The DNA of West Cork People
Mark Grace is a genetic genealogist and family historian at Ballynoe House, Ardfield, Co. Cork
Part 1 (Reenroe)
As most readers are aware, the O’NEILL name is common around West Cork. Advanced DNA studies (Y-DNA, male direct surname lineages) indicate at four separate clans with separate origins. In response to earlier articles in WCP, I appreciated an email from a member of another O’NEILL clan that provided some insights to the clan that was originally based at Reenroe, north of Clonakilty, in the early C19th.
The email contained four scanned pages of an incomplete handwritten family document [Author and Date unknown] that were found “In my family home and I believe they came from two O’Neill sisters who lived in Ballinard [south of Ballineen and Enniskean] and are long-deceased”. A transcription is provided below [my notes and comments in square brackets]. I have been unable to decipher all the writing, so if anyone is sufficiently interested to fill in the gaps, or has more to add, please contact me. The narrative is written in biro, so timewise is going to be anytime from the 1950s onwards, so it is possible you may have heard this story before if you are part of the wider family.
“Seán O’Neill about 1710. His father accompanied a priest from Limerick after the siege and their burial place is Lislee south of Courtmacsherry.”
[The Siege of Limerick (1691) part of the Williamite War between Protestant supporters of William III and Jacobite/French forces who held it until surrendering under favourable terms – The Treaty of Limerick.]
“A tomb in Timoleague Abbey of James O’Neill who died 1794 “Ancestor of Mrs [?] of the Union. (Mrs. Hollands’s mother Barleyfield [near Kilbrittain] and Ballinascarty)”
[Not clear who James is, as this paragraph inserted between discussion of Sean]
“Sean married a Donovan Coppeen woman and they lived at Gurranes. He had five sons one of who, was Filem Mór [Big Felix] and he married a woman of the Driscoll bawn [bán = albino or white], Thadj Driscoll’s grandaunt and Máire bán Tady’s great grandmother. Filem Mór lived at Knocks where Patrick [?] lives now (Sullivan 1942). [Significance of name and date in brackets unclear]. He had 350 acres of land, which he took at 2/6 an acre rent.
“He had eight sons and one daughter; the latter married Nyhan at Kinneigh [north of Ballineen]. He divided the land between four sons, Jim (where Patrick Sullivan [?] is, Paddy, where Johnny Paddy lived, Curley where Peter Connel [?] is and Tom where Felix Tom is another farm which he rented from Ffrench. His eldest son John went cash to Cashel and married a Flynn woman there. Peter went to Rheenroe (sic) and married a Sullivan Bouaid woman [known to be Bouge from Kilnagross church graves records (Mary SULLIVAN Bouge buried in 1840); DNA-proven and supported by descendant family research and current limit to research] whose father was a smith. Con a shoemaker had no land, where the stone is erected in Desert [Desertserges]. His daughter who lived in London put it up.
“Filem Mór son of Filem of Knocks was born in 1748 and lived 81 years buried Desert went over to O’Connell meeting and remained sitting on his horse all the day. When he came home he took ill and died soon after.
“He took a farm at Knockskagh – where the two Donovans are now. He had to [?] out [?] because the landlord wanted it for himself. Morris was the landlord’s name – a petty (?) landlord. He was the [?] of the [?] – was [?] in [?] “Máire bán. When the priest used to come out from Bandon he used to pull up at Knocks – Patrick’s farm. There was only a locum – and the bed was brought down to the ground floor for the priest. He went up [?] locum to sleep but keep grumbling that he was perished with the cold. (unclear sentence in Gaelic) … Máire bán, she went up with a big sheet and gave it to him.
“He [unclear, not apparently Felix s/o Filem?] was 15 years when he was sent to school, was out there two years but was very quick to learn. He wouldn’t have been sent to school at all [?] for beating an old man who was turning his (Filem’s) sheep off his land – Carey (?) bán was his name.
“His father Filem Mór went security for him when he took Knockskagh from Morris [?] without paying his rent and came to Ballinard. Here. Morris seized his father’s cattle. On the old Shanavagh Road which was then road between [?] and Clonakilty he met the bailiffs carrying the cattle to the pound at Enniskean and beat them off and took back the cattle from them and drove them back to his father.
“Sometime before that Morris seized his own cattle and at the ford of Ballineen Morris tried at all [?]. He took the gun out of his hand, struck him with it and knocked him [?] and drove back his cattle.
“He was married twice – first a Keohane woman from Gurranes. They had only one son Jimmy.
“Jimmy took the farm where Thomas O’Neill is now at Shanavegh (sic). His second wife was [?] from the Broad Shand (?) a widow, Mrs Crowley. She had a daughter Mary Crowley. They had” [end of text]
Part 2 – The Four O’NEILL Clans
A presentation by Ronan Peacock (March 2023) summarises the clans and can be found on the ‘My Irish Genealogy’ Facebook page.
• Dál gCais Ó Néill’s sept: Based in Thormond, Clare and Limerick (originally from Brian Boru). Y-DNA carrying R-L226 from a time period in the range 200 BC to 600 AD. Although there are no male DNA testers from the Reenroe group (being a small part of the overall West Cork population) it is assumed they belong to this sept based on their origin story from Limerick, above.
• Cashelisky (west of Reenroe): Y-DNA matched to Eóganacht Raithlind. Although adjacent to Reenroe, their family legend indicates they came there by way of Drimoleague. I currently assume the majority of the O’NEILLs in the district are part of this group.
Eóganacht Raithlind or Uí Echach Muman are a branch of the Eóganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster in southwest Ireland during the 5th-10th centuries. They took their name from Raithlinn or Raithleann described around the area of Bandon, in the same area. Archaeologists believe that Garranes Ringfort in Templemartin parish, near Bandon may have been Rath Raithleann, the royal seat of the Éoganacht Raithleann. They are descended from Mac Cass, the son of Conall Corc, the first King of Cashel, through Mac Cass’ son Echu. Garranes (1216 acres) Garrain – Groves is written Garranephilimy – Garran Feidhlimidh (feidhlimidh’s grove) in 1659 census. Feidhlimidh was the son of Tighernach, son of Aodh Urgarbh and was king of Munster from AD 580 to 585. Here was the ancient seat of the O’Mahonys and the triple fossed fort is now termed Lisnacaheragh – Lios na Cathrach (fort of the tribal city). It was formerly called Rath Raithleann and was founded about AD 450. It was abandoned about 1220 for a more permanent stone structure at Castlelack.
• Leinster O’Neills: Carlow, Wicklow, Wexford, Kilkenny and east Waterford.
• Déise O’Neills: Southern County Tipperary and Wexford.
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