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The Clans
The Clans
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The origins of the two most prominent and influential local dynasties Cinel Eoghan and Cinel Connail (whose father Niall of the Nine Hostages reigned as High King of Ireland ) can be traced to the Milesian invasion of Ireland circa the eighth century BC. Eoghan and Connail were to appropiate territories to be known later as Tyrone and Tyrconnell (Donegal) towards the end of the fourth century and their ancestors (the O'Neills and the O'Donnells respectively) were to eventually become the main protagonists in the divisive intertribal conflict which dominated the local landscape for almost 500 years.
Among the bloodiest encounters can be counted the battle of Knockavoe in 1522 when the O'Neills were defeated with a loss of nine hundred men. These two great adversaries were eventually to unite however against the ambitions of the English administration in Ireland. This alliance proved successful initially and rocked the foundations of the English State to near bankruptcy. However, after a campaign known as the Long Tyrone War, the leading Ulster chiefs were forced to abandon their homes and flee to the continent. This period in history is remembered as The Flight of the Earls and marked the decline in the power of the ancient Gaelic families.
Today, the extent of the influences once held by the clans and in particular, by the O'Neill may still be found locally. Just outside Newtownstewart, stand the ruins of Harry Avery O'Neill's fourteenth century castle. Recent excavations on the site of the Sir John Davies bawn in Castlederg, have revealed the remains of a fifteenth century O' Neill tower-house highlighting the ancient strategic significance of this site as an outpost on the borders of the O'Neill and O'Donnell chiefdoms. Other castles and tower houses were also built in the area in the sixteenth century but little or nothing remains of the fortifications at Dunnalong, Strabane, Newtownstewart (Turlough O'Neill's castle), and elsewhere.
As well as these monuments set in stone, other tangible links include family names which still predominate in the district today. The likes of Mc Shane, Mc Namee, O' Neill, Mc Laughlin, Devine, O' Donnell, Sweeney, and Mc Menamin are all modern extensions of the ancient tribes of Eoghan and Connail.
