The O'Lonergans - Harpers to the Uí Cheallaigh

An Irish harper in exile, circa 1750, artist unknown

This is a brief history of my ancestors the Cruitiri Uí Longargain – sadly forgotten for many hundreds of years. However, a little of their story emerged during my sister's search for our maternal grandmother's ancestors.

As a child of ten I sat at a harp in the local school I attended, put the harp back on my shoulder and began to try and pick out a tune by playing the harp with my nails. Nobody knew where I got this from as, despite being a musical family, not one single person in the family had ever played the harp or indeed remembered anyone who did.

A few years ago, my sister, who has a great interest in family history, having finished with my father's side, moved on to my mother's and began to research the Lonergans. She uncovered the initial link and I then carried on, trying to put a bit more flesh on the bones, so to speak. Excuse the pun!

The name Lonergan comes from the Irish name Longargain, which in old Irish would mean “without a ship's crew”. The first Longargain was the son of Donochuan, one of the brothers of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland. Though Brian was known to have played the harp, it is also said that it was his brother Donochuan who was the more gifted musician. 

Éire by Jerome Connor (1874-1943)

There were three branches or septs of the Lonergans. The first and most powerful were the chiefs of Clar- Cahir in Co Tipperary, and the second sept were churchmen, Bishops of Cashel and Killaloe from the 12th century onwards.

The Rock of Cashel, Co.Tipperary, seat of the Bishops of Cashel

The third sept lived in North East Tipperary and were driven off their lands by the Anglo-Norman Burkes. Apart from being minor chieftains of a small area, they were a music loving family who all played the harp and indeed were accomplished harpers. 

They migrated over into South East Galway and became the hereditary harpers to the O’ Kellys (Uí Cheallaigh, also known as the Uí Mheain) the rulers of Connacht, or what at that time was known as the Kingdom of Hy Many.

Hereditary harping was a rarity in Ireland, though well established in Scotland. In Ireland, the rank, for such it was, of harper was not passed down through families but was allocated based on musical gifts and went only to the best harpers. The fact that the Uí Longargain achieved this unique status, speaks highly of their musical talents, though I must acknowledge it puts me under a certain amount of pressure to live up to their legacy!

The Kingdom of Hy Many covered an area that includes most of present day Galway and encompassed parts of Co Clare, most of Roscommon to the East and continued on as far as Athlone and the River Shannon. The O' Kelly's themselves were descended from the Four Tribes of Tara and owned no less than eighty castles in the region. However many of the structures from earlier times have not survived but there are some remarkable examples of later stone structures still visible in the region today.

Monivea Castle, one of the many fortresses of the O'Kellys

The Lonergans were well taken care of by the O Kellys and, befitting their status as harpers, they were granted not one but three castles in the region, along with cattle and the right to farm the surrounding land. The first of these castles was East of Ballinasloe in the townland of Doon near to Baile na Banaba. Below is a photo of the ruins of the structure,  which I took on the day I visited there but sadly the farmer who now owns the field did not give me permission to enter to have a closer look, so I had to be content with gazing from a distance.

 

The O Kellys were also great patrons of the arts and there is a historical record of a great festival of music, poetry and song organised by Uilliam Buí Uí Cheallaigh in the 14th century which would have rivalled even the music festivals of today!

My next task is to return to Galway and visit the sites of the other two castles which will hopefully yield a little more information about my ancestors and their lives. But that is another post for another day.