THE Chief Irish FAMILIES IN MUNSTER:
The Clan-ua-Deagha The Clan Cian The Dalcassian septs The Desmond Eugenians Darinians The Leinster Milesians.Heremon
The following is a brief summary of the Irish families in Munster, beginning with the three branches of the race of Heber; namely, the Dalcassians, the Eugenians, and the Clan Cian. Irish: According to Connellan, many penal Acts of Parliament were in the reigns of the Henrys and Edwards, Kings of England, passed, compelling the ancient Irish to adopt English "surnames," and the English language, dress, manner, and customs and, no doubt, many of the Milesian Irish did take English surnames in those times, to protect their lives and properties, as otherwise, they forfeited their goods and were liable to be punished as Irish enemies. Hence, many of the ancient Irish families did so twist, and anglicise their names, that it is often difficult to determine whether those families are of Irish or English extraction; and hence, many of them of Irish origin are considered of English or French descent. In modern times, too, many of the Irish families omitted the O' and Mac in their surnames; but such names lose much of their euphonious sound by the omission, and, besides, are neither English nor Irish.
Of those Danish families, some took Irish sirnames, and more of them prefixed "Mac" to their names, as did many of the Anglo-Norman and English families in early times.
Some of the Danish families who settled in Ireland were those of
- Dowdall,
- Drumgoole
- Sweetman, and Palmer, in Dublin, Meath, and Louth
- Gould
- Coppinger, Skiddy, and Trant, in Cork
- Haroid (modernized Harold), of Limerick and Clare
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The following families adopted Irish surnames:
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But it does not appear that any of those families adopted the prefix "O," which, according to the Four Masters was confined Chiefly to the Milesian families of the highest rank. --CONNELLAN.