Clan Mageraghty, from its origins to its demise.
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Origin: Mag Oireachtaigh, 'son of Oireachtac' (oireachtac meaning a member of
a territorial council under the regional king , involved in
treaties and dispositions); a variation of Mag Aireactaig, the name of an ancient and respected Connacht family, of the same stock as the
O'Conors. In the 13th. century oireacht (Anglo-Irish 'eraght') is
applied to a body of vassal nobles in receipt of a chief's tuarastral,
or wages of submission.
Cathal, (or Charles, brother of Teigh Mor who is 102 on the
O'Conor pedigree) son of Muirghas, son of Tomaltach, King of Connacht (815 - 836), was the progenitor of the Family of Geraghty of Clan
Roduibh. Some were chieftains of Clan Tomaltaigh ( a territory
between Balintober and Tulsk) and others of the Muinntear Roduibh territories
( west and along the side of Loch Ree) in County Roscommon. At first
the name was O'Roduibh, of Clan Tomaltaigh
and Siol Muredhaigh, chief of Muintair
Roduibh, but towards the end of the 12th. century,
the descendants of Oireachtac O'Roduibh assumed the Mag
Oireachtaigh name. One of them was head chief of the Siol
Muiredhaigh, (the territorial and dynastic name of clans descended
from Muireadhach Muilleathan of Magh Aei, King of Connacht, son of
Fearghus, who died in about 700 A.D.) The territory was located in the central
part of the Roscommon and was ruled by the O'Conor Don and
was occupied by several
allied septs.
The Mag Oireachtaigh sept's chieftain was one of the 'four royal chiefs' under O'Conor who ruled Connacht and were also high kings of Ireland from time to time. They shared a common
ancestry with the O'Conors. As such were closely allied with the
them, sharing in each other's battles and territorial claims. O'Conor ruled a confederation of the clans that occupied the
Siol Muiredhaigh territory and directly under O'Conor were the four
royal chieftains; McGeraghty, O'Flannagan, O'Mulrenhan and
O'Finaghty. Each royal chieftains was assigned
special honorary duties at official functions. O'Finaghty had the privilege of drinking the first cup at every royal feast, (checking for poison?).
O'Murenhan was the royal poet whose duty it was to relate the
glorious deeds of O'Conor and the Siol Muireadhaigh. McGeraghty
was honoured above the other chieftains and was given special
status. At the inauguration of each new O'Conor king, McGeraghty
was given gifts of cattle from the new High King.
Over the centuries, the Geraghty clan has been involved in many wars and skirmishes. There are abundant records translated from
the Irish Annals recording their exploits. Sometimes they joined forces with their cousins, the
O'Conors. At other times, they
fought the O'Conors, and sometimes the fight was their own. One battle in particular captures my imagination and illustrates the
courage, impetuousness and glorious death of Donn
Oc MacAirechtaigat at the Battle of Fincharn in 1230 A.D..
After 1404 the Irish Annals make no further mention of the sept. However, in 1585, the Composition Books of Connacht identifies Connor McGirraght as (the last known) chieftain of the sept which at that time was located in O'Kelly's country. There are two theories regarding why the McGeraghty's lost their ancestral land. They may have been expelled by O'Conor from the Siol Muireadhaigh territory after centuries of strife between the two clans, or perhaps the Anglo Irish, (e.g. the Burkes) may have seized the land. In 1235, after a prolonged war of conquest, Richard de Burgh became lord of 25 cantreds of the province of Connacht. The remaining five, near Athlone being reserved for the English King, who immediately leased them for an annual rent to King Felim O'Conor. In 1385 the Siol Muireadhaigh was split between O'Conor Don and O'Conor Roe. In the process, some think that McGeraghty's land holdings must have diminished considerably, or perhaps lost altogether. (The Annals record a bloody battle between O'Conor Roe and Mageraghty, during which Mageraghty's land and dwellings were burned, and the Mageraghty chieftain taken prisoner). Eventually, having lost their ancestral homeland, which according to O'Conor records was
originally comprised of
fourty-eight townlands, (about 24,000 acres), some of
the clan moved to Mayo and Sligo. (Coincidently, in 1052 the
annals record a McGeraghty as chieftain of the Calree tribe in
Corran, Sligo). Others moved 19 or 20 miles south of their ancestral homeland to O'Kelly's country of Hy Many where O'Kelly allowed McGeraghty to establish
a chieftainship on four townlands in Fuerty parish on land
owned by the bishopric of Elphin. Of the 33 quarters of land
in Fuerty parish, McGeraghty was granted four town lands,
i.e. Aghgowre, Buniniber,
Aghgad and Clinlergin, occupying in all a total of 1,970 acres. O'Kelly as overlord was allowed to take rents
of 20 shillings from each under chieftain for each of the
townlands they inhabited. This was the last bastion of the
remnants of the Mag Oireachtagh clan. They had lost their prestige
as the most illustrious of the four royal chieftains under
O'Conor, and their patrimony was diminished from the fourty-eight
townlands they had held in their heyday down to the four townlands
they occupied in 1585. Instead of being honoured as the kin of the
O'Conors, they were now subservient to O'Kelly, their
overlord.
On April 3rd 1653, the town of Roscommon surrendered to Cromwellian forces. Shortly after, the McGeraghty sept which occupied
territory close by the town of Roscommon, was dispossessed. In 1666, the Books of Survey and Distribution record that all the
quarters of land held by McGeraghty in Fuerty parish were parceled out to Cromwellian supporters.
The remnants of the McGeraghty sept followed their kin who had moved to
Mayo and Sligo. One group settled on an Island they named Innish
Murray, after their Siol Muireadhaigh territory (anglicized as Sil Murray), another group settled
near Crough Patrick, where one family later became keepers of the Black Bell of Saint Patrick.
The Mag Oireachtaigh left no castles or monuments in County Roscommon. But, in the ruins of Roscommon Abbey there are two tombstones lying side. One is an O'Conor and the
other a Mageraghty. And overlooking them both is the resting place
of Felim O'Conor, his effigy carved in stone, and around the edge
of the tomb are figures of the gallowglass Scots warriors who
were the shock troops of his military command. And though perhaps there is no direct connection, it is interesting to note that the Irish Constitution has adopted Oireachtas, the root of the Geraghty name, to describe their National Parliament. The Oireachtas consists of the President, D il Oireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Oireann (Senate).
Researched by Dennis Garrity Mumby from various Irish Annals, County Roscommon land records and historical documents, with assistance from Nicholas Geraghty and his records of Castlecoote Hall.
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All that remains of the clan's final occupancy is a small village called Baile Mhic
Oireachtaigh located a few miles south of the town of Roscommon. It is a reminder of the clan's
existence on the four townlands in
O'Kelly's country that they occupied until they were finally dispossessed
by the military forces of Cromwell. Ironically though, the town
may be shown on your road-map as Castlecoote after the conquering English
Peer, Sir Charles Coote. But the as you drive nearer
to the village, you will still see road signs pointing the way to 
