Farrell clan

Ó Fearghail
Country Annaly, Kingdom of Leinster
Parent house Muintir Anghaile
Titles
Founded 1014

The Farrell or O'Farrell clan (Ó Fearghail in Irish) is an Irish clan that traces its origins back to the battle of Clontarf in 1014. The descendants of Fearghal, who fought alongside Brian Boru at the battle of Clontarf, took the surname of Uí Fhearghail (descendants of Fearghal). The Uí Fhearghail went on to become Princes of the territory of Anghaile (Annaly), roughly corresponding to present day County Longford, their chieftain sitting at Longphort Uí Fhearghail (O'Farrell's stronghold), present day Longford town. Another site associated with the clan was Moatfarrell (Móta Uí Fhearghail), in the east of Annaly between the present day towns of Ballinalee and Edgeworthstown.

The clan's control of Annaly was disrupted by the English invasions of the 12th and 13th centuries, but by the 15th century, the clan had reasserted control over the territory. They had divided into two family subgroups, Uí Fhearghail Bán (White O'Farrell) and Uí Fhearghail Buí (Yellow O'Farrell), controlling the north and south of Annaly respectively.

The clan lost most of their lands during the colonial confiscations of James I in the early 17th century, with many of the clan members becoming tenants of the new English and Scottish landlords in what is now County Longford.

Clan History

1014 : Legendary King Fergal of Conmaicne is killed at the Battle of Clontarf. It is from this man that the Farrell’s claim descent.[1]

1262 : The English of Meath pillage the lands of Lord of Annaly GioUa O’Farrell (the Just), for which he takes revenge and slews many of them and spoils their land.

1316 : The O’Farrells fight at the Second Battle of Athenry, in which they are soundly defeated by the English. They were fighting in support of Edward the Bruce’s Irish Campaign. Four prominent O’Farrells are recorded as dead.

1323 : A large English army under Lord Bermingham attempt to attack the O’Farrells, but are repulsed and slain at the command of Donnell O’Farrell.

1329 : The sons of John O’Farrell and a group of Meath English, lure and murder the Earl of Breifne at a house in Fore.[2]

Between 1347 and 1583, no less than 7 O’Ferrals serve as Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise.

1452 : The Chief O’Farrell clashes briefly with the Earl of Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland over the imprisonment of Lord Bermingham’s son by the O’Reillys of East Breifne. O’Farrell buys Ormond off, and the Lord Lieutenant leaves to pursue O’Reilly.

1464 : John O’Farrell and Redmond O’Farrell of the Annally Lords, die along with members of their families of the plague.

1471 : A battle between the O’Reillys and the O’Farrells takes place at Clankee in which the O’Reilly commander is killed, but the Chief O’Farrell is taken prisoner.

1475 : A number of O’Farrells are banished to the English of Meath for killing a member of the clan.

1504 : The Chief O’Farrell (along with most other Irish chiefs) join forces with the Lord Deputy, Gearóid FitzGerald, and form a very large army. This English/Gaelic army march on Munster and are victorious over the O’Briens at the Battle of Knockdoe, one of the largest battles ever witnessed in Ireland.

1565 : The Annally O’Farrells repeatedly clash with the new Lord Deputy to Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney who plans to shire the county.

1618 : The Farrells of Longford are finally deposed as Lords of Annaly by King James I, losing their lands and privileges forever. “They were deprived of their estates without any compensation whatsoever, or any means of subsistence assigned them” (Annals of the Four Masters).

1620 : First written record of a Farrell in English was of Father Richard O’Farrell, who was a Priest in Annaly, Longford. He was a member of the Irish Catholic Confederacy and later witnessed and wrote about conflicts on the European Continent.

1649 : At the First Siege of Waterford, Oliver Cromwell battles with General Richard Farrell who arrives and defends the city. Farrell, deputy to Owen Roe O'Neill, is victorious.

1649 : In Wexford, Captain Daniel Farrell recaptures Enniscorthy Castle from the New Model Army.

1650 : Francis Fergus O’Farrell is born in County Longford. He moved to the Netherlands marries a local girl and has 6 children. Eventually, he serves in the army of William of Orange and sees action in England and Ireland, fighting for the Protestants.

1652 : After Waterford, General Richard Farrell appears again in Irish history, this time defending Galway with Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara against the New Model Army. Here the English Parliamentarians are victorious.

1657 : The remnants of the O’Farrell clan, now Wild Geese, are in the service of the French Army, and commanding an access route to Brussels, during the Franco-Spanish War. However, at the behest of the exiled Charles II of England, they switch sides and allow the Spanish to pass on the road, and attack Brussels from Flanders.[3]

1662 : The O’Farrell clan, on the orders of the recently reinstated King Charles II are commissioned to Tangier in North Africa. 381 O’Farrells make up the bulk of the Irish contingent which was half of the Tangier Regiment and sail for Africa.[4]

1691 : Ceadagh O’Ferrall of Annaly, Longford was killed at the Battle of the Boyne, Meath. Ceadaigh’s three sons recorded as fleeing to fight in French Brigades, with some settling in Picardy, France.[5]

Most O'Farrells serving in French and Spanish regiments eventually returned to Ireland in the late 17th century, but by then the Clan-based Gaelic Order had been shattered, ending the era of the O'Farrell Clan. From then on, Farrells have been commoners in Ireland deprived of their ancient lands and heritage. The family name is still common in the midland counties of Ireland, especially in County Longford, where it is second only to O'Reilly in number.

Name Variants

Variants of the name Farrell include:

(Note on Farrell/O'Ferrall spelling : Farrell, Far(r)el(l)(y) (Farley), Farrill, Ferrall, Fer(r)al(l)(y), Ferrell, Ferrill, Frawley and any O-prefixed (grandson or descendant of) versions of the preceding surnames (Farrell being, by far, the most common spelling is thus the name for the clan) are all Anglicized forms of the Gaelic name Fearghail (fear man + gal valour), (source: "A Dictionary of Surnames". Oxford, 1994.)

References

  1. ↑ History of the Clan; accessed November 2013
  2. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters; accessed November 2013
  3. ↑ Longford Musketeers; accessed November 2013
  4. ↑ Longford Musketeers; accessed November 2013
  5. ↑ History of the Clan; accessed November 2013

External links

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