Brenan (No.1) family genealogy
Princes of Idough, or North Kilkenny
Arms: Gu. two lions ramp. combatant supporting garb all or, in chief three swords, two in saltire, points upwards, and one fesseways, point to the dexter ar. pommels and hilt gold. Crest: An arm embowed in armour grasping a sword all ppr. Motto: Si Deus nobiscum, quis contra nos.
BRAONAN, a younger brother of Ceallach who is No. 111 on the "Fitzpatrick" (No.1) pedigree (and who was the 17th King of Ossory), was the ancestor of O'Braoinan; anglicised O'Brenan, Brenan, Brenon, and Brennan [1] of Idough.
111. Braonan ("braon": Irish, a drop; "an," one who): a younger son of Cearbhall, who was King of Ossory and of the Danes of Dublin. This Braonan was created by his father the first "Prince of Idough."
112. Congalach, Prince of Idough: his son; killed in battle in his royal rath near Three Castles, co. Kilkenny, by the King of Ossory.
113. Dunsleibhe, Prince of Idough: his son; m. dau. of O'Toole, and had Cearbhall (of whom presently), and a dau. Maire, who m. Donal, King of Ossory.
114. Cearbhall, Prince of Idough: his son.
115. Guidhelgedh, Prince of Idough; his son; m. dau. of O'Moore and had:
I. Gillacoimde, of whom presently.
II. Anne, who m. Donogh, King of Ossory.
III. Mairé, who m. O'Toole, Prince of Imaile.
116. Gillacoimde: son of Guidhelgedh.
117. Auliff Mór: his son; had a brother Awley.
118. Murtogh: son of Awley.
119. Auliff Oge: son of Murtogh; m. dau. of O'Byrne.
120. Murtogh Oge: his son; had two sons: 1. Dermod Reagh, Prince of Idough, who m. dau. of Geoffrey Fitzpatrick, King of Ossory, and had Teige, his Tanist; 2. John Ruadh, who with his brother and brother's son Teige was killed [2] by the English in 1395.
121. Dermod Reagh: son of Murtogh; killed in 1395.
(For the information respecting this family, from this Dermod Reagh O'Brenan, down to the Commonwealth period, we are indebted to State Records in Ormonde Castle, Kilkenny):
1. Sir Geoffrey O'Brennan, Knighted by King Richard II.; received "Patent of English Liberty" in 1392; d. 1436.
2. Sir Gilpatrick O'Brenan, Knighted by the Earl of Ormonde, in 1440; m. dau. of Art MacMorough, Prince of Leinster; received "Patent of Liberty."
3. Sir Art O'Brenan, Knighted by Lord Ormonde (and is said to have been created a "Baron"), in 1499; m. dau. of Henry Dillon of Knockshinnagh; d. 1509; called the "Last Prince of Idough;" had two sons:—1. Gilpatrick, 2. Teige.
4. Teige, Chief of his name: son of Sir Art; living in 1520 at Castlecomer Castle; called "The Good," by the country people to this day.
5. Gilpatrick O'Brenan pardoned by Queen Elizabeth; d. 1566.
6. John O'Brenan, pardoned by Queen Elizabeth; called "Son of Gilpatrick, son of Teige;" settled at Rath Kyle Castle, near Castlecomer; m. dau. of Honble. Callogh Fitzpatrick, and had issue.
7. Gilpatrick O'Brenan of Rath Kyle Castle, the last recognized Chief of his name; Sheriff or Justice of Fassadun in 1612, and Esquire of Fassadun in 1615; m. Margaret (d. 1624), heiress and dau. of Pierce Purcell, last Baron of Ballyfoyle; d. 1628.
8. John O'Brenan of Rathkyle Castle and Ballyfoyle Castle, county Kilkenny; son of Gilpatrick; had a brother Owen, of Ardra, who had a son John Brenan, who was Archbishop of Cashel. This John (No. 8) who is, in the State Records called "John McGilpatrick O'Brenan," was a member of the Confederation of Kilkenny, and was dispossessed of his estates by Oliver Cromwell; m. Mary, dau. of John Grace, Baron of Courtstown; d. in poverty in 1654.
9. Gerald O'Brenan is styled "Papist and Rebel;" lived in poverty in Castlecomer.
10. John Brenan: son of Gerald; was an Officer in Hon. Colonel Edmond Butlers Infantry Regiment for James II., and was killed at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of Lt. Colonel John Lalor of Tenekill, Mountrath, Queen's County, and had three sons:
I. Gerald, who settled at Knocknadoge, Castlecomer, of whom presently
II. John, of Dublin, whose son John Brenan was Dramatist and Painter, and Author of "The Painter's Breakfast."
III. Patrick (d. 1768),who settled in Kilkenny and had:—1. John, of St. Mary's parish, Kilkenny, "Gent.," who was father of Rev. Thomas Brenan, CO., of St. Mary's, Kilkenny, and living in 1790; 2. Rev. James Brenan, P.P., of Castletown, who was b. 1734, and d. 1795.
11. Gerald: eldest son of John, settled at Knocknadoge House, Castlecomer; m. Margaret, dau. of Nicholas Lalor, of Tenekill, and had:—1. John, who, in 1776, d. unm., and in his father's lifetime; 2. Nicholas.
12. Nicholas Ruadh Brenan (d. 1799): younger son of Gerald, of Knocknadoge House; m. Elizabeth, dau. of James Cullinan, of Conahy House, co. Kilkenny, and had three sons and two daughters:
I. Gerald, of whom presently.
II. John, who, s. p. "died for Ireland, at the fight at Castlecomer in 1798."
III. Captain James Brenan, of Knocknadoge House, an Officer in the Kilkenny Yeomanry, d. s. p. in 1805.
The two daughters were:
I. Mary, who m. Denis Brenan of Woodview House, Woodview, co. Kilkenny, and had issue.
II. Elinor, who m. John Lalor of Dunmore Lodge, Dunmore, co. Kilkenny, and had issue.
13. Gerald (d. 1832), of Eden Hall, Ballyraggett, co. Kilkenny; m. Elinor, dau. and heiress of Pierce Butler, lord of the Manor of Nicholstown, Queen's County (confiscated in 1554), and had two sons and one daughter.
I. John Gerald Maher Brenan, of whom presently.
II. Pierce Maher Brenan, died young.
The daughter was:
I. Mary, who m. Richard Lalor, J.P., of Cascade Place, Freshford, co. Kilkenny, and had the Hon. Richard Lalor, Senator of the United States, America, Poet and Orator, who d. 1835, s.p.
14. John Gerald Maher Brenan (d. 1865), J.P., of Eden Hall, Ballyraggett, and of Nicholstown Manor: son of Gerald; m. dau. of Henry Loughnan, J.P. and B.A., of Crowhill Lodge, Freshford, and had two sons and a daughter:
I. Gerald John Loughnan Brenan, J.P., of whom presently,
II. Henry Austin Diarmid Loughnan Brenan (solicitor), of Sheestown, co. Kilkenny, and St. James's Terrace, Clonskeagh, Dublin, who m. and has issue.
I. Mary (d. 1880), who m. Joseph Maher Loughnan, late Lieutenant in Royal Artillery, now (1887) an Inspector of Irish National Schools, and had William Brenan Loughnan, b. 1880.
15. Gerald John Loughnan Brenan, J.P., "The O'Brenan," of Eden Hall, and Nicholstown Manor: son of John Gerald Maher Brenan; living in 1887; b. 1840; m. Eleanor, dau. and heiress of Richard Feehan, of Carrick-on-Suir, and had:
I. John Gerald Feehan Brenan, of whom presently.
II. Richard Henry Gilpatrick Loughnan Brenan, b. 1872.
16. John Gerald Feehan Brenan: elder son of Gerald John; b. 1869, and living in 1887.
Notes
[1] Brennan: Of this family were Doctor John Brenan, Archbishop of Cashel, in the 17th century, and a bosom friend of the martyred Archbishop Oliver Plunket; John Brenan, the Dramatist and Painter; and Doctor John Brenan, the famous "Wrestling Doctor," and editor of the Milesian Magazine.—See the new Dictionary of Biography (1886.) Of this last mentioned John Brenan, WEBB, in his Compendium of Irish Biography, writes: "John Brenan, M.D., born at Ballahide, county Carlow, about 1768. He was educated to the Medical Profession, and obtained a wide reputation for his successful practice in puerperal disorders. An excellent classical scholar, a man of talent and humour, whose sallies were long remembered. As editor of the Milesian Magazine he unhappily prostituted his talents, by ridiculing for pay the Catholic leaders of his day, and abusing the members of his own profession. He died in Dublin, on the 29th July, 1830, aged 61. In Notes and Queries, 3rd Series, will be found reference to a copy of the Milesian Magazine, in the British Museum, containing a MS. Key to Brenan's pseudonyms."
[2] Killed; In the Patent Rolls is mentioned that Dermod O'Brenan, Prince of Idough, his son Teige, and Dermod's brother John, were in 1395 killed by the English; and it is stated that they were heads of the Irish then in rebellion.