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Listowel, Co. Kerry, Ireland: Mac Sheehy Clan

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Mac Sheehy clann, etc. circa 1568 A.D. 1568 .5 A hosting was made by James, the son of Maurice, son of John, son of the Earl [of Desmond], about Lammas, against Mac Maurice of Kerry, i.e. against Thomas, the son of Edmond. This James was commander of the Geraldines in the stead of the sons of James, son of John, who had been kept in captivity in London for a year previous to that time. The country was soon plundered, devastated, burned, and totally ravaged by James and his forces. The greater part of the inhabitants of the country fled, carrying with them to Lec-Snamha as much of their cattle as they were able. James had so numerous an army that he pitched two very extensive camps on both sides of this town. He placed O'Conor Kerry and the Clann-Sheehy, with their battalions, and a proportionate number of the gentlemen and chiefs of the army along with them, at the eastern side of the town; and he himself went, with that portion of the army which he wished to accompany him, to the west side of the town, so that Mac Maurice and his people were in great jeopardy between them. Intense heat of the air, sultriness and parching drought, also prevailed (as was natural at that season), so that their people and cattle were obliged to drink the brackish water of the river, in consequence of the intensity of their drought and the oppressiveness of their thirst. Edmond, the son of Gilla-Duv, son of Conor, son of Donough, son of Donnell-na-madhman Mac Sweeny, was constable to Mac Maurice at this time; and he had with him only a small party of gallowglasses of his followers, scarcely fifty men, the time of their service being expired. However, they did not think it honourable to depart from Mac Maurice, as this danger had overtaken him. There happened also to be in the town at this time one John-na-Seoltadh, son of Donnell O'Malley, with the crew of a long ship, who, being friends to the fleet of Mac Maurice, had come to visit him without visitation or engagement, and did not think it becoming to desert him on that occasion. Mac Maurice consulted with those chieftains, to know what he should do. They answered and said unto him with one accord:` In our present situation our life is next to death, and it is not relief we shall receive by the consent of those who are opposed to us, and who are besieging us; and, as it is not thy wish to give hostages to the son of Maurice, the son of the Earl, what thou shouldst do is, to resign thy luck and prosperity to fate and fortune this day, and take for thy portion of Ireland till night what shall be under the feet of thine enemies, and let us attack the Clann-Sheehy, for against them our enmity and indignation are greatest.' This resolution being agreed to, they rose up quickly with one accord, and Mac Maurice placed in order and array of battle the small body of friendly forces that he had with him, and the Clann-Sweeny were placed in the van to makethe onset. No wealth or principality was, they thought, more agreeable to the Clann-Sheehy, and all those who were about them, than to see them approach in this order, for they had rather subdue them on the spot as they thought they could, than to remain awaiting them any longer, eating, as they had been, the green grain from the blade of corn, and drinking cold water. As for Mac Maurice and his people, they deviated not from the common road until they came up with the Clann-Sheehy ; and then it was that both parties made trial of the temper of their sharp spears, the strength of their battle-axes, the keenness of their swords, and the hardness of their helmets; and after having thus fought for some time, the fine army of the Geraldines were worsted, and took to flight, and turned their backs from maintaining the field of battle. They were vehemently and swiftly pursued by the people of Mac Maurice of Kerry, who proceeded to wound and slaughter them; so that it would not be easy to reckon or enumerate all of the Geraldines and of the Clann-Sheehy that fell in this defeat. There was one in particular slain there whose fall was a cause of great grief, namely, O'Conor Kerry (Conor, the son of Conor); his death was one of the mournful losses of the Clanna-Rury at this time; the lively brand of his tribe and race; a junior, to whom devolved the chieftainship of his native territory, in preference to his seniors; a sustaining prop of the learned, the distressed, and the professors of the arts; a pillar of support in war and contest against his neighbours and against foreigners. There also fell Edmond Oge, the son of Edmond Mac Sheehy, chief constable to the Geraldines, a wealthy and affluent man, famed for his dexterity of hand and house of hospitality; also Murrough Balbh, the son of Manus Mac Sheehy; Teige Roe O'Callaghan; the son of O'Dwyer; the son of the White Knight; Faltach of Dun-Maoilin; and John, the son of Garrett Fitzgerald, heir to Lec-Beibhionn. There Rory, son of Manus Mac Sheehy, was taken prisoner; and many others besides these were slain or taken prisoners. SEATREE. The surname SEATREE can be traced back around Alston and Skelton from1586 to the present day. The name is believed to have arrived in our area via Scotland, being an Anglicisation of the Old Gaelic surname MacSITHIGH, from the adjective "Sitheach" relating to eerie and mysterious (Other “faerie” names in our list include ELLIOTT and ALDRICH). Oddly, Black (Surnames of Scotland) does not mention the name or its variants (e.g. SHEEHY, MACSHEEHY and SHEACH) since a certain SITACH, a Culdee of Mothel, was witness to a charter by the Bishop of Dunblane in 1178. The name is more widespread in Ireland, perhaps, where it was probably first established by a branch of the McDonnell's in the fourteenth century who served as "Gallowglasses" (heavily armed mercenary soldiers). The clan named Sheehy settled in Limerick in 1420 where they took service with the Earl of Desmond, near the town of Rathkeale. One of their famous chiefs Manus ne Cleggan Mcsheechy is on record as a "Gallowglass Captain" who received "Head Money" for the head of one MacClancey. The most spectacular and colourful of their military engagements occurred when they took part in the sacking of Kilmalloch in 1591, when, with the Mac Sweeneys, it took three days to remove the treasures of the town. A notable bearer of the name was Father Nicholas Sheehy (1728-1766), who was hanged for an alleged murder of which he was innocent.

More about me

A retired clinical physician and physician-executive, who has delved into the demi-monde.

Favorite Movies

The Third Man, IF, The Wrong Box, Sunset Boulevard, The Quite Man, Quo Vadis

Favorite TV Shows

Masterpiece Theatre, Squawk Box, Mad Money,

Activities

Reading, Sailing, Swimming

Favorite Charities

St. Mary's Food Bank, Phoenix, AZ.; St. Vincent dePaul; Salvation Army

Favorite Music

George Gershwin's ' Rhapsody in Blue ' and his ' Porgy & Bess '.

Favorite Books

Axel Munthe's ' The Story of San Michele '; Diamond's ' Guns, Germs, and Steel '.

Favorite Quotes

There is no art to find the mind's construction in the face---W. Shakespeare's ' Macbeth '. ' If religion be the opium of the people, perhaps spiritality is the marijuana '---myself, MCS.

Favorite Animals

Dogs ( &, sometimes, cats)

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