“Few of the Anglo-Norman families who accompanied Strongbow and Henry II in the 12^th century acquired such possessions in Ireland, or attained such honours and power, as the family of de Burgh or de Burgo; or as the name came to be spelled, Burke or Bourke.”

The Origin of the Name

Burke is the anglicised form of the Norman surname, de Burgh.  The progenitor of the Burkes in Ireland was William Fitzadelm de Burgo.  Also known as William the Conqueror, he was a Norman knight, who came to Ireland with Henry II and Hugh de Lacy in the 12^th century.

William the Conqueror married the daughter of Donal Mór O’Brien, King of Thomand and was granted large tracts of land in Munster.  He crossed into Connacht and established strongholds at Meelick and Portumna around 1203.  By 1227, the English King, Henry III had granted Connacht to William’s son, Richard de Burgo.  Richard was made Lord of Connacht and he based his headquarters at Loughrea.  This was the start of the family’s 700-year association with County Galway.

With the passage of time the de Burgo descendents became “more Irish than the Irish themselves”, adopting Gaelic customs and laws such as appointing chieftains over their separate territories.  They adopted among their subsepts names such as MacDavie, MacHugo, MacRedmond, MacGibbon (Gibbons) and MacSeóinín (Jennings), the prefix Mac meaning “son of”.

Junior branches of the family took possession of the land in Connacht and it was divided into two great lordships.  The major division was between the de Burgos of Mac William Uachter in Galway (descendants of the Clanricarde Burkes) and Mac William Iochtar in Mayo (the Bourkes of Mayo).  In Munster, the major branch of the family was, the Clanwilliam Bourkes.

The Burke name, along with its variants, Bourke, de Burgh, and de Burca, it is the most common Irish name of Norman origin.  It is estimated that over 20,000 people in Ireland alone, bear the surname Burke.  

The Burke Motto: Ung Roy, ung foy, ung loy. (One King, one Faith, one Law).

The Burke Arms:  Or (gold), a cross Gules (red), in the dexter canton, a lion rampant sable (black).

According to legend, the arms of the family originated during the Crusades when King Richard dipped his finger in the blood of a Saracen slain by one of the de Burghs.  He drew a cross on the Saracen’s golden shield and presented it to the victor.

The Clanricarde Burkes

The Clanricarde Burkes were the most prominent branch of the de Burgo/Burke family in County Galway.  In 1543, the title Earl of Clanricarde was given to Ulick de Burgh, head of the Galway branch of the family.  Ulick had submitted to Henry VIII’s policy of “Surrender and Regrant”.  Henry had guaranteed Irish or Norman chiefs, who surrendered their land and property to the Crown and submitted to its authority, a regrant of their possessions and a title corresponding to their status, to legalise their right to their property.  Ulick was one of the first Normans to accept the offer and he received the title of Earl of Clanricarde and six baronies of land in County Galway.

From this time onwards the Earls of Clanricarde remained loyal to the Crown. Later, they changed from Catholicism to Protestantism to prevent their lands from being confiscated by the followers of William of Orange.  They ruled at Portumna, County Galway through the 16^th and 17^th centuries and became one of the most powerful and influential families in Ireland.

Richard Burke (de Burgh), (c.1572-1635), 4th Earl of Clanricarde

Richard, the fourth Earl, was knighted on the battlefield, having fought against the Irish at Kinsale.  He was President of Connacht between 1604 and 1616.  He married Frances Walsingham, a wealthy English heiress, and built a substantial residence at Somerhill, Kent.  Later, he built the castle at Portumna around 1618, at the cost of £10,000.  In 1629, Richard was conferred with the Earldom of St. Albans in the English peerage, a title superior in English eyes to his Irish one.  This was a unique achievement for an Irish peer and it confirmed his considerable standing with the English establishment.

In 1634, the unpopular Lord Deputy Strafford requisitioned Portumna Castle to hold an inquisition, in order to establish the title of the English Crown to the land of Connacht.  Juries were set up and instructed to find in favour of the King, which they did from fear.  The Galway jury went against the Crown; they were jailed and replaced by another jury.  Richard died in 1635, allegedly as a result of his annoyance at the encroachment made upon his property and the sanction of a court held in his own house, Portumna Castle.

John Thomas de Burgh, (1744-1808), 13th Earl of Clanricarde

John Thomas had a distinguished military career and rose to the rank of general in the British Army. In 1793, he raised a regiment known as the “Connaught Rangers” for the service of His Majesty under the Clanricarde standard.  For over a hundred years, men from this celebrated regiment, known as “The 88^th”, fought for the British Empire in Europe, Asia and South Africa.  The atrocities committed by the “Black and Tans” in Ireland during the War of Independence caused the Connaught Rangers to mutiny in India in 1920.  The regiment was finally disbanded in 1922.

In 1799, he married his cousin Elizabeth Burke of Marblehill, County Galway.  They had a son, Ulick John, and two daughters.  His eldest daughter married the Marquess of Sligo, a union that resulted in the Clanricarde title merging with that of the Marquessate of Sligo a century later.  John died in Dublin in 1808, aged 63.  His tomb can be seen in the Dominican Priory in Portumna.

Ulick John de Burgh (1802-1874) 14th Earl of Clanricarde

Ulick John had a distinguished political career.  In 1825, he married the daughter of George Canning, then leader of the Whig Party and later Prime Minister.  Ulick became Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1826. When the Prime Minister died in 1827, Ulick failed to secure an appointment in the new government. He was Marquess of Clanricarde and Baron of Somerhill at this time. He held the posts of Ambassador to Petersburg (1838-41); Postmaster General (1846-52) and Lord Privy Seal (1857). However, Ulick was linked to scandal and he became the subject of much comment, which probably helped end his political career.

During his lifetime, Portumna Castle was destroyed by an accidental fire in 1826 and reduced to a roofless shell.  The New Castle at Portumna was built around 1862, but was left unfinished, possibly because of the death of the heir Ulick, in 1867. This new building was burned down in 1922.

Ulick was reasonably respected as a landlord.  However, he is best remembered for his statement “Tenant right is Landlord wrong.”

Hubert George De Burgh-Canning (1832-1916)15th Earl of Clanricarde

Hubert George served for ten years in the diplomatic corps and was also a MP for Co. Galway.  It is believed he resigned his seat in 1871 because of his opposition to the Land Bill. He was to become an eccentric and much despised for his involvement in the agrarian upheavals of the later part of the 19^th Century.  In 1874, he inherited the entire Clanricarde estate and title, consisting of 56,826 acres in Co. Galway with an annual income of approximately £25,000.

As a young man he was witness to the wild extravagances and behaviour of three wealthy men, who were well known to him.  Appalled at their abuse of wealth and privilege, he became obsessed with not falling in to the temptations that great wealth and title can bring.  Ultimately, he could not bear to part with even a penny of his vast fortune.

Clanricarde showed outward signs of his eccentricity.  He dressed in shabby clothes and had a very dishevelled appearance, so much so that on some occasions he was refused admission to the House of Lords.  Although he wore threadbare clothing, he quite often secured the cravat around his neck with a priceless diamond scarf pin.

In the winters of 1878-79, a crisis threatened agriculture in Ireland.  As times were extremely difficult, many landlords lowered the rents for their tenants.  Clanricarde refused to do this, and although he knew he could not raise the rents of the tenant farmers, he did nothing to assist them in their terrible plight.  Instead, he had those that could not, or would not pay, forcibly evicted.  Many of these evictions resulted in bloodshed and prison sentences for the tenants.  Clanricarde was rarely out of the headlines, and the harsh treatment of his tenants earned him the nickname, “Lord Clanrackrent”.

One of the most recounted evictions took place in the Woodford portion of the estate.  One of the attempted evictions developed into a violent confrontation lasting several days and became internationally known as the “Siege of Saunder’s Fort “.  By 1891, it is estimated that over 200 families had been evicted from the Clanricarde estate.

Hubert George resisted every attempt made by Parliament to remedy the grievances of his tenants. He fought the Congested District Board in court for six years, in their application to compulsorily purchase his estate.  The final judgement was delivered against him, and for the sum of £238,000 he had to surrender his estate.

He died without children in 1916, and so the direct line of the ancient house of Mac William Úachtair Burke became extinct.  The Earldom passed to the Marquess of Sligo, and the Clanricarde estate including Portumna Castle and Demesne was inherited by his grand nephew, Viscount Lascelles, the husband of Princess Mary, only daughter of George V.  In 1948, Portumna Demesne was sold to the Irish Land Commission.

(Photos of the Earls of Clanricarde are courtesy of The Harewood Estate. )

Famous Burkes

The most notable of the modern members of the Burke family were:

Sir Bernard Burke (1814-1892) the Irish Genealogist and publisher of the pedigree of the British and Irish aristocracy. He took over Burke’s Peerage from his father John Burke (1787-1848) and published it annually from 1847.  An expert in heraldry, he was Ulster King of Arms at the Genealogical Office in Dublin Castle, precursor of the present day Chief Herald and keeper of the state papers of Ireland.

Robert O’Hara Burke (1820 -1861) a noted explorer, of St. Cleran’s, Craughwell, County Galway was one of the Clanricarde Burkes. He had the distinction of being one of the first white men to cross Australia from south to north with his companion W.J. Wills. They died on the return journey after covering 3,700 miles by foot and on camel.  A film of their tragic expedition, Burke and Wills, was made in Australia in 1986.

Father Thomas N. Burke was a Dominican preacher and writer, whose statue stands close to the entrance to the Claddagh in Galway City. He died in 1883.

de Burgo/ Burke Castles

Meelick, Co Galway       

One of the first castles west of the River Shannon was erected here in 1203 by William de Burgo when he invaded Connacht.  He is said to have built a motte-and-bailey type fort (an earthwork castle) on the site of an existing church.  From this strategic stronghold, he processed to plunder the surrounding countryside. Richard de Burgo, William’s son built the first stone castle on the site in 1229.  The castle was destroyed three times in various attacks and was rebuilt each time.  It was destroyed for the fourth and last time in 1316 by Felim O’ Connor, King of Connacht.

 “The O’Madden family acquired Meelick Castle from the de Burgos and they seem to have retained it as one of their seats until it was destroyed by the sons of Redmond na Scuab Bourke and other Burkes, in 1595.” (Spellissy)

Loughrea Castle

Richard Mór de Burgo, Lord of Connacht, built his principal castle in Loughrea in 1236.  This was his headquarters and the town developed around it.  The MacWilliam Uachtair de Burgos retained it as their principal seat throughout the Middle Ages.  Only the 14^th century gate tower near the Cathedral survives.                       

Black Castle, Portumna

The Black Castle is named on the third edition Ordnance Survey six-inch map.  The castle was situated at a small quay, possibly the ‘Old Quay’ where the marina is now located, to the south of Portumna Castle.

Portumna Castle and New Castle Portumna

Portumna Castle was the principal seat of the Earls of Clanricarde.  They lived at here until the latter half of the nineteenth century. See Portumna Castle page.

Junior branches of the Burke Family had seats at various places in Galway.  They occupied many of the late medieval tower houses and later built residences such as St. Clerans, near Craughwell or the Castle at Glinsk.  Other branches of the Burke family had strongholds at Pallas, Tynagh; Clondagoff on the edge of Lough Derg; Ballyduggan near Loughrea and Marblehill near Ballinakill. 

Pallas Castle, Tynagh

The castle was built by the Burkes, possibly around 1500.  The well preserved remains consists of a five-storey-high tower, with an extremely well-preserved bawn.  Parts of a large 17^th century house and 18^th century malthouse can still be seen in the bawn.

The Burkes lost their land at Pallas during the Cromwellian conquest.  On the 4^th September 1621, the Nugents, who were Catholics, were given the estate at Pallas along with the title Earl of Westmeath.

Sources:

Conwell, John Joe, Lickmolassy by the Shannon, (Galway, 1998).

McMahon, Michael, Portumna Castle and its Lords, (Clare, 2000).

Spellissy, Seán, A History of Galway, (Limerick, 1999)