It’s in the Gene’s: Author’s Ancient Lineage

A Gaelic surname meaning descendant of Diomasach meaning ‘proud, arrogant’.  Other variant’s include Ó Diomasaigh or Dimmussaig, Ó Diomasach (O’Dempsey, Dempsey).

Dempsey 

The name Dempsey in Ireland is derived from the native Gaelic O’Diomasaigh Sept, taken from a Gaelic word meaning ‘proud’. The Sept is famous in having been one of the few to inflict a defeat on the mighty Strongbow. The name is widespread and can be still found near the homeland Counties of Laois and Offaly.

A sept whose territory was Clann Mhaoilughra** a district on both sides of the river barrow comprising the baronies of Portnahinch in Laois and Upper Philipstown in Offaly.  Clanmalier between Counties Lao is and Offaly.

Coat of Arms for County Laois Motto: I bpáirt leis an bpobal (Irish) "In partnership with the community"

Coat of Arms for County 'Offaly' Motto: Esto Fidelis (Latin) "Be Faithful"

One of the few who defeated Strongbow* in battle, they were dispossessed after the defeat of James II.

In 1890 Dempsey was numerous in Offaly, and principally found in Dublin, Antrim, Cork, and Wexford. The estimated number of bearers was 5,241.

In the United States it is the 1,253rd most numerous surname with an estimated 27,500 bearers. It is numerous in the state of Delaware.

*(Strongbow) Richard fitz Gilbert de Clare, lord of Strigoil and Earl of Pembroke, landed in Ireland in 1170 at the invitation of Diarmuid MacMurchadha. He later established himself in Leinster.

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (1130 – 20 April 1176). Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow (French: Arc-Fort). He was a Cambro-Norman lord notable for his leading role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.

Richard was the son of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Isabel de Beaumont. Richard’s father died when he was about eighteen years old and Richard inherited the title Earl of Pembroke. It is probable that this title was not recognized at Henry II’s coronation.

**Clann: A large tribal unit in Gaelic society which bore the name of a common ancestor. The septs later emerged out of the clanns.

Heraldic Beasts

Lion

Fierce Courage. In Ireland the Lion represented the ‘lion’ season, prior to the full arrival of Summer. The symbol can also represent a great Warrior or Chief.

Heraldic Color (Colors in Irish Coat of Arms)

Prehistoric

The first people in Laois were bands of hunters and gatherers who passed through the county about 8,500 years ago. They hunted in the forests that covered Laois and fished in its rivers, gathering nuts and berries to supplement their diets.

Next came Ireland’s first farmers. These people of the Neolithic period (4000 to 2500 BC) cleared forests and planted crops. Their burial mounds remain in Clonaslee and Cuffsborough.

Around 2500 BC, the people of the Bronze Age lived in Laois. They produced weapons, tools and golden objects. Visitors to the county can see a stone circle they left behind at Monamonry, as well as the remains of their hill forts at Clopook and Monelly. Skirk, near Borris-in-Ossory, has a Bronze Age standing stone and ring fort.

In ancient times the O’Moore tribe name of Ui Laoighis was applied to their territory, this name being derived from a famous Ulster ancestor named Lughaid Laoighesach, descendant of a renowned Conall Cearmach chief of the Red Branch Knights of Ulster.

The next stage is known as the pre-Christian Celtic Iron Age. For the first time iron appeared in Ireland, as factions fought bloody battles for control of the land. At Ballydavis, archaeologists have discovered ring barrows that date from this time period.

By the first century AD, Laois was part of the Kingdom of Ossory. The county was divided roughly into seven parts, which were ruled by the Seven Septs of Laois: O’More (O’Moore), O’Lalor, O’Doran, O’Dowling, O’Devoy (O’Deevy), O’Kelly and McEvoy.

Introduction of Christianity

When Christianity came to Ireland, holy men and women founded religious communities in Laois. Between 550 and 600, St. Canice founded Aghaboe Abbey and St. Mochua founded a religious community at Timahoe. An early Christian community lived at Dun Masc or Masc’s fort, on the Rock of Dunamase.

The Synod of Rathbreasail that established the Irish dioceses was held near Mountrath in 1111, moving the Church away from its monastic base. As religious orders with strong ties to Rome replaced older religious communities, the wooden buildings of the early Christian churches in Laois gave way to stone monasteries. The Augustinians and Dominicans established themselves at Aghaboe Abbey, while the Cistercians took over an older religious community at Abbeyleix.

Saint Patrick first arrived as a child slave of Christian origin, captured somewhere in Roman Britain or Gaul. After several years as a swineherd, he managed to escape to the continent, where he trained and was ordained as a priest. In 432 AD he returned to Ireland, where he preached Christianity for over thirty years. His main base was Armagh, later consecrated as the principal archdiocese of the island, but legends of his deeds abound from all over Ireland, and by his own account he was particularly active in Connacht. Although other Christian missionaries were active in Ireland before him and at the same time, he came to be revered as the founding father of Irish Christianity.

Norman Invasion

The Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71 affected Laois as it was a part of the Kingdom of Leinster. In Laois, the fortress on the Rock of Dunamase was part of the dowry of the Irish princess Aoife, who was given in marriage in 1170 to the Norman warrior Strongbow. Advancing Normans surveyed the county from wooden towers built on top of earthen mounds, known as mottes. They also built stone fortresses, such as Lea Castle, just outside Portarlington. Several of the county’s towns were first established as Norman boroughs, including Castletown, Durrow and Timahoe.

From 1175 until about 1325, Normans controlled the best land in the county, while Gaelic society retreated to the bogs, forests and the Slieve Bloom Mountains. The early 14th century saw a Gaelic revival, as a burst of force from the Irish chieftains caused the Normans to withdraw. The Dempseys seized Lea Castle, while Dunamase came into the ownership of the O’Mores. Tower houses belonging to Irish chieftains survive at Ballaghmore and Cullahill, both decorated with Sheila-na-gigs.

In 1548, English warriors confiscated the lands of the O’Mores, and built “Campa,” known as the Fort of Leix, today’s Portlaoise.

Dirty Laundry

The ruins of the ill-gotten base of one of the once powerful clans of Ireland: O'Dempsey

The ruins of the ill-gotten base of one of the once powerful clans of Ireland: O'Dempsey

Portarlington, a town straddling Counties Laois and Offaly (Formerly Queen’s County & King’s County) in Ireland, was once the land of the O’Dempseys and Lea Castle. In 1694 it became the home to a substantial Huguenot settlement, French Protestants, with names such as Blanc, Camelin, Champ, Champagné, Des Voeux, Lalande, Micheau, Pilot, Vignoles, and the French church is still is use today. James Gandon’s masterpiece, Emo Court, where the Dawon, Dawson-Damer family lived as Earls of Portarlington, is nearby.

The name Dempsey originated in the territory of Clanmalier on the borders of what are now Counties Laois and Offaly. They remained prominent in that area until the Williamite Wars.

During the massacre of Mullaghmast in 1577 many of the Lalors clan were killed by an alliance of the O’Dempseys and English planters.

The stronghold, protected by the River Barrow, was torched by the O’Dempseys in 1284, rebuilt by de Vesey in 1290, forfeited to the Crown in 1307, then granted to the FitzGeralds of Kildare, burned along with its town by Edward Bruce’s army in 1315, burned again by the O’Moores in 1346, captured in 1422 by the O’Dempseys  and lost to the Earl of Ormond in 1452, and used by Silken Thomas Fitzgerald as a refuge in 1535.

Mortgaged to Sir Maurice Fitzgerald of Lackagh in 1556, the property was leased to Robert Bath in 1618. It was used by the Kilkenny Confederacy as a mint during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, until they were driven out by Lord Lisle. Cromwellian soldiers under General Hewson took the castle, stuffed the stairways with explosives and blew up the fortifications . Only one of the original four bastions remains roughly intact amidst the chaos of broken towers and arches.

The last resident of Lea Castle was the rapparee / horse thief Cahir na gCapall / Charles O’Dempsey.  His outlawed family, descendants of the Lords of Clanmeliere, were ultimately forced to surrender to a Sheriff’s posse in the Wood of Monasterevan. By then the owner of the castle was Ephraim Dawson MP, ancestor of the Earls of Portarlington.

Warriors, not Saints

The Irish people are famous for their poets, scholars, playwrights, authors, artists and statesmen. Evidence of the age of Irish culture is exemplified by the oldest standing building in the world, and many pieces of fine jewellery predating biblical times.

Researchers have concluded that the family name Dempsey was first found in King’s county where they had been seated from early times. This brief history of the Dempsey family was compiled using books by O’Hart, McLysaght and O’Brien, and Woulfe, baptismals, parish records, and ancient land grants.

The surname, Dempsey, occurrs in many references, but from time to time, was recorded as Dempsey, O’Dempsey, Dempsy, Dempsay, Dempsie, and these changes in spelling frequently occurred within the same family. It was not uncommon for a person to be born with one spelling, married with another, and have yet another at his wake.

The ancient Kings of Ireland were descended from King Milesius of Spain, the grandson of Breoghan, (or Brian) King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile and Portugal. Milesius sent his uncle northward from Spain with his own son Lughaidh to explore the western Isles. This was said to have fulfilled an ancient Druidic prophecy.

Upon learning that his son had been murdered by the three resident Irish Kings (the Danans) in Ireland, King Milesius gathered an army to take his revenge on the Irish. Although he died before embarking on the trip, his eight surviving sons succeeded in conquering Ireland.

The Dempsey name emerged in King’s county. Dempsey is the anglicized version of O’Dempsey the ancestor of O’Diomasaighe. This family name came in turn from the Irish word “diomusach” meaning proud, haughty, or arrogant. The Dempseys were also associated with the second century Irish King, Cathair Mor.

The Dempsey territory included territory on both sides of the River Barrow in the King’s and Queen’s counties. Their extensive holdings also included parts of the baronies in King’s county, Queen’s county and part of Offaly in the county of Kildare.

A significant event occurred in the history of Ireland and the Dempsey family in 1172. The King of Leinster asked the Earl of Pembroke, commonly known as Strongbow, to assist in securing the Kingship of Ireland. What resulted was nothing less than an Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

O’Dempsey, Chief of Offaly, was one of the few Irish leaders who could boast of having defeated Strongbow in military engagement. Strongbow’s son-in-law, de Quencl, was killed in the battle. Later Dermot O’Dempsey (d. 1193), Chief of the Name, founded the Cistercian Abbey at Monasterevin near Portarlington. The Dempseys switched their allegiances and were sometimes loyal to the Stuart royalty. In fact, James I bestowed upon one clan member the title Viscount Clanmalier, the family then being, in the reign of Elizabeth I, consistently pro-English.

Later on in the seventeenth century the O’Dempseys took the Irish side. Edmond O’Dempsey, Bishop of Leighlin, Lewis O’Dempsey, Viscount of Kilkenny, and Barnabas O’Dempsey, were prominent members of the confederation of Kilkenny, and, with Lysagh O’Dempsey, were exempted from pardon by the Cromwellian victors in 1652. Their loyalty to the Catholic King James resulted in the loss of their estates.

The O’Dempseys were now faced with a challenge. To many the long history of the family name could not free them from the strong bonds holding them to Ireland and to the loyal clan members. They remained on the borders of Leinster and Offaly. Notable amongst the family name at this time was O’Dempsey of King’s county.

During the 12th century, 1172 AD, Dermott McMurrough, King of Leinster, requested King Henry II of England for assistance. This was the first intrusion into Ireland of the Anglo/Normans. Many native Irish families lost their lands and possessions. This invasion was followed by Cromwell’s invasion of 1640, when further loss of land befell the unfortunate Irish people.

In 1845, the great potato famine caused widespread poverty. Many Irish joined the armada of sailing ships which sailed from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Liverpool, and Glasgow, all bound for the New World. Some called these ships the “White Sails.” Others called them “Coffin Ships,” since nearly 25% of the passengers died of disease and were buried at sea.

In North America, some of the first migrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Dempsey family were Edward Dempsey who settled in New York in 1810, Jeremiah Dempsey who settled in Mississippi in 1820, and Edward Dempsey settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1849. Ann, Biddy, Bridget, Catherine, John, and Henry Dempsey settled in Quebec in 1840.

[Some] Dempseys remained loyal to the British Crown during the American War of Independence, and were forced to move to Canada, becoming known as the United Empire Loyalists. Meanwhile, the family name Dempsey produced many prominent people, including heavywight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, and James Dempsy, President of General Dynamics Corp. among many others.