To begin our search of Maguire we must first
start in the foggy remembrance of the past, in the heroic age of legend
and recorded oral tradition of the Bard, all the way back to the
beginning of the Irish themselves.
Most early cultures start out illiterate relying
on the art of speech to convey, and with certain memory tricks such as
rhythm, to preserve its messages. Our ancestors beginnings were no
different & if it had not been for the interest of the Roman
Catholic missionaries in the oral traditions of our forebears there
would be no surviving record of our ancient Gaelic past. Thanks to these
literate priests the stories of the Bard were preserved for all time.
Yet because our origin was preserved by Christian missionaries artistic
license was taken and a pasting together of the genesis of the Bible and
the genesis of our race was accomplished so that when ever you read of
the ancient oral traditions of our people, our ancestry is usually
placed all the way back to the first Biblical man, Adam. The authentic
tell of the Bard does eventually revel itself though and we are told
that we descend through many legendary pre-Christian tribes like, the
"Formorians, the Firbolg, the Tuatha-De-Danann & the Milesian Celts of Spain, refereed to as Gaels
(1500-B.C.)"
Although these traditions are more of myth than
history, there can be no doubt of the historic truth that the
inhabitants of Eire commence from an ancient & complex source. From
the start they are an intermixed group who are thought to come from an
essentially Pre-Indo-European strain with a strong Celtic influence who
would latter endure invasions of ancient Scandinavian marauders called
Vikings or Norseman & the Anglo-Normans (so called because of the mix of the
Anglo-Saxons - Germanic tribes that would become known as the English
and the Norman's - a Norse people who conquered Normandy in France and
from there latter launched a successful invasion on England before they
reached Ireland). The Anglo-Normans attack on Ireland would include
soldiers from southern Wales. There would
also be an infusion of French Huguenots,
Scottish Planters & German Palatines, to be joined to them to
constitute a culture & people that as you can see are not merely
ancient Gaelic but a mixture that culminates in a culture & people
that are quite uniquely termed Irish. (If your not getting background music click on the harp.
If you still can't here it Download Crescendo
now.)
To begin with the emerald isle lies west of the
island of Great Britain with the Irish Sea between them and the Atlantic
Ocean to the north, west, and south. It is the most westerly land of
Europe. Over time the territorial divisions of Ireland can see to
consist of
Provinces: Four; Connaught, Leinster, Munster
and Ulster. In earlier times Ireland was divided into the so called
five fifths with Meath included as a separate province.
Baronies: More than 150 independent clan-kingdoms
existed in the pre-Anglo/Norman period after which began to be called
Baronies following the similar administrative unit in England of the
"Hundred".
Counties: These were originally small
kingdoms renamed "Shires" by the Anglo/Norman's only to have all
shires renamed to Counties before the end of the Gaelic Order in 1606.
Parishes: The term parish is Simply an Ecclesiastical
word for the administrative authority extending over a community to
include its territory.
Town lands: The Ballibo ,
Ploughland and Tate became Townlands under the domination of the
English.
Today the island is divided into
two countries, The Republic of Ireland in the south with
twenty-six counties and Northern Ireland U.K. with its six
counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. The
Irish county is regarded the same as a Canadian Province or a U.S.
State.
This magic island has had a long history of
being regarded as a sacred and special place with an aura of myth and
legend. The ancients called it by various names that reflected
this. The ancient Greek scholar Plutarch called it "Ogygia" meaning Most
Ancient, A Roman, Rufus Festus Avienus, called it "Insula Sacra" meaning
Sacred Island, In the Mileisian Myth it was referred to as both the
interesting name of "Inisfail" meaning Isle of Destiny and of "Scotia"
the name for the queen mother of the Milesians, daughter of pharaoh but
more likely Scotia is derived from an ancient Gaelic word meaning Raider
because of the frequent raiding of Alba (ancient Scotland) & of pre
Christian Britain by the ancient Irish, further a clear relationship can
be seen here between Scotland & Ireland. Ireland was refereed to as
(Scotia Major) & Scotland, an ancient colony of Ireland, was
refereed to as (Scotia minor). Caesar called it Hibernia which some
claim is derived from the name of the first Milesian King Herber
(pronounced Eber) with the variations of Ivernia, Ierna, Iuvernia and
Ierne, which it is contrarily claimed by others is derived from the name
of Ir instead of his brother King Herber but what is most likely the
case is the tracing of the name of Ivernia to an early tribe located in
the south of Ireland called the Erainn.
Archeologists have pretty well established that
the earliest people of Ireland were a Post-glacial Mesolithic group of
people with a rough date of (7,000 B.C.). The best evidence for this is
a Mesolithic encampment that was excavated during the 1970s. The site is
located at Mount Sandel, in Co. Derry, which lay in fields adjacent to
the River Bann just south of the town of Coleraine, According to the
on-line magazine Ireland's Eye
"This find has helped revolutionize our understanding of the first
post-glacial settlers".
The other period that follows in Ireland is the
Neolithic about the forth Millennium B.C. (4,000 B.C.) when a Megalithic
culture is talked about. Traces of their early habitation can still be
found along the coast of Antrim in the region of Larne and in Down.
Although the early history of Ireland is full of the myth and legend of
the Seanchai (the story teller), it is believed that in the first
century the descendants of these early people survived to see the Celtic
invasion and intermarried with them.
It is believed that there were two different
migrations of Celts to Ireland the Goidels(Gaels) during the
sixth century B.C. (600 B.C.) and the Brythones(Britons) in the
third century B.C. (300 B.C.). Ptolemy names sixteen tribes in Ireland
that are also found in Britain at the same time. By the time of Christ
Ireland was inhabited by a variety of cultures, beside the
aforementioned Neolithic and Celts there were also the Picts most likely
from Alba (ancient Scotland).
The nature of their day to day existence is said
to have resembled a cross between American pioneers and the American
Indigenous people. Cattle seems to have been at the center of their
economy with husbandry & raiding as a preoccupation. They had a very
fluid, nomadic, patrician government with many petty kingdoms called
Tuathas ruled by individual kings who gave tribute to more powerful
kings with an elected High King supposedly of all of Ireland only he
never was in complete control of all of Ireland. Our ancestors were
quite a contentious bunch all always vying for control with no one ever
completely at the top. This proved to be a fatal weakness in the end
when it was exploited by foreign powers. But the invaders didn't have a
very good time of it ether (Erin go Bragh)!
The Seanchai, Bard, Poet, Irelands ancient story
teller, historian, genealogist were invaluable in the very fluid,
nomadic, patrician governments that ruled our ancestors. In any dynastic
system of government it is always necessary to keep track of who in the
Clan is next in line to rule and thus the importance of the Bard. In
fact because our ancient culture was oral rather than written it was of
the utmost importance that these bards be accurate. To be sure their
stories were accurately preserved but the poetic memory devices that
were employed by the Bards were written down without interpretation so
that the early heroic tells are to fantastic to be believed, but in any
myth there endure seeds of truth.
Since we do not doubt a Gaelic(Celtic) origin to
our culture we will begin with one of the most ancient of the Gaelic
Myths about our origin, the legend of the Milesians, which begins with
[36]King Milesius of Spain (1060
B.C.), the grandson of Breoghan(Brian), King of
Galicia(France), Andalusia, Murcia, Castile & Portugal. The
oldest version of this story, from the Lebor Gabala Erren (Book of
the Taking of Ireland), tells that King Milesius of Spain uncle Ith,
found in his explorations, a northern island which this narrative refers
to as "Inisfail" meaning Isle of Destiny. His landing was on the north
of the island where he encountered the chieftains of the Tuatha de
Danann (People of the Goddess Danu) who had taken the island from the
FirBolg. A battle ensued and Ith was killed.
His men took him back to King Milesius in Spain
who was outraged by this most treacherous & inhospitable act. So he
sent his nine sons Don, Aireach, Heber the eldest son Fionn, Amergin,
Ir, Copla & Heremon their fleet to exact justice for the
murder of Ith. The Milesians landed and demanded that they ether submit
to the rule of King Milesius or battle. The kings of the Tuatha de
Danann stalled for time, asking for a week alone on the island before
making a decision. Legend has it that the Druid priest of the Tuatha de
Danann brewed up a storm that sent the fleet around the island three
times killing many & dividing the fleet. Herber & his men landed
in the south and Heremon & Ir and their men landed in the north.
They warred against the Tuatha de Danann and where completely
victorious.
The battle and storm exacted a toll though,
killing all the son's of King Milesius but Heber and Heremon &
Heber Finn, son of Ir, & Lugaidh, son of Ithe. By the way, these four
names of the survivors are also the names of the main Milesian tribes
that inhabited ancient Ireland.
After their victory the island was divided
between Heber and Heremon. Heremon took the
northern half of the island where his descendants are mainly to be found
to this very day, including the northern and southern Ui Neill, King of
Meath and Ulster, the Ulaid, the Dal Riada (who later founded the
kingdom of Scotland) and the Kings of Leinster. Heber took the south of Ireland where his descendants are
still to be found. Heremon gave a part of his kingdom to Heber Finn, the son of his slain brother, Ir, and from him
are said to descend the Knights of the Red Branch in Ulster, Clanna
Rory. From Ithe, King MIlesius' uncle, are
said to descend some of the tribes living in the province of
Connacht. In accordance with this myth there mother Scota
soon died after there victory. It is at this time that they named the
newly conquered island Scota or Scotia, 'the land of Scota', after there
belated mother.
[37]Heremon, seventh
son of King Milesius, became the first Milesian monarch of Ireland &
reigned together with his eldest brother, Heber, for one year, at the end of which a quarrel
happened between them due to the ambition of their wives. Heber was
slain at the battle of Geishill. Then Heremon reigned alone 14 years, at
which time a people called in Gaelic Cruithin(Picts), came to Ireland
and asked Heremon to give them land. He refused their request but
instead, seeing that they had no women, gave to them the widows of those
that were slain in the wars between them and the Tuatha de Danann, for
wives. He sent his gift of wives accompanied with a war party to conquer
the country called Albion(Scotland). The conditions of his gift was that
they and their posterity should be subject to the Monarchs of Ireland.
Their Chief, Cathluan accepted & became the first of 69 kings that
reigned after him in Scotland, until they were totally destroyed by King
Fergus of the Irish Scots of the Dal Riada or of Argyle,
Albion(Scotland).
Heremon died and was
succeeded by three of his four sons, until one of them died and the
other two were overcome and slain in the battle of Ard Ladran, by
Heber's four sons in revenge of their father's death. And they in turn,
after reigning together for half a year, were slain by Irial Faidh,
youngest son of Heremon, who for next ten years would be the 10th
Monarch of Ireland, during which time he cleared a great part of the
country of forests, destroyed the remainder of the Tuatha De Danann and
won many a battle against the sons of Heber.
Jim's Irish Family Surnames
