NOLAN FAMILY REPORT

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A sample comprehensive report (some names have been changed to protect identity.)

1. Nolan (O'Nolan) - Ó'Nualláin

In later medieval, early modern times, from the 17th century onwards, there was another important development in Irish surnames. At this time the dire effects of conquest were intensified with the continuous religious persecution, including the introduction of the Penal code (which disallowed Catholics owning land, voting, participating in trade and business and education. As almost all the old Gaelic families like the Ó'Nualláin's were Catholic, this invariably lead an inferiority complex among the conquered people, i.e. the Old Irish families. This lead to a whole scale discarding of the distinctive O and Mac prefixes to Irish names.

Many of the Irish people who remained in Ireland re-adopted the O or Mac prefixes in the 19th century, especially after Independence had been achieved. This is why most Nolan's in Ireland would be O'Nolan and most Nolan's overseas, whose ancestors had dropped the 'O', prior to emigration, remained simply, Nolan.

The Nolan family were part a Sept of great Antiquity. A Sept is a tribe, Sept being a collective tern describing a group of persons whose immediate and known ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same locality. In old Gaelic culture the Sept or tribe was of paramount importance, even more so that the land or land-ownership. This O'Nolan family is most often associated with the Barony of Forth in Co. Carlow.

In the pre-Norman days (i.e. in the time before the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1169 AD) the chiefs of the Ó'Nualláin held high hereditary office under the Kings of Leinster and were known as Princes of Foharta (modern Forth). After this invasion of 1169 AD, their power declined, however, they still retained considerable influence in the area.

In the sixteenth century a branch of the O'Nolan's migrated to Connacht and became extensive landowners in Counties Mayo and Sligo, in which counties the name is not uncommon to-day. Nolan or O'Nolan is among the forty most numerous names in the country as a whole, the majority of persons of the name being found, as might be expected, in the county of Carlow and adjacent counties of Kilkenny and Wexford.

Importantly for this research, there was also a small Sept (tribe) of the Ó'Nualláin belonging to the Corca Laidhe clann-group, from whom the Nolan's of Kerry are descended.

Other variations of the name have appeared in the sources, including O' hUallachain (Hultagahan), mostly in Co. Fermanagh, Holohan in Co. May and the name mis-spelt as Knowlan and Knowland, is very common in the 1659 census, which shows that family are very numerous in Co. Longford and Co. Westmeath.

From this glimpse of the ancient history of the Ó'Nualláin family we see that the family had a position of great important in the Gaelic tradition and would have ruled lands in the Barony of Forth, in Carlow. It is more than likely that the more remote ancestors came from here, because it is from Forth that the Ó'Nualláin's spread out to the surrounding counties in later times, some as we have seen, going as far away as Counties Mayo and Galway.

To find out more about the more recent history of the family we looked closely at all the available sources for family history in Ireland.