, usually driven home with the cows, and tamely suffered themselves to be milked every day.
71. Ionadmaor: his son; was the 87th Monarch.
72. Lughaidh Luaighne: his son; the 89th Monarch.
73. Cairbre Lusgleathan: his son.
74. Duach Dalladh Deadha: his son; was the 91st Monarch, and (except Crimthann, the 125th Monarch, was) the last of thirty-three Monarchs of the line of Heber that ruled the Kingdom; and but one more of them came to the Monarchy - namely, Brian Boroimhe, the thirty-first generation down from this Duach, who pulled out his younger brother Deadha's eyes (hence the epithet Dalladh, "blindness," applied to Deadha) for daring to come between him and the throne.
75. Eochaidh Garbh: his son.
76. Muireadach Muchna: his son.
77. Mofebhis: his wife. [In the ancient Irish Regal Roll the name of Mofebhis is by mistake entered after that of her husband, instead of the name of their son, Loich Mór; and, sooner than disturb the register numbers of the succeeding names, O'Clery thought best to let the name of Mofebhis remain on the Roll, but to point out the inaccuracy.]
78. Loich Mor: son of Muireadach and Mofebhis.
79. Eanna Muncain: his son.
80. Dearg Theine: his son. This Dearg had a competitor in the Kingdom of Munster, named Darin, of the sept of Lugaidh, son of Ithe, the first (Milesian) discoverer of Ireland; between whom it was agreed that their posterity should reign by turns, and when (one of) either of the septs was King, (one of) the other should govern in the civil affairs of the Kingdom; which agreement continued so, alternately, for some generations.
81. Dearg (2): son of Dearg Theine.
82. Magha Neid: his son.
83. Eoghan Mór [Owen Mor], or Eugene the Great: his son. This Eugene was commonly called "Mogha Nuadhad," and was a wise and politic prince and great warrior. From him Magh-Nuadhad (now "Maynooth") is so called; where a great battle was fought between him and Conn of the Hundred Battles, the 110th Monarch of Ireland, A.D. 122, with whom he was in continual wars, until at last, after many bloody battles, he forced him to divide the kingdom with him in two equal parts by the boundary of Esker Riada - a long ridge of Hills from Dublin to Galway; determining the south part to himself, which he called after his own name Leath Mogha or Mogha's Half (of Ireland), as the north part was called Leath Cuinn or Conn's Half; and requiring Conn to give his daughter Sadhbh (or Sabina) in marriage to his eldest son Olioll Olum. Beara, daughter of Heber, the great King of Castile (in Spain), was his wife, and the mother of Olioll Olum and of two daughters (who were named respectively), Caomheall and Scothniamh; after all, he was slain in Battle by the said Conn of the Hundred Battles.
84. Olioll Olum: son of Eoghan Mor; was the first of this line named in the Regal Roll to be king of both Munsters; for, before him, there were two septs that were alternately kings of Munster, until this Olioll married Sabina, daughter of the Monarch Conn of the Hundred Battles, and widow of Mac Niadh, chief of the other sept of Darin, descended from Ithe, and by whom she had one son named Lughaidh, commonly called "Luy Maccon;" who, when he came to man's age, demanded from Olioll, his stepfather, the benefit of the agreement formerly made between their ancestors; which Olioll not only refused to grant, but he also banished Maccon out of Ireland; who retired into Scotland, where, among his many friends and relations, he soon collected a strong party, returned with them to Ireland, and with the help and assistance of the rest of his sept who joined with them, he made war upon Olioll; to whose assistance his (Olioll's) brother-in-law, Art-Ean-Fhear, then Monarch of Ireland, came with a good army; between whom and Maccon was fought the great and memorable battle of Magh Mucromha (or Muckrove), near Athenry, where the Monarch Art, together with seven of Olioll's nine sons, by Sabina, lost their lives, and their army was totally defeated and routed. By this great victory Maccon not only recovered his right to the Kingdom of Munster, but the Monarchy also, wherein he maintained himself for thirty years; leaving the Kingdom of Munster to his stepfather Olioll Olum, undisturbed.
After the battle, Olioll, having but two sons left alive, namely Cormac-Cas and Cian, and being very old, settled his kingdom upon Cormac, the elder son of the two, and his posterity; but soon after being informed that Owen Mór, his eldest son (who was slain in the battle of Magh Mucromha, above mentioned), had by a Druid's daughter issue, named Feach (Fiacha Maolleathan as he was called), born after his father's death, Olioll ordained that Cormac should be king during his life, and Feach to succeed him, and after him Cormac's son, and their posterity to continue so by turns; which (arrangement) was observed between them for many generations, sometimes dividing the kingdom between them, by the name of South, or North Munster, or Desmond, and Thomond.
From these three sons of Olioll Olum are descended the Hiberian nobility and gentry of Munster and other parts of Ireland; viz., from Owen Mór are descended M`Carthy, O'Sullivan, O'Keeffe, and the rest of the ancient nobility of Desmond; from Cormac-Cas are descended O'Brien, MacMahon, O'Kennedy, and the rest of the nobility and gentry of Thomond; and from Cian [Kian] are descended O'Carroll (of Ely-O'Carroll), O'Meagher, O'Hara, O'Gara, etc.
85. Owen Mór (2): son of Olioll Olum.
86. Fiacha (or Feach) Maolleathan: his son.
87. Olioll Flann-beag: his son. This Olioll, King of Munster for thirty years, had an elder brother, Olioll Flann-mór, who, having no issue, adopted his younger brother to be his heir; conditionally, that his name should be inserted in the Pedigree as the father of this Olioll; and so it is in several copies of the Munster antiquaries, with the reason thereof, as here given.
88. Lughaidh: son of Olioll Flann-beag; had two younger brothers named Main Mun-Chain, and Daire (or Darius) Cearb; and by a second marriage he had two sons - 1. Lughach, 2. Cobthach.
89. Corc: eldest son of Lughaidh. This Corc, to shun the unnatural love of his stepmother, fled in his youth to Scotland, where he married Mong-fionn, daughter of Feredach Fionn, otherwise called Fionn Cormac, King of the Picts (who, in Irish, are called Cruithneach or Cruithneans), by whom he had several sons, whereof Main Leamhna, who remained in Scotland, was the ancestor of "Mor Mhaor Leamhna," i.e., Great Stewards of Lennox; from whom were descended the Kings of Scotland and England of the Stewart or Stuart Dynasty, and Cronan, who married Cairche, daughter of Leaghaire MacNiall, the 128th Monarch of Ireland, by whom he got territory in Westmeath, from her called "Cuircneach," now called Dillon's Country.
This Corc, also, although never converted to Christianity, was one of the three Kings or Princes appointed by the triennial parliament held at Tara in St. Patrick's time, "to review, examine, and reduce into order all the monuments of antiquity, genealogies, chronicles, and records of the Kingdom ;" the other two being Daire or Darius, a Prince of Ulster, and Leary the Monarch. With these three were associated for that purpose St. Patrick, St. Benignus, and St. Carioch; together with Dubhthach, Fergus, and Rosse Mac Trichinn, the chief antiquaries of Ireland (at the time). From Corc, the City of Cork is called, according to some authors.
90. Nathfraoch: son of Corc; had a brother named Cas.
91. Aongus or Æneas: his son. This was the first Christian King of Munster. He had twenty-four sons and twenty-four daughters, whereof he devoted to the service of God one-half of both sexes.
When this King was baptized by St. Patrick, the Saint offering to fasten his Staff or Crozier in the ground, accidentally happened to pierce the foot of Æneas through, whereby he lost much blood; but thinking it to be part of the ceremony (of Baptism), he patiently endured it until the Saint had done. He ordained three pence per annum from every person that should be baptized throughout Munster, to be paid to St. Patrick and the Church in manner following: viz., five hundred cows, five hundred stone of iron, five hundred shirts, five hundred coverlets, and five hundred sheep, every third year. He reigned 36 years, at the end whereof he and his wife Eithne, daughter of Crimthann-Cas, King of Leinster, were slain.
92. Felim, his son; was the second Christian King of Munster. His eleven brothers that did not enter into Religious Orders were - 1. Eocha, third Christian King of Munster, ancestor of O'Keeffe; 2. Dubh Ghilcach; 3. Breasail, from whom descended the great antiquary and holy man Cormac Mac Culenan, the 39th Christian King of Munster, and Archbishop of Cashel, author of the ancient Irish Chronicles called the "Psalter of Cashel ;" 4. Senach; 5. Aodh (or Hugh) Caoch (Eithne was mother of the last three); 6. Carrthann; 7. Nafireg; 8. Aodh; 9. Felim; 10. Losian; and 11. Dathi; from all of whom many families are descended.
93. Crimthann: his son.
94. Aodh Dubh [Duff]: his son; reigned 15 years.
95. Fingin: son of Aodh Dubh, King of Munster; from him descended the O'Suilebhain family, anglicised O'Sullivan and Sullivan; was elected joint King of Munster, in the life-time of his brother Failbhe; married Mór Mumhain. Failbhé Flann: his brother; was the 16th Christian King of Munster, and reigned 40 years. From this Failbhé Flann the MacCarthy families are descended.
96. Seachnasagh: son of Fingin.
97. Fiachra an Gaircedh: his son; had a brother Reachtabra.
98. Flann Noba: son of Fiachra.
99. Dubhinracht: his son.
100. Morogh: his son.
101. Moghtigern: his son.
102. Maolura: his son.
103. Suilebhan ("suilebhan:" Irish, one eye): his son: a quo O'Suilebhain.
104. Lorcan: his son.
105. Buadhach Atha-cra) "buaidh:" Irish, victory, Heb. "buagh," to exult; "atha:" Irish, a ford, and "cradh," death): his son.
106. Hugh: his son.
107. Cathal: his son.
108. Buadhach O'Sullivan: his son; first assumed this sirname. This Buadhach is said to have gone over the sea for a Slavonic or Macedonian wife
109. Maccraith: son of Buadhach.
110. Donal Mór: his son.
111. Giolla Mochoda (or Gilmochud): his son; had a brother, Giolla na-Bhflainn, who was the ancestor of O'Sullivan Beara.
112. Dunlong: son of Giolla Mochoda; in 1196 left co. Tipperary, and settled in the co. Kerry.
113. Murtogh Mór: his son; married Catherine, daughter of MacCarthy Mór. Had a brother Gille Mochodh.
114. Bernard: his son; married Mary MacCarthy of the House of Carbery, and had two sons, Buochan and Philip.
115. Buochan: son of Bernard.
116. Dunlong: his son.
117. Ruadhri (or Roger) his son; had a brother named Craith, a quo MacGrath.
118. Donal: son of Roger.
119. Donal of Dunkerron: his son.
120. Eoghan (or Owen): his son.
121. Dermod of Dunkerron: his son; had a younger brother named Donal na Sgreadaidhe (or "Donal of the Shriek") from whom the O'Sullivan Mór family is descended.
122. Connor: son of Dermod.
123. Donal: his son.
124. Owen Ruadh: his son.
125. Owen of Cappanacusha Castle: his son; forfeited his estate in the war of 1641-1652.
126. Dermod: his son. Of the children of this Dermod the names of the following are known:
I. Murrough-Vera, of whom presently. II. Murtogh Fion. III. William-Leim-laidir. IV. Philip. V. Thige laidir (or strong Timothy). VI. John-Vera. VII. Timothy-Murtogh. John Vera O'Sullivan was the chief companion, and generalissimo, of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, called "The Pretender;" he struggled hard to recover the Crown of England for the House of Stuart. He afterwards served with great distinction in the service of the King of France, where he was considered a Military-Scientist, and one of the most engaging and best bred officers in the French Army. He was specially knighted by "James the Third." On the 17th April, 1747, Sir John Vera O'Sullivan married Louisa, daughter of Thomas Fitzgerald, and left a son Thomas Herbert Vera O'Sullivan, who served in the British Army under Sir Henry Clinton at New York; again in the Dutch service, and was the bosom friend of Prince de Figne; he died as Field Officer in 1824, leaving two sons:-1. John-William; and 2. Thomas-Gerald, who perished in swimming ashore with a rope to save a crew of a distressed ship. John-Lewis, son of John-William, was in 1854 United States Minister to the Court of Portugal. General Sir John Vera O'Sullivan's portrait is in the possession of his grandson: he is in the uniform of the 7th Regiment Irlandés, which shows the names of the following officers-Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, Roth, Berwick, Lally, and Fitzjames.
General Sir John Vera O'Sullivan was educated in Paris; and to give him the most expensive education, his parents mortgaged the little property that remained to them in Desmond, and which was held in trust for them by a kind Protestant gentleman of that neighbourhood. After the death of Sir John's mother, he returned to, Kerry, and privately sold the Desmond property, as the Irish Catholics were then proscribed. He never afterwards returned to Ireland.
Thomas, son of Sir John O'Sullivan, was an officer in the Irish Brigade; he removed to America and entered the British service, which he ultimately exchanged for the Dutch. He died a major at the Hague in 1824.
127. Murrogh-Vera O'Sullivan: son of Dermod.
128. Thige Laidir ("strong Timothy"): his son.
129. John-Vera: his son.
130. Timothy-Vera: his son.
131. Timothy-Murtogh-Vera: his son; an officer in the Indian Commissariat, living in Fyzabad, Oude, Bengal, Hindostan, in 1887; married Ellen Fitzpatrick, and has had issue:
I. William John-Vera, of whom presently.
II. Timothy-Murtogh-Vera.
III. James-Thomas-Vera.
IV. Henry-James-Vera.
V. John-Vera.
VI. Eugene-Sextus-Vera.
VII. Eoghan-Donal-Vera.
VIII. Hugh-Vera.
I. Mary-Ellen-Vera.
II. Nelly-Eleanor-Vera.
III. Eveleen (Eibhlin)-Vera.
IV. Catherine-Veronica-Vera.
V. Nora-Mary-Vera.
VI. Nesta-Lucy-Vera.
VII. Mary-Erina-Vera.
VIII. Finnola-Vera.
132. William-John-Vera O'Sullivan: eldest son of Timothy-Murtogh-Vera O'Sullivan; living in India in 1887, and serving in Bengal Commissariat Department.

Junior branch
115. Philip O'Sullivan: second son of Bernard, No. 114 above, married Honoria (or Nora) O'Connor Kerry.
116. Donal: his son; married Joanna MacCarthy.
117. Richard (or Rory): his son; married Una, daughter of Neil Oge O'Neill, Prince of Ulster.
118. Owen: his son; married to Graine MacCarthy.
119. Donal (2): his son; married to Maedhbh O'Donnell.
120. Philip (2): his son; married to Nelly, a daughter of Owen O'Sullivan Mór.
121. Rory: his son; married to Mór Fitzmaurice.
122. Donal (3): his son; married to Julia O'Donovan.
123. Owen (2): his son; married Elizabeth Fitzgerald.
124. Ruadhraidh: his son; married Julia MacCarthy, of Drishane.
125. Donal (4): his son; married Elana MacAuliffe.
126. John: his son; married Mary O'Keeffe, of Killeen.
127. Tadhg (or Thige): his son; married Joanna O'Callaghan, of Clonmeen, co. Cork; had issue: - 1. Philip; 2. Connor, born 2nd May, 1683, died 5th May, 1769; married to Ellen, daughter to Stepney Galwey, merchant, Cork. This Tadhg died 4th Aug., 1706, aged 54 years.
128. Philip (3): his son; born 8th March, 1682, died 1754; married Elizabeth, daughter of ____ Irwin, of Roscommon, by whom he had - 1. Owen, 2. Benjamin (of Cork), and 3. Oonagh (or Una):
(2). Benjamin had a son, Sir Benjamin, who was father of George James O'Sullivan of Wilmington, Isle of Wight (1867).
129. Owen: his son; born 1744, died 1808; he remained at or about Kenmare, where he married a Miss O'Moriarty, and had by her several children, who, finding strangers in possession of their patrimony, dispersed themselves to seek by hard labour a means of subsistence. Among other children he had-1. Donogh (or Denis), 2. John, 3. Donal, 4. Owen, 5. Nora, and 6. Julia.
130. Donogh (or Denis): his son; born 1776, died 1838; buried at Kilmurry, barony of West Muskerry, co. Cork; married a Miss M'Auliffe, and by her had issue:-1. John, 2. Denis, 3. Owen, and 4. Nora. This Donogh led a wandering life in East and West Muskerry, generally at Shandubh, parish of Moviddy, where he died.
131. John: his son; born about 1799, died ____, buried at Kilmurry; resided for some time at Ahandubh, afterwards at Teeraveen, parish of Kilmurry, where he died. He married Rachel, the daughter of Richard (or Roderic) O'Neill, hereditary Prince of Ulster, and by her had issue.-
1. Donogh; 2. Joanna; 3. John; 4. Nora; 5. Richard; 6. Donogh (2) (or Denis); 7. Kate; 8.another girl, and 9. Kate (2).
All of these died without issue except Nora, Richard, and Denis, who are living in 1887. (4) Nora, married Donal O'Cahan (or Kane), resides (1887) at Rerour, parish of Kilbonane; has no issue.
(6) Denis, married Ellen, then daughter of William Sheehan of Killegh, by his wife Joanna Hennessy, and has had issue: Honora (or Nora), born 1861, died 1867; Rachel, born 25th April, 1869; Joanna, born 14th May, 1871; John, born 20th May, 1873; Richard, born 5th June, 1875; and Denis, born 22nd July, 1879. This Denis with, his family resides (1887) at Curraghbeh, parish of Kilmurry.
132. Richard O'Sullivan: his son; b.-; married Kate O'Donovan, has by her only one child living-Julia, born 21st June, 1864; unm. in 1887. This Richard resides (1887) at Maghbeg, a few miles to the west of Bandon, as a farm-labourer to a man named Daly! John: eldest son of Denis, brother of Richard (132), was living in 1887, at Curraghbeh, near Kilmurry.

Pedigree of O'Sullivan Beare
GIOLLA-NA-BHFLAINN, younger brother of Giolla-Mochoda [Gilmochud] who is No. 111 on the "O'Sullivan" pedigree, was the ancestor of O'Sullivan Beara.
111. Giolla na-Bhflainn: son of Donall Mór O'Sullivan.
112. Philip: his son.
113. Annaidh: his son.
114. Awly: his son; had a brother named Gilmochud (who was the ancestor of O'Sullivan Maol, and a quo MacGillicuddy.
115. Teige: his son.
116. Dermod Balbh: his son; had two sons: - 1. Donal Crone, and 2. Donogh; this Donogh had a son, Donal, who had a son, Dermod, who had a son Eoghan, called "Sir Eoghan," to whom Queen Elizabeth, granted the chief rents of the castle, town, and lands of Dunboy, with 57 "carrucates" of other lands, and who, in 1585, attended Perrot's Parliament, in Dublin. This Sir Eoghan had a son, Eoghan O'Sullivan Bere, to whom, and to his heirs for ever, James I., King of England, granted the chief rents of Dunboy. This Eoghan had a son, Colonel Donal O'Sullivan Bere, who lost his estates for his adherence to the Stuarts; in 1660, those estates were restored by Charles II.
117. Donal Crone: elder son of Dermod Balbh.
118. Donal: his son.
119. Dermod an-Phudar: his son; married to Julia, daughter of MacCarthy Reagh. This Dermod was, in 1549, burned to death in his castle of Dunbuidhe (Dunboy), by the explosion of a barrel of powder; and his brother Amhlaobh (Awly), his tanist, died the same year.
120. Donal: his son; married to a daughter of Sir Donal O'Brien of Thomond; had two sons: - 1. Donal; and 2. Dermod, who died at Corunna, aged 100 years, and soon after his aged wife followed him. This Dermod had a son, Philip, author of the Historioe Catholicoe Hibernioe Compendium, who became an officer in the Spanish Navy. This Donal was slain in 1563, by MacGillicuddy.
121. Donal, Prince of Beare: his son; defeated, in 1581, a Captain Zouch, who went to plunder his people; leaving 300 of said plunderers slain on the field. In 1600, he openly acknowledged Aodh O'Neill, Prince of Ulster, as the Ard Righ or Monarch. In 1602, his fortress of Dunbuidhe was stormed by Carew, and the garrison of 143 men slain. Soon after (in 1603) - "Berehaven's lord left his stately hall," and performed the memorable march to O'Rourke's country in Brefny. On the 2nd of January, 1602, he was proclaimed an "outlaw" by the English. In 1604, this Donal sailed for Spain, where King Philip gave him a warm reception; made him a Grandee of the Kingdom of Spain, Knight of St. Jago, and Earl of Berehaven; with a pension of 300 golden pieces monthly. His wife (who [accompanied him to Spain) was Ellen, daughter of Donal O'Sullivan Mór. He was assassinated at Madrid by an Anglo-Irishman named Bath, in the 57th year of his age.
122. Donal, Prince of Bere, Earl of Berehaven, etc.: his son; entered the army, and fell at Belgrade, fighting against the Turks; he was alive in 1615.
Unfortunately, we are unable at present to bring down the stem of this illustrious family to our times; but we learn that in 1864, it was represented by John O'Sullivan Bere, of Keanitrenang (otherwise Coolagh), co. Cork, son of John, son of Captain Murtogh O'Sullivan, of Coolagh, of Keim-an-Eigh notoriety, in 1797.

Pedigree of O'Sullivan Mór Lords of Dunkerron
DONAL NA SGREADAIDHE, a younger brother of Dermod, who is No. 121 on the "O'Sullivan" pedigree, was the ancestor of this illustrious branch of that family.
121. Donal na Sgreadaidhe (or "Donal of the Shriek"): son of Owen.
122. Donal of Dunkerron: his son; married Mary, daughter of Cormac Oge, lord of Muscry, and, dying in 1580, left issue-1. Owen; 2. Dermod, tanist of Dunkerron, who married Julia, daughter of Owen MacCarthy Reagh, Prince of Carbery; 3. Broghe, who married the daughter of O'Donovan of Carbery; 4. Connor, who married Una (or Winifred), daughter of Edmond Fitzgerald, Knight of the Valley; 5. Donal, who married the daughter of O'Leary, widow of MacGillicuddy; 6. Ellen, married to Donal O'Sullivan Beara; and 7. a daughter who married John, Knight of Kerry.
123. Owen of Dunkerron: son of Donal; married Julia (living 1603), daughter of Donogh MacCarthy Reagh, Prince of Carbery (and sister to Florence MacCarthy Mór); and, dying, in 1623, left issue - 1. Donal; 2. Owen (living in 1640), who had a son, Dermod; 3. Dermod; 4. Mary; 5. Ellen; and 6. Julia, who married John O'Connor-Kerry. In 1585, this Owen attended "Perrott's Parliament," in Dublin.
124. Donal (d. 1633): son of Owen; married twice: his first wife was Honoria (d. s. p.), daughter of Edmond Fitzgibbon; his second wife was Jane, daughter of Patrick Fitzmaurice, the White Knight of Kerry, by whom he had the following children:-1. Owen; 2. Donal, married to Mary, daughter of Jenkins Conway, of Kilrolan, co. Kerry; 3. Philip; 4. Dominick; 5. Ellen, who married Finin MacCarthy, of Gorgalt; 6. Mary; 7. Dermod; and 8. Julia. This Donal was buried in the Abbey of Irrelah, co. Kerry.
125. Owen: son of Donal; married Mary, daughter of Sir Edmund Fitzgerald, of Ballymalow, near Cloyne, co. Cork. This Owen styled "Owen O'Sullivan More," alias "The O'Sullivan, Dunkeron Castle," was one of the Forfeiting Proprietors under the Cromwellian Confiscation consequent on the war of 1641-1654.
126. Donal: son of Owen; died about 1699.
127. Rory-Ramhar: his son; married Juliana, daughter of Philip O'Sullivan Beara.
128. Donal O'Sullivan Mór: his son; married Hester O'Sullivan, who died on 17th Jan., 1796, and was buried in Killarney. This hereditary Prince of Dunkerron died, without issue on the 16th April, 1754, and was the last male representative of this branch of the House of O'Sullivan Mór.

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