Clan Kennedy
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Clan Kennedy is a Scottish clan and an Irish clan.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origins of the Name
There are two origins of the Kennedy surname: one Scottish and the other Irish. The most commonly known Kennedy family is the Irish one made famous by the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, whose ancestors came from Waterford.
[edit] Irish Kennedy
The Irish clan Kennedy takes its name from Kennedy, the nephew of High-King Brian Boru (1002-1014). Kennedy is an anglicised form of the Irish Gaelic "Ó Cinnéide".[citation needed] The name Cinnéide first used by Brian Boru's father King of Thomond in the tenth century AD.[citation needed] (Brian Boru was an Ard Rí or High King of Ireland). His grandson became known as Ó Cinnéide which is Irish Gaelic for grandson of Cinnéide. The Kennedy's did not descend directly from Brian Boru, but from his brother.
Cinnéide is Irish Gaelic for helmeted head.[citation needed] The original Cinnéide was apparently the first Irishman to wear a helmet in battle against the vikings. This is remembered in the Kennedy coat of arms which features three helmets.
Ceannaideach (Scots Gaelic for "ridiculously beautiful head, many have translated this as "ugly headed".
This Irish clan were the left hand of the powerful Dál gCais Tribe of Thomond, headed by Clan O’Brien. They resided in far eastern Clare, northern Limerick, and northern Tipperary in an area called Ormond.
Two Kennedy clans occupy the Emerald Isle: One is Irish and the other is Scots. Therefore, many confuse the two families and the lands they are from.
[edit] Scottish Kennedy
Their home territory is in southwestern Scotland, in Ayrshire, where they were a power house. Originally they came from the western isles and are of Celtic-Norse stock. In the fifteenth century, one Ulric Kennedy fled Ayrshire to the highlands for refuge where he was granted protection under the Chief of Clan Cameron. From this Highland branch, Kennedys settled on the Isle of Skye. A branch also was established in northeast Scotland, at Aberdeen.
To add to the confusion, there are the Kennedys of Northern Ireland. The majority of the Kennedys who settled in Northern Ireland are of Scottish origin from the territories of Galloway and Ayr just across the Irish Sea some 20 miles away. These Scottish Kennedys intermarried with local Irish and thus they are Scots-Irish in blood. Many Scottish Kennedys were planters in Ulster (the province of Northern Ireland), and many Scots went to Dublin and mingled with the Irish clan. Because of this confusion, the Scottish Chief of Kennedy is willing to recognize all Kennedys as part of the clan/family.
[edit] Origins of the Clan
The Irish Kennedys were a member of the Dál gCais or "Dalcassian sept." Originally seated in Glemor, near Killaloe in Co. Clare, they migrated across the river Shannon to Ormond in Co. Tipperary following pressure from other septs in the region (mainly the O'Briens and the McNamaras).They soon grew in power to become Lords of Ormond from the 11th - 16th centuries. The Annals of the Four Masters described them in 1300 to be "the undisputed Lords of Ormond". Placenames such as Coolkennedy and Garrykennedy in Upper Ormond and Killokennedy in Thomond are indicative of their longstanding presence in the region.
The sept split into three branches, the chiefs of which were referred to by their hair colours: don (brown), fionn (blond), and rua (red). St Ruadhan of Lorrha was the special protector of the Kennedys of Ormond. Around 1600, a branch of the sept migrated to Co. Antrim where many Kennedys are still found today, although some may be of Scottish origin.
The Scottish Kennedy clan originated in Carrick in Ayrshire. The clan was one branch of the Celtic Lords of Galloway.
[edit] Wars of Scottish Independence
The Clan Kennedy supported King Robert I of Scotland before and through the Wars of Scottish Independence and were rewarded. Around 1360 John Kennedy became owner of lands at Cassillis and in 1457 his descendant, Gilbert, was created Lord Kennedy. Gilbert's younger brother James was Bishop of St Andrews and founder of Scotland's first university, the University of St Andrews.
[edit] Anglo Scottish Wars
During the Anglo-Scottish Wars the Clan Kennedy led by their Chief who was the 1st Earl of Cassillis fought at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 where the Chief was slain.
[edit] Modern Day Presence
Kennedy is the 16th most common surname in Ireland with ~20,000 bearers, in the USA it is the 137th most common surname with ~185,000 bearers, in England & Wales it is the 168th most common surname, and in Scotland it is the 58th most common surname.
[edit] Kennedy Family Tree Base
Here is the base of the family tree:
1 John Kennedy of Dunure and Cassillis M Heiress of the Carrick Earls
1.1 Sir Gilbert
1.1.1 James M Princess Mary (2nd daughter of Robert III)
1.1.1.1 Gilbert (Became Lord Kennedy in about 1457)
1.1.1.x James Kennedy (He served as High Chancellor of Scotland and was Bishop of Dunkeld, and later Archbishop of St Andrews. At St Andrews he founded St. Salvator's College in 1455 and is considered one of the founders of the University of St Andrews)
1.1.1.1.1 Hugh Kennedy of Ardstinchar (Worked for the scottish mercenaries and fought with Joan of Arc at the siege of Orly)
1.1.1.1.1.1 Sir David (Third lord of Kennedy, created Earl of Cassilis in 1509)
The tenth Kennedy Earl commissioned Robert Adam to build the Culzean Castle, which became the seat of the Kennedy Clan.
The twelfth Kennedy Earl was created Marquess of Ailsa
[edit] Gaelic Name
- MacUalraig (Surname)
- Ceannaideach(Surname)
- Ceannaideach (Singular)
- Clann 'icUalraig (Collective)
[edit] Tartans
Clan Kennedy has several recognized tartans.
- Kennedy (Modern)
- Kennedy (Ancient)
- Kennedy (Hunting)
- Kennedy (Muted)
- Kennedy (Weathered)
[edit] Arms
- Argent, a chevron Gules between three cross crosslets fichée Sable, all within a double tressure flory counterflory Gules.
[edit] Chief
- The Most Hon. Archibald Angus Charles Kennedy, 8th Marquess of Ailsa
[edit] Septs of Clan Kennedy
- Cassels
- Cassillis
- Cassell
- Carrick
- Culzean
- Kermuck
- MacOurlick
- (Mac)Ulric(k)
- Moray
- Skye.
