Follow
Ó hAnluain
The Ó Hanlon , Lord of Orior Parent house Uí Nialláin (Síl Cernaich) Titles
kings of Uí Nialláin roidama of Ireland (w/ others) lords of Airghialla The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior Rex et Duxes, Airthir Lord of Nialláin Baron of Orior (extinct) Chief, Uí Meith Tiri (to Kildare) Comtes de Killeavy Ardmara, Loch nEathach et Snám Aignech Royal Standard Bearer, north of the Boyne
Founded 4th century Founder Anluan Current head none
The Ó hAnluain (anglicised as O'Hanlon) family was an agnatic extended family comprising one of a string of dynasts along the Ulster-Leinster border. Depending on the advantage to the sept, the named leader—The Ó Hanlon—supported either the Earl of Tyrone or authorities within the English Pale. During the 15th century, ties were close with the famed Earls of Kildare. Frequently, members of the sept would be on either side of a rebellion. Some would be outlawed; others pardoned; some ending up on the winning side.
They were second in the borderland line, east to west, comprising the followers of The Macgennis, The Ó Hanlon, The O'Neill of the Fews, The MacMahon, The O'Reilly and The O'Rourke. Behind the Ulster line were the lands of other septs, including those of The O'Neill and The O'Donnell.
The heart of "Ó Hanlon's Countrie" was centered on south central Ulster, much of it being in what is now the Republic of Ireland, beginning some 1,000 years ago. The oldest on record is Flaithbheartach Ua'h-Anluain, Lord of Ui-Niallain, whose murder in the year 983 AD is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters. The clan is documented in several of the earliest written histories of Ireland and appears in medieval tales, Elizabethan documents, the Plantation of Ulster, and traditional Irish songs.
The modern (anglicised) version of the name is usually given as Hanlon or O'Hanlon, but there are many variants: Handlon, Handlan, Hanlan, Hanlen, Hanlin, Hanlyn etc. Occasionally some variants of the names Hanly, Hanley and Handly are also derived from Ua'h-Anluain, although Hanly is usually the anglicised form of Ua'h-Ainlighe, an ancient Roscommon sept (the oldest on record is Donal O'Hanly, Bishop of Dublin from 1085 to 1096).