O'Higgins (in Irish O hUigin) is an Irish noble family descended from Sheán Duff O'Higgins (fl. 1600 AD), Baron of Ballynary who was married to a daughter of the Royal family of O'Conor at Ballintuber Castle in Connacht. Shean Duff O'Higgins himself claimed descent from King Niall of Tara (d. 450 AD).[1][2][3] The family enjoyed the patronage of several Chiefly families including O'Conor Don, MacDermott, O'Doherty, O'Gara and MacDonagh. They are counted among the Gaelic nobility as a sept of the Royal House of O'Neill[4][5] and were further ennobled in 1788 by Carlos III and in 1792 by Carlos IV of Spain and in 1724 by King James III of England while in exile in France.
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The name originates in the Irish personal name "uigin" used for a Norse sea fairer or viking. In Gaelic times the prefix Uí before a name was used to signify descent from a grandson, this family are said to have descended from the grandson of Uiginn who lived in the 11th century or possibly from a previous Uiginn who was a grandson of King Niall of Tara.[6] In modern times the surname has often been translated from Irish into "Higgins" in English although the most senior branches of the family continue to use "O'Higgins".
The O'Higgins family originated in the Kingdoms of Mide and Brega which equate to the modern Irish counties of Meath and Westmeath. As a sept of the Southern Uí Néill their roots in these areas can be traced at least to the 5th century and possibly even earlier. By the 12th century the senior branch of the family had migrated into the Kingdom of Connacht where they settled and were granted large estates by the O'Conors in Sligo at Dooghorne and Monteige in the Barony of Luighne under the protection of the O'Hara Chiefs and at Ballynary in the Barony of Tir-Errill under the protection of the MacDonagh Chiefs.
From the Council of Drom Ceat in 574 AD up to the end of the Gaelic era in the 17th century the O'Higgins were hereditary poets (filés in Irish) in the courts of Irish Princes and Chiefs.[7][8] As hereditary poets they were accorded a status of nobility equal to the King and were entitled to wear the same amount of colours in their robes. Members of this family came under the patronage of other Irish noble houses particularly Ó Conor, Ó Neill, MacDonagh, Ó Rourke, Maguire, Ó Doherty, Mac Dermot and Ó Gara. From the 14th to the 17th centuries the O'Higgins were among the most prolific poets in the courts of the Irish Princes.[9]:
Tadhg Mór Ó hUiginn (d.1315),
Giolla na Naomh Ó hUiginn (d. 1349),
Raghnall Ó hUiginn (d. 1325),
Niall Ó hUiginn (d. 1340),
Tadhg Óg mac Giolla Choluim Ó hUiginn (d. 1391),
Uilliam Ó hUiginn (d. 1378),
Fercert Ó hUiginn, Irish poet, died 1419.
Ruaidhri Ruadh Ó hUiginn (d. 1425),
Fearghal Ruadh mac Taidhg mheic Giolla Choluim Ó hUiginn,
Tadhg Óg mac Taidhg mheic Giolla Choluim Ó hUiginn (d. 1448),
Tuathal Ó hUiginn (d. 1450), Brian Ó hUiginn (d. 1476),
Domhnall mac Briain Uí Uiginn (d. 1502),
Pilip Bocht Ó hUiginn (d. 1487),
Seán mac Ruaidhri Uí Uiginn,
Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn (1550–1617).
Shean Duff O'Higgins, fl. 1600, Baron of Ballynary.[10]
Sir John Higgins of Montoge, d. 1729, Knight, Baronet and Counsillor of Castille.[11]
Don Ambrose O'Higgins d. 1801, Knight, 1st Marquess de Osorno, 1st Barón de Valenar.[12][13]
Don William (Guillermo) O'Higgins, b. 1725, Spanish Colonial Administrator in Paraguay.[14]
Don Bernardo O'Higgins, d. 1842, 1st Head of State of Chile.
Pedro Demetrio O'Higgins Puga, d.1868, industralist and Chilean politician.
Joyce Ginatta O'Higgins, South American business woman and public figure[15]
After the fall of the Gaelic Order in the 17th century the O'Higgins family suffered for their loyalty to the Irish way of life and were evicted from their estates at Dooghorne, Monteige and Ballynary in Sligo and at Kilbeg in Westmeath by forces loyal to Oliver Cromwell.[16] The senior line of the family who were the Barons of Ballynary in Sligo [17][18] migrated to Summerhill in County Meath where in 1721 a relative had become the Roman Catholic Parish Priest.[19] Other members of the family fled to Spain and France where they entered the service of Catholic monarchs sympathetic to their plight.
In 1751 Ambrose O'Higgins (b. 1720 d. 1801) left Summerhill in Co. Meath for Cadiz in Spain from where he went to Peru and Chile. In 1788 he became Governor General of Chile and was ennobled by King Carlos III as 1st Barón de Ballinar and raised to Marquess de Osorno in 1792 by Carlos IV. His son Bernardo O'Higgins became the first Head of State of Chile in 1818.
Sir John Higgins Bt of Monteige was knighted and ennobled by King James III in 1724 in return for his services to France.
The Ballynary line of the O'Higgins family continued at Summerhill in County Meath until 1947. Thomas O'Higgins Esq. of Cheshire in England now represents the family title. The O'Higgins family are armigerous in Ireland (1788) and in Spain (1796 and 2011).[20][21]