Hugh Heaney

Last name: Heaney

Recorded as O'Heaney, O'Henaghan, Hegney, Hanney, Heaney, Heeney and Hiney, this is an Anglo-Irish surname. If of Irish origins it derives from the pre 10th century name O' hEighnigh, believed to translate as "The descendant of the son of Bird" , although this translation is open to considerable discussion. The surname is found most often in the counties of Armagh and Louth, although it is said that in the 12th century one Teag O' hEighnigh was chief of Fermanagh. In its various spellings the name is also confused with the Scottish Hannay from the unidentified place, although to add to the confusion there is a place called Hanney in the English county of Berkshire, which has given rise to many different spellings. Early examples of the surname recording include Matthew O'Heney who died in the year 1202. He was originally a Cistercian monk who became archbishop of Ireland in 1196. Cornelius Heeney (1754- 1848) was born in Ireland, but made a fortune in America. On October 3rd 1675, Mary, daughter of William and Mary Hanney was christened at St. Giles Cripplegate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Hanye, witness at a christening, which was dated June 16th 1537, St. Mary Bothaw, London, during the reign of King Henry V111, "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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Heeney Coat of Arms / Heeney Family Crest The principal sept of this name is O'hEighnigh in Irish, important and widespread in Oriel, formerly stretching its influence into Fermanagh. Hegney is a variant. Another family of the name in Ulster were erenaghs of Banagher in County Derry. Minor septs of O'hEanna, also anglicized Heaney were of some note in County Clare, County Limerick and County Mayo, up to the seventeenth century. The name is also spelt Heane and Heaney. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, an influx of settlers arrived under the patronage of Elizabeth 1 of England, and colonized the country beyond the 'Pale', the area around Dublin that was the only part firmly under English control. At the same time , groups of Presbyterian settlers were encouraged to migrate from Scotland to Ulster, thus establishing the distinctively Scottish surnames of Ulster. During the long centuries of English domination, Irish surnames were crudely Anglicized either phonetically or by translation. In the 19th century, political repression and famine combined to force many Irish people to seek other countries in which to live. Large numbers emigrated to the United States, where strong emotional ties to Ireland are still preserved in many families, while others found themselves transported, willingly or otherwise, to Australia, often after having first tried to make a living in England. Irish surnames are now very widely dispersed, and are common in England as well as in Ireland, the United States and Australia. When the sparse Irish population began to increase it became necessary to broaden the base of personal identification by moving from single names to a more definite nomenclature. The prefix MAC was given to the father's christian name, or O to that of a grandfather or even earlier ancestor. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. Ireland was one of the earliest countries to evolve a system of hereditary surnames. They came into being fairly generally in the 11th century, and indeed a few were formed before the year 1000.

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Notes by; HRH Prince Kieren de Muire von Drakenberg

Another possible spelling is 'O'Heyne' and thus 'Ó hEidhin'...

Eidhean mac Cléireach, ancestor of the Ó hEidhin/Hynes family of County Galway, fl. 800.

Eidhean was a member of the dynasty of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, and a descendant of Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin (d. 663), Fiachrae mac Eochaid Mugmedon (fl. 5th century) and thus distantly related to the dynasty of Uí Néill. His descendants ruled Aidhne for a time, most notably in the 1090s when Flaithbertaigh Ua Flaithbertaigh seized the kingship of Connacht and installed an Ó hEidhin as a puppett-king for a time.

Eidhean was a kinsman of a number of other men whose descendants also took their surnames from them, such as

Comhaltan mac Maol Cúlaird – Ó Comhaltan, Colton, Coulton

Cathal mac Ógán – Ó Cathail, Cahill

Giolla Ceallaigh mac Comhaltan – MacGiolla Ceallaigh, Kilkelly

Though in many cases the relationship between these men was quite distant, Eidhean would have been a contemporary or near-contemporary of almost all of them.

He was killed in battle against Neide mac Onchu, about the year 800.

See also[edit]

Tighearnach Ua Cleirigh (died 916) was King of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne.

References[edit]

The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978. Irish Kings and High Kings, Francis John Byrne, 2001 (second edition). The Great Book of Irish Genealogies, 257.9, pp. 586-87, volume one, Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh; edited, with translation and indices by Nollaig Ó Muraíle, 2003-2004. ISBN 0-946130-36-1.