O'Brien: The Strong Hand from Above

This past weekend, I and a few of my friends took a PaddyWagon Tour to the West of Ireland, where we saw the Connemara region, Kylemore Abbey, Galway, Corcomroe Abbey, The Burren, The Cliffs of Moher, O’Brien Tower, and Bunratty Castle. Now, that’s quite a list of some interesting places, but what makes them interesting to me is what they mean for my history.

I had always known that my mom’s family, the O’Briens, were based in County Clare and that they were the rulers of that area. I even knew that the seat of their family was at Dromoland Castle.  But I thought that was the only castle they had. How very wrong I was.

Before I describe the properties, I want to first explain something I learned about the O’Brien Clan from the PaddyWagon tour guide, Ross. Ross explained that when the ancient people of Ireland turned from paganism to Christianity, they kept some tenets of their pagan religion. One pagan tradition that the ancient kings of Ireland had was that of polygamy. Ancient Irish kings were allowed to take on multiple wives, even as Christians. So Brian Boru, father of the O’Briens, married around 9 women and had multiple children with each of them. Thus, the O’Brien clan became quite large very early in its history.

The crest of the O'Brien family: Assigned by King Henry VIII of England after the surrender of Ireland by King Murrough O'Brien.

This large clan then ruled County Clare and the Province of Munster from Dromoland Castle. But several of the sites we saw on the PaddyWagon Tour were established by the O’Brien Clan, and it was breathtaking to see so much family history where I didn’t expect it.

Corcomroe Abbey was built in 1205 by Donal Mor O’Brien as a Cistercian monastery.  The ancient monastery is now in ruins, but I could still feel the spirit of the past circling around the Celtic crosses and crumbling walls.

Corcomroe Abbey, photographed by the author

From Corcomroe, we headed out to one of the most awe-inspiring natural locations in the world, the Cliffs of Moher. At the highest point on the cliffs, there is a tower called “O’Brien’s Tower,” which was built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien to give female visitors an impressive view of the cliffs. Sir Cornelius built the tower when the line of O’Briens that I am descended from was still living in County Clare, so it is possible that Sir Cornelius was a contemporary of my great-great-great grandfather.

A picture of the author in front of O'Brien Tower at the Cliffs of Moher

Finally, we left the Cliffs of Moher and headed into the heart of County Clare, where we drove past Dromoland Castle (without stopping…imagine my disappointment) and headed to Bunratty Castle, where I learned a little bit more about the O’Briens from Ross the PaddyWagon tour guide. Apparently, Bunratty Castle is another castle that was utilized by the O’Briens. Bunratty sits along the shore of an estuary of the Shannon River and was vital to the defense of trade routes into County Clare. According to Ross, the O’Briens had control over all of the lands in County Clare from the 1200s to the 1600s, so the castles throughout the County have some affiliation with the clan.

Bunratty Castle, photographed by the author.

The O’Brien clan’s history is an ancient tale richly intertwined with the history of Ireland. To be able to see pieces of this history firsthand in County Clare is an experience I will be eternally grateful for. It’s one thing to know the history, to read about it, and to hear stories from your grandparents; it’s quite another thing to walk in the actual places where the history took place.  The past comes alive, the connections are felt, and you’re truly learning. In Ireland, Out of the Classroom.