The O'Leary Crest.
This is the official extract from Burke's General Armory for O'Leary of Uibh Laoghaire.

Shield:
Argent. a lion passant, in base gules, in chief a ship of three masts sable, sails set proper, from the stern the flag of St.George flotant.

Crest:
Out of a gold ducal crown, a naturally coloured arm in armour, bent at the elbow, holding a naturally coloured sword, pommel and hilt gold.

Motto:
Latin: Campis, Fortis et Undis.
Irish: Laidir is e Lear Righ.

The O'Leary Families
In the 10th.c. A.D. King Brian Boru ordered all families to adopt surnames. Many chose a surname which honoured their father (the Mac names) and others similarly honoured their grandfather or earlier ancestor (the Ó names). So most surnames were patronymic. Laoghaire (Laoire) was not an uncommon first name, so it is not surprising that several families called themselves Ó Laoghaire at that time. Today we only know of three such families, but there were probably others which have died out since. These three families of Ó Laoghaire were;

1. Ó Laoghaire of Uibh Laoghaire in West Cork
2. Ó Laoghaire of Fermoy in East Cork.
3. Ó Laoghaire of Sligo.

Previously it had been thought that there was no connection or relationship between these three families, each of whom took the name in memory of an earlier and different ancestor of their own. However, recent D.N.A. research is throwing considerable doubt on this. The first two families have large numbers of descendants today, in many parts of the World, but particularly in their old place of origin, County Cork. Individual families are often confused as to which group their ancestors came from.

The third group never seem to have been very populous; they are in evidence in the 16th.c. Fiants in the Sligo region, and some O'Learys who come from the North West of Ireland may be descended from this Group. The history of these three groups is very obscure, but we list below some of the little evidence which is available.

Ó Laoghaire of Uibh Laoghaire in West Cork.
This clan claim descent from Luy Maccon who was king of the Corca Loighde tribe and for some time High King of Ireland. The territory of Corca Loighde extended along the South West coast roughly from Kinsale to the Beare peninsula. These were Erainn people, ie. the Celtic people who inhabited Ireland before the coming of the Gaels in about 600 B.C. Luy Maccon is dated to the period 160-230 A.D. He was reputed to have had seven sons. The eldest was the progenitor of the O'Driscolls who became the chief kings of this area. The Ó Laoghaires claimed descent from his fifth son, Fothach Cannan. This branch were chieftains of a territory around the present town of Ross Carbery, called Tuaith Ruis or Tuaith Indolaich. In later years there was founded in this Tuath the monastery of Burgatia, and later still a University, Priory and Cathedral. These were under the patronage of St.Fachtna, who himself was a member of the family. Ross is still a Diocese in both Churches, and a Cathedral town.

The family continued as chieftains of this area until the 12th.c. Their surname became Ó Laoghaire after one of their chieftains of the 6th.c. There is still in existence a pedigree showing the chieftainly descent, but like most such, it is flawed by having five or six generations apparently missing.

Towards the end of the 12th.c. (alleged to be in 1192 AD) the Ó Laoghaire clan left their ancient territory under pressure from other surrounding dynasties, and moved up into the rugged and inaccessible hills of Uibh Laoghaire around Lough Allua. Uibh Laoghaire, or Inchigeelagh, is a large Parish of some 46,000 acres and with a population which once reached 6,000. It forms part of the huge territory under the sway of the McCarthy of Muskerry who resided in Blarney and Macroom Castles. There the Ó Laoghaire remained until the present time, but lost their lands to Protestant planters in the late 17th.c. To this day there are many families of O'Learys in the Parish, but most of their descendants are now scattered around the World.

We do have some knowledge of the last few generations of chieftains before they were extinguished; from Amhlaoibh born c.1335 AD through the last eight generations to Donal mac Art, who was the last elected chieftain and who died after being sent to Connacht in 1655 AD. We also have the remains of their three tower houses, or Castles in which they lived. One indeed is still standing; Carrignacurra just outside Inchigeelagh. A large proportion of O'Learys throughout the World are descended from this branch.

Ó Laoghaire of Fermoy in East Cork.
Until recently this was believed to have been a separate and unconnected family who assumed the same surname. They were part of the Erainn Tribe of Fir Maine Fene who occupied the area along the River Blackwater before the coming of the Gaels. This was later part of the O'Keefe kingdom and the Ó Laoghaire were sub-chieftains occupying the fort of Dun Cruadha in Glanworth. When the Anglo-Normans seized this land the Ó Laoghaire lost their territory to Roche, later known as Lord Fermoy. The Roches built their chief Castle on the fort of Ó Laoghaire, and renamed it Castletownroche. Thereafter these Ó Laoghaire lost their freeholds and became tenants of the Roches. Because of these circumstances, there is very little record of their activities. They were numerous but did not feature in the records. A further section of this family moved to Wexford with one of the Roches, whose tenants they were. There is still a large population of them in the Fethard area.

Ó Laoghaire of Sligo.
Even less is known of this O'Leary family. They are to be noted in the Fiants where they appear as soldiers and servants of the O'Haras. There are a few O'Learys in Cos. Mayo and Sligo today who may be the remnants of this family.
Later History
As people became dispossessed they also became more mobile and there were movements of O'Learys across Co. Cork and into neighbouring Co.Kerry in particular. Some of these flows were from Fermoy, some from Uibh Laoghaire. It is often difficult to differentiate between the movements of these two large family groups and many do not know from which they came. However, first name patterns are sometimes very useful in sorting them out, since there were quite strong and different naming customs in each of the areas.

The Battle of Carrignacurra Castle. 1602
There was a curious incident in 1602 which does not feature largely in the History books but is interesting to us as being the first time that Carrignacurra Castle was called on to defend itself in a full blooded battle. The Castle had been built some time in the period 1450 to 1500, and had so far escaped without use of its formidable defence systems.

These events took place during the quiet period between the fall of Dunboy in June 1602 and the departure by Donal Cam, O'Sullivan Beare on his epic march to Leitrim in the following December.

Donal Cam was not in Dunboy Castle when it was attacked and destroyed by Mountjoy and Carew. This was a wise decision since all the defenders were massacred when the castle fell. It was quite usual for castles to be garrisoned by a small but strong fighting force under a Constable, and this had been the case with Dunboy, Donal Cam himself being in residence in Ardea Castle about 10 miles over the mountains.

After the fall of Dunboy, Donal Cam gathered together an army of some 500 fighting men, with the object of continuing the war against the English forces. This was somewhat of a forlorn gesture. O'Neill and O'Donnell had fled to Spain and their great army was dispersed. Apart from Donal Cam there were now only two other small armies in the field, the other one in South Munster consisting of the forces of Donogh Maol and Fineen McCarthy, the sons of Sir Owen McCarthy Reagh. This latter force had been heavily subsidised by a grant of £300 from Owen McEgan, the Bishop of Ross, who had recently landed from Spain.

Dunboy fell on 17th June and on 1st July Carew felt sufficiently confident that he had regained control of the situation to stand down the two Companies of the Presidential force commanded by Cormac macDermod McCarthy, Lord Muskerry and John Barry. This took place in Carew's camp which was in Bantry Abbey.

By the 18th August Carew had changed his mind about Cormac macDermod, and locked him up in Shandon Tower. This was because of a scurrilous accusation made by his nephew, Tadhg McCarthy, accusing Cormac of treason. Carew had not previously had complete trust in Cormac and was quite happy to see him under lock and key once more.

On the 20th August it was reported that Donal Cam's Army had crossed the border at Leap and were advancing into Carbery. They reached Carrignacurra the next day and made preparations for a siege. The garrison put up a small show of resistance, but their hearts were not in it, and their real support was for the Irish cause. They had been loyal to their liege lord, Cormac, but since he was now imprisoned, there was no longer any need to pretend. After some parleying, and no doubt much sabre rattling, the doors were opened and the garrison joined Donal's Army.

We have to remember that Carrignacurra although often called a "Castle" was in fact a Tower House. It was lived in by a family, and defence was only a second consideration. In 1602 it was the home of Tadhg Meirgeach O'Leary, first cousin of the reigning chieftain, Donnchadh an Ghaorthaidhe of Mannen. Also in residence would be his two known sons, Conchobhar and Dermod, and probably other children we do not know about.

There used to be a small garrison of soldiers also living in and around the Castle. Thus in 1584 when pardons were issued, we learn that Carrignacurra was garrisoned by Art macDermod and Fearganainm O'Leary, two of Tadhg's brothers, and a force of 21 soldiers who are all named. They included men called Moynihan, Healey, Ring, Sullivan, and no fewer than four Cronins, one of whom was a Piper. This was probably fairly typical of the garrison normally available.

That was the end of the Battle of Carrignacurra, but the rest of the story is also interesting.

Donal Cam's Army, now reinforced with the followers of O'Leary, moved on to Dundareirke Castle, which also fell without much persuasion. They then had some fierce resistance at Carrickaphooca Castle. This was owned by Tadhg macOwen McCarthy of Drishane. He was not in residence, but apparently his wife was, because she was amongst those who finally surrendered.

The other point of interest was that Donal was joined at Carrickaphooca by Cormac macDermod who we last heard of as locked up in Shandon Tower. Carew reported on 30th September that Cormac had escaped from the Tower despite "Being in irons and a guard to attend him". Apparently he was lowered down the Castle walls on knotted sheets, and disappeared into the night, which seems remarkable for a man of 72.

Cormac and Donal were now in arms together against the Crown forces with a combined army of some 1500 men. After the capture of Carrickaphooca Castle, and by the 22nd September, the whole force moved into residence in Macroom Castle, where they now posed a serious threat to Carew. Cormac had however left in Carew's custody in Shandon, his wife and a daughter who were now hostages.

Yet by the 9th October the entire effort collapsed. Cormac had written to Carew pleading for mercy, and Donal Cam was on his way home to the fastnesses of Ardea. What had happened to cause such a U-turn? It is difficult for us to understand the feelings which swept the country that week when the news arrived of the death of O'Donnell in Spain. From Carews cipher notes we learn that O'Donnell had been poisoned by Carew's spy, a certain James Blake of Galway. The effect on the country was electric, and most of the remaining resistance folded up, so important had been the charisma and influence of O'Donnell.

By Christmas 1602 Wilmot encamped near Glengarriff with 5000 men, and Donal Cam in despair set off on his march to Leitrim. But that is another story