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O'Harney, Chief of Kerry
Abstract: From "Harney Update" Newsletter, Issue #44
O'HARNEY, Chieftain, County Kerry
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland were compiled by the "Four Masters" in the
early 17th century. The Four Masters were among the last of the ancient profession of
hereditary historians of the Irish tribes. Prior to 1616 the records of the Gaelic tribes
were kept in the monasteries and abbeys, but in that time period these records were no
longer safe there. So the Four Masters gathered together the genealogies of hundreds of
ancient and medieval families in an effort to preserve them. The records include the
families in power before the Norman conquest, and also the records of the Norman knights
who took over the power. They include the intermarriages of the Gaelic-Irish and the
Normans, and their descendants, and alliances with the English. It is in these works that
we find the O'Harney name, listed as a Chieftain in Kerry.
The Celts, (Milesians), are identified by Irish scholars as a Mediterranean Bronze-Age
people coming originally from the Minoan-Crete (Mycenean) civilization of ancient Greece.
The spiral symbols found at the New Grange passage-grave in Ireland confirms this link,
and is said to be the spiritual source of Celtic art. Celtic art evolved from simple
spirals into intricate interlacing knot-work that requires a knowledge of geometry and
mathematics to perfect the proportions.
For additional information about Heraldry of the
Harney family, click here.
For additional information about back issues of the "Harney Update" family
newsletter, E-mail me at [email protected]
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