Lord Noel Prunes The Family Trees

What ho! Pepys....

Our Family Crest....or so I've been led to believe...

I was doing a spot of research on the old Family Tree....

....which is difficult as many of the paper records that existed in Ireland....

....were destroyed in fires by the English when they occupied Ireland.

The other problem is that usually only details of the landed Gentry were recorded...

....as land and Titles were considered the most important assets in those days.

Even the written records that survived (mostly in the West of the Country where travellers seldom ventured) suggest large amounts of illiteracy.....with signatures in many cases being a simple 'X'.

Everything else, including wives and chattels could easily be stolen by anyone who fancied them....

....and was powerful enough to force you to relinquish them.

The customary Family crest is the one at the top and relates to those who settled in the Galway and Clare area of Western Ireland.

But in my research I also found some much older ones...

...like this one....

Well these are our new neighbours.....they seem nice!

This one's definitely focused on strength and power....

....with the iron glove rising majestically from the rugged crown....

....clearly not someone to be messed with!...

....although I'm not yet sure of the significance of the little monkey?

Celtic crosses can clearly be seen in the Christian graveyards

Being from the West of Ireland means that much of the history is heavily steeped in Gaelic tradition....

....as this was the part of Ireland which was 'conquered' last by many of the Island's Invaders.

A typical thatched country cottage - and the dry stone walls that typify this area

And there are many suggestions that the people there weren't so much 'conquered' as 'assimilated'....

....with the Invaders adopting lifestyles of the locals rather than trying to change them significantly.

Maybe this was because they saw 'value' in the lifestyles that the locals had.....

...or maybe it's just that the locals 'won them over' with that old Irish charm and hospitality?

Will ya hav anudder point now?.....Aaah gowaan!

Indeed there are even signs there of Paganism lasting long into the time traditionally associated with Christianity....

....with many tales abounding in Gaelic of Ritual Shamanism and the power of Nature.

The Family name is an anglicised form of the Gaelic O'hAllmhuráin which refers to the "descendant of Allmhurán".....the 'O'h' bit being a fiercely guarded and truly Irish addition to the name that many people died to protect when the English were bent on slaughtering the population for resisting their dominion.

The name itself is derived from the Gaelic word allmhurach (or allwuran, depending on how it's translated), which means "foreigner," or "overseas stranger," and most probably...

... "pirate." 

Yes!......

I could hardly believe it myself!

Ahar! Another family member is brought back to life....

So I was thrilled to find that yet another Family Crest existed.....

....one which was much older than the traditionally accepted one at the top of this page....

....and it is this beauty!...

An earlier version of the Family Crest

....which clearly shows the Galleon (or perhaps more precisely a 'Cog' - the vessel which dominated the seas from the 12th to the 15th Centuries) in pride of place under the six-pointed star...

....itself a hugely symbolic emblem.

And above these.... the stag and hound.....

....suggesting a reference to hunting .........the 'sport of kings'.

The name 'AllmuRain' is composed of the parts 'All' for "beyond" and 'muiR' for "sea". So the original Family members were apparently regarded as literally 'foreigners from the sea'.

And there's also a tenuous link with Spain.....

....as the word "Hallaron" is said to also mean "they found" in Spanish.

So are we talking about some link with the Spanish Armada here?..

...maybe they introduced themselves to the Irish as Hallaron because they felt that they 'found' Ireland...the plot thickens!

This name eventually became associated with two clans who ruled the counties of Clare and Galway and whose motto was "Clann Fearghaile abú". The Clare branch of the O'h-Allmhurain were of the same stock as the MacConmaras and their original territory embraced much of the district around Ogonnelloe in the Barony of Tulla and from which they spread southwards into Co. Limerick.

The two native Gaelic O'hAllmhuráin Septs were located in the western counties of Galway and Clare, where the name is still most common. The clan Feargaile (or Fergail), who used the name, held a seat near Galway City, and they had extensive territory near Lough Corrib. Then later, part of this family became affiliated with the McNamaras of Clare with a spread into the county Limerick.

The beautiful Kylermore Abbey in Connemara

The Gaelic motto for the Family is "Clann Feargaill abu", which is translated to "Victory to the head of (the clan) Feargail" or "The Clann who fears no-one".

Dramatic seascapes ....by the vertical Cliffs of Moher

So, armed with all this fascinating information....

...I present to you....

....our New and Improved Family Crest!....

...which will be appearing as Bookplates in any forthcoming literary gifts I happen to present.....

The New and Improved Family Crest!

And if you've never been to the West Coast of Ireland......

....what's stopping you?

Tallyho!

Best Wishes - Lord Noel