The Three Ó Suanaig

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Here are some observations and thoughts about the 3 Ó Suanaig, noted Uí Fiachroí saints.

Brethe, the son of Eochaidh Breac, had issue, viz., Maolfaithche, from whom are the family of O’Maoilaichen; Brodubh, from whom are the family of O’Broduibh; Breanainn, from whom are the family of O’Maoilbreanainn, and the family of O’Creachain. Of the descendants of Breanainn, the son of Brethe, were the three O’Suanaighs, namely, Fidhmuine, Fiodhairle, and Fidhgusa, or Fiodhgus; who were the three sons of:

1. Fiodhbhadach,
2. son of Cuduiligh,
3. son of Coman,
4. son of Suanach,
5. son of Creachan of the Moy,
6. son of Bruidhe,
7. son of Brenainn,
8. son of Brethe,
9. son of Eochaidh Breac,
10. son of Dathi, King of Erin.

Fearamhla, the daughter of:

1. Dioma Dubh,
2. son of Diarmaid,
3. son of Seanach,
4. son of Laoghaire,
5. son of Eochaidh Breac,
6. son of Dathi,

was the mother of the three O’Suanaighs. She was also the mother of Aodhan, of Cluain Eochaille in Corann [Barony of Corran, Co. Sligo], and of St. Dichlethe O’Triallaigh, whose habitation is in the country of Ciarraighe Luachra [Co. Kerry]. And she was the mother of St. Colman, the son of Eochaidh [but no genealogy is given for this Eóchád], who is, i. e. lies interred at Sean bhothach, in Hy-Censiolaigh [Co. Wexford]; and these are the saints of the Hy-Eathach, of the Moy. Of the race of Eochaidh Breac, son of Dathi, are the Saints Colman and Aodhan. The following are the saints of the race of Eochaidh Breac, viz.:

• Colman, [must be a different Colman]
• son of Duach, from whom Ceall mhic Duach [in Aidne, Co. Galway],
• son of Ainmire,
• son of Conall,
• son of Cobhthach,
• son of Goibhnenn,
• son of Conall,
• son of Eoghain Aidhne,
• son of Eochaidh,
• son of Dathi.

Also the three O’Suanaighs, already mentioned, who were established at the following places, viz., Fidhmuine, at Rathain [Barony of Ballycowan, Co. Offaly]; Fidhairle, at Cionn Saile [Kinsale, Co. Cork]; and Fiodhgus, at Glas-charraig [Glascarrick, Co. Wexford].

The Three O’Suanaighs.—These were three saints of some celebrity in Irish history.

Cluain Eochaille, now Cloonoghill, in a parish of the same name, barony of Corran and county of Sligo.

Sean bhothach, called Sean boithe Sine in the Annals of the Four Masters, ad ann. 601, now Templeshanbo, i. e. the church of Sean boithe; it is situated at the foot of Mount Leinster, in the barony of Scarawalsh and county of Wexford. The country anciently called Hy-Cinsellaigh comprised the entire of the present county of Wexford, and parts of those of Carlow and Wicklow.

Ceall mhic Duach, i. e. the church of the son of Duach, now Kilmacduagh, in the barony of Kiltartan, in the south-west of the county of Galway.

Rathain, generally called Rathain Ui Shuanaigh in the Irish Annals, now Rahen, in the barony of Ballycowan and King's County, and about five miles to the west of the town of Tullamore. There are remains of two very ancient churches at this place, of which a minute description is given in Mr. Petrie's Essay on the Round Towers of Ireland. The death of Fidhmuine, who is called anchorite of Rathain, is recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 750.

Cionn Saile, now Kinsale, a well-known town in the south of the county of Cork.

Glascharraig, i. e. the green rock, now Glascarrick, a well-known place on the coast near Gorey, in the north-east of the county of Wexford; but no tradition of the saint [Fidgus] is now preserved there. Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh [Fidgus's brother] is called of Rathain by Tighernach and the Four Masters, but they differ about the year of his death, the former placing it in the year 763, which is no doubt the true year, and the latter in 758.

Disert Ui Triallaigh, on the brink of the Casan Ciarraighe.—This place is still the well known, and is tlie name of an old church near the south bank of the River Feal, to the west of Listowll, in the barony of Clanmaurice, and county of Kerry. The name Casan Ciarraighe, i. e. the path of Kerry (it being the high road into the country), anglicised Cashen River, is now applied to that part of the River Feal extending from the point where it receives the River Brick to the sea; but it is highly probable that the appellation of Casan Ciarraighe was originally applied to the river as far as it is navigable for a currach, or ancient Irish leather boat; and the fact that this church of Disert is described as on the margin of the Casan is no weak corroboration of this opinion.

Ciarraighe Luachra was the ancient name of a territory comprising the greater part of the present county of Kerry, as appears from O’Heerin's Topographical poem, and many other authorities.

[Hy-Fiachrach, pp. 35-39]

The obvious problem is that the genealogy of Feramla, the mother of all these saints is badly out of synch - 7 generations including her compared to 10 generations including Fidbadach, her husband(?). Her genealogy back to Eóchád Brecc through Láegaire is moot anyway since she breaks the strictly paternal lineage. The genealogy of her husband(?) Fidbadach from Eóchád Brecc through Brethe is fine for the 3 O’Suanaig except for 2 things:

1. Suanach - female, ‘drowsy’. In the Finn poems Suanach is sister of Finn and mother of the warrior Fiachra [Irish Names, p. 167]. This calls the paternal lineage of Fidbadach into question. Was Suanach EVER a man's name? If not, then despite the genealogy, we have another maternal break in the O’Suanaig genealogy. And if this is the case, were Feramla and Suanach unintentionally conflated? That would explain a lot because then BOTH Feramla and Suanach would have 7 generations including themselves back to Feradach Daithe.
2. Feramla was the mother of St. Colmán, the son of Eochaidh [but no genealogy is given for this Eóchád], “who is, i. e. lies interred at Sean bhothach, in Hy-Censiolaigh”; which again is a MATERNAL lineage, since this St. Colmán was supposedly a MATERNAL half brother to the 3 O’Suanaig, which we already know is impossible because of the generational differences. This St. Colmán must be the only one in Co. Wexford, because “no tradition of the saint [Fidgus] is now preserved there [Glascarrick]”.
   
   And, Fidgus's brother Fidhairle, rather than being in Kinsale as Hy-Fiachrach says, is also recorded in the annals as being in Rathain along with the 3rd brother Fidmuine. And the annals also call it Rathain Uí Suanaig, which is plural for O’Suanaig. And yes, only 2 brothers would be needed, but since TWO of the brothers are located there, despite Hy-Fiachrach saying one was in Kinsale, it is more likely that all 3 brothers were in Rathain Uí Suanaig and that Fidhairle being in Kinsale and Fidgus in Glascarrick/Hy-Cinsellaigh are errors.
   
   Further, Cinn Saile [Kinsale, Co. Cork] is very similar to Cinsellaigh [Co. Wexford], so it would be very easy to conflate the two places in conjunction with conflating the two women, Feramla and Suanach, if Suanach was indeed a woman.

So, IMO, the 3 O’Suanaig were ALL in Rathain Uí Suanaig [Co. Offaly] and their genealogy is not purely paternal, but there is a maternal break at Suanach. St. Colmán may well have been in Hy-Cinsellaigh, Co. Wexford, but his genealogy also has a maternal break in it with his mother Feramla, and we have no idea about his father Eóchád's lineage. Both women may well have descended from Eóchád Brecc, but that does nothing for their sons, in terms of Y-DNA. And also IMO, Cinn Saile, Co. Cork and Hy-Cinsellaig, Co. Wexford were conflated along with the 2 women. So error compounded on error. Hopefully, time will bring more Y-DNA data to help untangle all this.