The O'Doherty () family of Inishowen in County Donegal is an Irish clan who were a prominent sept of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél Conaill, and one of the most powerful clans of Tír Connaill.
Originally chiefs of Cenél Eanna, the O'Dohertys became rulers of Inishowen, a large peninsula in what is now County Donegal. They ruled this territory from the beginning of the 15th century until the early 17th century, when their lands and possessions were confiscated following Sir Cahir O'Doherty's rebellion, and as part of the Ulster plantation. The O'Dohertys are kinsmen of the O'Donnells, rulers of Tír Connaill, and the O'Gallaghers, and senior descendants of Conall Gulban, founder of Cenél Conaill and a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Like clans in other cultures, Irish clans such as the O'Dohertys are divided into many septs and regional families. In the modern day, there are over 140 variations in spelling of the name Ó Dochartaigh, of which O'Doherty and Doherty are the most common anglicized forms.History of the Name
Naming conventions
Male Daughter Wife (Long) Wife (Short) Ó Dochartaigh Ní Dhochartaigh Bean Uí Dhochartaigh Uí Dhochartaigh
Origins
The O’Dohertys are named after Dochartach (fl. 10th century), a member of the Cenél Conaill dynasty which in medieval Irish genealogy traced itself to Niall of the Nine Hostages (see Uí Néill). Their coat of arms is a gules rampant stag in an argent field, vert chief with three stars. The clan motto is Ár nDuthchas (English: Our heritage).
In Munster O'Doherty is often a different surname, Ó Dubhartaigh, which has sometimes been anglicized as Doorty in County Clare.Edward MacLysaght, Irish Families, Irish Academic Press, 1991, p. 73
The O’Doherty clan and family name is one of the most ancient in Europe. The clan traces its pedigree through history, pre-history and mythology to the second millennium BC. Their story was transmitted orally for thousands of years and was first put in writing by Christian monks between the 6th and 11th centuries AD. The principal written sources are manuscripts, genealogies, king-lists, chronologies and poems including:
The Lebor Gabala Érenn (the Book of the Taking of Ireland, usually known in English as The Book of Invasions or The Book of Conquests, and in Modern Irish as Leabhar Gabhála Éireann or Leabhar Gabhála na hÉireann) was compiled in Irish in the 11th century AD. It is now considered primarily myth rather than history by most scholars. The Annals of Ulster, spanning the years from AD 431 to AD 1540. Written in Irish and Latin. The Annals of the Four Masters (Irish: Annála na gCeithre Máistrí), a.k.a. the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Irish: Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) were compiled between 1632 and 1636. Written in Irish. The Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (English: Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland) chronology was compiled by Geoffrey Keating (Irish: Seathrún Céitinn) in 1634. Written in Irish.
According to these sources, the O’Dohertys are descended from Breogán, the famous Celtic King of Galicia in Spain in the second millennium BC. His grandson Galam, famously known as Míl Espáine (Irish: Soldier of Spain) a.k.a. Milesius, gave his name to the Milesians who are said to have been the first Celtic (or Gaelic) peoples of Ireland). Breogan's great-grandson Érimón was one of the Celtic chieftains who conquered Ireland from the pre-Celtic neolithic Tuatha Dé Danann (Irish: People of the Goddess Danu), and was the first Milesian King of Ireland.
Érimón was King of Ireland from c. 1700 – 1684 BC according to the Annals of the Four Masters, although the Foras Feasa ar Éirinn calculates his reign from 1287 to 1272 BC.
The O’Doherty clan traces its descent from Erimon through some 150 generations of his descendants including 54 kings and 26 princes. Notable among Erimon's descendants are:
Eochu Feidlech a.k.a. Eochaid (i.e. the enduring) was High King of Ireland in the 4th century BC and the father of Queen Medb or Maeve the great warrior Queen of Connacht who started the famous Táin Bó Cúailnge (English: Cattle Raid of Cooley) to steal Ulster's prize stud bull, opposed by the teenage Ulster hero Cú Chulainn.
Túathal Techtmar (1st century BC), high King of Ireland and ancestor of the O’Neill and Connachta dynasties.
Conn of the Hundred Battles (Irish: Conn Cétchathach), High King of Ireland in the 2nd century AD. He was the ancestor of the Connachta and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early Middle Ages. Conn appointed the legendary hero Finn MacCool (Irish: Fionn mac Cumhaill) the last leader of the Fianna, the small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology.
Niall of the Nine Hostages (Irish: Niall Noígíallach), King of the Northern half of Ireland from c. 368–395 AD The O’Neill dynasty which he founded were High Kings of Ireland for 400 years, and ruled their own Kingdom of Aileach for 8 centuries from 465 to 1283. His grandson Saint Columba (Irish: Colum Cillle) (7 December 521 – 9 June 597) introduced Christianity to what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important Abbey of Iona on the Scottish island of the same name, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the Patron Saint of Derry. The O’Neill dynasty includes the O’Donnell Kings, Princes and Lords of Tyrconnell, and the O’Doherty Princes or Lords of Inishowen in County Donegal. These titles were given through the traditional proto-democratic system of election by tanistry (the form of elective monarchy based on patrilineal relationship that characterised the succession of the ancient Gaelic clans under Brehon law. However, after the Anglo-Norman and English conquests of Ireland, the aristocratic titles of Irish Kings and clan chieftains were designated by the foreign system of primogeniture through which the first-born "legitimate" son would automatically inherit his father's title and or property (which transmitting and concentrating power and wealth to men with no regard of their merit or ability).
King Conall Gulban (died c. 464 AD) was the son of Niall Naoigiallach. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél Conaill, and founded and gave his name to the kingdom of Tír Chonaill, comprising much of what is now County Donegal in Ulster. He is important in the history of Irish Christianity as he was the first Gaelic nobleman baptised by St. Patrick, thus opening the way for the conversion of the nobility in Ireland. The Kingdom of Tyrconnell was part of the Kingdom of Aileach until 1185 AD.
Donagh Dochartach, who lived in the 9th century AD, gave his name to the O'Doherty family. The later chiefs of the clan, elected by tanistry under the Brehon Laws, became the Lords of Inishowen after migrating from their original territory in the Laggan valley area of present-day Donegal, into the vacuum left by the end of Meic Lochlainn rule in Inishowen, the northernmost peninsula of the island of Ireland.
Conor-an-Einigh O Dochartaigh (1359–1413) was the first of the clan to settle in Inishowen, namely at Castleross in the parish of Desertegney (Irish: Díseart Einigh, i.e. the refuge or hiding place of Einigh) which is named after him. Other members of the clan subsequently born in Desertagny include a brother of the rebel Sir Cahir O’Doherty (1587–1608) and the ancestors of the politician Joseph O’Doherty who lived a few miles further south in the same parish at Gortyarrigan.
Modern history Seán More O Dochartaigh (Abt. 1505 – 26 May 1582 or 1566?) had castles at Aileach, Inch and Burt. The O’Doherty's were called the ‘Lords of Inishowen’. An agreement was reached in abt. 1540 that O’Dochartaigh would not cross the River Foyle if the British would stay out of Inishowen. In doing this under the process called Surrender and Regrant, Seán Mor O’Dochartaigh bent the knee before the English King Henry VIII in 1541 and became Sir John O’Doherty. This strategy essentially sought to assimilate the Gaelic leadership into the new Tudor Kingdom of Ireland and the Anglican Church.
Sir John Og O’Doherty (Abt. 1540–1601, Lord in 1582). Son of Seán Mor O’Doherty and Rosa O’Donnell. Lived at Burt Castle. In 1600 he protected Inishowen against an invasion by the English fleet which had set up three forts around Lough Foyle, one of which was built on the O’Dogherty estate at Culmore. Later in 1600, he slew Colonel Sir John Chamberlain and many members of the English army who had marched against him. John Og was slain on 27 January 1601. "There was not a lord of a barony amongst the Irish more distinguished for manual action and hospitality, or more bold in counsel than he."