Origin of O'Hearn's - Chapter II

As recounted in the historic work Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh (The

War of the Gaedhils with the Gaill), among those who fought and died at the

Battle of Clontarf in 1014 were the sons of Echtigern or Ui hEachthighearna

as they are called in Irish. King Brian had proven to be a farsighted

administrator and courageous military leader, a "hero and patriot". His

eldest son Murrough was also killed in the battle, and he was succeeded as

king of Thomond by his second oldest son Tadhg, while Malachy II regained the

title of Ardri. Tadhg was killed 1023, and his brother Donnchadh became king

of Munster and married Driella, the daughter of Godwin, Earl of Kent, and

sister of Harold II, the last Saxon king of England.

After Donnchad became a monk on a pilgrimage to Rome, Tadhg’s son

Turlough Mor, who was married to Mor, daughter of O’Hyne in County

Galway, became king of North Munster in 1058, and later retired to a

monastery at Lismore in the south of Ireland.   His son Murtagh Mor O’Brien

was Ardri from 1086, the year Turlough died, to 1119. Murtagh is known

for granting the royal residence of Cashel to the Church, and he was

presented with a relic of the true cross of Christ by Pope Paschal II, later

kept at Holy Cross Abbey on the river Suir near Thurles in Tipperary.

Murtagh’s son Mahon, who died c.1129, is ancestor of the MacMahons

of Corcu Baiscinn in West Clare.

From another son Domnhall descend the MacDonnells of Clare. Murtagh Mor

retired to the monastery of Lismore in 1116, and was succeeded by his brother

Dermod as King of North Munster who reigned from 1116 to 1120. Then Dermod’s

sons Turlough and Tadhg reigned.

In the 11th and early 12th Centuries, Gilcrist Ua hEachthighern was

Abbot of Clonmacnois, a school for the sons of the Irish nobility, and also

of Ardagh in County Limerick. In 1868 the beautifully decorated Ardagh

Chalice was found buried in a potato field near the Carrigkerry road, and it

is believed that this priceless treasure was brought from Clonmacnois at the

time of the Viking raids, perhaps even at the time Gilcrist, who died in

1104, was abbot. During this time and for almost three centuries the Ua

hEchtigern families were dynasts of Hy Cearnaigh (victorious) near the town

of Sixmilebridge, at one time the site of a Dominican chapel, just north of

the River Shannon and the city of Limerick. Possibly the name originates

with the sept of O’Kearney, believed to have originally arrived in North

Munster from Connaught perhaps with ecclesiastical ties, before eventually

settling near Cashel in Tipperary.

Not long after, in the year 1152 was fought the Battle of Moin Mor

near Emly in County Tipperary, between Turlough O’Brien and his supporters in

Kerry on the one side, and the high-king Turlough O’Connor, Tadhg O’Brien,

and the Desmond forces led by Cormac MacCarthy on the other. As recorded in

the Book of Lecan, Murtagh, son of Connor O’Brien, and Lughaidh (Lewy), son

of Domnhall O’Brien, were both killed, and among the fighting men who fell in

this battle were five chieftains of the Ua hEchtigern sept. O’Connor assumed

chief sway over Munster, and Turlough O’Brien was banished for a time. This

battle settled the fate of the Dal gCais who were thereafter confined to the area

north of the Galtees ruled by the O’Briens,  Tadhg and Turlough, whereas the

area of South Munster or Desmond remained under the sway of the Eoganachta

whose most powerful sept was that of MacCarthy until the Normans arrived. In

the Annals of Ireland, there is also mention of Lorcan Ua hEchthighern who was

slain by the sons of MacConmara and the Ui Caisin in 1170, the fateful year in

which the English arrived.

The Normans were originally Vikings from Scandinavia who settled in Normandy,

France around the year 800 AD, coming to England in 1066 AD with William the

Conqueror and a contingent of knights from all over Europe.    Their arrival in

Ireland in 1170, led by the Earl of Pembroke and Strigul, Richard Fitzgilbert de

Clare, called Strongbow, was sanctioned by Pope Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear)

the only English Pope. The Papal Bull Laudabiliter in the year 1156 had authorized

Henry II, who was granted "hereditary possession" and himself went to Ireland

in 1171, to establish order in Ireland with a view toward safeguarding the

Christian faith. The English liturgical usages were also accepted by St. Laurence

O’Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, who encouraged cooperation by the Irish chiefs.

The King of Munster Domnall Mor O’Brien (or Donald, son of Turlough and grandson

of Dermod) succeeded to the throne about 1167, turned against the Ardri Rory O’Connor

in 1170, and was one of the first to pay homage to Henry II. However, he vacillated in

support of O’Connor and against Strongbow who was defeated in battle at Thurles, and

even going so far as to burn the bridge going into Limerick to prevent the return of the

foreigners. His sons were the ancestors of the MacConsidine and MacLysaght

families. He built Holy Cross Abbey to house the relic of the true cross mentioned

above, and died in 1194. During the 13th Century, the Welsh-Norman presence

began to take shape in Munster, including a grant to Thomas Fitzmaurice in 1199,

and the settlements of de Braosa (or de Bruce), and others.

At this time the toisch or chief of the Ua hEchtigern sept provided fosterage to the

young O’Brien sons who were to succeed to the kingship of North Munster. In those

days fosterage was a system of education in which the children could learn the arts

of horsemanship, war, and good government while living for several years with the

foster parents. The Ua hEchtigerns were thus probably of the class of bo-airigh, lords

who owned a large amount of cattle which they provided to others as an early form of

capital investment.

Regarding the equestrian element of the name, "Of all beasts, the most noble and most

useful to man, either in peace or war."   According to Heraldic Artists Ltd., "It signifies

readiness for all employments for king and country, and is one of the principal bearings

in armory. A white horse was the ensign of the Saxons when they first invaded

England." And also, "We read of the White Horse of Wodin, borne by Hengist

when he invaded Britain -- which the shield of Hanover still bears."

There were also English families of Hearne or Hearn who settled in

southern Leinster in the 13th Century. Their name is apparently derived from

the nautical bird heron, and it is therefore not surprising that the coat of

arms and motto for the Ua hEchtigern family, adopted probably

sometime around 1150 AD, is apparently patterned after an English version.

As listed in Burke’s General Armory for O’Heron of County Kerry; viz., on

the shield, "Vert three herons argent," and the crest, "A pelican in her

piety proper." Heraldic Artists, Ltd., formerly of Dublin, states that the

Heron and the Stork may have been used in place of the extinct Ibis, which

was a similar but smaller bird held sacred in ancient Egypt.

Guillim states that the Stork is the emblem of filial duty, inasmuch as it renders

obedience and nourishment to its parents. The color Argent [white or silver] signifies

Peace and Sincerity. The color Vert [green] signifies Hope, Joy, and

sometimes Loyalty in Love. "The Pelican feeding her young adorned the altars

of many of the temples of the Egyptians, and was emblematical of the duties

of a parent. She is represented as either ‘vulning’ or wounding her breast

with her beak; or ‘in her Piety,’ when surrounded by her young who are being

fed by the parent. This symbol has often been used by the Church as the

emblem of devoted and self-sacrificing charity, with the motto ‘Sic Christus

dilixit nos.’" (Thus Christ has loved us). The pelican is "proper"

indicating the natural color thought to be brown for the birds and the nest.

The family motto is Per Ardua Surgo, translated "I rise through

difficulties."

Toward the end of the 13th Century, a dispute began to grow between

two rival factions of the O’Brien sept, descendants of Domnall Mor O’Brien,

each claiming the right to succeed as chief. These battles are commemorated

by John MacRory Magrath in Caithreim Thoirdealbaigh (The Wars of Turlough).

Brian Ruad (or Roe), the brother of Tadhg O’Brien who was the last reigning

chief of the Dalcassians in Thomond, became chief and opposed Tadhg’s eldest

son Turlough, who, though still in minority, was also claiming right to

succession. To strengthen his hand, Brian Ruad enlisted the support of

Thomas de Clare of Cork who had been granted a claim to land north of the

Shannon by King Edward I of England in 1277. He was a distant relative of

Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, after whom the County Clare is named,

Strongbow who had led the Norman invasion of Ireland back in 1170.

Thomas de Clare immediately built Bunratty Castle, later to become the stronghold

of the powerful MacNamaras, just north of the Shannon River. At first Brian

Ruad’s forces were utterly routed, and he fled across the Shannon River to

Ara in Tipperary, where his descendants came to be known as O’Brien Arra.

Thomas de Clare had Brian Ruad killed in 1277 because of a military defeat at

Moygressan, and at the instigation of his wife, whose brother Patrick

Fitzmaurice of Kerry was killed in battle. Brian’s sons however remained

loyal to de Clare.

The Ua Echtigerns (O’Ahiarns in the translation) and other Irish families

entered the conflict on the side of de Clare and the faction of Brian

Ruad, as did the Norman Geraldines and Butlers. On Turlogh’s side the

Normans were led by de Burgo, ancestor of the Burkes of Ireland. The

MacNamaras and O’Deas were the chief Irish supporters of Turlogh’s faction,

along with the O’Connors of Corcomrua in North Clare, and the O’Kellys and

O’Maddens from Connaught. O’Dea also provided fosterage for Turlogh

O’Brien’s children.

During this time, Edward , brother of Robert, Bruce, King of Scotland,

was crowned King of Ireland, and although resisting English rule,

brought his forces to bear on the side of de Clare and the faction of

Brian Ruad. However, the victory was won by Turlogh’s son Murtagh O’Brien at

the Battle of Dysart O’Dea on 10 May, 1318, wherein Thomas de Clare

was slain along with his son and chief knights. His wife had the castle

burned to the ground before fleeing. The usurper Edward Bruce was

later killed at the Battle of Faughart in 1318. As a result, the MacNamaras,

who supported Turlogh’s faction, acquired new territory and took over

Bunratty which was to become their ancestral stronghold.

The Ua hEchtigerns, after the death of their chief William, and other

families, were displaced and began to be dispersed throughout Munster.

Murtagh O’Brien became undisputed chief, and his descendants ruled without

English interference until the year 1543, when Murrogh O’Brien submitted to

Henry VIII and obtained the English title Earl of Thomond.