An Irish Pilgrimage to the grave of my Ancestor - Brian boru

An Irish Pilgrimage to the grave of my Ancestor

Brian Boru

 

By Kevin J. O’Brien

 

 

Visiting the final resting place of an ancestor is the aspiration of every family historian.  This is the place where the story may end for some or may just begin for others.    My pilgrimage gave a kind of closure and a unique opportunity to place my surname and family in a time and place of great importance in Irish History.

 

This was definitely on my “Bucket List” of things to do before I join my ancestors I have so desperately tried to find.   

 

Brian Bóroimhe, or more usually Brian Ború), was an Irish king who united all Ireland for a short time and died at the battle of Clontarf in 1014 fighting the foreigners. The O'Brien Clan regards him as their progenitor.

 

After a number of trips to Ireland and over thirty years of extensive genealogical research, including a promising DNA match to The O'Brien, Prince of Thomond,  The 18th Baron Inchiquin (Lord Inchiquin), 10th Baronet of Leamaneh, Conor Myles O’Brien and other O’Brien male descendants from various parishes and townlands across County Clare, I decree my family as descendants of Brian Boru.

 

My brother, Ned O’Brien and I were visiting my wife’s McCabe family in Monaghan Town, County Monaghan when we decided to take the short drive to the city of Armagh and visit the resting place of our ancestor.  It was our first trip to Northern Ireland which added to the excitement.  When you approach Armagh you can see the two cathedrals in the skyline.  Our first stop was to Saint Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh.  There we found the memorial plaque mounted on the outside wall to honor our ancestor, Brian Boru.  After a short prayer for our O’Brien family, we toured the inside of this magnificent cathedral and there I lit 3 candles for my children and offered a prayer for their health.  This was a first for me, lighting candles and saying prayers for my children in a protestant cathedral.  After our visit we drove down the hill and up the next hill to the present Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland.  This was built to replace the medieval Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, which has been retained by the Church of Ireland since the Protestant Reformation.  We walked in just after the Mass had started and took our seat and until the Mass was over. 

 

 

Ned O'Brien says a prayer at the burial site of ancestor Brian Boroimhe,

High King of Ireland at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Co. Armagh, Ireland