Kinnagoe Bay at the northern extent of the ancient kingdom of An Breadach, the ancestral homeland of the male Y chromosome DNA mutation marker SNP FGC4113, carried in body cells of all paternal line male (surname) descendants of the native Irish clan of O'Duibhdhiorma.
Just who were the people who originally carried this name down through the many centuries of turmoil in Irish history using several varying spelling forms, then for some to take up the Presbyterian religion and eventually become the DeArmond surname variant descendants of North America? This post deals with the early beginning of the native Irish clan of O'Duibhdhiorma (surname of clan chieftain and each male of the clan).
The surname appears rather late in the Irish monastery annals commonly referred to as The Four Masters. Not until 1043 A.D. is notation made of the death of one of the successive clan chieftains. Some historians surmise this may be related to the defeat of Viking power in Ireland and certain native Irish clans seizing the opportunity to establish home rule over former Viking controlled lands. I once accepted that theory until I came across a map showing where the Vikings held power, and northwest Ireland was not included. Perhaps because Inishowen was long the ancient stronghold of the powerful Cenel Eoghain ruling clans and their chieftains, relative stability existed throughout the Peninsula compared to adjoining areas. In any case, the clan of O'Duibhdhiorma most certainly existed centuries long before 1043. The genealogies in the annals note that the O'Duibhdhiorma paternally descend from Feilim, a son of Prince Eoghain (Owen) who was a son of Niall Noigiallach (of the Nine Hostages), 5th century High King of Ireland. Mention is made of members of the clan participating in and sometimes meeting death during horseback cattle raids and large pitched battles throughout the northern Province of Ulster.
Due to a practice of Celtic clan chieftains adhering to a centuries old tradition of serial monogamy, the male Y chromosome DNA mutation marker FGC4113 appears in every undisturbed paternal line (surname) male Duibhdhiorma clan descendant. The marker is located on a Y DNA tree branch of related markers that essentially confirm the accuracy of the ancient genealogies in the annals.
A streamlined version of the genealogy from monastery annals of the Northern Ui Neill paternally related family of clans of northwest Ireland dating back to first half of the millennium after Christ.
In the mid 14th century, Irish poet Sean O'Dubhagain (John O'Dugan) wrote the following stanza included in an extended poem about many of the clans of Ireland at the time.
Above left: a portrait of Spanish Armada ship captain de Cuellar. Above right: frontispiece of a modern published English translation of his letter to the Spanish king.
Above left: map depicting de Cuellar's escape route from his stranded ship in Sligo northeast to Derry and his departure by ship to Holland. His embarkation point was a few miles due east of the eastern Inishowen Peninsula, home to the clan of O'Duibhdhiorma. Above right: a 16th century illustration depicting native Irish, typical of the people that sheltered de Cuellar from the British.
In the mid 14th century, Irish poet Sean O'Dubhagain (John O'Dugan) wrote the following stanza included in an extended poem about many of the clans of Ireland at the time.
The text is in Irish Gaelic using the highly stylized Seanchloe letters which correspond to the Roman alphabet. The rhyming of the lines is lost in translation to English. A translation of the verse by Irish scholar John O'Donovan (d.1861) follows below. I utilized my own minor modifications to provide a more commonly understood American English meaning.
Lord of An Breadach
O'Duibhdhiorma of high pride,
Chief of ever noble Breadach,
Well has it found the strength of its ancients,
The noblest clan of the race of Owen,
A tribe which has prospered without peace,
In Breadach lived the clan chieftain.
The line, "A tribe which has prospered without peace" refers to the clan homeland of An Breadach being a sought after prize, of first: the larger O'Donnell clan, then the Normans, then again a larger Irish clan (O'Doherty) and finally almost two centuries after the above poem was composed, the British in 1602 and succeeding rebellions in the mid 17th century and late 18th century and beyond.. Through all this turmoil in it's long history, the Y DNA marker FGC4113 endured among the male line clan descendants.
A surviving historical observation was made about the native Irish by a shipwrecked officer (Capitan Francisco de Cuellar) from the Spanish Armada (1588). After months evading the British and receiving assistance from the Irish, he made his way to a ship bound for Holland. In the following year, he sent a letter to the King of Spain. He described the native Irish as follows: "The men are large and energetic with handsome features while the women are exceedingly beautiful".
Chief of ever noble Breadach,
Well has it found the strength of its ancients,
The noblest clan of the race of Owen,
A tribe which has prospered without peace,
In Breadach lived the clan chieftain.
The line, "A tribe which has prospered without peace" refers to the clan homeland of An Breadach being a sought after prize, of first: the larger O'Donnell clan, then the Normans, then again a larger Irish clan (O'Doherty) and finally almost two centuries after the above poem was composed, the British in 1602 and succeeding rebellions in the mid 17th century and late 18th century and beyond.. Through all this turmoil in it's long history, the Y DNA marker FGC4113 endured among the male line clan descendants.
A surviving historical observation was made about the native Irish by a shipwrecked officer (Capitan Francisco de Cuellar) from the Spanish Armada (1588). After months evading the British and receiving assistance from the Irish, he made his way to a ship bound for Holland. In the following year, he sent a letter to the King of Spain. He described the native Irish as follows: "The men are large and energetic with handsome features while the women are exceedingly beautiful".
