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.Annals of Ulster (Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill 1983, 1(62), the Annals of Tigernach (Stokes 1896, 149) and the Annals of the Four Masters (O’Donovan 1848–51, vol. 1, 306) for the year 705 recording bellum Curc-Modruadh ‘the battle of Corcu Modruad’. The annals record the death of one Célechair mac Commain in that battle. Annals of Inisfallen in 751 (Mac Airt 1951, 110) notes the death in Aran of Colmán mac Commain. 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.thumb|Cahercommane/Cahercommaun Stone Fort situated in the Burren, excavation in 1934 led by Hugh O’Neill Hencken suggests that it dates back to the early 8-9th century. D. Blair Gibson suggests Cahercommaun was the capital of an early medieval Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin.Tulach Commáin: A View of an Irish chiefdom - Gibson, David Blair, Ph.D 1990

 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.Page 22 (xvii) of Tulach Commáin: A View of an Irish chiefdom - Gibson, David Blair, Ph.D 1990

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.Tulach Commáin: A View of an Irish chiefdom - Gibson, David Blair, Ph.D 1990 Page 11 notes: "The Dál Cais, originally the Déisi Tuisceart, annexed Clare to Munster, renaming it Thomond," and by the 10th century, they were crowning kings like Cennétig mac Lorcáin (died 951). Given Cahercommaun’s prominence in the 9th century (Page 24), it’s plausible that by the 10th century, it became part of the Dál Cais-led Thomond confederacy.

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).Page 3 http://www.vikingage.mic.ul.ie/pdfs/lecture_brian-boru_and-the-rise-to-provincial-kingship.pdf This was a small kingdom in Munster that followed the bigger Eóganacht confederation (group of dynasties).1. Séamus Pender, Déssi Genealogies. Available online: PDF of the book. 2. Kings of the Déisi

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:Cotter, Claire (2012). The Western Stone Forts Project : excavations at Dún Aonghasa and Dún Eoghanachta. Wordwell Ltd (for the Discovery Programme). pp. 83–87–90. ISBN 978-1-905569-69-4.

 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.Gibson - Tulach Commáin: A View of an Irish Chiefdom - page 370 "One is tempted by several disparate facts to entertain the hypothesis that there might have been some short-lived Eóganacht chiefdom centered at Cahercommaun"
 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.(Cotter, 87; Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill 1983; Stokes 1896; O’Donovan 1848–51)

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".Keating, Geoffrey, Foras Feasa ar Éirinn 1.41-42Macalister, R. A. Stewart (ed. & trans.), Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Part V, Irish Texts Society, 1956, p. 337

 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. www.archive.org

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.Macalister, R. A. Stewart (ed. & trans.), Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Part V, Irish Texts Society, 1956, p. 337

 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

 References 

Category:Clans
Category:Irish people