Chief of the Name

See also: Gaelic nobility of Ireland

The Chief of the Name is the recognised head of a family or clan (clann in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term is in use as a title in Ireland and Scotland where Gaelic traditions still survive.

In Ireland

With a history going back over two thousand years, this unique Gaelic tradition has survived much of the turmoil of Irish history. Long ago, Irish leaders had titles like any other royalty in Europe. What makes a Chief different is the fact that his power was not a feudal hold on land; it was about his position within his clan. Even through Elizabethan times, the position of Chief of the Name was more important to some Irish leaders than English titles. There are instances where Norman lords of the time like FitzGerald, took to using the Gaelic style of "The" or "Mór" (great) to indicate that the individual was the primary person of his family in Ireland.

In the Tudor period the Kingdom of Ireland was established in 1542, and many of the former autonomous clan chiefs were assimilated by the policy of surrender and regrant. At the same time numerous mentions were made in official records of locally-powerful landlords described as "chief of his nation", i.e. head of a family, whether assimilated or not. Attempts were made to make each "chief" responsible for the good behaviour of the rest of his family and followers. The Gaelic practice was for such a man to sign himself by the family surname only. A new practice arose where the English version of the surname was prefixed by "The", and so for example the head of the Mac Aonghusa clan in County Down would sign as "Mac Aonghusa" in Irish, and as "The Magennis" in English.

The downfall of the Gaelic order in the early 17th century led to a decline of the power of the Chiefs. Plantation efforts, the Wars of Cromwell and King James, meant that by the end of the 17th century, most of the Chiefships of the Name were living outside of Ireland, reduced to poverty, or lost forever.

Thereafter, the former kings or chiefs passed their titles down by primogeniture, whereas the usual practice in the Middle Ages was to elect a chief from a group of close cousins known as a derbfine. Their lineages were usually recorded by the Herald's Office in Dublin Castle, set up in 1552, not least because clans in the 16th and 17th centuries had been persuaded to enter the English-law system under the policy of surrender and regrant. Other manuscript genealogies were preserved and published in the 18th century by Charles O'Conor and Sylvester O'Halloran. The Irish nationalist and republican movements that developed after 1850 often harked back emotively to the former chiefs' losses, but without ever suggesting that they be reinstated.

1922-2003

The Irish Free State founded in 1922 gave no special recognition, but in 1938, the then Taoiseach, at the inauguration of Douglas Hyde as President of Ireland, welcomed the incoming President with these words. "In you we greet the successor of our rightful princes and in your accession to office we hail the closing of the breach that has existed since the undoing of our nation at Kinsale". In 1948 the government suggested that there should be a "Council" of chiefs, accredited by the Herald, for emotive reasons. In Irish and English law a title is a possession, classed as an "incorporeal hereditament", but the 1937 Irish Constitution forbids the conferring of titles of nobility or honour as well as the acceptance of such titles without prior permission of the government. Therefore the Council was also a means of allowing them to use their titles, but only as honorifics and without any political function. In 1943 the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) therefore agreed with Edward McLysaght, then Chief Herald of Ireland, that the titles would be known as "designations" made by the Herald's Office to avoid the constitutional ban. McLysaght deplored that anyone could perfectly legally describe themselves as "chief of the name" (such as The O'Rahilly) without having any written proof of descent, if nobody else claimed the very same title.

Effectively a dual system ran from 1948 to 2003, where the government recognised the chiefs as such, but not their other titles. In such a case, for example, The McDermot, Prince of Coolavin would only be known as "The McDermot" to the Chief Herald, but would be addressed also as "Prince of Coolavin" by his fellow-chiefs.

Until 2003 an Irish "Chief of the Name" was a person recognised by the Chief Herald of Ireland as the most senior known male descendant of the last inaugurated or de facto chief of that name in power in Gaelic Ireland at or before the end of the 16th century. See Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The practice was discontinued in that year due to the "MacCarthy Mór" situation.

Abandonment: the MacCarthy Mór Scandal

After genealogical errors in the 1990s saw Terence Francis MacCarthy and other impostors receive recognition, the Irish government decided in July 2003 to abandon this practice. This was partly because of concern that there was no proper legal basis for it. As this concern was backed by an opinion of the Attorney General, in 2003 the Genealogical Office discontinued the practice of recognising Chiefs. This decision was criticised by some, and was a cause for concern among the recognised chiefs.

Modern Irish clan organisations such as Clan Ó Lorcáin (Larkin) have elected honorary chieftains, where no Chief of the Name is known or yet to be proven. Many re-formed Irish Clans are affiliated with the "Finte na hÉireann" or "Clans of Ireland" the independent authority established in 1989 to provide recognition for Irish Clans.

As the law has reverted to the pre-1943 situation, anyone can call himself a Chief of the Name. A 2009 example is the Clan Cian web page (see below), which includes: "Clan Cian is Headed by the recognized Ard Tiarna. F.J. O'Carroll, of Eile O'Carroll, Chief of Name". The group is not recognised by the Irish government or its chief herald, but must be self-recognising. Its list of officers includes pioneers and tent-assistants and brew-masters, with a large number of American members. It is uncertain how seriously the members take the historical aspect or whether the group is a social club; the original Cian lived 1,500 years ago and probably is ancestral to many Irish people alive today.

List of Ireland's Chiefs as at Abandonment, 2003

At abandonment of courtesy recognition in 2003, those previously afforded courtesy recognition included:

Chiefs of the Name

• O'Brien, Prince of Thomond - Connor O'Brien (Clare).
• O'Callaghan - Don Juan O'Callaghan (Spain).
• O'Donoghue of the Glens, Prince of Glenflesk - Geoffrey Paul Vincent O'Donoghue (Offaly).
• O'Conor Don, Prince of Connacht - Desmond O'Conor (England).
• MacDermot, Prince of Coolavin - Nial MacDermot (Kildare).
• O'Donovan - Morgan O'Donovan (Cork).
• Fox - John W Fox (Australia).
• McGillycuddy of the Reeks - Donough McGillycuddy (South Africa).
• O'Morchoe - David O'Morchoe (Wexford).
• O'Neill of Clanaboy - Hugo Ricciardi O'Neill (Portugal).
• O'Grady of Kilballyowen - Henry Thomas Standish O'Grady (France).
• O'Kelly of Gallagh and Tycooly - Walter L. O'Kelly (Dublin).
• MacMurrough-Kavanagh, Prince of Leinster - William Butler Kavanagh (Wales).[1]
• O'Donnell of Tyrconnell - Fr. Hugh O'Donel, O.F.M. (An Irish Priest in Zimbabwe).
• O'Dogherty of Inishowen - Ramon O'Dogherty (Spain).
• MacDonnell of the Glens - Randal MacDonnell (Ireland).
• O'Rourke of Breifne - Geoffrey O'Rorke (Ireland).

Designation dormant

• O'Toole of Fer Tire

Designation withdrawn

• MacCarthy Mor, Prince of Desmond - The recognition of Terence Francis MacCarthy (Morocco) was withdrawn in July 1999.

Gaelic Titles with principal claimants/recognition pending

• Mac Carthy Mor, Prince of Desmond (see following re new and legal MacCarthy Mor, November 2009)
• Mac Lochlainn
• Mac Shane
• Mac Sweeney Doe
• O Cahan
• Ó Dubhda
• Ó Hara of Leyney
• Ó Higgins of Ballynary
• Ó Meehan
• Ó Neill Mor, Prince of Ulster - Claimed by Don Carlos Ó Neill, Marques de la Granja, Marques del Norte y de Villaverde de San Isidro, and Conde de Benagairde (Spain) but not applied for. {note the Sir William Johnson line of Baronets of New York descend from the O'Neills of the Fews as well}. And the O'Neill's of Puerto Rico / O'Neill's of the Fews the descendants of the 2nd Marques del Norte Don Arturo O'Neill O'Keffe.
• Around one hundred chiefships attested in historical sources, many with modern, elected representatives. (See above reference for Clans of Ireland).

In November 2009 a new MacCarthy Mor was proclaimed. This was Liam MacCarthy, of the correct and legal Sliocht Cormac of Dunguile (Kerslawny) line - which numerous scholars have identified as having the proper claim to the chiefship. He is an Irish citizen living now in England. His credentials were presented to the Chief Herald of Ireland prior to the exposure of false Terence. As that office no longer (since 2003) grants 'courtesy recognitions' as a policy, his pedigree was examined and authenticated by Norroy & Ulster King of Arms. And thereafter he was also certified by his Derbhfine. It is hoped that now with a legitimate MacCarthy Mor the 'Terence Episode' which so embarrassed so many people will fade into history. There is information on the old Kingdom of Desmond for those interested at www. desmondasn. webs. com a site started by people interested in the history of Desmond, and its families, and their inheritances. It should be said that it was initiated independently of the new MacCarthy Mor and he has no involvement in its management or its opinions.

In Scotland

Main article: Scottish clan chief

In general, the same pattern holds true of the Clan Chiefs in Scotland as for Chiefs in Ireland. Titles may vary, but a Chief of a clan is still the recognised leader within a Scottish clan. A difference is that in Scotland Clan Chiefs can be either male or female whereas in Ireland the Clan Chiefs are male. In Scotland it is The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs; in Ireland it is The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains (Irish: Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann).

See also

• White Wand
• Irish name

Further reading

• Burkes Peerage: See Irish and Scottish Chiefs; Peerages; and Titles
• Murphy, Sean J (2004) Twilight of the Chiefs: The Mac Carthy Mór Hoax. Bethesda, Maryland: Academica Press. ISBN 1-930901-43-7.
• MacLysaght, Edward (1996) More Irish Families. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-2604-2.
• Nicholls, K.W. Gaelic and Gaelicized Ireland in the Middle Ages Dublin, Lilliput Press, 2003. ISBN 1-84351-003-0.
• Vanishing Kingdoms - The Irish Chiefs and Their Families, by Walter J. P. Curley (former US Ambassador to Ireland), with foreword by Charles Lysaght, published by The Lilliput Press, Dublin, 2004. ISBN 1-84351-055-3 & ISBN 1-84351-056-1. (Chapter on O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, page 59).
• Nash, Professor C., Of Irish Descent, chapter 4. New York, Syracuse University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8156-3159-0

External links

• The Clans of Ireland
• Clans and Chieftains in Ireland From More Irish Families by Edward MacLysaght, First Chief Herald of Ireland
• Termination of the system of Courtesy Recognition as Chief of the Name Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland (.PDF file)
• List of Scottish Chiefs and Clans
• Sean Murphy's website on the subject
• Article on Irish Chiefs on the Burke's Peerage & Gentry website
• Irish Chiefs at The Doyle Page (Australia)