The Tipperary Antiquarian

From the local signage "for centuries Donohill was where the meal for the surrounding countryside was stored in a tower on the site of this fort. This precious grain was guarded by the O'Dwyers on whose land the fort was on. On their march to Leitrim, O'Sullivan Beare's soldiers, facing starvation, stormed the tower and succeeded in overpowering the O'Dwyers". From Bantry Bay to Leitrum by Sommerville-Large pg 153 "There was one more sharp engagement before O'Sullivan reached the shelter of the hills. The O'Dwyers and the O'Ryans made a half-hearted effort to block the trail, but when the men from Beare advanced, they retreated "stricken with fear". The picturesque graveyard across the road from the Motte where the famous Dan Breen is buried. A really well researched and presented sign on the Beara Breifne way, I hope it is still in good condition.

NOTE: This is currently a work in progress and I ask for any feedback on what I have written. Ryan is one of the top ten surnames by population / number of people in Ireland. It would be nice if there was a simple explanation as to the meaning of the surname Ryan, unfortunately to my knowledge there isn't. The most likely explanation is that it goes back to a King or Chief of Idrone circa 900AD named Rian or Rien. It was around this time that the Irish began taking on surnames and it may be that it was after him his descendants began to be called, O or descendent of Rian. We are not sure how or when exactly the O'Mulryan name came about. It is likely that it means "descendent of the followers of Rian". However, this is not certain. We will see further down in this article that the genealogies suggest they are both descended from the same ancestor circa 900AD. Although other evidence does contradict this. Just what Rian means is not known for sure. Explana...

Are you an O'Meara from Toomevara? Then this may be a carving of one of your forefathers from the 600 years ago. I stumbled across this recently. "Leaning against the inside of the north wall of the ruined church standing on the south of the modern Church is a wedge shaped tombstone. It has a band of inscription down either side and the top half is occupied by an equal armed cross with an inscription below the arms. A band of conventional gothic foliage separates it from a figure of a man carved in deep false relief on the centre of the lower portion of the stone. He is dressed in a tight-sleeved gown arranged in a curious pyramidal fashion below, and with a hood over his shoulders, the gole hanging down his chest in a point. His hands are shown together in front of him below his waist. The top of his head is flat, with what are presumably intended for curls with a band below them. The Black Letter inscription round the sides of the slab is only partly legible. Commencing...