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The ancestors
of the Brennan family are thought to have arrived in Ireland in the 5th
century B.C. and settled in northern Kilkenny shortly after the time of
Christ.
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The ancestors
of the Brennans possibly were Christianized before the arrival of St.
Patrick, by their own bishop, Ciaran of Saiger.
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We are all
descended from Cearbhall (pronounced Carroll), the most famous king of
Ossory. Through various political machinations, he ended up as king of the
Vikings in Ireland in 873 A.D.
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Cearbhall's
son, Braonan, founded our family in Idough.. Not much is known about him,
so it is not clear why his descendants decided to adopt his name as the
family's surname.
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The name
Braonan is generally interpreted as meaning sorrowful, although some might
wonder whether a king of the Vikings was more likely to name his son after
Braon, the Celtic god of war. Another meaning of the word is raven, "one
who delights in battle."
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The Normans
invaded Idough in the 1100s and subsequently settled there, driving many
of the Brennans into the hills. The family was practically independent,
but technically subservient to the Normans.
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After half a
century of battles with the Normans, the Brennans in 1359 signed a
military alliance with the Butlers, earls of Ormond. This allowed them to
hold on to their lands through a tumultuous period of Irish history,
despite periodic land disputes
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In 1617, the
English king James granted a large chunk of Brennan land to one Francis
Edgeworth. The Brennans, however, refused to budge.
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In 1637, the
Brennan land was sold by the English to Sir Christopher Wandesforde. The
Brennans responded by burning houses, leveling ditches and destroying
crops.
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The Brennans
took part in the rebellion of 1641, besieging a castle at Castlecomer
filled with English Protestants and ultimately driving them from Idough.
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During peace
negotiations, a decision is delayed on legally returning Idough to the
Brennans. Before it can be resolved, King Charles was killed, and Cromwell
devastated Ireland. The Brennans continued to occupy their land illegally.
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In the 1650s,
with Ireland becoming anglicized, the O'Brennans started to become the
Brennans.
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The 1659-60
census recorded 254 O'Brennans in and around Idough.
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After King
Charles II failed to restore the Brennan lands, several of them become
robbers around 1680. They were the most famous bandits in Ireland. Among
other things, they burglarized Kilkenny Castle.
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After losing a
court battle and after 25 Brennans were outlawed for fighting on behalf of
the Jacobites, the Brennans found themselves with no legal claims to their
ancestral lands in 1695. They remained as tenants.
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In an 1890 census, the name
Brennan was found to be the 28th most common surname in Ireland.
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The 1990 census in the United
States revealed about .016 percent of the population had the name Brennan.
With a population of 250 million, that means about 40,000 Brennans were
living in the United States at the time.
