Clans of Ireland

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Up to the 17th century Irish society was organised around large traditional family groupings. These groupings or clans were often sub-divided into smaller family groups called septs. The larger clans were led by a Chief or Taoiseach who was given the status of royalty in Gaelic Ireland whereas the septs were led by Chieftains who were recognised as part of the Gaelic aristocracy. Lineage was based on the practice of tanistry whereby a relative was appointed prior to the death of a ruler as successor, rather than based on blood lineage. The clan system formed the basis of polity. Often, these are thought of as based on kinship; in fact, as Nicholls describes, these would be better thought of as akin to the modern-day corporation. Clans took many shapes and sizes.^[1] Their ruling structure, whether ruled by a single lord or a council, changed according to needs and the qualities of their membership. As with a modern corporation, the power of clans grew and shrank. Once-powerful clans could in time decline in stature and be amalgamated into once-smaller ones. How this "merger" would be dealt with would be a matter of negotiation based on the respective power of each party.

The flight into exile in 1607 of the Gaelic Chiefs Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell following their defeat at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 and the suppression of their rebellion in Ulster in 1603 is seen as the watershed of Gaelic Ireland. It marked the destruction of Ireland's ancient Gaelic aristocracy following the Tudor re-conquest and cleared the way for the Plantation of Ulster. After this point, the English authorities in Dublin established real control over Ireland for the first time, bringing a centralised government to the entire island, and successfully disarmed the native lordships.

From this point onwards the Clans of Ireland were dispersed and often lacked leadership as their Chiefs and Chieftains had either been killed or fled to Europe never to return. Consequently, many clansmen left their ancient ancestral lands to find work and survive elsewhere in Ireland under the English or abroad in the armies of Catholic monarchs. However, the clan identity survived and in recent times many have reconnected and organised themselves as hereditary and cultural groupings.

Rory O'Connor, the elected Chieftain of the O'Connor (Kerry) Clan, gave an undertaking in August 1987 that he "would work to have organised, all the Clans of Ireland, at home and abroad, into one great Family Association". In 1989, with financial assistance from Bord Fáilte and with the use of an office and facilities in the Genealogical Office, he successfully established Clans of Ireland, to promote world-wide interest in Irish origins, heritage and culture.

In 1990, Clans of Ireland was incorporated as a limited company and it now provides guidance in establishing and maintaining a successful Clan society and co-ordinates the activities of the Irish Clans. Only those clans that are included on the Register of Irish Clans are recognised as having the status of an official Irish Clan.

In the quasi democratic spirit of tanistry some of these clans have elected and acclaimed senior individuals as honorary chieftains while others have chosen to organise themselves around the blood line successors of the last known Chief of their clan.

On the 5th October, 1991 sixteen of the nineteen bloodline Chiefs, some of whom traveled from various parts of Europe, were received at Áras an Uachtarain by the President of Ireland, Mrs Mary Robinson.This historic occasion was the first time in modern history, that the bloodline chieftains of Ireland had gathered in Dublin to form a new Council of Irish Chiefs. The only other meeting of this kind ever to have taken place was before the Battle of Kinsale in 1603 when a large group of Irish Chiefs met. The Maguire of Fermanagh, retired accountant Terence Maguire, was elected chairman of the Irish Chiefs Council for a three year period while The O'Conor Don of Roscommon, retired businessman Denis O'Conor Don was elected deputy-chairman. The next significant gathering was held in Rathmullen, Co. Donegal on the 14th September 2007 when the Chiefs and Chieftains of all the Clans of Ireland where invited to gather and commemorate the Flight of the Earls in 1607.

Today, many of the Clans of Ireland organise gatherings in Ireland and in other places around the world as well as maintaining a presence on the internet. They also sponsor DNA projects and develop genealogical and historical research.