TÁIN BÓ 1335

Cattle Raid

The following is a story from the life of Nicholas Fyreter, a man who lived during the middle years of the 14th century in Ireland. The episode as presented is accurate in terms of the historical context and the central event – aligning the very scanty documentary references to this Nicholas with the historical framework has provided the structure for recounting the tale. That this Nicholas was the son of the better documented family chief Philip le Fureter junior, or that this Nicholas himself became family chief are both conjectural, but both are supported by facts. The main event and the names of those involved are a part of the historical record.

Some background is necessary to place this story in context: The military, social, and economic consequences of the Norman Incursion dominated most of Ireland in 1335. Only at the geographic edges – northwest, west and southwest – those areas that had felt the Norman fist in passing, or where successful push-back had occurred did the ancient Irish system remain more or less intact. Where Norman or English Lords had not been able to sit or to remain seated life proceeded as before – everywhere else English Law held sway and intermittent warfare between the marcher lords, or between the newcomers and the native Irish sputtered and flared, broken only by periods of uneasy truces and periods of exhaustion.

During the early years of the Norman incursion, and in areas closely controlled by the invaders, vigorous efforts were made to establish and maintain English law. During this period, activities such as cattle-raiding and hostage taking were suppressed, although these practices continued unabated in Irish controlled areas. The native Irish also made a practice of raiding into the English controlled areas, taking away hostages and plunder, in their traditional manner of warfare.

As the 14th century progressed, central control and the power of English Law began slipping away, beginning in the outermost territories beyond the Pale. The Normans farthest from the locus of control began to Hibernicize, and Irish traditions, speech and culture reemerged. The Desmond FitzGeralds, in their several lordships, followed this pattern. Despite being made an Earl in 1328, Maurice FitzGerald, the First Earl of Desmond was a part of this trend.

An accelerating slide into anarchy within the marches was marked by the murder of William de Burgo, the Brown Earl of Ulster in 1333. That he had been struck down by several of his liegemen signaled a loosening of feudal grip. Ulster and Connaught moved farther away from the reach of English Law, and the Irish chiefs and petty kings once again held sway. Cadet lines of the de Burgos across Galway and Mayo became “Burke” and practiced all manner of Irishry, as they would continue to do so until Elizabethan times. In Munster, the newly created first Earl of Desmond, Maurice FitzGerald, was first made Earl (1328), then quickly imprisoned (1331) for making unsanctioned war. As the power of English Law continued retreating, cattle-raiding- sustained in practice within the Irish controlled areas - was taken up bay Hiberno-Norman Lords outside the Pale, both for material gain, and as a means for projecting power.

Less than 150 years had elapsed since the Normans had arrived. Only a century had passed since the first Norman and English settlers had become fixtures of life in West Kerry. In the far southwest, at the extreme end of the Corca Dubhuine peninsula, the le Fureter family had been established for this century. First granted lands by the de Marisco family, the Le Fureters, now styled Fyreter, were chiefs under the Desmond FitzGeralds. They held much of Ossurys cantred – the parishes of Marhin, Dunurling, and part of Dunquin, as well as the Blasket Islands as freeholders under the Earl, lands held by the family as a seigniorial freehold or chiefry since the arrival of Walter le Fureter three and more generations before. .

The chief man of the family during the first quarter of the 14th century, Philip le Fureter junior was growing old by 1330s. In his time, Philip had been an prominent figure in the activities of the area, as documented via a number of legal references, which have him involved in various lawsuits, a hanging, a swordfight with a tenant, and finally as an appointee to a commission investigating misappropriation of private property by the sheriff. Philip is notable not simply by the varied nature of his actions, but by his clear compliance with English Law.

One may easily imagine that the man who appears as the next family head within the record may have become a bit more Irish, and a bit less English. As the cadet lines of the neighboring FitzGerald families were rapidly assuming Irish ways, one must imagine that so did Nicholas Fyreter, born c1320. As this man became the family chief, he may be placed as Philip le Fureter’s son, albeit along with every other father-to-son relationship during this period, there are no documents to confirm this. Nicholas’ appearance within the historical record as family head makes the likelihood of patrimony probable.

As a young man, this Nicholas may have preferred the Irish manner of speaking his name, “Nioclas”, probably spoke Irish as his primary tongue, and dressed in the Irish manner. During his father’s and grandfather’s times, a man may have taken pride in his “Englishry”, but with the generation of Nicholas, and far from the Pale, the young men of English and Norman descent were looking and acting more like the Irish every year.

As the Fyreters held their lands of the Earl, the family was subject to military service. During the turbulent 14th century, there may have been many occasions where some service under arms was required of these men. The strongly held affections and connections between Fyreter and FitzGerald mandated this, beyond the obligations that existed for them as liegemen. So, in 1335, when Sir Gilbert Broun, a principal Desmond military leader summoned a hosting for a raid on behalf of the Earl, the son of Phillip le Fureter, Nicholas Fyreter, responded. The action was to be a raid for plunder, directed at a vast manor in and around Rathkeale, an Abby in the County of Limerick.

The 1335 Raid on Rathkeale had unknown, or at best ambiguous motives. The Earl was needy – perhaps that was enough. Perhaps some difficulty existed between the FitzGerald family and the Montravers family, the latter being the absentee lords of Rathkeale. Perhaps the fact that Edward Montravers was absent, and the manor of Rathkeale thus assessed as an easy target was sufficient motivation. What we do know is that Sir Gilbert was the Earl’s man, and the Earl was always in need of more: more land, more money, more livestock.

What we also know is that when the call went out, there was a strong response from the leading men of the area.

Now, about the raid:

More so than any other type of action, the cattle raid is emblematic of traditional Irish warfare. Centuries before the arrival of any Norman, local conflicts between the Irish Chiefs and Kings consisted of tribal territorial incursions with the primary objective being the taking of plunder and hostages. The cattle raid occurred on many scales – from that of an individual stealing a single cow, to small armies of men sweeping an entire region clear of livestock. During a cattle raid, actual combat would most often take the form of running skirmishes between raiding parties and defenders, with pitched battles fought only when the raiders became trapped, or when the defenders made a protective stand.

An (a) dismounted Man-at-Arms and (b) a Kern

The 17 men who rode on the raid on Rathkeale in 1335 comprised a fairly strong raiding party. For each of the mounted men, there would have been a half dozen or so kern, or foot soldiers, lightly armed and fleet of foot, and quite probably native Irish. So the entire party would have comprised upward of 100 men. The mounted soldiers would have been armed with swords and lances, while the kerne typically would have carried several throwing darts (short spears) and their long knives or “skean”. While the mounted men dealt with combat, the principal function of the kern once the plunder was secured, was to drive the livestock back home.

Page from the “Unpublished Plea Roll” 9 Edw III (N.A.I., Dublin)

As Sir Gilbert made his home in the Ballyheigue area, along the coast north and west of Tralee, and as the record identifies him as having outfitted the crew, the gathering probably took place near or at his stronghold. This meant that the Corca Dubhuine men had already travelled for two days or so before the host gathered. From the legal record, we know the names of these men, and by knowing their names, we can place most of them as being Kerrymen, and several as men of Corca Dubhuine:

John FitzGalfrid
John Loveshot
William Poynaunt
William FitzPhilip Trant
Robert Trant
Andrew Og Broun
Nicholas Hussee
William FitzMathew of Ossurys
Nicholas Fyreter
Maurice Roth’ FitzMathew
William Stakepol
Richard FitzAlexander of Kerry
Thomas FitzThomas of Kerry
John FitzMathew of Kerry
Galfrid FitzRobert FitzThomas
Nicholas FitzThomas FitzRobert FitzThomas
Mathew Craddock

Given the naming practices of the time, identifying most if not all of the “Fitz’s” as Geraldine men is no doubt safe. It is interesting to note how cumbersome some of the Geraldine names were becoming by the mid-1300s – here you have poor Nicholas FitzThomas stringing out three generations beyond his own! Not surprisingly, within another few generations, fixed surnames were the practice, even amongs the lineage conscious Geraldine families.

Having mustered somewhere near Ballyheigue, these men and their kern set off towards the east, with Rathkeale their target. At this time in Munster, roads would have been lacking. One might easily surmise that between Tralee and Limerick, some sort of beaten path existed, but only as one approached the environs of a city would the tracks become more formalized and recognizable as roads. The Irish were never road builders, nor were the Normans to any great extent, and this region was far beyond the English Pale.

The Slieve Loughra mountains stood as the principal topographical obstacle along the route. Certainly these low but rugged hills were wild and difficult. Once over the mountains, the party would have moved quickly and as unobtrusively as possible. In a cattle raid, surprise was a key ingredient of success.

Perhaps they travelled only by night. Once over the Slieve Loughra, travelling in the dark for concealment made sense. Th trip would have taken two or three days, limited by the speed that the kern could make, and the difficulty of the terrain. That they rested as close to their destination as possible again is likely, and such a rest – within striking distance of Rathkeale would have been during the day, for as we know:

We have no account regarding casualties, or even if there was a fight. Recall that the purpose of a cattle raid was not to inflict death, injury, or random destruction, (those things were incidental, and not at all desirable), but to take plunder.

We do have an accounting of the plunder taken, and as noted on the plea roll, the take was considerable – over 700 animals, and a large amount of textile material. Given the handwork intensive nature of textile production during the medieval period, the value of the linen and wollen material must have been considerable.

Returning to West Kerry with such a haul would have been onerous, indeed. An additional problem with bringing such a large herd of animals back across the Slieve Lougher would be the increased probability that pursuers might catch up with them, and either recover the loot, or force a battle. There are several aspects of the situation to consider. One, if they were acting on behalf of the Earl, as might well have been the case, a principal Desmond stronghold existed at Askeaton, a fairly short march north, on the baks of the Shannon estuary, near the border of Limerick and Kerry. Askeaton may well have been their destination.Two, Rathkeale may have been selected as a target simply because the likelihood of pursuit was minimal. It is known that the Montravers family, which owned the monor for generations, did not reside there. The Abbey was continuously occupied by Augustinian friars, but the notion that clerics would pursue the raiders is as silly as it seems.


That justice prevailed is a matter of public record. As with many cattle raids, restitution was made to that aggrieved party. As may be read in the account on the Plea Roll, the raiding party was ordered to pay 1000 pounds in compensation. Such a sum represented a very large amount of money in those times, when gold or silver coinage was scarce, and highly valued. That said, whether or not the restitution was ever made, or ever made in full is not known. As an absentee, in difficult and turbulent times , with the authority of law waning, Edward Montravers may have had some difficulty collecting.

Curiously, several of the names of Nicholas’ companions show up on later documents of record. We know that in 1349, Robert Trant, Nicholas Hussee, John FitzMathew, all appear along with Nicholas Fyreter and Richard FitzMaurice in a call to arms. This order was placed upon the Earl of Desmond by Ralph, Baron Stafford, in the name of the king during Edward IIIs war in France. Yet later, in 1355, Nicholas appears as a manucaptor supporting William Stakepol as Sheriff of Kerry. Apparently having been on this great raid did not have a negative impact on Stakepol’s advancement.

So ends this recounting. In reading this, there exists a hope that a greater appreciation for the deep roots and deep history of the Ferriter Family may develop. From the earliest period of the Norman Incursion into West Kerry, members of the Ferriter Family appear within the context of the events in Corca Dubhuine , and although the Family only rises to the public record occasionally, enough may be seen to understand the ongoing role these people played in the region’s history.

Muiris Feiritear

(Maurice FitzGerald, c1180)

Muiris Feiritear

(An Chéad Ainmneacha)

Analysis of Irish genealogies via examination of naming patterns is a proven and recognized practice. Persistence of certain favored family names generation to generation also has recognition as a means of evaluating common ancestry and collateral bloodlines. Given name preferences show up in different ways within many Irish and Norman-Irish from the earliest period. This investigation will attempt to use these methods in treating an aspect of Ferriter Family history.

One of the mysteries in the Ferriter Family’s history involves the nature of the relationship between Lucas na Srianta (Luke of the Bridles), and Piaras Feiritear (1), hero, poet, and by oral tradition, Lucas’ grandfather. There are no known direct documentary connections between these men, yet that this relationship existed has persisted as an oral tradition for many generations.


The given name Maurice has been long associated with all of the various branches of the FitzGerald family, (Kildare, Desmond, Lixnaw, the Knights, and all cadet lines). Maurice was not frequently used in other Irish or many other Hiberno-Norman families during the first few centuries following the Norman incursion in 1170/72 (2).

Within the le Fureter (Ferriter) Family in Kerry the earliest names on record are: Walter, Simon, Martin, Phillip, John and Richard. Later in the medieval period we see Nicholas, Thomas, and William. Nicholas has repetitive usage during the late 14th century through the 15th century. It is during the late 1500’s that the name Maurice first appears within the documentary record associated with the Ferriter Family. The first recorded Maurice Ferriter was Piaras Feiritear’s grandfather (3).


That a close relationship existed between the Ferriter Family and the FitzGeralds of Ossurys cantred in Corca Dhubhine, (the family of the Knight of Kerry) is clear. Both families held lands of the Earl of Desmond, and these lands shared common boundaries in Ossurys. Ferriter’s Castle in Ballysibble and the Knight’s stronghold at Rahinane near Ventry are an easy ride from one another, and these castles, taken with the additional FitzGerald tower house at Gallerus form a strong triangular defensive position across the end of the peninsula.

There are name related clues indicating that intermarriages happened between the two families - appearing in the correspondences between in names used by each of the families during this period (4) :

The significant evidentiary artifact to be taken from this table is the shift in names occurring pursuant to sustained close association with the Kerry FitzGeralds. Given no other evidences (geographical proximity, political affiliation, intermarriage), this data alone supports a familial connection beginning during the late 14th century. These correspondences began during the late 14th century, coeval with the arrival of the Knight of Kerry in Ossurys and extended until the time of Piaras’ father Eamon.

During the mid-1500s, the 3rd son of a seated Knight of Kerry (William McRuddery) married a Ferriter woman. The unnamed Ferriter woman who married this William McRuddery was quite likely to have been the daughter of the family chief of that time.(5)
One may also conjecture that Maurice’s mother was of the Knight’s extended family, which would account for the introduction of the forename Maurice at that time.

All of this data taken together illuminates the likely social and familial bonds connecting these two families at the onset of the Elizabethan era, as well as highlighting the early significance of the name Maurice, when introduced into the Ferriter lineage.

As previously noted, Piaras’ grandfather Maurice appears as the first Maurice Ferriter of record. The evidences presented support that Maurice’s name came from some association with the family of the Knight of Kerry. The second Maurice Ferriter appears during the following century in a succession of references and in circumstances that suggest that this Maurice could have been Piaras Feiritear’s son. Although no documentary evidence making the father to son connection has been uncovered, the second Maurice does appear within the record as follows :

From: “A List of Claims…Chichester House, 1700”, “A Chiefry of 10s per annum by deed dated 2nd of June, 1684, from Maurice and Elizabeth Ferriter”

From: “King James’s Army List” (D’Alton), “Regiments of Infantry, McEllicotts, Ensigns, Maurice Ferriter”, (1688 – 1690)

From: “List of Persons Outlawed for Foreign Treason”, 1699 (TCD MS N.1.3), “Maurice Feritter, Ballynehigg, gent.”

This man may have been Piaras Feiritear’s son.

This second Maurice would have been born during the War of the Catholic Confederacy, during the quiet period in West Kerry that followed the siege of Tralee (1642) and that persisted until the arrival in the region of Cromwell’s armies (1651) (6). Piaras was in Kerry and available for a second marriage at this time, given the death of his first wife early in the 1640s. Taking a second wife upon the death of a first was common practice at this time (7).

Would Piaras have been likely to have had a second marriage? Certainly. Would Piaras have been likely to have had a son born into a second marriage. Certainly. Would Piaras have been likely to have named a son born into a second marriage Maurice, as his grandfather had been named? Certainly.

For Piaras, connecting his family to the pre-Elizabethan Irish past – the past of his grandfather’s time and earlier – may have been important. Certainly we can see in his poetry an understanding of that lost era, and sadness in its passing. (8) The Norman name Maurice would have been rich with personal and historical meaning for Piaras. This name was seemingly likely to have been chosen by Piaras, and may be regarded as a supporting argument in any discussion of the lineage of Maurice of Ballynehigg, and consequently that of Lucais na Srianta.

At this point in this investigation, speculation, and discussion, it is worthwhile to examine what was happening within Ireland during this time. When Piaras’ conjectural son Maurice was born, conflict existed, with an uncertain outcome. At the end of this Maurice’s life, Catholicism and the Catholic leadership had failed politically and militarily. The Protestant Ascendancy was rapidly gaining traction, and the Penal Laws were in place. (9)

Maurice did not choose conversion or assimilation. Perhaps with less to lose in the material sense, but certainly acknowledging the sacrifice of any possible material or social gain, he held to his faith, and to his Irishness. Maurice was attainted for “foreign treason’ following the Jacobite wars, and no record has been found suggesting that he was later pardoned or restored to good standing. Maurice was outlawed. Outlawry at the time was a tool to force enemies of the crown into a “non-person” status. An individual, once outlawed, had no legal status or protection.
Tradition has this Maurice with at least one son, known as Lucas na Srianta (Luke the Restrained, or Luke of the Bridles). (10) Using the oral genealogy compiled by Padraig Feiritear during the late 1800s, we can deduce that Lucas must have been born in the late 1600s, concurrent with Maurice’s residence upon lands in the Ballyferriter area.(11) Lucas became the patriarch of perhaps all Ferriters alive today, through his two sons, Seamus Lucais (James Luke), and Sean Lucais (John Luke). Both Seamus Lucais and Sean Lucais named one of their sons Maurice. The most likely explanation for each man naming a son Maurice is that they were naming their sons after their grandfather.(12 )

Using onomastic information taken solely from the Padraig Feiritear oral genealogy, we find that by the fourth generation following these two Maurices, the name had been used at least seventeen times in individual lines of descent in Ireland. Additional Maurice Ferriters are found in U.S. Ferriter families of the period. The persistence and proliferation of this name in such a way, during the darkest years of the Penal Laws and the advent of famine times is astonishing. To this day, Maurice, the Irish Muiris, and the modern spelling variants Morris and Morrice remain alive and actively used in Ferriter lineages.

Was Maurice Ferriter Piaras Feiritear’s son? Was Lucais na Srianta Maurice Ferriter’s son? As stated, at present we have absolutely no documentary proof in answer to either of these two things.

When illuminating a history with scant direct documentation, every element of the surrounding historical context – every evidentiary artifact – must be examined for connections and insight. As detailed within this essay, significant evidence exists supporting a positive answer to both the questions posed above. In shaping an affirmative response to either of the questions, the name Maurice emerges as a meaningful common element.

So, Was the Maurice Ferriter of the late 1600s the son of Piaras? Probably. Was Lucas na Srianta likely to have been this Maurice’s son? Also Probable. (13)

NOTES

(1) That Piaras Feiritear had at least two sons and a daughter is not disputed. These sons were born early enough such that both fought during the War of the Irish Confederacy (War Against Parliament) and both are known to have taken exile to fight on in Europe after the fall of Ross Castle in 1652. The eldest of these sons, Dominick, bears a given name not seen in any early documented reference involving Ferriters, but the name Dominick is known to have been used as a forename within the Trant family. Certain evidences exist that suggest Dominick’s mother was a Trant. There may also be a connection with the Dominican Order, active in Ireland and Spain in educating Irish Catholics during this period.

The forename Dominick persisted in use within the Ferriter Family for three generations, while the name Pierce, (Piaras, Pierse, Perse), persisted in alternating generations across five generations (c1600 – c1710) in this branch of the family. Both names then disappear, and are not known to have returned in use until the 20th century.

(2) Within the 14th and 15th century manuscripts included as parts of the “Red Book of Ormond” there are documented many Norman, Wesh, and Irish names. The name Maurice does not appear at all as a forename, and only once in a Latin surname context: FitzMaurice, i.e., “fil. Mauricii”.

Recognizing that the ruling family of Ormonde, Butler, was the mortal enemy of the FitzGeralds diminishes the novelty of this data, yet still the information still makes a statement regarding usage of Maurice in Ireland outside of FitzGerald associations.

In Irish translations of the Norman “Maurice”, we find the name “Muiris”. This occurs repeatedly in the historical record. A possibility exists that an earlier traditional Irish name also became “Muiris” – that name is not connected to the Norman-Irish families discussed here.

(3) Maurice is known to have died at the end of the Desmond Rebellion, in 1584, when his son Eamon, (Piaras’ father) was 16 years old. With Eamon’s birth year understood to be 1568, our first Maurice probably was born c1530 to c1540. When this Maurice was born, the late Knight of Kerry had also been named Maurice.

(4) The Hiberno-Norman families in Munster made a practice of marrying within the local “Old English” community, and within the local Irish communities for property gain, and for security. Family alliances were socially and politically important. Although the scanty documented history as presently known cannot confirm the names of many wives, we do know that in the mid-1500s the third son of a seated Knight of Kerry (William “McRuddery”) did marry a Ferriter woman.

(5) The known dates associated with “The Ferriter” Maurice, and those of William McRuddery indicate the possibility that this lady was Maurice Ferriter’s sister. Given Maurice’s standing as family chief, and the likelihood that the seated Knight would be seeking family alliances, if Maurice had a sister, she would have been the candidate for marriage into the knight’s family. If McRuddery’s wife was not Maurice’s sister, she was very certainly his close blood relation.

(6) Born during the years 1645 – 1650, Maurice was likely to have been a married man during the property transactions of 1684, a junior officer in his prime during the Jacobite Wars of 1688 to 1691, and a high profile (by name) papist as the Penal Laws came into effect at the close of the 17th century.

(7) The likelihood that Piaras had a second wife, and that she was of the Moriarty family is almost conclusive. Piaras is referred to in the Runincinni Commentaries as being the brother-in-law of Thadeus Moriarty, the Prior of Tralee (also executed in 1653), and in at least one source as being the son-in-law of Dermot Moriarty (Dermot O’Dingle) who was a Moriarty Family chief of the time.

(8) In addition, the name Maurice would commemorate not just his grandfather, but the late Maurice FitzGerald, the Knight of Kerry’s brother in whose memory Piaras had written a “caoine” (keen) that has been one of his most enduring pieces of poetry. Similarly, the name provides a connection to Maurice FitzGerald of the Desmond FitzGeralds, uncle of the last Earl, father of James FitzMaurice the great hero of the Munster Catholics during his grandfather’s time. All of these things are concrete contributing reasons for Piaras to use this name for his son.

(9) Piaras’ eldest son, (Dominick), and his heirs were moving in the direction of establishing English credentials, a process that eventually led these people into accepting Protestantism, and into a struggle to maintain status as gentry. This branch of the family became extinct in the male line by 1865.

(10) Tradition alone – as discussed, there are no direct documentary evidences. There are other Ferriter males in the historical record who are in the line of Dominick, and one other who may have been Maurice’s brother. Given the known rarity of the Ferriter name during the post-Elizabethan era, (Piaras quite possibly was the sole inheritor of the name at that time), that Maurice was Piaras’ son seems likely. There are no documentary evidences of any other Ferriter male of this period producing offspring. Similarly, with Dominick’s offspring well documented, other Ferriters emerging during this period are likely to have been of the line of Maurice.

(11) Based upon the earliest birthdates on the Feiritear chart (1808, 1809, 1811, occurring in the 5th generation), and using a 30 year (+/- 10y) generational span, Lucas would have been born c1680 –c1700, which fits correctly with what is known about Maurice, who would have been born just prior to 1650).

(12) The name Lucas was also used by each of these men in naming sons, which is very strong evidence that they were Lucas’s sons, as well as Maurice’s grandsons.

(13) While this essay may not be considered conclusive, the arguments presented in support of the possibility that Maurice was Piaras’ son are persuasive. The name Maurice was not just a random selection or even simply a tie to the past or a link to lineage, but was a symbol of the choice of constancy with tradition, faith, and heritage. Maurice is an honorable name, and an honor bestowed upon those who bear it. For us, the name continues to include all of the history, plus the additional merit of long usage within the family – the memory of all those who have borne this name before. Finally, for those interested in such things, the name Maurice becomes another item of evidence to use in closing a gap in the Ferriter Family narrative.

Leabhar Dearg an Fheiritearaigh

Anyone reading this who might also read the occasional news update on Facebook's "The Great Ferriter Family" may recognize that work has commenced on compiling a "Red Book of the Ferriters" (Leabhar Deargh an Fheiritearaigh). Such a document would be a comprehensive family history, genealogy, reference and register.

The idea of such a book extends directly from the Irish, who kept such compilations within their septs, to chronicle and document the family history. These were not usually single volumes, but in some cases rolls of parchment, bound books, loose documents, all taken together and considered as one thing. Most such collections only exist in fragmentary form today, however the “Red Book of Ormond” is a good example. This little essay will serve to make a few comments and to provide an update on that work in progress.

The history of the lifetimes of the Ferriters of Kerry is bounded, finite, and at least partially visible, all the way to earliest times in Ireland. Before that, the history seems mightily obscured, and aside from DNA studies, may stay that way. That is not a despairing thought, as the history in hand is deep and rich, and embracing it via An Leabhar Deargh promises to produce something of lasting value for everyone within the family, and of some interest to many others. We have 800 years of time, spanning something like 25 generations.

Across this breadth of years, we have many individuals to recognize, many events of individuals lives, and many events of a broader historical context. There are the people - who they were, what they did, what their lives were like…images in time, painted on the tapestry of the context of the history within and upon which they lived. To keep those who have gone before us in our minds must be understood to be a principal purpose of this book.

An initial focus has been upon the early years - the first 350 years in Ireland, beginning about the year 1220. Some of this - names of individuals, and individual activities - resides in concrete terms within the historical record. Effort is also underway to illuminate the historical stage of Ossurys Cantred in Corca Dhubhine barony, (the western and southern portions of the Dingle Peninsula) – upon which most of the story acts out. In every case where individual action or activity is on record, the surrounding events and circumstances must also be unveiled, lest some key aspect of the individual's role be misunderstood, or a key element lost. What you would see here is the difference between motionless stick figures (the citation on the record) and three dimensional animation (the citation placed within the correct historical context).

Here are some aspects of:

The Red Book of The Ferriters

Documents to be pulled together, stories identified, and tales to be written down:

The first arrivals: The stories of Richard le Fureter, Walter le Fureter, their arrival in Ireland and the early le Fereters in Kerry - Walter, Martin, and the two Phillips – early Norman settlers, given land in Ossurys Cantred.

Nicholas Fereter, manucaptor: The story of a Fereter man who lived c1320 – 1400, who was a cattle raider, local notable, and Family Chief. This man probably served the Earl of Desmond as a soldier, in terms of scutage/knights service, and kept company with the Knight of Kerry, Richard FitzMaurice.

The Century of the Nicholas’: 1450 – 1550, In the service of Lord FitzGerald, or How the Ferriters became fully Irish.

The Wars of the Geraldines, 1565 – 1603, and the reduction of the Ferriter Family.

Piaras: Historical Summary: Just the facts, and there are plenty of them

Dominick: Tales of a Feiritear Man who lived over three hundred years ago.

Lucas na Srianta: The lineal patriarch. Turning the light, (however dim) on a man at the advent of the Protestant Ascendancy

A compendium of Ferriters: c1700 – 1900:

To name a few: Nicholas Feriter, ropemaker c1750 -1780, Nicholas Ferriter, ship’s captain c1750, Maurice Ferriter, medical patient, c1760, Edward Spaight Ferriter, Estate owner, Kappa Lodge, Clare, c1800, John Steven Ferriter, R.N., Naval Officer, Australian Pioneer, c1830 – 1870, Maurice Ferriter, “The Professor” Immigrant to Indiana, c1835 – Mathematics Professor at Notre Dame, Luke Ferriter, Vermont lad in the Civil War c1860, John H. Feriter, SC politician, carpetbagger, racist, c1865 – 1880, Bad Boy John, a Sad Tale of Delinquent Youth, c1890. Padraig Feiritear, Manuscript Collector, Archivist, writer, Irish Land Rebel, c1880 – 1924.

Of course, this list is not fixed, and also it is well understood that the individual lines have great stories close to the heart, involving great events, trials, tribulations, and great deeds – all pertaining to people of the respective lines. These all should be told, and the data recorded, lines of information exchange established, and all of this information connected to electronically, or physically pulled into the great book, The Red Book of the Ferriters.

Timeline of Early Ferriter Family Leadership

The following information attempts to provide a bit of illumination upon the deep past of the Ferriter Family in Kerry. What has been done here is to create a timeline of sorts, with the known and suspected heads or chiefs of the Ferriter Family called out upon it.

First a bit of background: Several sources exist that identify individuals in the early record. These sources either extend from the Calendars, (summary abstracts made of records later destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922), or are from records outside of what had been in the Public Records Office when the fire occurred. A list of these sources is appended, and notated. The individuals cited on this list are those who are those who were most likely to have been the family head during their lives. During the early period, men selected for activities such as juror, pledge, or collector were almost certainly also the family chief or principal man in the family. In some cases other family members appear in the historical record, either associated with inheritances, lawsuits, or fines. These people have not been cited on this list.

Walter (I) 1220 – 1250 First Known le Fureter in Ireland, probable first in Kerry
Cites: 1, 2

Walter (II) 1250 -1280 Active landholder in Ossurys cantred
Cites: 1, 2, 3

Martin 1280 – 1290 Active man of property, likely brother of Walter (II)
Cites: 2, 3

Phillip (I) 1290 – 1310 Son of Walter , knight of the Shire
Cites: 2, 3, 5

Phillip (II) 1310 -1340 Son of Phillip (I), Fought David de Barry, Sherriff’s commission
Cites: 2, 3, 5, 6

Nicholas (I) 1340 -1360 Probable son of Phillip (II), Cattle Raider, Soldier, Manucaptor
Cites: 4, 6

Thomas 1360 -1400 Tax Collector
Cites: 7

Nicholas (II) 1400– 1450 Known to have been a Juror
Cites: 8

Nicholas (III) 1450 – 1500 Known to have been a Juror
Cites: 9

Dennis of Dun 1500 – 1535 (Apocryphal / Anecdotal Individual)
Cites: 13

Nicholas (IV) 1535 – 1575 Pardoned Geraldine Rebel
Cites: 10

Maurice 1575 – 1585 Geraldine Rebel, Father of Eamon
Cites: 10, 11

Eamon 1585 – 1625 Pardoned Geraldine Rebel, Father of Piaras
Cites: 10, 11, 12


The blocks of time assigned to each person are estimates of that individual’s period of leadership or eminence. An effort has been made to depict continuity, but these estimates must not be seen as precluding the existence of additional family heads who escaped appearing in any surviving documented source. This list must also be understood to just that – a list, not a pedigree or genealogical outline. We can make a safe assumption in regarding many of the postulated successions as in fact being father to son, but this cannot be confirmed in most cases. That said, the strong possibility exists that the first Walter was the single common ancestor of all Ferriters, and close relationships exist between all of these men - if not a direct lineal descent, then close to it.

Cited Sources:

1. Calendars of Jucticiary Rolls, Ireland

2. Calendar of Plea Rolls (RC7, NLI)

3. Calendar of Close Rolls

4. Rotulorum Patentaie et Clausorum (Tresham)

5. Court of Exchequer Records Relating to Kerry (Carew MSS, 610)

6. Calendar of Plea Rolls, 13, 14, 16

7. Patent Roll, 49 Edw III

8. Calendar of Ormonde Deeds

9. Carew MSS 608, f44b

10. Fiants of Elizabeth, 921, 2482, 6494, 6576

11. Inquisition of 1584, (Originally in P.R.O.I., transcribed c1908, original destroyed)

12. Chancery Inquisition, Charles I, 1626

13. Unpublished Paper, Fr, M.Manning, c1975

(Final Note: In addition to the individual forenames cited as likely family heads, the following additional Ferriter names appear in the early records: Michael, John, Richard, William, Simon, Isabella, and Anstace.)

Crisis in Numbers: The Ferriters of Corca Dhubhine During the 1500s

Many members of the Ferriter Family today are aware of the legend that maintains Piaras Feiritear as the last of his tribe. The facts do not support Piaras as the last – certainly we know that his father lived to become a grandfather, with Piaras’ son’s furthering the line, and certain evidences exist that suggest Piaras may have had at least one brother or a cousin. Those things said, that the Ferriters were a rare breed during the early 1600s seems doubtless. With the family having been established in West Kerry for over 300 years before Piaras came along, the idea that there were only a handful of Ferriters extant does not correspond with what we know about the growth of families over time.

Although beautiful beyond reason, the lands held and inhabited by the Ferriters are harsh and stingy to a farmer’s eyes. Most of the rocky hillsides were and are suitable for grazing only, and the more fertile bottom lands are not spacious. The saving grace of the locale was the ocean – and surely the Ferriters fished, and fostered other fisherman, with the resulting bounty going some distance to feeding the inhabitants of the locale.

The size of the family in Corca Dhuibhne was always limited by what the property could support. Sub-infuedation and tenancy by family members could only continue to the extent that the farms could produce sufficient food to support the tenants. Fishing was always vigorously pursued, under the conditions of the grant from the Earl of Desmond. These things being said, Ferriter men often left the area, either via the sea, or under arms. Whether they were sailors, or whether they were soldiers for hire, once departed these men were doubtless most often lost to the family.

Yet the 1400s had been a relatively prosperous and peaceful period for Ossurys, the cantred wherein Ferriter’s lands lay. Dingle, Ventry, and Ferriter’s Haven all supported trade and fishing. There were no large scale wars, and the occasional raids or dust-ups under Desmond colors were not destructive in a general sense. The Ferriters had shared in this sort of prosperity, and their numbers had certainly increased over time.

By extrapolating familial propagation over the two and a half centuries following the Ferriter arrivals in Ossurys cantred, an expectation that the area would have been replete with Ferriter families can be reached. 100% of the land would not have been occupied by Ferriter families, but making an estimate that most of it was can be seen as reasonable. For the purposes of this discussion, a conservative projection of 15 Ferriter Families across the various townlands of Marhin, Dunurlin, and Ferriter’s Quarter is established for the year 1565. These 15 families would have accounted for perhaps 60 to 80 individuals. These people would have acknowledged kinship ties with one another, shared a sense of family, and probably gave a degree of fealty to The Ferriter, An Feiritearach, the chieftain of the little sept.

Note the details of “Jobson’s Map of Mounster”, c1585. Here we see no fewer than four place names associated with Ferriter: Fereter’s Cove, C. (Castle) Fereter, B. (Bally) Feretor, and The Fereter’s Island.

75 years later, there were perhaps one or two families comprising at most a half dozen souls. What happened?

The destruction of the Ferriter Family must have gone something like this:

During the period of sharp numerical decline, three devastating wars occurred, along with sustained anarchy during each period of conflict.

Several authorities have posited that the population of Kerry may have been reduced by 30% to 50% during this period, which alone does not explain the radical reduction in numbers evidenced within the Ferriter family. Nor does leaving the area – all records available, along with onomastic evidence as available via surname distribution both suggest otherwise - the Ferriters stayed on in their home area. Aside from a very early occurrence of the name in Dublin that persisted for several generations before disappearing, Ferriters did not reside outside of Corkaguiny until recently.

As late as Ireland’s 1911 census, only two Ferriters resided outside of the home area. Many Ferriters had emigrated to America or elsewhere by 1911, but such an option did not exit in the 16th century. As noted, the younger sons may have often sailed away, or marched off to serve under arms, but that is not emigration. The Ferriters did not leave during the 1565 – 1605 time period. Whatever happened, it played out in West Kerry.

There may have been diseases and famine attendant with the periods of conflict, and certainly this speaks to the name becoming less common in the area. That the decrease in numbers corresponds to the decrease in numbers of other families in the area would be expected. The Trant and Rice families endured the same period of difficulty yet seem to remain relatively numerous in citations following the warfare, so what happened that was unique to the to the Ferriters?

When discounting an estimate of number reflective of the difficult times, the result does not correspond with what seems to have been the case for the Ferriter family, and the realization that something beyond famine and disease happened becomes apparent. Some analysis of the mechanisms that may have borne on the situation is warranted.

As mentioned, three separate wars occurred:

1569 - 1573 First Desmond Rebellion (James FitzMaurice)

1579 - 1583 Second Desmond Rebellion (Earl Gerald)

1599 – 1603 Munster Rising of O’Neil’s Rebellion (Sugane Earl of Desmond)

Each of these rebellions was replete with slaughter, famine, and destruction of humanity:

“I saw sufficiently ensampled in those late warrs in Mounster; for notwithstandinge that the same was a most ritch and plentyfull countrye, full of corne and cattell, that you would have thought they could have beene hable to stand longe, yett eare one yeare and a half they weare brought to such wretchednes, as that anye stonye herte would have rewed the same. Out of everye corner of the woode and glenns they came creepinge forth upon theire handes, for theire legges could not beare them; they looked Anatomies [of] death, they spake like ghostes, crying out of theire graves; they did eate of the carrions, happye wheare they could find them, yea, and one another soone after, in soe much as the verye carcasses they spared not to scrape out of theire graves; and if they found a plott of water-cresses or shamrockes, theyr they flocked as to a feast for the time, yett not able long to contynewe therewithall; that in a shorte space there were none almost left, and a most populous and plentyfull countrye suddenly lefte voyde of man or beast: yett sure in all that warr, there perished not manye by the sworde, but all by the extreamytie of famyne which they themselves hadd wrought.” (“A Veue of The Present State of Ireland.”, Edmund Spenser, 1596.)

“For might it but please her Highnes under her owne hand to sett downe, that noe principale Traytor (especiallie those of Mounster){This would marre theyr mirth.} shall have any pardon or find anye favour …And lett that principall Traytor whom they call the Earle of Desmond be the first.{One after another and serve all alyke.} Then the White Knight alias Edmond Macc Gibbon, Piers Lacye, the Knight of Kerrye and the Lord Fitz Morris. These are the principall Traytors who have lands.{One occasion is too much and one pardon too manye.} Yf these or anye of these shall refuse to come in in manner…. Then lett proclamation be made that whosoever shall take or kill anye of these Traytors lands and hould them in the same sorte that the Traytors did. Yea though he be a Traytor and a leader of men amongst Traytors{Give the Devill his due yf he do a good turne.} that shall happen to doe this service. Let him not only have the landes of that Traytor whom he shall kill” (Captain Thomas Lee, Elizabethan soldier, c1580)

Note that these citations reflect the eyes and ears of a primary source. While reports taken from the field of and by Englishmen often play down English losses, these reports are quite sanguine regarding the fate of the Irish.

Taken together, these wars in Munster have a common thread in that they had members of the Desmond FitzGerald family as principal actors. Collectively, these wars could as easily be called the Geraldine Wars as anything else.

The Ferriters were Desmond’s men. The lands that they held were held of Desmond.
At the onset of the Geraldine Wars, this relationship had been in place for over 200 years. The Earl was their Earl, and they were his people. Certainly by the 1500s, marriages were occurring between Ferriter men and Geraldine women, ladies of the more local cadet branches, extending from the nearby Sliocht Edmund, (a Geraldine Clan around Castle Gregory) or the grand-nieces or the great-grand nieces of early knights of Kerry. It is known that a Ferriter lady married into the family of the Knight of Kerry c1565, and there exists no reason to imagine that she was the first.

Kinship bonds, and the oaths of fealty associated with landholding were powerful connections. In all likelihood, some Ferriter men had joined with James FitzMaurice in 1569. That “the Felleterache of Ballysibbel” appears on an Elizabethan pardon of 1574 along with other rebels confirms this.

Almost certainly, Ferriter men went out under the Geraldine banners as soon as the Earl declared himself in rebellion, in 1580. Via the marriage cited above, Maurice, Piaras Feirtear’s grandfather would have been the likely brother in law of William MacRuddery, brother to the knight, John, both of whom are known to have been rebels. The family connection, along with the requirements of fealty as given to the Earl would have mandated that Maurice and other Ferriters rode with these men.

Black Tom Butler, Earl of Ormonde

The English were already mobilized, having moved to address this second Geraldine rebellion in it’s infancy in 1579, so conflict flared immediately. The Dingle Peninsula experienced unparalleled savagery in the year 1580. Pelham, The Black Earl of Ormond, Winter, Bingham, and Lord Grey all had a turn in despoiling the land of Corkaguiney and slaughtering the inhabitants. Of these, perhaps Ormond’s Raid during the spring of 1580 was most destructive:
In Jan 1580 two Italian vessels with powder had arrived at Dingle, bringing news that Desmond might soon expect other forces from abroad. In response, as spring opened Pelham and Ormond passed through the rebel counties in separate companies, consuming with fire all habitations and executing the people wherever they found them. As noted below, the Irish annalists say that the bands of Pelham and Ormond killed the blind and the aged, women and children, sick and idiots, sparing none.

“The Erle of Ormonde…never slept his time, but was always in readiness, being the first with the foremost, and last with the hindermost…they met and divided their companies into three partes, and so marched to Dingle-a-Cush, and as they went, they drove the whole countrie before them…all such people as they met they did without mercie putte to the sword. By this means the whole countrie having no cattel nor kine left, they were driven to such extremeities that for want of vittels they were either to die and perish for famine, or to die under the sword.” (Hooker’s Chronicle, 1580)

“He (Pelham) sent loose marauding parties…wheresoever they passed shewed mercy neither to the strong nor the weak. It was not wonderful that they should kill men fit for action, but they killed blind and feeble men, women, boys, and girls, sick persons, idiots, and old people…The Lord Justice (Pelham) proceeded with his army (of which Ormond’s forces formed one wing) to Kerry, making no delay, until he arrived at Daingean-Ui-Chuis (Dingle) on which occasion he devastated and ravaged a great part of the territory of the Geraldines of Kerry.” (“Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters”)

How bad was it?

“The extent of the devastation became clear in the aftermath of the rebellion. Sir Henry Wallop…after the rebellion, described how the population had been so decimated by “sworde, and by Justice, but cheeflie by famine” that he found the province between Dingle and Cashel completely barren and desolate….The general impression of the destruction of the province thus supports Spenser’s view that Munster had suffered a social and economic trauma on a massive scale.” (“The Social and Economic Consequences of the Desmond Rebellion of 1579-83”, Anthony McCormack, May 2004)

One modern source has suggested that the generation of the Desmond Wars may have sought refuge elsewhere. While some may have, refugee status certainly was no assurance of salvation:

“ Ferriter must have fled northwards…In the aftermath of this violence famine became widespread and local inhabitants forced to migrate, as explified in the case of a young heir to a minor Geraldine branch in the area.. ‘who died for famine on Fereters Island, aged 12 years’. Maurice Ferriter probably died in Iraghticonner as a refugee from this violence and famine” (“The Ferriters of Kerry”, Paul MacCotter, 2003)

Never having known any adult male Ferriter to “flee” from anything, I would differ with Dr. MacCotter in his reasoning as to why Maurice was in Clanmaurice rather than at home. In all likelihood, he was part of a rebel band, of which there were many across West Kerry. That issue aside, the terrible price of the Geraldine Wars is clear. Where perhaps as many as 60 or more Ferriter family individuals were living at the advent of the period of conflict, perhaps a half dozen souls survived it.

Piaras Feiritear seems to have grown to manhood lonely with respect to the company of other Ferriters, and absent the large extended family that should have existed two generations before. His father Eamon may have borne witness as a child to the worst of the slaughters, and may have participated in the final round of conflict, the rebellion of the Sugane Earl of Desmond. That his name appears on the final round of Elizabethan pardons associated with this rebellion confirms involvement.

Occam’s Razor identifies that the simplest solution to a problem most often is the best. For the vanishing Ferriters, there really seems to be no mystery. Certainly Occam indicates that these people were killed in war, either directly in combat, as collateral damage, or due to ancillary consequences such as famine and disease.

The Ferriter Family was victim to a sort of political and ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Elizabethans: Pelham, Butler, Drury, Malby, Raleigh, Grey, et alia. The goals were manifold: to exterminate the Desmonds, to solidify political control of Munster, and to prepare the way for the transplantation of English settlers to the province.

When Piaras himself sallied away to do battle with the English in 1641, he had scant family to accompany him. Before the Confederate Wars were over, perhaps three of his sons had participated in the fight, and following the war in 1653, we know that three Ferriter men, two of these most certainly the sons of Piaras, were serving the Catholic cause on the Continent. A real possibility exists that Dunurlin and Ballyferriter were devoid of any Ferriters during the Cromwellian interlude, from the death of Piaras in 1653 until the return of Dominick in 1660 or 1661. The restoration period marks that time when the Ferriter family began to increase in numbers once again.

How might things have been different?

During the 1560s, if “The Ferriter” had made overtures to the government of Queen Elizabeth, had acknowledged the Church of Ireland (see: Ormonde (Butler) and Thomond (O'Brien)), and had become an active agent for the crown, everything would have been different.

Conformance, submission, and assistance to the crown in the several Geraldine Wars would have been rewarded with patented grants and titles - knighthoods and baronetcies. Others of similar social station did those things, and were rewarded in the manner described. Of course, to have gained these things the Ferriters would have become traitors to their faith, their bonds of loyalty, and their culture. To have done this was not in the make-up of these people.

By the 1570s, it was probably too late, and certainly after 1584, the loss of station and property was irreversible.

Those things said, the world in which these men lived, the inertia of history, and the inevitable view of the world that they inherited almost certainly precluded any course of action other that that taken.

When one's world ends, even identifying that it's happening; much less understanding how personal impacts might be mitigated might not be possible.

So, did Oliver Cromwell, bloody though his hands were, destroy the Ferriter Family? No. Thank Elizabeth Tudor and her cutthroat minions for that. That a great man such as Piaras Feiritear arose within another generation, and that the Ferriter name has now spread to far places and is associated with many wonderful attainments, is a tribute to the strength of the line, and to the will of our ancestors.


“The past is never dead. It’s not even past” (William Faulkner, c1930)

Fhirtearaigh an Bhaile Uachtaraigh

Causation trumps randomness, every time. That events emerge as consequences of precursors, and are formed by myriad related influences that also extend from predecessor commissions and omissions seems without refute. Our lives also then, take certain form under the influence of innumerable actions and reactions extending back into time immemorial. Channeled and directed in more or less greater ways by all that has happened before, we make our choices, and in doing so set in motion the context of the future.

Not all those factors at play in our lives have emerged from human activity, and those human influences are in turn the sum of many individual actions. Many steering currents have emerged from people who lived long ago, far away and are unrelated to us in any meaningful way. That those who lived close to our ancestors, and most importantly those ancestors themselves have had a greater impact upon us as individuals seems obvious.

General statements about individuals don’t provide much insight into their nature. “Good”, “bad”, “caring”, “loving”, “energetic”, “creative” – all of these are terms that we encounter daily, as applied to the people around us, and to the degree such labels bear on the matter at hand, they might be useful. Without context or additional qualification such terms simply do not help much in defining the identity of an individual, as we are much more complex than simple topical labels might indicate.

My sense is that families, growing through time as a succession of generations do reflect a summation of their individual constituent members, and that as families do have certain commonalities in any given generation, the qualities that reflect these commonly held characteristics do have some certain merit and applicability.

About those Ferriters: Philip was a swordfighter, Nicholas (in his successive iterations) a warrior, Eamon a survivor, Piaras and his sons and great grandsons all soldiers of note. Piaras a poet and musician, Nicholas again, as a sea captain, Edward the holder of a great estate, Padraig a chronicler. These are just fragments of the whole picture of the past. In the flowering of freedom, both away in America and at home in Ireland, the efflorescence of Ferriter Family talent can only be seen as extraordinary. In the past four generations we have had many military men of distinction in both deed and position, people who were and are talented artists, great storytellers, historians, academics, athletes, doctors, scientists and engineers, people of the law, leaders of all sorts, and on and on.

Not every family on this earth is like this. Few are.

Here I should tip the nature of one of our familial mysteries: while the family has produced a few nuns, my research has never revealed any Ferriter priest. We have offered our very lives in defense of our religion, and in defense of the priests of that faith, but have never produced one, at least on the record. Most Irish families produced priests in every generation – certainly through the post penal law times, and in America. There are no Ferriter priests on record, for at least the past 200 years. I have no additional comment upon that, at least not right now.

That there are darkly colored aspects to our lives and our collective past – yes, of course that also is true. Perhaps these traits are more pronounced, and in greater color - more vivid than in many families. Perhaps such things serve as a counter balance to the great positives we often exhibit. These things will be topics for future essays.

What does any of this mean? Less the apparent lack of priestliness, the Ferriter (Feiritear/ Ferreter/ Farritor/ Ferritor/ Firtear/ et alia) family is brimful and flush with talent, capability, and accomplishment.

Since we can look at ourselves today, and across the recent yesterdays, and back into the deeper past, we can conclude that only circumstance has precluded more visibility and that the long generations when suppression of language and faith ruled, the spark of greatness was preserved. One can only imagine what hidden talents and glories were cherished within the Ferriter families of those times – the spoken poets, the fighters, the fishermen, the sailors, the singers and musicians…of this I have no knowledge, yet have certainty.

Looking ahead, the illumination of our shared past seems to me to be a worthwhile goal. That the isolated lines of descent in the U.S.A. and elsewhere - founded by cousins or siblings who lost touch with one another - that we all share in this seems to me to be without question and without doubt. The influences and patterns set by twenty generations of predecessors may not be extinguished in three or four – what seems more likely is that the commonalities we share, along with the wonderful distinctions of our individualities underwrite the familial affinities that Ferriter men and women have for one another.

That there may be a Ferriter “brand” and that this characteristic transcends isolation of time or space seems to be the real deal. The things that I post on this blog may serve to highlight certain of those things, as they may seem to have echoed down the years. I hope so.

Bailiú Fiacha, 1307

Bailiú Fiacha, 1307



Medieval life in Ireland was most often harsh, and frequently violent. The intrusion of the Normans and the follow-on attempts of the English monarchy to exert control within Ireland created extended periods of social, political and economic turmoil, and the constant friction between the Norman Lords and the Irish, as well as between the Norman Lords themselves led to a succession of minor wars that sputtered for centuries.

English Law extended only to those of English birth, English Heritage (including the descendants of the Normans), and those few Irish who had been granted coverage by the crown. During the first 150 years following the initial incursion, a large swath of southern Ireland, extending down the coast from Dublin, and westward across the Earldoms of Kildare, Ormond, and Desmond had recognized the authority of the English crown, and the legal apparatus of English government. Outside of this area, Irish (Brehon) Law prevailed.

Land ownership, and control of land by the Ferriters extended directly from application of English Law. At present, our understanding of Ferriter entitlements suggests that the initial grants and enfoeffments were provided by the DeMarisco lordship, and when local authority passed to the Desmond FitzGeralds, the feudal commitment of the Ferriters passed to that family also. During this time, Ferriter lands in Ossurys cantred (Western Corkaguinney) were quite extensive, including all of Dunurlan, Marhin, and parts of Kilamrkedar and Dunquin Parishes, including the Blasket Islands.

So, in the year 1307, the chief of the Ferriters seems to have been Phillip le Fureter. This Phillip’s name appears on a number of legal documents of the period, both Close Rolls, (which documented inheritances and property transactions), and on Plea Rolls, (which documented the legal activities of the Justiciar, who was a sort of traveling Chief Justice for those portions of Ireland under English Law). Philip was then the landlord for all of the tenants living on Ferriter lands, some of them Irish, some English, and some family members.

The following text is taken from the Calendar of the Justiciary Rolls of Ireland, 35 Edward I, Membrane 45:

“Yet of Pleas of Plaints at Ardart, before John Wogan, Justiciar on Monday the morrow of St. Barnabas”, June 12, 1307:

Ph. Le Furetter junior was attached to answer Hugh de Barry, of a plea wherefore when Hugh was in his house at the Tyf, in autumn, a.r. xxxi., Philip sent his men to Hugh’s house, to slay him.

Who by command attacked the house for a whole night, wishing to slay Hugh. And on the next day, Philip bringing in his company Nich. O Molran, a felon who abjured the land out of the church of Ballysyd, and other malefactors, went there and broke Hugh’s house. So that Hugh barely escaped on a horse. And Philip with Ric. De Leye and Walter de Hereford, afterward assaulted Hugh, and wounded him badly with a sword, so that he barely escaped on his horse to the church, and he unjustly took from Hugh a horse, value 10s.

And Philip comes and says that he did no injury to Hugh, and he prays that this be enquired by the country. Hugh likewise. Therefore let it be enquired.

(Following unrecorded testimony:)

The Jurors say that Philip came upon the land of Hugh which he held from Philip, and distrained Hugh, his tenant for pleas in default. And Hugh, seeing Philip coming and understanding that he wished to take, in name of distraint, a horse of his, ran to the horse and mounted it and fled.

And Philip rode his horse after him, and his horse stumbled and fell, and threw Philip to the ground. And Hugh, perceiving this, leaving his horse, returned to Philip and with his knife drawn would have slain Philip, his lord, to whom he had not yet done homage or fealty. And Philip perceiving this, and not otherwise able to escape, drew his sword and put it between him and Hugh. And Hugh vehemently moved with anger, intending to strike Philip with his knife, ran upon Philip’s sword, and wounded himself. As to the other trespasses, which Hugh says were done to him by Philip, they say that Philip is not in anyway culpable..

Judgement that Hugh take nothing by his plaint, but be in mercy for false claim.


Quite an exciting story! Professor Paul MacCotter, who identified this document in his “The Ferriters of Kerry” (Journal of Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, 2003) informs us that the malefactor, Hugh De Barry leaves Ferriter lands, and within a years time is hung for murder.

This episode should leave us with a greater appreciation for what life in West Kerry was like for the early Ferriters, and with a better understanding for what having feudal authority over the tenantry on one’s lands really entailed. Within a generation following this event, the authority of the crown had begun slipping away, and with the naming of the first Earl of Desmond in 1328, many royal prerogatives reserved for the crown were granted the Earl.

The Desmond FitzGeralds in turn, gradually adopted Irish ways, and within a century following Phillip le Fureter’s adventure as told above, West Kerry had become quite Irish, and notions of English law held little weight. Yet the Ferriters held their lands, by virtue of feudal bonds with the Desmond Earls. Loyalty to the FitzGeralds extended up until that time the House of Desmond was overthrown and destroyed by the Tudors, a full two and a half centuries following the story of Philip and Hugh.