Gearoid OBrien - Hanly: A Brief History of the Noble Name (at Home and Abroad)

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Yesterday, I received my copy of the Hanly book our noble name!! I am so thrilled and excited and thank you so very much indeed. Thank you, John Hanly and Gearoid OBrien, for all your work on this remarkable and delightful book!Faith H. Bailey, Dresden, Maine, USA

This book is published for The Hanly Clan by:

Mr John Hanly

Deerpark

Dundrum

Co Tipperary

Hanly:

A Brief History of the Noble Name

(at home and abroad)

by

Gearoid OBrien and John Hanly

The Hanly Clan , Ireland

2019

Copyright Gearoid OBrien and John Hanly, 2019

The authors have asserted their moral rights

Published by The Manuscript Publisher at Smashwords, 2019

ISBN: 9780463932445

First published in print (paperback) edition by The Manuscript Publisher in 2019. Copies of this numbered, limited edition of 400 copies are available to buy online (ISBN: 978-1-911442-21-9).

Typesetting, page design and layout by DocumentsandManuscripts.com

Cover design by Karolina Smorczewska

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Hanly: A Brief History of the Noble Name
(at home and abroad)

Copyright Gearoid OBrien and John Hanly, 2019

The right of Gearoid OBrien and John Hanly to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the copyright, design and patents acts pertaining.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this work may be made without written permission from the authors.

No paragraph of this work may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission of the authors or in accordance with the provisions of the copyright acts pertaining.

This work is made available subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the authors prior consent.

Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this work may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claim for damages.

Table of Contents

I wish to thank, first and foremost, Angela Hanley, my wife for her understanding, patience and love throughout the over-long gestation period of this book. Without her, my life would be greatly diminished and I would have no claim to belong to this distinguished clan!

I also wish to thank Liam Byrne for his photography work and Hazel Ryan, Athlone and Kilteevan, for her friendship and advice. Paul Breen assisted with translation from the Irish. I wish to thank him and indeed, all those who have supported this publication in any way.

As always, I am indebted to my fellow librarians in the National Library of Ireland, and in Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath and Limerick County Libraries for their help over the years.

A sincere word of thanks to Oscar Duggan of The Manuscript Publisher for his invaluable advice. Without his assistance, this work would not have become both a published book and an e-book. I thank him for the very professional service that his company provides.

Finally, I want to thank John Hanly of Dundrum, Co Tipperary, without whose input, perseverance and determination, this book would never have been written.

I dedicate this work to the memory of Angelas brothers: Sylvester Hanley Jnr. (1950-1969) and John Hanley (1965-1987).

Gearoid OBrien

Athlone, Co Westmeath

16 April 2019

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing oer lifes solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

from A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

by John Hanly

On the 6 September 1989, a letter was published in The Western People newspaper, signed by Rory OConnor, setting out information on Irish Clans, which were listed in Edward MacLysaghts famous book, Irish Families. Mr OConnor stated that, whereas there were 243 Clans listed in the book, only 15 had organised themselves into modern Clans and held Clan Rallies.

Rory OConnor established The Clans of Ireland in order to encourage individuals or groups to establish their own family Clans. They were invited to write to Mr OConnor and receive a blueprint or plan that would set out in detail, how to organise, finance and promote the setting up of a family Clan, with a view to holding a Clan Rally in the future.

In due course, the plan was obtained and the task of forming the Hanly Clan was under way. Initially about twenty names, addresses and telephone numbers were obtained from Irish telephone directories. At that time, Ireland was in recession and, there was very little enthusiasm for the idea. One brave man, Sean Hanly of Rossmore, Cashel, Co Tipperary, who was interested in history, agreed to become involved and help to establish the Hanly Clan.

The next step was to hire a venue for the purpose of having an open meeting of interested persons. The Royal George Hotel, Limerick was chosen as a venue and the meeting was advertised in ten provincial newspapers. Professor Liam Irwin of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, a well-known Irish historian, was invited to address the meeting. He obliged and gave a very stimulating talk on the Clans of Ireland in earlier times their organisation, traditions and way of life. About twenty people attended this inaugural meeting.

John Hanly told of research which was carried out by The Clare Heritage Centre in Corofin and went on to relate some information about St. Berach (or St. Barry), from a publication of the Royal Irish Academy in the 1860s. St. Berach had been described, at the time, as a light shining in the darkness and, when his crozier was first displayed in Dublin, the member introducing this item said:

I also beg to exhibit to the meeting the Short Crozier of St. Berach, which I have lately procured for the Academy, under the treasure trove regulations. Although not much ornamented, it is in a state of great perfection, never having been lost but, handed down through the Hanlys of Slievebawn, in Co Roscommon, the hereditary successors of St. Berach, the ruins of whose church still remain at Kilbarry, near Tarmonbarry. St. Berach, to whom this staff or crozier is said to have belonged, lived in the year 580 AD.

The crozier was acquired in 1863 by the Royal Irish Academy and today, is on display in the Treasury Room of the National Museum of Ireland.

Mr Bill Hanley, Ennis Road, Limerick also presented the Clan with a copy of a scroll, The Family of Hanley. The scroll was given to him by his cousin, Fr Matthew Hanley of Chicago (and formerly of the Diocese of Cashel, Co Tipperary). The scroll was from a sketch compiled by P.G. Smith in 1923. It proved very helpful in the promotion of the Hanley Clan and, we must be grateful to the late Bill Hanley for sharing this with us. May he rest in peace.

What you keep you lose,

What you give away you keep forever

Following the inaugural meeting in Limerick, the Hanley Clan was registered with The Clans of Ireland office in Dublin by their secretary, Anne Kavanagh.

In September 1991, the first Clan Gathering was held in Limerick. The attendance included people from America, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and many parts of Ireland. Mr William Hanley, his wife Beverly and son Tim attended. William, who was president of the Irish Association in Queensland, spoke of his Irish ancestors. His great-grandfather left Thurles, Co Tipperary and sailed on a convict ship,