The majority of families called Burns inIreland are either of Scottish immigrant stock or originally Byrnes when this name is encountered in north Connacht it is usually the anglicized form of Mac Conboirne, which was first anglicized phonetically as MacConborney. The majority of families called Burns inIreland are either of Scottish immigrant stock or originally Byrnes when this name is encountered in north Connacht it is usually the anglicized form of Mac Conboirne, which was first anglicized phonetically as MacConborney

 Broin - (O) Byrne, Burns - Co Kildare/Wicklow - U Broin sept of Crioch Branach 

Definition: This geographical surname comes from the Middle English "burn," meaning 'stream or creek,' usually referring to to someone who lived close to a river or stream. See also, related surname BURNESS. 

Related Septs: O'Byrne and O'Toole
The Kingdom of Leinster around the sixth century comprised the entire southwest region of Ireland but their expansion was held in check by the Ui Neill to the north and the Eoghanachta to the west. This pressure was felt locally as well, in the region just south of Dublin where we pick up again on the history of the O'Cullens of Leinster after the traditional genealogies. This is also about the time the O'Cullens sank into relative obscurity and documentation for them becomes almost nonexistent. To gain some insight into the O'Cullens during this period, the histories of some related septs have been examined to locate information possibly pertaining to the O'Cullens. We first examine the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles, two septs who dwelt near the O'Cullens in north Wicklow. Afterwards we'll take a closer look at the history of the O'Mulryans (O'Maoilriain) who, along with the O'Cullens, were the chief representative septs of the Feara Cualann. 

If the O'Cullens are closely related to the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles of the north Wicklow hills, a closer look at the tribal descent of these two septs may be helpful. Maine Mal, discussed in the genealogy of the O'Kellys, O'Tighes, and O'Cullans, had a brother named Cathair Mor. According to tradition he was the ancestor of the Free Tribes of Leinster and from him descended the Ui Failge (O'Connor Faly, O'Dempsey, O'Dunne), Ui Crimthainn Ain (O'Duff), Ui Bairrche (O'Gorman), Ui Cheithig, and the Ui Enechglaiss (O'Feary). Cathair Mor also had a son, Fiachu Baicced, from whom descended powerful septs who would rule Leinster up until the Anglo-Norman invasion. Fiachu Baicced had a son Bressal Belach, who had two sons Enna Nia and Labraid Laidech. Labraid was the ancestor of the Ui Dega (O'Hay), Ui Cheinnselaig, and the Ui Drona (O'Ryan). Enna Nia was the ancestor of the Ui Fergusa, Ui Briuin Cuallan (Cosgrave), and the Ui Dunlainge. The Ui Dunlainge migrated from Ossory to north Leinster about the beginning of the fourth century and settled the fertile plains bordering the Liffey River in modern Co Kildare, forcing out the previous inhabitants. The Ui Cheinnselaig, who accompanied the Ui Dunlainge, settled instead in the modern Co's of Wexford and Carlow in south Leinster as challengers of the Ui Dunlainge for the throne of Leinster. The Ui Dunlainge prospered and became numerous until the beginning of the eighth century when the chief of the Ui Dunlainge divided the tribe amongst his three sons, creating then the Ui Dunchadha (whence the Mac Gilla Mo-Cholmog or Fitzdermot), Ui Faelain (whence the O'Byrnes), and the Ui Muiredaig (whence the O'Tooles), the largest of which was the Ui Faelain. With the encroachment of the Southern O'Neill from the north, the increasing threat of the Ui Cheinnselaig to the south, and frequent battles with tribes to the west, survival became a constant struggle. The final blow came with the Anglo-Normans and, about the year 1176, the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles fled to the Wicklow Mountains where they displaced weaker tribes of the Ui Briuin Chualan, the Ui Enechglaiss, and the Dal Messin Corb. These were the same tribes forced out of the Kildare by the Ui Dunlainge centuries earlier. Which brings us to MacLysaght's description of the O'Cullens who possessed Glencullen in Co Wicklow: "As a power in that land they were overshadowed by the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles about the year 1300, but they continued to dwell there uninterruptedly up to the present day". One may take MacLysaght's words to suggest that the O'Cullens dwelt in the area of Glencullen prior to the arrival of the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles. This would, if true, possibly show that the origin of the O'Cullens is to be found with that of the displaced tribes that previously dwelt in modern Co Kildare. 

Like the O'Cullens, the sept of O'Byrnes had multiple origins but we will be mainly concerned with the sept that had its early origins in Co's Kildare and Wicklow. The two branches of O'Byrne descended from Bran, son of Maelmorda and King of Leinster who died in 1052. The O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles occupied the plains by the River Liffey of modern north Co Kildare untill the time of the Anglo-Norman invasions beginning in 1169. Strongbow's invasion route to Dublin passed directly through the lands held by the O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles who were easily defeated. By about 1200 the O'Byrnes had resettled in the protective mountainous lands, the eastern and southern slopes of the Wicklow Mountains. The senior Branch, of "Crioch Branach" or "O'Byrnes Land" held the coastal lands from Arklow to Delgany, from the coast to the river Varty. The junior branch settled the rugged mountainous regions to the west. Known as "Gabhal Raghnuill", the seat of the junior branch was at Ballinacor. The O'Byrnes kinsmen the O'Tooles, also dispossessed of their lands in Kildare, settled the mountains in north Co Wicklow. In the sanctuary of the mountains the O'Byrnes increased in size and strength and were notoriously aggressive in their resistance to the English. The O'Byrnes and the O'Tooles were the greatest force south of Dublin and chiefs of the O'Byrnes continued to be inaugurated up until about the year 1600 when Irish resistance to the English was finally eliminated. If the O'Cullens were a sept related to the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles then it could be expected that they shared similiar histories. It could also be expected that they suffered similiar fates during the English and Anglo-Norman arrivals of the late 12'th century. The O'Byrnes and the O'Cullens could possibly claim common ancestors and they may also have been allies at one time. The coats of arms for both septs, devices of the post-Norman era, are very similiar. Of particular interest is the crest of the "mermaid combing her hair", present in the arms of both the O'Byrnes and the O'Cullens. The coastal waters of Co Wicklow in legend were believed to be inhabited by mermaids. This belief was notably held by the O'Byrnes and so attention is drawn immediately to the senior branch of the O'Byrnes which held the coastal lands.
The O'Byrne Clan
Early History
Most Irish names are of Celtic origin and have their roots in the 4th century B.C.     The Celts instituted a system of hereditary surnames by prefixing "Mac" (son of) or "O' " (grandson or descendant of) to their second name.  Celtic political structures were organised in protective clan units called "tuatha". The clan elected a king of known Celtic pedigree called the "Taoiseach". His successor, elected while the king lived, was called the "Tnaiste". These titles are still preserved in Irish political life.
The "O'Byrne" name and its related "Byrne", together the fifth most common surname in Ireland is derived from the name of an ancient Celtic chieftain, "Bran Mac Maolmrrdha".    He was a king of Leinster who was deposed in 1018, and who died in 1052.    His father, Maelmorda, was King of Leinster (the Southeastern part of Ireland which includes Co.Wicklow) and died after the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Maelmorda had led the Leinster Irish in alliance with the Norse of Dublin against Brian Boru. This battle is usually portrayed as the Irish united against the foreign invaders;  in fact it was a mere power struggle. After Maelmorda was killed in 1014, his son Bran became King of Leinster, but he only ruled for four years. In 1018 Bran was blinded by a rival named Sihtric. This disabling of Bran made him ineligible to be King, since under the ancient Irish Brehon laws only eligible family members who were physically unblemished could serve as leader (King or Clann chief).   Bran's descendants referred to themselves as "O'Bran" meaning grandson or descendent of Bran. "O'Bran" became "O'Broin" (pronounced "O'Brin") in Gaelic.  The current spelling and the variants derive from corruptions over time and Anglicised variations of the name since the eighteenth century.   The O'Byrne Family along with the O'Tooles originally came from the North Kildare part of Ireland.    The O'Byrne ancestors once ruled from their fort at Naas over the Liffey plain, the richest land of north Kildare.   A little over a century after the death of Bran, the O'Byrnes as well as their closely related allies the O'Tooles were forced to move from their homes by the Norman invasion of Strongbow and the English in the late Twelfth Century. This invasion was prompted by a struggle over the same Kingship of Leinster which previously been held by Bran, our ancestor. Strongbow's invasion route to capture Dublin was right through the territory of the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles who were easily defeated.   
Post Anglo-Norman decline
With the progress of the Anglo-Norman conquests, these clans were forced to migrate to poorer lands and to the mountains to the east   These mountains provided them the sanctuary which enabled them to increase in size and strength.   By the early 1200s the O'Tooles and O'Byrnes controlled most of what is today Wicklow.    The two clans frequently combined their raids against 'The Pale'.   For almost three hundred years the O'Byrnes and their allies the O'Tooles were the most powerful force south of Dublin. The O'Byrne's Country known in Irish as "Crioch Branach"   By the beginning of the Fourteenth century, there were two distinct branches of the O'Byrne clan.    The 'Crioch' branch ruled land to the east from Delgany to the outskirts of Arklow.    A semi autominous branch held the mountainous country east of Imaal, between Glendalough and Shillelagh and was known as 'Gabhal Raghnaill' (from which the name Ranelagh comes).   Its territory centred around the chief's principal residence at Ballincor.   In the Sixteenth Century the O'Byrne Chief, Thady O'Byrne, and the Clan leadership living on the plains near the sea submitted to English rule. The subordinate Sept of Ranelagh living in the mountains and led by Hugh McShane O'Byrne refused to follow their Chief and would not submit to English rule. Thady O'Byrne died in 1578 and was succeeded as Chief by Dunlaing O'Byrne who also was unwilling to resist the English. In 1580 both the new Chief Dunlaing and the mountain warrior Hugh McShane O'Byrne died. The relative strength of the two branches altered in the middle of the sixteenth century with the accession of Hugh McShane O'Byrne as chief of the Gabhal Raghnaill.   Under Hugh's leadership the Gabhal Raghnaill aggressively pursued a policy of resistance to the Anglicisation of Ireland, and the O'Byrnes became a formidable force.   They regularly raided and harassed the inhabitants of "The Pale" around Dublin   Hugh was succeeded as leader of the of the Gabhal Raghnaill Sept in 1579 by his son Feagh McHugh O'Byrne who became the greatest warrior ever to be called an O'Byrne.  
Exploits of Feagh
Feagh was not eligible to be Chief of the O'Byrnes and was not formally inaugurated. The last inauguration of an O'Byrne Chief was in 1578.  Nonetheless he was the undisputed leader of all the O'Byrnes, chief in effect, resisting English domination.  He assisted the powerful leaders in Ulster and aided Hugh Roe O'Donnell in his escape from Dublin Castle in 1591.  Feagh MacHugh O'Byrne was initially successful in battles against the troops of Elizabeth the first, and he quickly acquired a reputation as a redoubtable opponent of the Dublin regime. Feagh McHugh O'Byrne commanded his followers for almost two decades beginning with the victorious Battle of Glenmalure in 1580 and ending with his death. He was eventually captured in 1597 by troops of Lord Deputy Russell who described him as 'unwieldy and spent with years'.   He was executed on Sunday May 8th,1597 and his severed head was sent by messenger to Queen Elizabeth in London, where it was not well received    During that time Feagh led the O'Byrnes and their allies in numerous raids on Dublin, and many battles against the English. He assisted the powerful leaders in Ulster and aided Hugh Roe O'Donnell in his escape from Dublin Castle in 1591.  Feagh Mac Hugh O'Byrne still remains the most famous of the O'Byrne chiefs   He is also one of the most under-rated characters of Irish history   His legacy of enduring exploits have become immortalised in song and verse (see 'Follow me up to Carlow' below).    The final collapse of the old Gaelic order occurred a few years after Feagh's death with the Battle of Kinsale.    The O'Byrnes as a clan were never again to regain control of their traditional lands. 
The new Stewart King, James I, who took the throne after Elizabeth's death in 1603 was intent on enforcing strict English control. This included forcing all of Ireland to abandon Gaelic language, customs and law and replacing them with those from England.   In order to preserve their control over Ireland, England destroyed the Clann system. Chiefs no longer served the same function as leaders, and all of the Irish Clans ceased to inaugurate their Chiefs by the early Seventeenth Century.  Clan owned lands were forfeited and given to English and Scots.

