William O'Brien (abt. 1635)

Born about 1635 in County Clare, Ireland [uncertain]

Descendants

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Biography

Of Capt. (or Major) O'Brien, in 1836 the Rev. William Kennedy M'Kay (a descendant of the Rev. Thomas Kennedy of Carland) wrote:

This Captain O’Brien was of the same family with the Marquis of Thomond, and traced back his descent to Cormac Cass and Oliol Olum, the former a king of Munster in 360, who professed Christianity ninety years before the mission of Patrick, according to its first Presbyterian establishment in Ireland; and the latter was also king of Munster, and a celebrated poet, and professed the Christianity of the same stamp in the year 200 after Christ, two hundred and forty-four years before Patrick.^[1]

Similarly, in his Note on the Kennedy and Bailie Pedigrees (1887), J. Carmichael-Farrell wrote, “Major William O’Brien, of the Bawn, [was] one of King William’s officers, and nearly related to the Lords Inchiquin and Ibrican.”^[2]

The Bawn was almost certainly the Bonn (modern spelling) townland in the parish of Pomeroy, county Tyrone. Excavation of a farmyard in that townland in 1980 (prior to the razing of ruins which then existed) revealed the remains of a circular tower and other foundations, consistent with an ancient fortification.^[3]

Research notes

• The estimated year of birth is based on having attained (at least) the age of twenty-five years when his daughter, Mary, was born (c.1651), yet not so far advanced in years that he could not serve in the Williamite war In Ireland, 1689–1691.
• Re: the uncertainty of this man's first name:—In his "Genealogical Table of the Family of Kennedy," the Rev. James Kennedy-Bailie (1793–1864) inscribed "Capt. —* O'Brien," with "William?" written off to the side.^[4]
• A documented reference to support the claim to the Lords of Inchiquin et al has not yet been discovered. ~Kilpatrick-1128 (2018-02-01)

Sources

1. ↑ Belfast News-Letter, 17 June 1836 (pg. 4): Genealogical sketch of the Rev. W. Kennedy M'Kay. Digital copy online at The British Newspaper Archive, britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (accessed by subscription 2014-02-24, and transcribed by Alison Kilpatrick).
2. ↑ Carmichael-Ferrall, J. “Note on the Kennedy and Bailie Pedigrees.” Note based on the c.1829-30 research of the Rev. Dr. James Kennedy-Bailie (1793-1864). The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association of Ireland. Vol. VII, 4th Series. Dublin: Ponsonby and Weldrick, University Press, 1887 (pp. 31-36).
3. ↑ Brannon, N.F. "Excavation of a Farmyard in the Bonn Townland." Ulster Journal of Archæology. Vol. 47, 3rd series (1984, pp. 177–81. Copy obtained by Alison Kilpatrick from Queen's University, Belfast.
4. ↑ Kennedy-Bailie, Rev. Dr. James (1793-1864). Genealogical Table of the Family of Kennedy (compiled c.1835/6, with notes). Manuscript held privately.