Christopher Thomas O'Higgins
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Christopher Thomas O'Higgins (b.1934) is the Honoury Chieftain of the O'Higgins, a sept of the southern Uí Néill[1] and is styled as Lord of Ballynary. He is the senior descendent of Sheán Duff O'Higgins who according to records kept at the Genealogical Office in Dublin, held the Gaelic territorial title of Ballynary in County Sligo [2]. Around 1720, having lost all of their lands under Cromwell, the O'Higgins family of Ballynary migrated to Summerhill in Co. Meath where they remained until 1947[3][4][5][6].
O'Higgins spent his early life at his family home in Dublin and also spent time at his family seat in Summerhill, Co. Meath. He married the former Oonagh O'Mara, who is descended from Alfonsi DuPrat a French Surgeon General. After moving to England in 1956 he served in the British Army in Germany and the Outer Hebrides before pursueing a long career as a field engineer.
In 2005 he was acclaimed as Honoury Chieftain of the O'Higgins and upon the initiative of his Clan he was admitted to the Noble Society of Celts as a hereditary member and later in 2006 he was admitted to the Manorial Society of Great Britain.
[edit] Recognition of Gaelic titles and honors
The Chief Herald of Ireland discontinued the practice of recognizing chiefs of the name and other Gaelic titles and honors in 2003. Since these honors lay beyond the authority of the College of Arms and other nobiliary and heraldic authorities outside Ireland, it is not possible for any claimant to a Gaelic title to seek government recognition. However, some individual Gaelic families or clans continue to elect or acclaim their Chieftains.
As Gaelic noble titles inherited through tanistry predate the establishment of the Office of Chief Herald (and the creation of the Republic of Ireland that gives it authority), it can be argued that claimants who gain popular support via clan associations and organizations such as the Noble Society of Celts thereby establish their status as de facto chieftains and that the confirmation of their status de jure by the Irish government (through the Chief Herald or otherwise) is not required.
Should the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland resume the responsibility of arbitration and recognition of gaelic honors at a future date, claimants' success at rallying support through clan associations might be weighed along with genealogical evidence when evaluating their claims. Such consideration would be appropriately consistent with the principles of tanistry rather than the principles of succession by male primogeniture.
[edit] References
- ^ MacLysaght, E. (2005) The Surnames of Ireland (Dublin: Irish Academic Press)p.157
- ^ GO MS 165: 396-399
- ^ O’Rorke, T. (1889) “The History of Sligo Town and County Vol. II – Conclusion” (Dublin: Duffy & Company);
- ^ MacDermot, D. (1989) Mac Dermot of Moylurg (Leitrim: Drumlin Publications);
- ^ De Breffny,B. (1970) 'Ambrose O'Higgins: An Enquiry into his Origins and Ancestry' in The Irish Ancestor 2:2, pp. 81-89
- ^ Murray, E. (2006) 'Ambrose O'Higgins (c. 1721-1801)' in "Irish Migration Studies in Latin America" 4:4 October (www.irlandeses.org).
