Our Beginning
The Clann O'Byrne traces its origin to Bran, or Braen, meaning "Raven" who was the son of Maelmorda and died in the year 1052. His father, Maelmorda, was King of Leinster [the southern part of Ireland which includes County Wicklow] and died after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
Maelmorda had led the Leinster Irish in alliance with the Norse of Dublin against Brian Boru. This battle is usually portrayed as the Irish united against the foreign invaders: in fact it was a mere power struggle. After Maelmorda was killed in 1014, his son Bran became King of Leinster, but he only ruled for four years. In 1018 Bran was blinded by a rival named Sihtric. This disabling of Bran made him ineligible to be King, since under the ancient Irish Brehon laws only eligible family members who were physically unblemished could serve as leader [King or Clann chief]. He later died in a monastery in Cologne, Germany in 1052.
Bran's desendants referred to themselves as "O'Bran" meaning grandson or descendent of Bran. "O'Bran became "O'Broin" [pronounced "O'Brin"] in Gaelic and in later centuries became somewhat anglicized as O'Byrne. When our ancestors told us that we were decended from Kings, they were right.
The O'Byrnes originally lived on the flat plains bordering the River Liffey in the northern part of present day County Kildare. A little over a century after the death of Bran, the O'Byrnes as well as their closely related allies the O'Tooles were forced to move from their homes by the Norman invasion of Strongbow and the English in the late twelfth century.
This invasion was prompted by a struggle over the same Kingship of Leinster which previously had been held by Bran, our ancestor. Strongbow's invasion route to capture Dublin was right through the territory of the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles who were easily defeated. A few years after the Normans defeated the Leinster Irish, the O'Byrnes and their allies the O'Tooles moved to the protection of the wild and rugged mountains of Wicklow.
These mountains provided them the sanctuary which enabled them to increase in size and strength. After the initial conquest of Ireland by England, the power of the English Kings and their representatives in Ireland decreased. Despite periodic forays into the countryside and occasional English victories, the rule of English law and custom was only secure inside the "Pale", a small area surrounding Dublin. For almost three hundred years the O'Byrnes and their allies the O'Tooles were the most powerful force south of Dublin.
The O'Byrnes Country known in Irish as "Crioch Branach" began in the very north of County Wicklow near Delgany and extended south along the sea to just north of Arklow. The O'Byrne's Country spread into the mountains and included the territory of the "Gabhal Raghnaill" or Ranelagh which was centered in Ballinacor. The O'Byrne Chiefs were "Chief of the Name" and were titled "O'Byrne" or "The O'Byrne". They were inaugurated near Delgany on a high hill near the sea called Dun Caillighe Bearre. This was the site of an ancient hill fort or Dun. Today it is known as Downs Hill, and from its top one can see the Irish sea and much of the O'Byrnes Country.
In addition to the small leadership group which contributed eligible candidates for election as Chiefs, there were other significant groups of subordinate O'Byrne families known as Septs. The greatest of these Septs were the O'Byrnes of Ranelagh or "Gabhal Raghnaill". Another Sept was the O'Byrnes of Clonmore, County Garlow from which descends our current elected Chieftain, Val Byrne of Bray, County Wicklow.
In the centuries before the beginning of the Tudors, the English generally viewed Ireland as a mere revenue source to help them with their wars in France and at home. This changed under the Tudor monarchs, especially Henry VIII and his daughter Queen Elizabeth. They paid much greater attention to affairs in Ireland, and sought to bring the island under strict control of the English Monarchy.
The conflicts which developed from this power struggle involved the O'Byrnes until domination by England around the time of the end of Elizabeth's reign in 1603. In the sixteenth century the O'Byrne Chief, Thady O'Byrne and the Clan leadership living on the plains near the sea submitted to English rule. The subordinate Sept of Ranelagh living in the mountains and led by Hugh McShane O'Byrne refused to follow their Chief and would not submit to English rule. Thady O'Byrne died in 1578 and was succeeded as Chief by Dunlaing O'Byrne who also unwilling to resist the English. In 1580 both the new Chief Dunlaing O'Byrne and the mountain warrior Hugh McShane O'Byrne died.
Hugh was succeeded as leader of the Ranelagh Sept by his son Feagh McHugh O'Byrne who became the greatest warrior ever to be called an O'Byrne. Feagh was not eligible to be Chief of the O'Byrnes and was not formally inaugurated. Nonetheless he was the undisputed leader of all the O'Byrnes resisting English domination. Feagh McHugh O'Byrne commanded his followers for almost two decades beginning with the victorious Battle of Glenmalure in 1580 and ending with his death in 1597. During that time Feagh led the O'Byrnes and their allies in numerous raids on Dublin, and many battles against the English. He assisted the powerful leaders in Ulster and aided Hugh Roe O'Donnell in his escape from Dublin Castle in 1591. Following the Irish defeat at the battle of Kinsale in 1601 the Irish ability to resist English rule was eliminated.
The new Stewart King, James I, who took the throne after Elizabeth's death in 1603 was intent on enforcing strict English control. This included forcing all of Ireland to abandon Gaelic language, customs and law and replacing them with those from England. In order to preserve their control over Ireland, England destroyed the Clann system. Chiefs no longer served the same function as leaders, and all of the Irish Clans ceased to inaugurate their Chiefs by the early Seventeenth Century. The last inauguration of an O'Byrne Chief was in 1578. Clan owned lands were forfeited and the Irish were driven from their homes and were replaced by transplanted English and Scots. Religion was used as a litmus test to determine ones loyalty to the English Crown.
Byrnes would continue to contribute to the history of Ireland, but after the end of the Tudor reign the O'Byrne clan and all of its Septs would cease to exist as an entity. In 1641, 1689 and 1798 the Irish would rebel against the rule of England, and in every instance the revolts were effectively put down. The Byrnes of Ballymanus, County Wicklow played an important leadership role in the 1798 uprising. After each of the unsuccessful rebellions many Irish, Byrnes included were forced to emigrate. After the 1689 rebellion, many O'Byrnes went to France as part of the Irish International Brigade known as the Wild Geese. After the unsuccessful 1798 rebellion, Australia, and to a lesser extent, America and the Canadian east coast, would become the recipient of numerous Byrnes. Unsuccessful rebellions were not the only cause of emigration for the Byrnes. Economic conditions in Ireland in the Nineteenth Century, especially the famine of the 1840's caused the greatest amount of emigration. In the Twentieth Century, the Byrnes played their part in achieving the independence for Ireland in 1922.