This is the main entrance page to a series of sites covering the O’Brien’s from Limerick, the Perry’s from Oxfordshire, as well as the Morris, Mitton, Ray, Blunden and Bull families, plus many others that make up my varied and interesting ancestry. As more information is obtained and verified the sites are altered and updated.
A brief history of my family surname
The O'Brien's of Abington Parish County Limerick, Ireland
from the Townlands of Rath (Rathe) & Rathwood,
The name O’Brien has been mentioned in Irish history for nearly a 1000 years. Those with this name generally are descendants of one of the many children or grandchildren of King Brian Buru, the famous ruler of Ireland who died in 1014.
Recently with the advent of DNA there has been studies that show the name has often been taken with or without a direct link to the royal house. Comparisons with the DNA from the only members of the O’Brien’s who have some documentary connection show that the true seed of the family has splintered and spread widely around Ireland and then into Europe, the North America’s and finally into Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. Though this group are small in comparison tho the many thousands who share the name or one of the variants.. Maybe over the next several decades more DNA research will provide even greater links between all those who bear this surname.
My family have been shown through the above mentioned DNA project to be linked tot eh main descendants of Brian, though they seem to have split from the main tree around 400 – 500 years ago and moved south towards Limerick, possibly through the great turmoils that ravaged Ireland during the 15th – 17th centuries.
The recent story seems to start with that several O'Brien families living within the townland area called Rathwood, a small area designated on a number of maps from the early 1700's. This area was contained within the civil parish of Abington, a historical area going back to old Cistercian Abbey dating back to the 14th century.
The O'Brien's seem to have been in the area since early 1700 or late 1600's. The family may have descended from the Clan of Teighe O'Bryne (O'Brien) of The Parish of Towgh, a place better known these days as Towerhill. Towerhill is now simply a small farming area, held and farmed by distant descendants of the Rathwood family, with an old cemetery, to which our family has used for burials for a long time.
In the early 1800's it seem one of the family moved "up the hill" and settled in the Rath (Rathe) townland, which bordered Rathwood. During the evictions of the late 1800's it would seem that there may have been a falling out among the two families. We do know for certain that all O'Brien's remaining in the original property at Rathwood were evicted. While those living at Rath O'Brien's remained, mainly because of the illness of one of the children.
The district of Abington, Murroe and Cappamore are filled with many descendent families with the O'Brien's of Rathwood or Rath, with members marrying into the Hayes, Blackwell's, O'Connell's. Ryan's, Noonan, O'Connell's, O'Regan's and Richardson families plus many more, making them all a link to the O'Brien Clan over the generations.
This particular web site uses both documentary evidence and general information, as well as family history. There are over 2000 descendants in the data banks many appearing in these pages.
The hunt continues.
Created on 26/07/08