Research - Early History of the Dunn/Dunne/Duinn/Donn/Duin Clan
Introduction
While reading and studying Irish History over the past years, I have been particularly interested in the early or ancient beginnings which are derived from the various Annals written by the early Monks, beginning perhaps during or shortly after St Patricks’ time. Regardless of how much I read, I am constantly fascinated by the endless effort it requires, and am appreciative of how numerous others have literally spent a life-time doing so. I find new items every time I read, regardless if I am reading the same books I did 5-10 years ago. Beyond the general history of Ireland as a whole, I have tended to focus most of my efforts on the history of the O’Duinns and their ancestors. Prior to Joe Dunnes’ book of a couple of years ago, there had apparently never been a book written about this families history. I quickly learned that there were literally hundreds of other family histories over the past several hundred years, but none by or for the Dunnes or O’Duinns. I also learned that because of the nature of development of the Annals and the sponsorship of many of the Monasterys ( and therefore scriptoriums), by the various Kingships, that here was -and has been - a tendency over many years for writers and researchers to focus on the areas with the greatest materials available.
Background
In focusing on my search for information about anything remotely related to the Dunnes, I have collected anything which might have any bearing on the development of their history and development. Needless to say, in doings so, I still have had to learn to deal with the same problems, as if I were studying any other facets of Irish History.
As an example, the necessity to identify the same people in different sources, written by - and translated by -differing authors (and even in different languages) can become almost a hobby of its own, as in the following example:
Donogh O’Duinn = Donncaha O’Duinn Annals of Ulster
Donnchad Ua Duinn = Dunchad, son of Donn Annals of 4 Mastersough
Donnogh O’Doyn = Donnogh O’Doyne Annals of Clonmacnoise
(-depends entirely on which Annals are read from, and more importantly the translators native language , and which translation is read).
Annals of the 4 Masters cross references Ann Ulster, Ann Clonmacnoise, and others, with the above apparently interchangeable - and confusing results.)
As a result of trying to learn about this obstacle to clarity , I have also found that the changing of dates of different calendars at different times adds another obstacle of sorts. Usually the latter is fairly easy to reconcile with the aid of the original translators and writers.
In sorting out the relationships of the similarity, and the linkage of names as used by the early Annalists -- and certainly their translators a few hundred years later- , it is difficult and sometimes impossible to determine where the recording of earlier verbal histories which at times mixed mythology, sagas, and facts - and where proto-history and written history really begin. In general, if relatively exact dates cannot be estimated based on supportive evidence from differing sources or annals for the same time period, nearly any estimation becomes suspect.
As an example relating to this current review, we find that many , perhaps hundreds of books refer to the great King of Ireland Cathaoir Mor, as having reigned for some three years, beginning in 120 or 122 A.D. More recent work by historians suggest that he was more probably King around 480 A.D. He was reputed to have had some 30 sons! His eldest son was Rossa Failge, who has fairly well been identified as having been slain at the battle of Druim Derge in 516 A.D. It is logical to assume that as the monks capabilities in reporting relatively recent occurrences gradually improved, perhaps in the late 400’s, and that real history was evolving. At the same time some effort was made to reconcile and assign dates to the earlier stories of the bards and files’ which in most cases involved a great deal of truth, mixed with sagas, and mythology. Deriving realistic dates to assign to genealogies and pre or proto historical events was largely dependent on the repeatability of the stories in different geological areas, and in many cases, probably a good guess. Thus it appears reasonable that somewhere in the late 400s or early 500s, the dating of specific events become reasonably valid.
Gradually, it has occurred to me that perhaps the Duinns were involved in earlier history than I or others have expected, and I decided to spend more time rustling and gleaning through all of the information available to me. As a result I have stumbled on several interesting findings, and several ideas, which were either overlooked by some historians (looking for something else), or ignored because they didn’t appear significant. One of these items has been the repeated overlooking or ignoring of the repeated name of Mael Duin as a Chief or King, or involved in winning or loosing a battle. Over time I have found this a real puzzle. In one writing we find him reported as "unfortunately, is not recorded in the pedigrees". In another source, we find the sentence -" The last dated ruler of these was one Cilline, son of Forannan, who was slain on a foray into Meath in 652, his probable successor was one Mael Duin, of whom, typically, nothing is known"
Approach to Research/Study
Taking this almost as a challenge, I have sought thru numerous references to find exactly who this inscrutable individual -- or really series of individuals were. The name surfaces fairly often, but without any detail other than a date, or an occurrence, or a relationship. It is almost as if there he were an enigma or a subject to avoid. The fact that he has the suggestion of the name of Duinn has further pushed my inquisitiveness. I might, if as suggested by some references that the O’Duinns were of a the very ancient tribes, reach the conclusion, that perhaps these ‘ Mael Duin’s were in fact a tribal ancestor of the early Duinns before surnames were even used, and that the name was passed on thru the senior member or leader of the tribe over time. As many other names used in early and ancient Irish History, prior to the use of surnames, we find names with prenoms such as in this case ‘Mael’. The term was used by the monks in essentially two different ways -- both related to the concept of either a follower, as in the case of religious use e.g. MaelPatraic (follower of St Patrick); or that of a leader or chief, as in the case of Maelsechlainn (chief, lord or king) , and to that of Mael Duin (sometimes written by the monks as one word - Maelduin, or more often as Mael or Maol Duin).
Chronological Events
Given the near absence of attention by other writers, I have found several examples of where Mael Duin has fit very well into several historical perspectives, and in the following case have reached at least the subjective conclusion that he was in fact related to the O’Duinn lineage. We find the following : (not a genealogy, but a trend of relationships)
d.516 Ross Faighe, son of Cathaoir Mor - K. Ui Failge
d. 579 Bruidgi, son of " " " " "
d. 604 Aed (Hugh) Roen , son of Rossa Failge- " "
d. 652 Cillini , son of Forannan - " " "
~652-714 Mael Duin K Ui Failghe - " " " "
711-722 Ferghal, s of Mael Duin, was K Ailech
730-739 Aedh Allen, s of Ferghal, s of Mael Duin, was K Ireland
739-758 Domhnall, s of Murcahd, s of Diarmaid, was K Ireland
770-797 Donnchad Mide (Meath), s of Domhnall, High K Ireland
772 Mughron, s of Flann Ld Ui Failghe, died
770-819 Mael Duin, s of Aedh Allen, s of Mael Duin, was K Ailech
836 Riagian, son of Finnachta, 1/2 King of Leinster (first appearance in Annals?)
846-879 Mael Duin, s of Aed Oirdne, s of Ferghal, s of Mael Duin
861 Muirreagan, s of Diarmaid, Lord of Naas and Aithiur Liffe
919-944 Donnchadh Donn High King Ireland
919 K Donnogh (Donnchad) killed his brother, Donell Donn, heir to kingship
1023 Donnogh O'Duinn, son of Donn - King of Breagh -he was taken "prisoner" by the 'Danes' (Norse) - and taken 'overseas'.
1027 Donnogh O'Duinn King, Moybreg (Breagh - Plain of Bregia) - returns from captivity and is allied with Sitric, son of Awley (Amleibh) King of Dublin. A usurper in named Mahon Regan, had in Duinns’ absence falsely claimed leadership.
When attacked at the battle of Leckblaw (near Fore in the County of Meath) O’Duinn and Sitric - Mahon was joined with Roen McLaughlin (King of Meath). Duinn (k. Breagh) and Sitric (k.Dublin) at first were defeated. Donnchad, son of Donn (Duinn) and others were slaughtered. The rest of the surviving Norse and Duinns recovered, and attacked again -with results of of the killing of King Roen of Meath.
1029 Mahon Regan , now King of Meath, is recorded by the annalists as having had a notable triumph over the ‘foreigners’ , when he made a prisoner of the new King of Dublin, Amhlaib, son of O’Duinns friend Sitric (who was son of an earlier Amhlaib). Amhlaib was released after paying an ‘enormous ransom’. Amhlaib is found as referred to as King of the Gentiles of Dublin, which brings to mind that most of the Norse in those times became Chrisitians.
1033 Mahon O’Regan was slain by Domhnal Ua Ceallaigh, son of Flannagain
1034 Gillacoulum Ua Riagain Lord S.Breagh, killed by Murcadh Ua Ceallaigh
1038 Nial, s of Riagain, anchorite of Slane was killed
~1039 Conbladhma (Cu Blama -hound of the Slieve Blooms) s of Connalad Chief of Ui Duinn
1014 Battle of Clontarf
1054 Coghalach Ua Riagain , royal heir of Tara was slain
~1078 Cearbhaill (Carroll) s of Conbladhma, Chief of Ui Duinn
1102-1160 Guillananaohmh O’Duinn , Chief Poet and Historian of Leinster (note: the author would love to find any history written by this man!!)
May 1169 First landing of Anglo Normans -- Robert Fitz-Stephen
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Evaluation and Conclusions
1. It would appear that some time after perhaps the battle of Leckblaw in 1027, or shortly thereafter, the migration out of Bregha probably began. It may have continued over some time, perhaps as late as the first arrival of the Anglo Normans in 1169. In 1039 we find CuBladma as Chief - probably around the Slieve Blooms. Is is also likely that other branches of the O’Duinns and their families stayed over in Kildare and southwestern Meath.The larger body of the surviving O'Duinns slowly migrated to the Ui Failghe (Offaly) territory (which then included much of Kildare), and the larger part of them settled in Ui Riagain, named after the earlier progenitor of their clan - later named Tinnahinch (Tigh-na-hinnse) - the house of the island or river holm (small inland island).
2. The use of the name of Mael Duin, by monks who wrote the early Annals, slowly fades from use sometime around the early 9th Century, and the name of Donn, and later Duinn, appears as a replacement. This suggests, but is far from proven, that this name change or transition by the monks, coupled with the frequent co-incidences associated with Tara, Bregha, Meath, Offaly and Kildare, would indicate that the Clan Duin =Donn=Duinn were around , in the name of Mael Duin, who was King of Ui Failghe during 652-714 A.D. ( indicating an earlier history than is normally reported). It was also in this time frame when the Ui Failghe territory included parts of Meath/Kildare/Ossory.
2. These occurences in the Annals also tend to set aside -or explain -the occasional suggestion by early writers’ (e.g.. Rev P. Woulfe) statements that there were two distinct O'Duinn septs going back to most ancient times. The first family is described as that of the O’Duinn of Tara, who were dispossesed after the Anglo -Norman invasion. The second family is described as the O’Duinn of Ui Riagain, a branch of the Ui Failghe, and one of the chief families of Leinster; whose chief was the Lord of Ui Riagain (the territory named by the O’Duinns after their predecessor). It would appear that many writers either didn’t connect the fact, or it didn’t occur to them that the O’Duinns of Tara, were descendants (or maybe even predecessors) of the Ui Riagin of Tara (one of the Four Kings and tribes of Tara) and therefore also the O’Duinns of Ui Riagan. This author does not consider it a leap of faith to accept that they were one and the same tribe over a large period of history.
3. It would also appear that the earlier Clans of Duin-Desique, who were historically responsible for the return to Ireland and the accession of King Tuathal (in what I call the proto-historical period), and the fact that we find the Clan Duinn as being referred to as "Princes of Tara-Bregha" and, given the connection of the same territorial location of their tribes, both of these facts would even strengthen the argument of direct relationship.
4. If studies further study could confirm the reality of Tuathal and his army of supporters (and families) under the name of the children of Donn-Dessa of Leinster (as provided by Rev Keatings History of Ireland), and the settling of these forces and their families in the Tara-Breagh area (which is on the southern side of the Hill of Tara), we could also deduce that the alternate name of "Tara Desie" is in fact the same territory, and would in turn support the idea that the name of the Desies (still preserved in the name of the two baronies of Upper and Lower Deece in Meath, just south of Tara) was given to it from the name of the clan of the Donn-Dessa, from the meaning of the word dessa and its derivatives -- i.e. "southern".
5. Another point which might be brought up, is that several earlier historians have inferred that Fiachaidh Suighdi, a great grandson of Tuathal, was the ancestor of the Desie prior to his being expelled from Meath by the then cuurent King, Art Ainfer following the killing of Arts’ two brothers by Fichadh and his brother Eochaidh Finn Fothart. Given the prior occupation of the Dessi-Tara region by the clann of the Donn-Dessa, it would be obvious that this assertion - or oversight- was incorrect. It is correct, however, that after a long migration thru the midlands and final settlement, the tribes of Suighdi and Eochaid did leave the name of name the of Decies to two of the current baronies in Waterford. It is very probable that carryover to the two southern areas occupied after the migration may have been the source of error. It is certainly possible that these two leaders, having been great grandsons of Tuathal had lived in the area of Desi-Tara, and may have been born and lived with, and later intermarried with the tribes of the Donn-Dessai, but surely , they could not claim credit as the founders.
6. Next we find Rev.Woulfe reports the O’Riagains as having also been dispersed from the Tara-Breagh area after the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. If we accept that both the O’Duinns and the O’Riagains (King of South Breagh at the time) were both dispossessed as a result of the same tragedy , and then both dispersed south and southwest towards the areas of Offaly and Kildare, it would be safe to conclude that they were both of the same family derivation of the Ui Faildhe. Referring to the O’Riagains as being of the O’Neill and the O’Duinns of being of the Ui’Failge certainly seems in conflict, but we also know that Ui Failghe proceeded the O’ Neills into this area. Further we we can also accept that some of either clan could well have intermarried between the two branches, as was very common between most all clans in the early centuries, and that various branches of the same base family emerged and adopted their own leader and their own clan name. Both the Riagain and Duinn lineage traces back, according to the annalists, to Rossa Failghe, first K.Ui Failghe, who was killed at the battle of Druim Derge in 516 A.D. His father Cathaoir Mor is still a subject of great contention, both as to his reign as King of Ireland, and to some -as to his reality.
I would conclude here that there are more than sufficient reasons to show that the above ideas are well founded, have provided us with a different and new perspective. We believe we have also been able to clarify some oversights or errors by earlier writers; who perhaps had no reason to examine this material together, in the one specific context of finding some kind of cohesive history related to the early existence of the tribe or clan of O’Duinn.
Harry Dunn(e)
23 Feb, 2000
Merritt Island, Florida