The Cenel Eoghain were a powerful family of usually allied Irish clans noted for their hereditary paternal descent from Prince Eoghain, son of Niall Noigiallach, a 5th century A.D. high king of Ireland. Although the successive chieftains of the clan of Ui Duibh Dhiormaigh held one of the two Gaelic titles of Tighearna (English equivalent of Lord) among the hierarchy of the chieftains of the Cenel Eoghain clans, they were never powerful enough nor had the hereditary right of acendency to leadership of the Race of Owen. That position fell to one of the two larger clans known as the McLaughlin and the ONeill, both closely related to each other, but nevertheless always ready to battle one another for the right of kingship of the Cenel if military and political advantage offered opportunity.
By the 13th century A.D., the McLaughlins had long been the rulers of the Cenel Eoghain, but the O'Neills struck a temporary truce and military alliance with the encroaching Cenel Chonaill who were descendants of Prince Eoghain's brother. The O'Neill were interested in eastward expansion into Ulster and were willing to concede Inishowen to the Cenel Chonaill. In 1241, the out numbered McLaughlin were slaughtered at the battle of Caim Eirge with survivors retreating into the north of Inishowen. The powerful O'Donnell clan of the Cenel Chonaill became the rulers of Inishowen and the O'Duibhdhiorma lost their right of Tighearna or lordship of eastern Inishowen.
Illustrations from the 16th century Book of de Burgos, which dealt with the history of the famed Anglo Norman Burke family of Ireland.
Control of Inishowen by the Cenel Chonaill and the O'Donnells was to be short lived, however. The English king granted authority over all of Ulster to the crown supporting head of the powerful de Burgos Hiberno Norman family of central Ireland. The Normans invaded Inishowen and established military control of the peninsula. They allowed the indigenous Irish including the O'Duibhdhiorma to run their affairs as they wished as long as the Norman garrison of Inishowen was provisioned with food and labor manpower. Their main use of the labor pool of native Irish was to help construct a fortified castle at the neck of Lough Foyle.
Ruins of Northburg or Green Castle. Built by the 13th century Normans under the de Burgos, on the far eastern extent of Inishowen. Located with advantage to monitor ship entry into Lough Foyle.
The Normans themselves became victims of an invasion in 1315 by a Scottish army led by the brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland. This was preceded by Bruce's victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314. Obstensively, the Bruces wanted to form a Celtic alliance with the Irish to defeat the Anglo Normans who had ruled England since the battle of Hastings in 1066. The Bruces also wanted to hunt down surviving members of the House of Balliol who sought refuge in Ireland and could possibly usurp rule of Scotland from the Bruces.
Initially the Scots ran rampant through Ireland while alienating many native Irish with their plundering and murder of anyone opposing them. In 1316, the Scottish army marched through eastern Inishowen to capture Green Castle. However the plague weakened Scots were finally defeated at the battle of Farquart in 1318 by combined forces of Hiberno Normans and native Irish. Green Castle and Inishowen reverted to control of the de Burgos family. However, within a few years a bloody feud developed within the de Burgos family and the Normans abandoned all of Inishowen
Skull and reconstruction of the face of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland who briefly visited his brother's military expedition in Ireland. Evidence of a mild form of leprosy on the skull lends to substantiate the long held rumors of his illness.
With the abrupt departure of the Normans from Inishowen, the O'Duibhdhiorma were now too weakened and outnumbered to assert control of their former kingdom of An Breadach. The large O'Doherty clans of the Cenel Chonaill saw opportunity and swarmed into Inishowen to become the new lords of the peninsula. The O'Duibhdhiorma were left with nothing except their proud surname and a role of servitude to the now conquering O'Doherty clans and their chieftains.
The last contemporary historical comment about the O'Duibhdhiorma was in a topographical poem written by John O'Dugan before 1372, who wrote that they were the "noblest clan of the race of Owen" and that they had "prospered without peace", evidently referring to the numerous times their homeland was invaded by outsiders. After that, historical accounts of Irish history become for the most part silent as to their presence. Most modern Irish history writers appear to assume that the male bloodline of the clan simply became extinct, if they bother to mention the clan at all.
Nevertheless, The male Y chromosome DNA SNP marker FGC4113 indicating O'Duibhdhiorma paternal line heredity does still exist in many thousands of male surname variation descendants, not only in Ireland and the British Isles, but throughout North America. However, for most DeArmond surname variant descendants whose ancestors converted to Protestant religions, there hangs a dark cloak of ignorance of their once native Catholic Irish surname origin. This has occurred in Ireland also because many O'Duibhdhiorma Catholics who migrated or were forcibly removed in the 17th century to distant areas of the Isle, readily borrowed other Irish or anglicized surnames and over generations forgot their paternal ancestral heritage. Generally, only in Inishowen and the vicinity of (London)Derry do many Catholic Irish (usually using McDermott) today acknowledge or know of their O'Duibhdhiorma surname ancestry.
The Normans themselves became victims of an invasion in 1315 by a Scottish army led by the brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland. This was preceded by Bruce's victory over the English at Bannockburn in 1314. Obstensively, the Bruces wanted to form a Celtic alliance with the Irish to defeat the Anglo Normans who had ruled England since the battle of Hastings in 1066. The Bruces also wanted to hunt down surviving members of the House of Balliol who sought refuge in Ireland and could possibly usurp rule of Scotland from the Bruces.
Initially the Scots ran rampant through Ireland while alienating many native Irish with their plundering and murder of anyone opposing them. In 1316, the Scottish army marched through eastern Inishowen to capture Green Castle. However the plague weakened Scots were finally defeated at the battle of Farquart in 1318 by combined forces of Hiberno Normans and native Irish. Green Castle and Inishowen reverted to control of the de Burgos family. However, within a few years a bloody feud developed within the de Burgos family and the Normans abandoned all of Inishowen
With the abrupt departure of the Normans from Inishowen, the O'Duibhdhiorma were now too weakened and outnumbered to assert control of their former kingdom of An Breadach. The large O'Doherty clans of the Cenel Chonaill saw opportunity and swarmed into Inishowen to become the new lords of the peninsula. The O'Duibhdhiorma were left with nothing except their proud surname and a role of servitude to the now conquering O'Doherty clans and their chieftains.
The last contemporary historical comment about the O'Duibhdhiorma was in a topographical poem written by John O'Dugan before 1372, who wrote that they were the "noblest clan of the race of Owen" and that they had "prospered without peace", evidently referring to the numerous times their homeland was invaded by outsiders. After that, historical accounts of Irish history become for the most part silent as to their presence. Most modern Irish history writers appear to assume that the male bloodline of the clan simply became extinct, if they bother to mention the clan at all.
Nevertheless, The male Y chromosome DNA SNP marker FGC4113 indicating O'Duibhdhiorma paternal line heredity does still exist in many thousands of male surname variation descendants, not only in Ireland and the British Isles, but throughout North America. However, for most DeArmond surname variant descendants whose ancestors converted to Protestant religions, there hangs a dark cloak of ignorance of their once native Catholic Irish surname origin. This has occurred in Ireland also because many O'Duibhdhiorma Catholics who migrated or were forcibly removed in the 17th century to distant areas of the Isle, readily borrowed other Irish or anglicized surnames and over generations forgot their paternal ancestral heritage. Generally, only in Inishowen and the vicinity of (London)Derry do many Catholic Irish (usually using McDermott) today acknowledge or know of their O'Duibhdhiorma surname ancestry.
