The Minor Family of Somerset

Farmer
1911 Manorcunningham D.E.D. 110/1 townland, Ballybegly Little LD
S 2081637 or 2081720
Conall Gulban and Early Donegal.
Conall Gulban and his brothers Enda and Eoghan, sons of the Hig
h King of Ireland, conquered and partitioned the North-West of U
ltster in about the year 460 AD. This area is now known as Coun
ty Fonegal.
Eoghan, received the portion extending from the sea atStroove P
oint in the parish of lower Moville, in the North-east of the ba
rony of Inishowen to a point on the Foyle, a little North of Der
ry and Westwardto the Errity river which joins the Swilly nea
r Manorcunningham. It comprised all of Inishowen and part of th
e parish of All Saints in the present barony of Raphoe. This te
rritory was the original Tir Eoghain.
Enda, the youngest son of of Niall of the Nine Hostages receive
d the territory, which expendedfrom the river Errity to Barnesm
ore in the barony of Tir Hugh five miles North east of Donegal t
own and to Sruell int he parish of Killymard, barony of Banagh
. the North-Western limist was Farnagh in the parish of Aughnis
, barony of Kilmacrenan. The eastern limit of his lands was th
e river Finn. ThusEnda' portion comprised almost the entire pr
esent barony of Raphoe and smallportions in Kilmacrenan Banag
h and Tir Hugh.
Conall Gulban's share of the conquered lands comprised the soute
rn and Western lands not allotted to eitherof his brothers. I
t ran from the river Erne to Glen Head and North to Farsetmore o
n the Swilly. It was coextensive, more or less with the presen
t baronies of Tir Hugh, Bannag, Boylagh and Kilacrenan. Conall'
s Kingdom was the nucleus of the later historic Kingdom of Tir C
onnail. Conall's descendants, Cineal Chonaill, spread eastward
, first conquering Tir Enda and then, in the 11th century, Inis
h Eoghain was incorporated into Tir Conaill.
The people living along the extreme Western edge of Tir Chonail
l including the Rosses wereof the Fir Bolg race and had lived t
here for over 3000 years were subjugagedand passed under new ma
sters. The decisive military action which subjugatedthem, occu
rred in the area of Annagry.
In accordance with dynastic custom, Connell's descendants had di
vided into a number of septs, the more important of which gave t
heir names to tuatha. These were, Tir Aedha, Tir Boghaine, Ti
r Ainmireach and Tir Lughdach. For 600 years, except during th
e dime of Dalach and his son, the Cineal Ainmireach were supreme
m in Tir Chonaill and provided Ireland with eight High Kings. A
mong the descendant of Ainmireach in the 11th century were numbe
red the O'Cannons, O'Muldoreyand and O'Gallaghers.The descenda
nts of Lughdach were the O'Boyles, the O'Dohertys and greatest o
f all, the O'Donnells.
There existed among these distinctive septs a bond ofkinship, w
hich was less keenly felt as time passed. Political and dynasti
cambition often led to sharp and bloody rivalry in later years.
Dungloe January 1999 Edited by DB thedoc@iol.ie