Clan Commane

**Clan Commane / Ó Comáin** is an Irish clan with the surname **Ó Comáin**, which comes from an earlier chief named _Commán_, first mentioned in Irish records in the 8th century. The family goes back to kings of Déisi Munster and is linked to early saints and poets. Ó Comáin is linked to the early medieval Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin, in present-day County Clare, with its capital at the stone fort of Cahercommane.

## Name and spellings

The name Ó Comáin comes from both Connacht and Munster.

The prefix Ó means “descendant of”. The name is found in records as Comain, Commáin, and Comman. Later, it was written in many different ways, such as:

- _Comain(e), Coman, Comeens, Comin(s), Commane, Comman(s), Commin(s), Common(s), Commyn, Comyn(e), Cowman(s), Cummane, Cumings, Cummin(s), Cumming(s), Cumyn, Cummyn, Kimmons, MacSkimmins, McCowman_

It is sometimes wrongly translated as Hurley, because Comán looks like Camán, the Irish word for hurley stick.

## Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin

The name **Ó Comáin** is associated with the early medieval _Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin_, which means the _fort of Commán_. It was located in what is now Tullycommon, County Clare.

The capital of the chiefdom was a stone fort called Cahercommane, which had three walls and looked out over the Burren. Chiefs probably lived there in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Each chiefdom had a main centre with a fort, a church, and  a mound used for ceremonies.

According to historian and anthropologist (a scientist who studies people) David Blair Gibson, the _Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin_ was probably an independent territory or part of a larger related family group. It was likely near the much older Corcu Mruad chiefdom, and may later have joined the kingdom of Thomond led by the Dál Cais.

Archaeologist Claire Cotter, suggests that the area was possibly named after a sub-king (a smaller king _Rí túaithe_ "king of a tribe") named _Commán_; she notes evidence in the annals (early Irish records), such as the _Annals of Ulster_ recording the 744 AD destruction of Corcu Mruad by the Déisi and agrees with Gibson. Both say there was a short-lived Eóganacht chiefdom tied to a chief-king named _Commán_.

## Family line and mentions

The _Dessi Genealogies_ (family lists of the Déisi people), written in books like the _Book of Lecan, Rawlinson B 502_, and the _Book of Leinster_, say that Suibne mac Comáin (died 658) was a king of Déisi Muman (old Irish for Munster). This was a small kingdom in Munster that followed the bigger Eóganacht confederation (group of dynasties).

His son Congal mac Suibne (died 701) is named in the Annals of Ulster. He is called _rí na nDéisi_ (“king of the Déisi”). He was killed by the Connachta.

The Déisi Munster were a Gaelic people in early medieval Munster. They lived in what is now County Waterford, Tipperary, and Clare. Often they worked with or supported the Eóganacht kings from the 5th to 8th centuries.

Some historians think the Déisi Muman and the Eóganacht were very closely linked, maybe an overlapping group.

Historians Cotter and Gibson write about two men who may have been brothers:

1. Colmán mac Comáin (died 751) is named in the _Annals of Inisfallen_. He died on the Aran Islands. Gibson says he may have been a son or descendant of the chief of Tulach Commáin. Cotter calls him one of the four sages of Ireland. Gibson also suggests the Aran Islands may have been part of Tulach Commáin’s land at one time.
1. Célechair mac Commáin died in the battle of Corcu Modruad in 705. This battle was one of many fights in north Clare in the 8th century. His death is written in the _Annals of Ulster, Annals of Tigernach, and Annals of the Four Masters._

Old genealogies and annals list members of the clan:

- Suibne mac Comáin (d. 658) – king of the Déisi Munster
- Congal mac Suibne (d. 701) – his son, king of the Déisi
- Célechair mac Comáin (d. 705) – killed in battle in Clare
- Colmán mac Comáin (d. 751) – died on the Aran Islands, called a sage of Ireland
The family name Ó Comáin is written in Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh’s 17th-century book Leabhar Mór na nGenealach (“The Great Book of Irish Genealogies”). This book is an important source for studying Irish family history.

## Myth and stories

Ferchess mac Commán was a fian warrior and poet in early Irish stories, an ancient member of the household of King Ailill who ruled southern Ireland. In legend, Ailill commands Ferchess to avenge the death of his son, Éogan, by slaying Lugaid Mac Con, the High King of Ireland and Ailill’s stepson — an act later remembered in the naming of the _"Rapids of Ferchess"_.

## Place names and ancient sites

The clan name survives in the place names Tullycommon (Irish: Tulach Commáin) and Cahercommane.

The first naming of the site Cahercommane was written down by Thomas Johnson Westropp in the early 1900s. In his surveys he called it both _Cahircommane_ and _Cahercommaun_. He also found a 1585 deed (legal record) from Queen Elizabeth I that used the name Tullagh Coman for Tullycommon, suggesting the name came from a person called _Commán_.

In 1938, Hugh O’Neill Hencken wrote about his dig (archaeological excavation) at the site. He used the spelling Cahercommaun, but he noticed the Ordnance Survey map showed it as Cahircommane. Both he and Westropp agreed the name probably came from a historical figure called _Commán_, linked to the old chiefdom in Clare.

The big stone fort of Cahercommane was studied in 1934. Excavations (careful digs by archaeologists to study the site) showed it was built in the 8th or 9th century.

## Loss and revival

According to John O'Hart in _Irish Pedigrees,_ by the 13th century, the clan lost most of its lands after the Anglo-Norman invasion. The name survived in County Clare and is found in the 1659 census.

## Further reading

- "Annals of Innisfallen." CELT Project. University College Cork.
- "Annals of Ulster." CELT Project. University College Cork.
- "The History and Topography of the County of Clare." Frost, James. Internet Archive.
- "Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae." O'Brien, M. A. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
- "Irish Kings and High-Kings." Byrne, F. J. Four Courts Press.
- "Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation." O'Hart, John. M.H. Gill & Son.
- "Leabhar Mór na nGenealach." Mac Fhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach. Edited by Nollaig Ó Muraíle. De Búrca Rare Books.
- "CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts." CELT Project. University College Cork.
- Gibson, D. Blair. _From Chiefdom to State in Early Ireland_. Cambridge University Press, 2012.Cambridge University Press
- Gibson, D. Blair. _Tulach Commain: A view of an Irish chiefdom._
- "Cahercommaun Triple Ring Fort." Academia.edu. Academia.edu

## Infobox (clan)

- **clan name**: Clan Commane  / Ó Comáin
<small><i>Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin</i></small>
- **chiefs motto**: HISTORY MUST PREVAIL
- **chiefs crest**:
- **chiefs name**: Fergus Commane
- **image badge**:
Coat of Arms
- **chiefs gaelic title**: Taoiseach
- **chiefs title**: Chief of Ó Comáin


## Infobox (surname)

- **language**: Irish
- **meaning**: "noble"
- **region**: Connaught, Munster, Clare
- **name**: Ó Comáin
- **image**: Comain.png
- **caption**:
_Ó Comáin_ in a Gaelic type.
- **derivation**: Kings of Déisi Muman, Kings of Déisi Munster
Giolla Comáin mac Néill, Kings of Uí Díarmata
Commán of Roscommon, Saint Commán of Roscommon
Coman of Kinvara, Saint Coman of Kinvara