THE HISTORICAL PERIOD
The transition from
prehistory to one of reliable historical record is never well defined. So we
arbitrarily, and with some trepidation, move to events for which there is more,
if not complete, support for the story.
The early Fifth Century saw the introduction of Christianity to the
island.1 Although preceded by several missionaries, St. Patrick is
recognized as the organizing genius behind the rapid adoption of the religion.
Operating from a base in Armagh in the north, Patrick established a flourishing
network of abbeys and churches – by some reports there was one associated with
every tuath by the end of the century. A great part of his success may
be attributed to his practice of assimilating pagan rituals and deities into
Christian lore. Patrick enshrined the shamrock in Irish culture by using it to
demonstrate the concept of the Holy Trinity. Although many of his exploits were
certainly embellished in the subsequent jockeying for power among the elite of
the clergy, Patrick’s determination and dynamism was clearly evident and his
place in Irish lore was ensured.
At the same time (about 440) that Christianity began
it’s meteoric rise in popularity, and prompted our ancestor to take the name MaoilMhichil,
“devotee of St. Michael”, Germanic tribes that had pushed across Europe to
Western Germany, Holland, and Denmark, began the invasion of Britain. These
tribes were, respectively, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. Although Saxon
hegemony in Britain was a locally traumatic event that would produce a new
ruling elite, it would have a limited immediate impact in Ireland. Scotland and
Wales remained firmly Celtic as well, but under continuous pressure. Just as in
the case of the transition from Roman rule three centuries before, the
unsettled situation in Britain provided opportunity for the Irish. As raiding
increased, taking advantage of the hapless Britains, so did trading boom with their
conquerors. The wealth of the Irish underwent considerable improvement over the
next 400 years, and much of it resided in the Monasteries - Monasteries that
became increasingly conspicuous as fat, rich, and undefended targets.
The
following centuries saw the rise of the Vikings, first as raiders in ~790, then
as traders, and finally as settlers and rulers in Ireland after ~900.4
Their raids became increasingly intense and bloody affairs, beginning in
Britain, and extending to the coasts of Ireland and Gaul. Ultimately, they
penetrated far up the rivers in their longboats, to the extent that they are
credited with establishing the city of Paris! The raiding parties grew in size
to involve hundreds of ships, and soon they began to lengthen their stay. While
Celtic culture continued to survive, and indeed prosper, the Viking incursion
was brutal and left a lasting imprint on the island. Many treasures, including
irreplaceable manuscripts were destroyed in the process. It is indeed, perhaps,
a credit to the Celtic culture that the transition from raiding and warfare to
trading and settlement occurred as rapidly as it did. While the Norsemen were
ultimately assimilated, they contributed several key features. They organized
and built cities among the scattered and clannish villages of the Celts
(Dublin, Limerick, and Wexford among them). They also invigorated trade with
Britain and mainland Europe by virtue of their maritime experience. On a more
ominous note, the settlement of Vikings along the Brittany coast in today’s
France would become the Norman Empire of the next century.
The first mention of a MaoilMhichil
outside of the legendary genealogies occurs in this period. In 866 one Maolmichil
(sp.) was mentioned as chief of the Siol Muireadhaigh (SilMurray), the parent
clan group of the O’Conors, O’Kellys, O’Monahans, MacBranans, MaoilMhichils,
and many others.6
The only other mention of a
similar name, with a similar root, is the story of Maelmichill, of the Cluain
Mic Nois, who, as an old man, adopted that name and sequestered himself in an
abbey, where he died as a penitent. There is a reference to his son in the Annals
of the Four Masters.2 This is likely not the root source of the Mulvihill
surname, as it does not have the same associations with locality and clans that
we see in later accounts.
The year 950 A.D. also saw
the fall of the Eoganacht dynasty in Munster, second only in power to
the UiNeill, and the rise of the Dal Cais clan (Brian Boru).7
Brian Boru, through a series of masterful moves overthrew the UiNeills,
historical High Kings of Ireland, capping his triumph with a massive victory at
the Battle of Clontarf(1014), just outside of Dublin. Brian was murdered after
that battle, however, and never realized his dream of personal mastery of the
island.
The subsequent power vacuum
set the stage for the next great conflict – the Anglo-Norman wars. It was only
a matter of time after William of Normandy conquered England in
1066, ending 600 years of Saxon rule, for him to turn his attention to Ireland.
Problems consolidating his rule, however meant that the opportunity was to be
left to a successor, Henry II. That opportune moment was the alliance
created with a disenfranchised lesser Irish King, Murchada, in 1169, and
an itinerant baron who preferred to be known by his nickname, Strongbow.
In a complex series of battles and shifting allegiances over the next decade,
the Anglo – Norman coalition gained control over many of the provinces. In
general, the affair resembled a fight amongst gangsters for turf rights rather
than a war among nations. An initially diffident English throne was, in turn,
outraged, then placated by the spoils, and ultimately compelled to participate
in an orgy of greed. Regardless, another century or more would pass before
effective control of all of Ireland passed into English hands. In the meantime,
Irish internecine warfare continued almost unabated.8
Unlike previous invasions,
the Anglo-Norman incursion began a series of events which would have serious,
and tragic, consequences for the Irish, and Celtic culture. It’s not an
overstatement to say that this was the single most critical event in the 4000
year history of Celtic Ireland, right up to today. It set in motion a chain of
events which would culminate in a virtual genocide, an “ethnic cleansing” of
the Irish by pitiless English overlords. This occurred despite the usual,
ultimate assimilation of the Normans and the early English conquerors.
In lands under direct control of the invader, large segments of
the population found themselves no longer masters of their soil. Large tracts
were given over to veterans of the conflict, with the Irish populace bound as
serfs. In other areas, the people were displaced to make room for English
immigrant settlers. This process began in Dublin and Ulster and spread over the
course of a century to the whole of Ireland. The Irish did not submit
peacefully, but were no match for the Norman military machine, with it’s keen
focus on tactics and discipline. It was also no match for the organizational
and administrative skills of the newcomers. The Normans had a strict
centralized command, under the King, which extended to the Church. This allowed
them to play very successfully against the always-fractious nature of the
Irish, splitting their feeble cohesion with disastrous local allegiances which
were ultimately meant only to “divide and conquer”. Conversely, in an equally
feeble defense of the Irish model, it may be said that the only reason that it
took the vastly superior generalship of the Normans more than a century to
secure their victory was that there was no central leadership to defeat, no
capital to occupy, and no nationalistic patriotism to subsume. The piecemeal
fabric of Irish heritage surrendered in piecemeal fashion.9
Only one province largely
escaped feudalization – Connacht, and with it, Roscommon. Here the petty Irish
lords continued their family squabbles as though the world around them had
remained unchanged. On occasion, English or Norman armies conducted raids into
Connacht – sometimes at the bidding of one faction for it’s own ends. The
reprieve was only temporary, but it gives us a rare chance to view the MaoilMhicils
in transition to the Mulvihills.
The territory of the Corca
Achlann, deep in the northeast corner of what is now, County Roscommon, was
under the control of the O’Conors of the UiBriuin Ai10
dynasty, and hereditary Kings of Connacht. These O’Conors also had
the dubious distinction of providing the last two Ard Ri of Ireland,
before the Anglo-Norman takeover. Centuries of successful lordship and growth
bred the usual faction-fighting, and the O’Conors began to break into
feuding factions. This carried over to
the MacBranans (and presumably as well to their cousins, the MaoilMhichils).
The hereditary Princes to
the O’Conor Connacht Kingship were the McDermotts and the O’Kellys.
Below them were the Dillons as Earls, then the O'Feenaghtys,
O'Flannagans, O'Flynns, and O'Glennons as Lords, and finally, the MacBrennans,
MacKeoghs, O'Beirnse, O'Connelans, O'Hanleys, O'Maol Conroys, O'Monaghans,
O,Mulrenins, O'Nortons, and other O'Kellys as Chieftans. Numerous other
family clans in the area had no designation, or, as the O’Mulvihils,
were only sometime leaders.11
In 1189, Conor Moinmoy
O’Conor, King of Connacht, and son and heir-apparent to the ArdRi,
Roderick, was killed. O’Hart states that he was on trial for treason by the
other lords of Connacht and was killed as a result. To quote from a translation
of The Annals of the Four Masters:
“Conor Moinmoy….…was killed by a party of his own people and tribes; i.e. by Manus, the son of Turlough O’Conor; Murtough, son of Cathal, son of Dermot, the son of Teige; and Gilla-na-naev, the son of Gilla-Coman, who was the son of Murray Bane “the Fair” O’Mulvihil of the Tuathas”12,14
The son of Conor Moinmoy,
Cathal Carragh, shortly thereafter took revenge by killing the son of Murtough.
No mention is made of the plight of the others, but subsequently the Siol
Muireadhaigh (Murray), of which the culprits were members, pled fealty to
Roderick and offered hostages. Roderick obliged them. Cathal was crowned
King of Connacht in 1201. MacBranan was named as his henchman and chief
of his kern, or light infantry. This seems surprising given their
cousin’s participation in the killing of his father, and may point to an ever
widening schism in the Corca Achlann.
Later that year Richard I
was crowned King of England.
In further revenge, in 1210,
the O’Conors of Connacht invaded Corca Achlann, but “were
beaten out of it with loss by O’Maolmichil”.
Again, in 1232, the O’Conors
tried, but O’Conor’s son, and the MacDermott, and the O’Kelly
were all slain by Giolla Blein O’Maolmichil “of the white handled
battle axe”13. This raised
the fame of O’Maolmichil “Of The Battle Axe”, as he
was now called, so high that it was said about a difficult task that “ it
cannot be done if Maolmichil of the Battle Axe could not
accomplish it”. Fear of retribution for the killings was evident by the
response of O’Maolmichil’s fellow clan members in painting all of
their battle axe handles white.3
The MacBranans are
not noted in either of the above fights, despite being the leaders of Corca
Achlann! Did they stand aside?
Powerful
is the vigor of Clann Brennan,
And also of the majestic O'Mulmihil.
They command the strong forces of Corca Achlann of the herds.
- Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain, circa, 1320
In 1411 two factions of the MacBranans
fought for kingship of the Corca Achlann at the ford of a small river.
Despite a slaughter of a number of the leadership, the battle was indecisive,
and the fighting continued over the next century. The site is the location of
the present day Strokestown, i.e. “the strokes of battle”.
By about 1416 the O’Conors,
probably with the assistance of at least one faction of the MacBranans,
had stripped the O’Mulvihils of their power and driven
most of them out of the traditional territory of the Corca Achlann. Most
of the survivors probably crossed the Shannon River to the East, into what is
now County Longford. Indications are that some stayed behind (a faction that
stood with the O’Conors?). Some also appear to have headed West to
Galway. See Migration.
By 1526 the MacBranans
themselves were expelled, and the Corca Achlann disappears forever.
References
1 Davies, Norman, The Isles, Oxford Univ.
Press, 1999, pp. 176-181
2 Author Unknown, Annals of the Four Masters,
Compiled 1632-6 by Fr. M. O’Clery, UCC Translation, M889.4
3 The UCC Translation (see 13 below), does not
explicitly mention MaoilMhchil; Hart (Irish Pedigrees ), however does
cite this work.
4 Davies, Norman, The Isles, Oxford Univ.
Press, 1999, pp. 247-252
5
6 Cairney, C. Thomas, Clans and
Families of Ireland and Scotland, Willow Bend Books; 1989
7 Llywelyn, Morgan, Lion of Ireland,
Houghton
Mifflin Co, 1980
8 Davies, Norman, The Isles, Oxford Univ.
Press, 1999, pp. 340-345
9 “The Catholic Encyclopedia”, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08098b.htm
10Siol Muireadhaigh > UiBruinin > UiBruininAi
> Corca Achlann > MaoilMhichil
11 Lavin
12 Author Unknown, Annals of the Four Masters,
Compiled 1632-6 by Fr. M. O’Clery, UCC Translation, M1189.8.
13 IBID, M1232.7
14 IBID, see http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/index.html
© James M. Mulvihill UPDATED:
5/03/03