| Clan Barrett | |
|---|---|
| Irish clan | |
| Place of origin | Duchy of Normandy |
| Members | |
| Motto | Frangas non Flectes: virtus probitas (You may break [me] but will not bend [me]: Power and integrity) |
| Cadet branches | |
Clan Barrett (Irish : Clann Bairéad) is an Irish clan from County Cork that originally descended from Normans who came to Ireland with Strongbow in the 12th century. They are related to the ancestors of the Clan Barrett of County Mayo, who until recently[ when? ] were otherwise considered Gaelic in origin. Of the two, the Cork branch was considered numerically stronger, while the Mayo-Galway branch held more prominence in the Middle Ages.
The Barrett family gained influence and power through the centuries for services to various kings and nobles, such as in the 14th century when they served as underlords to the de Cogan family, and later when one John Barrett fought in the First War of Scottish Independence for the Crown.
There are numerous suggested origins for the surname Barrett . The chief source is the first name that has the form Berault or Beraud (or Baraud [2] ) in French, and means 'bear power'. It is closely associated in derivation with Bernard , meaning 'firm bear'. It has also been suggested that Barneveld, a name from the Middle Ages with the significance of 'bear-headed', is associated with Barrett. [3]
In modern times, the name has various spellings, including Barrett, Barret, Barratt, Bairead, Baireid and Baroid. Archaically, Barat and Baret were also used.
There are two Barrett clans in Ireland which arrived in Ireland at the same time; one group is the Munster Barrett family of Cork, and the other is the Barrett family of Connacht, most numerous in the mountainous areas of Mayo and Galway. [2] [4] The founders of the two clans were believed to be unrelated, with the similarity of their names being thought purely coincidental [1] before recent[ when? ] research proved otherwise. [5] The English pipe rolls of the 13th century indicate that the overlords of both the Cork and the Mayo-Galway Barretts were the same people, and the records further indicate that both families migrated from Pendyne County, Wales. [6] The view prevailed that the Barretts of Cork derived their name from the Norman-French Barratt (Baroid), while the Barretts of Connacht derived their name from the Gaelic name Baireid, or Bairéad which means 'quarrelsome' or 'warlike'. [1] [6] O'Donovan wrote that both families were descended from Welsh lines.
The Barrett clan descend from Cambro-Normans who settled in Pendine. [6] Beginning in 1169, the Barretts migrated from Pembrokeshire to Ireland during the Norman Invasion of Ireland as hired Welsh mercenaries for the Norman warlord Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. [6] [7]
In 1236, Barretts travelled to Connacht with John de Cogan's Munster contingent, which seemingly made them tenants of the de Cogans' lands at Carrigrohane. [7] Both families living in Connacht and Munster were fully assimilated into Irish culture and married into many old Irish families; they are said to have become "more Irish than the Irish themselves". [1] Barretts Country, in the approximate centre of Cork, would come to be named after them. [8] [4]
Around the turn of the 14th century, John Barrett was pardoned Crown debts and rents by King Edward II in return for services during the First War of Scottish Independence. The debts otherwise would have been chargeable to Barrett's son William. [7] Batin (or Wattin) Barrett, great-great grandfather of Robert Mac Wattin, also lived circa 1300. [9] The Chief Barrett of Tirawley was for centuries known by the Gaelic name Mac Baitín, or Mac Wattin, which eventually evolved into Mac Páidín, or Mac Padine. [10] This is the source of the Padden surname found in Mayo today. [10] To this day, the Barretts and Barrys of Connacht are known as "Welshmen of Tirawley". [1]
By 1468 the Barretts had purchased Sir Robert Coll's estate lands at Ballincollig, extending and improving the site of Ballincollig Castle. [11] In 1485, among other Welsh and Irish mercenaries, troops from the Barretts of Cork were hired and knighted by King Henry VII to fight in the Battle of Bosworth Field. According to legend, the accompanying clans rode 'swift Irish ponies' and overtook the opposing army's heavily armoured knights. After the battle was won, the King led the remaining forces back to Pembroke. [6]
By 1600 the Barretts had lost Ballincollig Castle due to infighting, [7] with Sir Walter Coppinger gaining full ownership of the lands in 1630. [12] By October 1601, the Barrett family acquired Castlemore (or Castle More; later called Castle Barrett), which had previously been owned by the Earl of Desmond. According to one Dr. Smith, it is said that Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone when marching to Kinsale asked who lived in the castle, and upon being told that the owner was a Barret, described as a 'good Catholic' whose ancient English family had owned the estate in Barretts Country for just over 400 years, the Earl swore in Irish: "No matter, I hate the English churl, as if he came but yesterday." [8] The castle was damaged in 1645 by Oliver Cromwell's army. [13] After the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, where Colonel John Barrett fighting on the side of the Jacobites lost to the Williamites, [1] Castle Barrett was destroyed and 12,000 acres of Barrett land was forfeited. [13]
The first of the name in the United States was James Barrett, who landed in Charlestown, Massachusetts in about 1643. His home eventually was Malden, Massachusetts. His son, James, was in a troop of horse in King Philip's War. Another member of the family, James Barrett, was a colonel in the Lexington Alarm in 1775. [14]
The blazon of the Barrett coat of arms is: Barry of ten per pale argent and gules counterchanged ; [6] [15] The crest is: A demi-lion rampant sable, ducally crowned per pale argent and gules. [6] In layman's terms, this means that the shield is divided vertically into two halves, both halves striped horizontally red and white, with the colour changing at the mid point; while the crest is a black half-lion crowned with a red-and-white ducal coronet. [6]
The clan motto is: "Frangas non flectes: virtus probitas", whose meaning is commonly given as "unbowed, unbroken honor and courage". [2] [6]
Connacht or Connaught, is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms.
The House of Burgh or Burke was an ancient Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman aristocratic dynasty which played a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland, held the earldoms of Kent, Ulster, Clanricarde, and Mayo at various times, and provided queens consort of Scotland and Thomond and Kings of England via a matrilineal line.
William de Burgh was the founder of the House of Burgh in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given the epithet, "the conqueror", but is not to be confused with the English king of the same nickname.
Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connacht, was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat who was Seneschal of Munster and Justiciar of Ireland (1228–32).
The Burke/de Burgh Civil War was a conflict in Ireland from 1333 to 1338 between three leading members of the de Burgh (Burke/Bourke) Anglo-Norman family resulting in the division into three clans.
Clanricarde, also known as Mac William Uachtar or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
O'Dowd is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Mayo and County Sligo. The clan name originated in the 9th century as a derivative of its founder Dubda mac Connmhach. The O'Dowd clan can be traced to the Doonfeeney area of what is now the parish of Ballycastle in Co. Mayo. A large earthen ring fortificatiation still exists called 'Rath O'Dubhda". The nearby early ecclesiastical site at Doonfeeney was more than likely developed under the patronage of the O'Dowds. They descend in the paternal line from the Connachta's Uí Fiachrach. The immediate progenitors of the O'Dowd were Kings of Connacht during the 7th and 8th centuries in the form of Dúnchad Muirisci, Indrechtach mac Dúnchado, Ailill Medraige mac Indrechtaig and Donn Cothaid mac Cathail, before losing ground to their rivals the Uí Briúin.
Shrule is a village in County Mayo in Ireland. It is in the south-east of Mayo, near the County Galway border. The boundary between counties Mayo and Galway follows much of the course of the Black River which runs on the south side of the village.
The O'Doherty family of County Donegal is an Irish clan who were a prominent sept of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél Conaill, and one of the most powerful clans of Tír Connaill.
Nephin or Nefin, at 806 metres (2646 ft), is the highest standalone mountain in Ireland and the second-highest peak in Connacht. It is to the west of Lough Conn in County Mayo. Néifinn is variously translated as meaning 'heavenly', 'sanctuary', or "Finn's Heaven".
Sir Richard Bingham was an English soldier and naval commander. He served under Queen Elizabeth I during the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was appointed governor of Connacht.
Aughnanure Castle is a tower house near Oughterard on the N59, in County Galway, in the west of Ireland. It was built by the O'Flaherty family in the late 15th century and fully restored in the 1960s. Today it is open to visitors from March to November.
Ballincollig Castle is a Norman castle to the south of the town of Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland, built after the Norman invasion of Ireland. In its prime, the castle was inhabited by the Barrett family, who had control of the local area. The castle still stands today, albeit largely in ruin. The original keep still remains, as does most of the curtain wall and two towers.
Joyce Country is a cultural region in counties Galway and Mayo in Ireland. It is sometimes called Partry, after the former tribal territory of the Partraige, which it largely matches. Part of it falls within the Connacht Gaeltacht. Joyce Country lies on the shores of Lough Mask and Lough Corrib, and includes the Partry Mountains. It is a rural area that includes small settlements such as Clonbur, Cong, Cornamona and Toormakeady. It borders Connemara, to its south and west.
Events from the year 1565 in Ireland.
John de Cogan was an Anglo-Irish knight who lived in the period between 1220 and 1278.
Richard Óg de Burgh was an Anglo-Irish noble and soldier who was the ancestor of de Burgh/Burkes of Clanricarde.
Muskerry East is one of the baronies of Ireland, an historical geographical unit of land. Its chief town is Ballincollig. It is one of 24 baronies in the county of Cork. It may also be viewed as a half barony because some time before the 1821 census data, it was divided from its other half - Muskerry West. Other neighbouring baronies include Cork to the east, Duhallow to the north and the barony of Barretts to the north-east.
Tír Amhlaidh was a túath in northwest Ireland. It is now represented by the barony of Tirawley, County Mayo. The name is derived from Amhalghaidh, son of Fíachra son of Eochaid Mugmedon of the Connachta group of early Gaelic dynasties.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Barry of ten per pale argent (silver) and gules (red) counterchanged