Who are the O'Briens?
(The picture is a view of the River Slaney by which the earliest O'Briens settled).
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Who are the O'Briens?(The picture is a view of the River Slaney by which the earliest O'Briens settled). |
What soundex names are related (eg. Norman Bryan, Breen, et al)?
Information of following are explained below:
O'Briens Breens Bryans Aubries Byrnes Others
A. The
O'Brien Name:
i) Variants: O'Briens were commonly named O'Briens, Brien,
O'Briain, MacBrien.
MacLysaght, (p 21, 1997) also includes Mac Ui Bhrian, O'Brien,
O'Bryan & O'Brian (Note: O'Bryan as mentioned below is
usually connected with the Norman Bryan). He says that some in
Tipperary & Limerick were called Mac I Briens.
The name is mostly found in counties Clare, Cavan, Galaway, Cork,
Tipperary, Waterford & Wexford (& many in Dublin).
Weir (p. 78, 1994) also includes Brine, Brion, MacBrian, McBryen.
The name Brian itself has been attributed to various origins. Some hold that it means "a fine house" or "a bonny house". Others claim it means "a hill" or "by the hill". Yet others say it means "strong".
ii) In the Householders Index of Wexford in
the 1820's the following lists similar sounding names:
Bryan derivatives:
Bryan, O'Bryan, Brynes, Bryanson, Brynes
Breen derivatives:
Breen, Breene, Bruen
Byrne
Byrin
Other Similar Sounding names:
Brahan, Breem
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There have been accounts of O'Briens changing there name to
Breen. Donough O'Brien (1949) in a chapter
devoted to Royal lineage of French O'Briens states that the name
was changed to Breen. Ivar O'Brien, (1986 p. 199)
states that a Dutch Royal branch changed name to Breen. He says
"A Dutch branch of the family, the O'Breens, descends from a
scion of Carrigogunnel, who emigrated to Holland c.1618".
Ida Grehan (1997 p35) says (the name) " is a very numerous surname throughout Ireland, although the O or Mac prefix, once an essential part of the name, has long since been dropped. In the course of time, the name became corrupted to O Brien, and even to Brown or Bruen".
A writer
(ie. Pat Traynor) quotes an undocumented source and says that
this "separate Wexford sept, the O Briain, also had their
surname anglicised as Breen. These were descended from Bran Finn,
son of Lachta, King of Munster, and uncle of Brian Boru. However,
the O'Breens, rulers of Brawney, a territory near Athlone in
counties Offaly and Westmeath, were the
most powerful of the name in the Middle Ages; as they lost power
the name mutated, and many in the area are now to be found as
O'Briens". This writer quoting another undocumented source
states "This form of Mac Braoin (Breen) as well as MacBrine
is usual in Co. Fermanagh where it is the name of a branch of the
MacManus sept.It is frequently written MacBrien and has sometimes
been changedto O'Brien there and in Co. Cavan".
The MacBreens are said to be related to an uncle of Brian Boru. according to Murphy (1986) . He says "According to Dr. John O'Donovan, some of the Knocktopher (Kilkenny) MacBreens migrated to Wexford where they are not to be confounded with the O'Breens who, says O'Donovan, are descended from Bran Finn, son of Lachta, King of Munster and uncle of Brian Boru. O'Donovan states that these O'Breens, who became the chief family of the Duffry, were 'a lawless and restless race, continuously harassing their Anglo-Norman neighbours.'
MacLysaght (1997 p. 30) says "The
(Breen) name may have come originally from O'Breen or Mac Breen.
MacBreen
was anciently centered in the barony of Knocktopher, in Co.
Kilkenny, within the more ancient territory of Ossory. In the
wake of the 12th century Norman invasions the power of this
family was broken by the Walsh family, hence they settled in
Wexford".
Ida Grehan (1997 p35) states that "Breen in Irish was written as "O Braoin - is derived from braon, meaning sadness or sorrow". (Pat Traynor [original source?] states "There are several distinct Gaelic origins of the surname, both Mac Braoin and O Braoin, from braon, meaning 'moisture', or 'drop'".
MacLysaght E. states that "(O) Bruen is
a variant form of Breen usual in Co. Roscomman, the homeland of
one of the O'Braoin septs. The family were erenaghs of St. Coman
at Roscommon.
a) A writer (ie.
Vickie) notifies us that the heritage centre (Yola Park) says in
its' advertising literature that the name O'Brain (later changed
to Breen) comes from the Yola people (who are a mix of French,
Flemis, Danish, Englis, Welsh mix
who were introduced to Wexford by Longbow in 1169) Note: Brian
Baru died in 1014.
b) A writer (ie.
Vickie) also states that the Breen (and Bree) name is also
supposed to be common in Norway.
She was told by a Norwegian that the Norwegian translation is
"People of the Ice".
A writer (ie. Dan) mentions that he believes
that Donavan the Historian (translator of the four Masters)
mentions that the O'Briens settled in Wexford after the battle of
Clontarf. They were in the Duffrey at the time of the Norman
Invasion of 1169. In Kevin Whelan's History of Wexford a
chapter is written about the Scarawalsh Barony which lists them
as owning some 7000 acres in the area by the River Slaney.
The aggragate names of Breens and O'Briens are virtually the
same in total (181 vs. 175) and the
dispersion is equally populated through each parish in County
Wexford in the Householder index
(1820's). This is an odd association. It suggests to me that both
names are closely tied. (Data from other names would be useful
for comparisons).
| a) O'Brien/Brien/McBrien: O'Brien 14 Brien 167 Total= 181
|
 |
| b) Breen/Breene/Breeme: Breen 162 Breene 11 Breeme 2 (no O'Breene or MacBreen) Total= 175 |
Householders Map |
Hilary Murphy (1986) says :There are several
distinct branches of O'Breen and MacBreen in Ireland, but the
majority of Breens, now without any prefix, belong to Wexford.'
C. Bryan:
Variations of the Name: de Brian, de Bryan, Brian, Bryan, Bryant
Although the name is Norman origins some O'Briens to survive persecution changed names to this name. We don't know if this was the case in county Wexford. Some families originally called Bryne or Bryon added the O' prefix to gaelicize their name. Common variant spellings of the name include O'Brian, O'Bryne and O'Bryan.
The Bryan clann web site (See The Anglo-Irish Sept of the Knight de Bryan ) states "The counts de Brienne of Brienne-le-Chateau were one of the more distinguished families of medieval France, producing statesmen, diplomats and crusaders, including a regent of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Jean de Brienne. Guy de Brienne I of Norman England, a l2th century scion of the family, founded a six-generation line of knights, of which the first-born son was always named Guy de Brian. The 'Bryans of Kilkenny' descending from this line established themselves in Ireland in the l3th century and are accepted as a co-equal branch of the Sept of the Knight de Bryan".
MacLysaght E. p.27, describes MacBryan. "This form of MacBraoin (Breen) as well as MacBrien is usual in Co. Fermanagh where it is the name of a branch of the MacManus Sept. It is frequently written MacBrien and has been changed to O'Brien there and Co Cavan".
Hugh Weir (p 64, 1994) lists major O'Brien landowners of the 19th century. For Wexford by inclusion assumes the following Bryan as being an O'Brien:
"Bryan, Loftus Anthony, Bormount, Enniscorrthy: 6,135 acres." This is a substantial amount of land that this man owns. The total of Royal O'Brien holdings is the 4th largest in size/county. The other holdings by total acreage for the other counties are as follows:
Clare-28,320
Kilkenny-9,773
Tipperary-6,930
D. Aubrie:
Obrie
In Quebec Canada early settlers possibly from Wexford may have
changed their O'Brien (or maybe
O'Brian) name to these name.
Grace (1993, p23) states that in "the mid 1600's Cromwell
massacres and the victory of William of Orange in 1690 caused an
exodus of skilled labour and soldiers to leave for France and
Spain". Since the worst was done to
people of Wexford county many of these emigrants would have been
from this county. Many in turn
in turn moved to Quebec Canada which the French government
provided inducements to settle.
Grace (1993, p24) states that the "following names of noted
Irish birth or origin appear in Tanguay's dictionary for the
period
up to 1759: Cary, Condon, Farly, Hambleton, Hoc, Johnson,
Macklin, Mulligan, O'Donald, Sullivan, Sweeny, White, Wilson.27
Source Grace p 24 {In a footnote he notes that the O'Brien name
appears. He states thus: "Of course there are many names in
Tanguay's dictionary for which the national origin is not
provided but which appear to be Irish: Canavan, Conners, Daly,
Delaunay, Farrell j Fellan, Finn, Kenny, Kersan, Macardy,
Macarthy, Magher, McGraw, McKadain, Moraney, Murray, O'Brien,
O'Hara, Quinn, Smith, Wehentan". (Grace states that these
details are found in "Cyprien Tanguay, Dictionnaire
genealogique des familles canadiennes, 7 volumes,
1871-1890").
Grace (1993 p24) states that "it has been asserted that of
the 2,500 families resident in New France at the close of the
seventeenth century" (ie the founding families of Quebec)
"as many as 130 were of proven Irish origin. Other families
of less evident Irish origin were also to be found. Time and
assimilation had transformed names such as Teague
Cornelius O'Brian into Tec Cornelle Aubry and so
disguised their ethnic origin. In the aftermath of the conquest,
Irishmen were again to be found in the army and in the
bureaucracy of the new colonial administration. The celebration
of St Patrick's day was recorded in the Quebec Gazette as early
as 1765.
F. Byrne:
Variants: O'Beirne, Burns
The Clann O'Byrne traces its origin to Bran son of Maelmorda. The
clann web says that Bran (ie. Branach) means "Raven who was
son of Maelmorda and died in the year 1052. His father,
Maelmorda, was King of Leinster. Bran's descendants 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. The O'Byrnes originally
lived on the flat plains bordering the River Liffey in the
northern part of present day Co.Kildare".
The link to the Raven is interesting because Morgan Llywelyn,
Lion of Ireland-The Legend of Brain
Boru, 1984, states that Brian Baru is also linked to the bird.
During the Vikings crossing in
Brian Barus last battle the birds attacked and killed a number of
them. The bird was from then on
linked to him.
G. Others:
Bryne:
MacLysaght E. p.27, notes that "the (Bryne) name was sometimes used for O'Brien and also ocassionally for Byrne in County Kildare".
O'Brohan:
MacLysaght E. p.28, states that "O'Brohan (O'Bruachdein) is an Offally family name often made by pseudo-translation as Banks. The true meaning is probably corpulent.
Bree:
MacLysaght E. p.25, states that "Bree found in Cos. Sligo & Mayo (see Bray)
Bray:
MacLysaght E. p.25, states that "Bray is of dual origin: Bray may be toponymic, de Bre in Cornwall, (seldom Bray, Co. Wicklow also modernized Bree) or the Irish O'Breaghdha (indicating a native of Bregia, a terretory inMeath, formerly known as Munster).
F. Select Bibliography:
? The Dicitionary of Irish Family Names - pg 35
Robert J. Grace, Robert J., The Irish in Quebec an Inroduction to the Historiography, Followed by An Annotated Bibliography on the Irish in Quebec, Collection Instruments de travail; no 12. 1993
Grehan, Ida, Dictionary of Irish Family Names, pub. Dufour Ed.
Inc, 1997
History of the O'Briens, O'Brien, the Hon. Donough, MA, London,
1949.
Llywelyn, Morgan, Lion of Ireland-The Legend of Brain Boru, 1984
MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland
MacLysaght, Michael, Book of Irish Families Great & Small,
Vol.
1 ed 2, Irish Academic Press Ltd, Kill lane, Blackrock, Co.
Dublin, Ireland, 1997
Murphy, Hilary, Families of County Wexford, Geography publications, Dublin, 1986
O'Brien, Ivar, O' BRIEN of THOMOND, The O'Briens in Irish History 1500-1865, Published by Phillimore & CO. LTD. Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex, England, 1986
John O'Farrell, 'Irish Families in Ancient Quebec,' in R. O'Driscoll and Lorna Reynolds (eds), The Untold Story: The Irish in Canada (Toronto 1988), 1, 283
Tanguay, Cyprien, Dictionnaire genealogique des familles canadiennes, 7 volumes, 1871-1890
Weir, Hugh W. L., O'Brien People and Places, Ballinkella Press, 3rd ed, 1994
