The Family of Mageoghegan

Notes by the Late Bro. Angelo Holmes, Franciscan Monastery, Clara Aug. 1984.

The tribe name of the Mageoghegan was Cinel-Fhiacha, derived from Fiacha the third son of Niall of the nine Hostages, d. A.D. 403. Their territory was Known as Cinel-Fhiacha (Kineleaghe) now Moycashel.
The territory of Cinel-fiacha originally extended from Birr to the Hill of Uisneach in West Meath, but subsequently the O`Molloys and Mageoghegans who were the principal families of the race of Fiacha, son of Niall, became independent of each other, and divided the original territory into two parts, of which O`Molly retained the southern portion, called Feara-Ceall, and Mageoghegan the northern portion which retained the original name of the tribe, i.e. Kineleaghe.

Shortly after the English invasion, Mageoghegan was reduced to insignificance and obscurity; but on the decay of the family of de Lacy in Meath, he became more powerful than ever he had been before, and was soon very troublesome to his Anglo-Irish neighbours and the government.

In the year 1207 both families - Mageoghegan and O`Molloy - were nearly dispossessed by Meyler FitzHenry and the sons of Sir Hugh de Lacy, who in this year contended with each other for the lands of Cinel-Fhiacha, as appears from the following entry in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, translated by Connell Mageoghegan:

"A.D. 1207. The sons of Hugh Delasie, with the forces of the English of Meath, laid siege to the castle of Ardinurcher, and the same continued for the space of five weeks, until they forced Meyler to abandon and forsake all the cantred of Kineleaghe from Birr to Killare."
(Ardinurcher, now Horsleap.) (Dr, O`Donovan`s Miscellany of the Irish Archaeological Society.)

"A.D. 1213. Cormack mac Art O`Melaghlyn took a great prey from the town of
Ardinurcher, and the next morrow after took the spoyles of the Castle of Ardinurcher, and market of the same; he took many other small preys and booties.
The said Cormack mac Art took a prey from the Castle of Kynnclare together with the spoyles of the Bawne and market of the said town, and also killed many of the Englishmen, that they left him twenty-eight horses with eight other harnished horses, and shirts of mail, and burnt many men in the said town (and) returned to his own house without loss. All the forces of the English of Ulster, Munster, Lynster and Meath together with all the Irish forces that owed service to the king of England throughout the provinces and parts of Ireland, assembled and met together at the bridge of Tynnie to assault the said Cormack mac Art O`Melaghlyn, whom they did also meet at a place then called Clare Athmoynie now called Killclare (sic) , adjoining to Lissmoyne and weast, fought courageously withall, where four principall men of the said Cormack`s army were slain, as Rowrie O`Kiergy and others. The English army came from thence to Delvyn mac Coghlan, and ---"

In all this fighting of 1213 the name Mageoghegan is not recorded. This leaves a big question mark.

Down through the centuries, from 1291 A.D. to 1602, over 50 deaths of notable Mageoghegan`s are recorded in the Annals of the F. Masters. Of these, nineteen were slain or killed." A.D. 1415. Conor, son of Brian, son of William Mageoghegan was slain at Cill Cuairsighe." (one example) This was the Irish spelling, and John O`Donovan did not translate it as Kilcoursey, but in a footnote, said it was the present Kilcoursey. Periodic local fighting with the English, and among themselves, seems to have been a feature of the time. A.F.M.

The Mac Egan or Egan Sept or tribe

The tribe of MacEgan derived from Maine, fourth son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and is distinct from the Mageoghegan tribe. They are noted, not so much for territory as for learning. From the 12th century to the 16th, thirty-three deaths of noted MacEgan`s are mentioned in the A.F.M. of which seven were Brehons, (Judges), and seventeen were Ollaves, or poets. They had Schools at various periods from Ballymacegan, in Tipperary, through the midlands to the banks of the Moy in Mayo. During the periods mentioned, some of the Irish Chiefs (or Londs) kept a MacEgan Brehon, Ollav, or poet for the benefit of their people. The Irish from of the name was MacAodhagain. Certainly, the Mageoghegan`s had learned men and women of their own families. And, of course, intermarriage between the Irish families themselves and their English neighbours was quite common.

O`Molloy. The Annals record the deaths of 53 prominent O`Molloys from 920 A.D. down to 1599. Of these, 21 were killed or slain.
23 are named Lord of Feare Ceall, and one, in the year 1139 is named Lord of Feara Ceall and Cinel Fhiacha.

After the English Invasion, 1170

1170 A.D. Dermot McMurrough, who invited the English, died. 1171 A.D. King Henry II feared a take over of Leinster by Strongbow. He came with an army and some leaders, including Hugh de Lacy. The Irish Chiefs of Muster met him, but the Ulster Chiefs and Rory O`Connor did not The King sent Hugh de Lacy and Wm. FitzAdleme to Connaght to get the high King, Roby`s submission; they returned happy but the result was doubtful. 1172 A.D. King Henry appointed Hugh de Lacy Governor of Dublin, and gave him the province of Meath in Fee for himself. At Easter, that year the King returned to England, and to France where there was trouble.

Hugh de Lacy, the new Lord of Meath, set to work erecting strong castles in strategic situations, as barracks for his forces; also some protective earthworks were constructed, now known as `mottes`.
Location of some castles mentioned in Annals of the Four Masters:
1176 A.D. An English castle was in progress at Kells.
" The castle of Slane was plundered by Melaghlan - and by Kinel-Owen (O`Neill). All were killed, including men, women and children, in number, about one hundred.
1184 A.D. A castle was erected at Killare.
1186 " Hugh de Lacy was killed at Durrow castle by a foster son of Fox (Caharny) prince of Teffia.
1187 A.D. The castle of Killare which was in possession of the English, was burned and demolished by Conor Moinmoy (O`Connor) and Melaghlin Beg.
All were killed and suffocated, and arms, horses, etc. taken away.
1192 A.D. Castles erected at Ardinurcher (Horseleap) and Kilbixy.

As the years went by, certain elements of the Norman-English became envious of de Lacy`s success and sent complaints about him to the King.
Meyler FitzHenry, a cousin of Henry II, was said to be at the root of these charges, which alleged that Hugh de Lacy had married the High King Rory`s daughter and had set his eye on the Crown of Ireland. The King called him over to England where de Lacy cleared himself, and was sent back to Ireland with the title of King`s Lieutenant. Other charges were made against de Lacy, and in 1185, King Henry sent his teen-age son John, over here with the promise that he would be made King of Ireland.
John, and his retinue of youthful playboys soon antagonised all they met, Norman Barons and Irish Chiefs alike. He was only ten months in Ireland, and had the whole country in uproar, when he was called back to England. He complained to his father, King Henry, that Hugh de Lacy did not give him proper respect.
Rose, the High King`s daughter, married Hugh de Lacy in 1180.
They had one son, William Gorm. De Lacy`s first wife was buried in Bective Abbey. She was the mother of his sons, Hugh and Walter.
(Footnotes in Annals F.M. 1186 A.D.)
Hanmers`s Chronicle 1571, 1809 edition.
When Sir Hugh de Lacy was Killed at Durrow castle in 1186, his two sons, Hugh and Walter, with all the English of Meath were in dismay.
King Henry II after some delay, appointed Hugh, the younger, as Governor of Ireland, and Walter to a post in Meath. Meyler FitzHenry, grandson of King Henry I, was disappointed because of the promotion of the young Lacys, and from then on, tried to win something for himself when possible, especially at the expense of the Lacys. Some of the English Barons were in confusion. Hugh de Lacy attempted to oust de Courcy from Ulster, and King Henry at war with various parties in England and France, died in 1189.
Richard, third son of Henry, became king as Richard I, and spent much of his time with other European monarchs, on crusades to free the Holy Land from the Saracens, winning the title of 'Lion heart'. Ireland was of no interest to him, apparently. He died in 1199.
John, fifth son of Henry II, succeeded as king. He had spent a few months in Ireland, around 1185, and was no friend of the Lacys. Amid all this unrest in Ireland, it is no surprise that the Mageoghegans took possession of the castle of Ardinurcher, some time between its completion in 1192 and the attempt by rival parties of the English to re-take it in 1207.

The Abbe Mac-Geoghegan, Historian

The Abbe Mac-Geoghegan was born about the year 1698, in the neighbourhood of Mullingar. He went abroad at an early age, studied in Rheims, and was ordained priest there. He later went to Paris where he was chaplain to the Irish Brigade. In Paris, he had am opportunity to research the Archives and found many works on Irish history which enabled him to compile a History of Ireland in the French language. It was dedicated to the Irish Brigade. About 1830 it was translated into English by a Patrick O`Kelly. The second edition was printed in New York in 1845 by D. & J. Sadlier. It is a large book of about 620 pages, in smallish print, giving an account of Ireland from the very early times down to c. 1720. He died in 1750.

The Rahugh branch of the Mageoghegan family were transplanted to Bunown, W. Connemara, about 1654. It is said that took with them the crozier of Bishop Hugh.

Covenant between Mageoghegan and the Fox

The following compact or covenant, which was made between Mageoghegan, chief of Cinel-Fhiachach, or Kineleaghe, and the Fox, chief of Muinter-Thadhgain, on the 22nd of August, 1526, is printed from the original, now in the possession of Sir Richard Nagle, Baronet, of Jamestown House, in the County of Westmeath. It is written on a small piece of parchment, in the handwriting, as stated, of James, the son of Cairbri O`Kinga, who was present at the making of the covenant, and who committed it to writing two days afterwards.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, this compact of Mageoghegan and the Fox is made.
This is the covenant and contract of Mageoghegan, i.e. Connla, son of Conor, son of Laighnech, and the Fox of Muinter-Tadhgain, i.e. Breasal, son of Eoghan, son of Cairbri, viz.: Mageoghegan to be lord over the Fox, and his country; and this is all the sign of lordship which- -(tributes of land and animals etc.) 'Whenever cess or levy comes from the King`s Deputy on Mageoghegan, the due proportion of it to be paid by the Fox for his own territory.' ( Many other conditions) Every All Hallows or May meeting that shall take place in Mageoghegan`s country shall be convened at the town of Ath-an-urchair or Corrna-sgean, and the Fox and the chieftains of his country shall come with him thither. Disputes to be left to the decision of Muirchertach Mac Egan, Brehon or other Brehon by them appointed- - Signed by both Chiefs, and witnessed by about twelve persons present, at Syonen, 22nd August, 1526.
Some clauses relate to mutual assistance and protection.
(Miscellany, J.O`D.)

Donore Castle, Co. Westmeath, near Horseleap. Inscriptin on wall in English and Latin.
A.D. 1598. This ancient castle was built by Brian MacGeoghegan, son and heir of Conly MacGeoghegan, lord of the territory of Kinel Fhiacha, and of Katherine O`Connor, daughter of Brian O`Connor, Lord of Offaly, and of Mary Fitzgerald, daughter of Gerald, 9th Earl of Kildare.
It was cleared of encumbrances and restored by Richard Nagle, A.D. 1809, to whom rightfully and lawfully belong this castle and the adjoining manor. He was seven generations descended from the said Conly MacGeoghegan, who departed this life, A.D.1587.

An account of a lecture, with picture of this castle, appeared on the Irish Independent, 3rd August, 1939.
A.D. 1580. The son of Mageoghegan (Rossa, the son of Conla, son of Conor, son of Laighne) was unfortunately slain in a dispute with his brother, Brian. -
A.D. 1588. Mageoghegan, Lord of Kinel-Fhiacha, namely, Connla, son of Conor, son of Laighne, son of Connla, son of Hugh, died; and there had not been for a long time before, any one of the descendants of Fiacha the son of Niall, who was more generally lamented; and his son, Brian, and Niall the son of Ross, were in contention with each other for the Lordship of the territory.
This Connla was the leading party in the Covenant with Fox which was made at Syonan in 1526.
Two sons of Connla are recorded, namely, Brian and Rossa. (as above)
Rossa had two sons: Niall and Richard. (recorded). Richard was killed in Dunboy castle on Beare Island, Bantry Bay, in 1602, fighting to hold the castle for O`Sullivan Beare. O`Sullivan and his party later fled north to Leitrim.
Niall was the father of Connla or Connell Mageoghegan who translated the ancient Annals of Clonmacnoise into English for his cousin Turlogh MacCoghlan of Lemanaghan, in the year 1627. Niall died in 1596.

In his book "South Westmeath", Jeremiah Sheehan, B.Agr.Sc. , M.A. , gives a learned account of the Mageoghegan tribe, with many statistics, down to recent times.
A photo of Donore castle has the legend: "McGeoghegan Castle at Donore, survived attack by Cromwellian soldiers and was inhabited up to 1965." Also, "The Castle of the Chief was Moycashel and the inauguration stone was near Castletown Geoghegan and still be seen in the Middleton Park farm; other castles of the sept were at Syonan, Donore, Laragh, Coolalough, Balrath, Rosemount and Newtown." Also, that "Sir Richard Nagle`s mother was Mary, the daughter of Kedagh McGeoghegan." From this I can compute that Sir Richard Nagle was descended from Connla, through Rossa, Niall, Connell, X, Kedagh, and Mary Mageoghegan; not through Brian of Donore castle, unless -
About 1975 I saw a large section of a wall, part of the ruins of the castle of Moycashel. Some of it was four or five feet above the foundation, and about three feet in thickness. (Disappeared later.)

The key to the placing of the above persons in the genealogy of the period, was a document which Br. Raphael had on loan some months ago from a Mrs Keaney, nee Galvin, who claims she was born in Donore castle.

CLARA and the surrounding MIDLANDS

At the beginning of the 17th century, Clara was a peaceful village on the bubbling Brosna in the wooded valley between the Erry Hills and the heights of Aughamore. It was crossed by the ancient road which passed by the Convent settlement of Kilbride, and connected with Durrow and L Lemanaghan. Clara was at the western end of a chain of plains (hence the name) stretching west from Lismoyny, which was also known as Ceann an Chlair, i.e. the (eastern) end of the Plain.
At Lismoyny, two miles east of Clara, around the year 1627, there lived one of the most noted scholars, in an age of many notable scholars. He was Conell MacGeoghegan, the translator of the "Annals of Clonmacnoise." Eugene O`Curry, one of the leading Irish Historians of the last century has left us in his "Manuscript Materials" a pretty clear account of his work.
Lismoyny (C. Westmeath), where Connel lived had its lively times in the middle ages when its Castle, Bawn and Market were sometimes plundered by the English, who on occasions paid dearly for their boldness. However, in Conell`s time, more peaceful conditions for scholarship seemed to prevail.
Conell`s cousin, Turlogh MacCoghlan, lived at Lemanaghan, and it was for him the translation was made. It would appear that the original Annals of Clonmacnoise - the Irish version - was in the keeping of MacCoghlan previous to this time because Conell`s Dedication of the translation to MacCoghlan is dated at Lemanaghan. "- - and in the meantime I bid you heartily farewell, from Leijvanchan, 20 April, Anno Domini 1627. Your very loving brother, Conell MacGeoghegan."
One might infer from the above that the translation, or some of it took place in MacCoghlan`s house. At any rate, the ancient Irish Annals were later in the possession of Conell at Lismoyny, and passed through an Heiress of his line, to the Nagle family of CastletownGeoghegan. This estate was part of the MacGeoghegan lands from the early ages, and their castles and strongholds were numerous there.
O`Curry was acquainted with Sir Richard Nagle, and was eager to have a look at the Irish MS., but Sir Richard contrived to stave him off by saying that his mother regarded the Manuscript as a sacred relic and did not wish to let anyone outside the family see it, much less to read it, and so, Eugene O`Curry had to be content with the English translation, or a transcript of same, for there were copies of it made before 1840 when O`Curry was interested.
Later reports say that an English book fancier visited Nagle, bought some books including the MS., and because he could not understand the language he burned it.
Why was the translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise made in that particular year, 1627? It is possible that it was part of a plan. Michael O`Clery, hereditary historian, (later chief of the Four Masters) was being sent by his Superiors in Louvain to ' the Kingdom of Ireland' to collect all the history material he could find there, especially what pertained to the Saints and Kings of Ireland. At that time this was in danger of being lost owing to the insecure state of the Irish clans, their bards and historians. Brother Michael came to Ireland in the spring of 1626, and from the Monastery of Donegal in his native county he set out to visit all the historians and scribes still living in the country. His travels took him in due time to Lismoyny.
His description of his time in Conell`s house is recorded as follows in Eugene O`Curry`s translation of Brother Michael`s Preface to the 'Reim Rioghraidhe' which is said to be the first Volume compiled.
"In nomine Dei. Amen.
On the third day of the month of September, Anno Christi 1630 this book was commenced to be written in the house of Conall, son of Niall, son of Rossa Mageoghegan, of Lios Maighne, in Cinel Fhiachach (in Westmeath), one by whom are prized and preserved the ancient Monuments of our ancestors; one who is the illustrious collecting Bee of everything that belongs to honour and history of the descendants of Milesius and of Lugaidh, son of Ith, both lay and ecclesiastical as far as he could find them. And what is written in this book is the 'Reim Rioghraidhe' (the Succession of Kings) and the history of the Saints of Erinn…"
It is reasonable to assume that Conell`s purpose in doing the translation was to obtain the ancient Irish Ms. from MacCoghlan in order to have it in his collection for Brother Michael.
From the Annals of Clonmacnoise a large part of the material for the Reim Rioghraidhe was extracted, and when Brother Michael had his copying finished he pleaded with Turlough MacCoghlan to act as Patron so that he could employ some other hereditary scribes to assist him in having the work "corrected and amended" in the Convent of Athlone.(Friary.) Two of these scholars, Fearfeasa O`Mulconry and Cucoigcriche O`Duigenan he names in the Preface, "persons learned in the Irish language."
Brother Michael`s 'Address to the Reader' is signed by himself, the two abovenamed scholars and Cucoigcriche O`Clery.
"On the 4th day of October, therefore this book was commenced, and on the 4th day of November, it was finished, in the convent of the friars before mentioned, in the fifth year of the King Charles of England, 1630."
--- Dedication of the book to Turlogh MacCoghlan.
As the ancient Annals of Clonmacnoise proved a rich source to Brother Michael O`Clery and his assistants in the compilation of the Reim Rioghraidhe and later works, so did the English translation prove to be of invaluable assistance to Dr. John O`Donovan, the learned translator and Editor of Annala Rioghachta Eireann, now usually called the Annals of the Four Masters, when he undertook that task in the 19th century.

In his Preface to the Annals of the Four Masters, John O`Donovan writes: -
"3. An English version of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, by Connell Mageoghegan, Esq., of Lismoyny, in the county of Westmeath; finished on the last day of June, 1627. -This work which begins with the earliest period, is carried down to the year 1408. The original Annals in Irish are not known to be in existence, but the translation accords, in the latter years with the text of the Annals of Connaught. In many entries it also agrees with the Annals of the Four Masters; but in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries the chronology is often antedated by four, five, and sometimes even seven years. This work is of great value, as it contains exact versions in English of all the peculiar idioms and phrases which occur in the various Irish Annals. The Editor has carefully compared it with the Annals of the Four Masters, and found that it contains some curious entries which they omitted, while they, on the other hand, record many historical events of which this chronicle takes no notice."
(Conell, it seems, continued his English version from 1227, when the Irish ended, to 1408 from other manuscripts, as a bonus for MacCoghlan.)

The midlands can be proud of the contribution made by Conell MacGeoghegan and Turlogh MacCoghlan to the preservation of Ireland's ancient history. It was part of a noble effort to preserve for posterity the records of the nation that had survived to that hopeless period from Ireland's golden age.
It must surely be heartening to Brother Michael to find so many manuscripts, and have the unstinted co-operation of the scholars who had preserved them in many places throughout the land. Turlogh MacCoghlan set the example in acting as Patron for the first major compilation. Other Patrons were not wanting later during the compilation of 'an Lebhar Gabhala', and the crowning work of the Four Masters, namely, the Annals.

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