Clan Commane

Clan Commane / Ó Comáin is a Gaelic Irish clan from the surname Ó Comáin,^[3] which comes from an earlier chief named Commán,^[4] first mentioned in Irish records in the 8th century.^[5] Of royal origin, the family line goes back to the Rí kings of Déisi Munster and is linked to early saints and poets.^[6] Ó Comáin is territorially linked (by place) to the early medieval Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin, in present-day County Clare, with its capital at the stone fort of Cahercommane.^[7][8]

In 2025, the clan was officially recognised by Clans of Ireland, under the patronage of the President of Ireland.^[3][9][10] This followed proof of the clan’s long history and family line.^[11][12] In 2013, Clans of Ireland signed an agreement with the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs to recognise each other’s authority over clans, affirming the clan's status within the broader Gaelic tradition.^[13][14][15]

The name Ó Comáin comes from both Connacht and Munster traditions.

The prefix Ó means “descendant of”. The name is found in records as Comain, Commáin, and Comman. Later, English-speaking officials wrote it in many different ways, such as:^[6]

• Comain(e), Coman, Comeens, Comin(s), Commane, Comman(s), Commin(s), Common(s), Commyn, Comyn(e), Cowman(s), Cummane, Cumings, Cummin(s), Cumming(s), Cumyn, Cummyn, Kimmons, MacSkimmins, McCowman

It is sometimes wrongly translated as Hurley, because Comán looks like Camán (hurley stick).^[16][17]

The name Ó Comáin is territorially linked (by place) to the early medieval Chiefdom (a small kingdom ruled by a chief) of Tulach Commáin, which means the fort of Commán.^[4] It was located in what is now Tullycommon, County Clare.^[3]

The capital of the chiefdom was a big stone fort called Cahercommane, which had three walls and looked out over the Burren. Chiefs probably lived there and held ceremonies, like choosing a new chief or burials, in the 8th and 9th centuries.^[19]

Irish chiefdoms were ruled by aristocratic (noble, high-ranking) family groups. Each chiefdom had a main centre with a fort, a church, and a mound used for ceremonies.^[20]

According to historian and anthropologist (a scientist who studies people) David Blair Gibson, the Chiefdom of Tulach Commáin was an independent small kingdom, or part of a larger related family group. It likely lived near the much older Corcu Mruad chiefdom, and may have joined the kingdom of Thomond led by the Dál Cais later on.^[21]

Archaeologist (studies times before writing) Claire Cotter, suggests that the area was possibly named after a sub-king (a smaller king Rí túaithe "king of a tribe") named Commán;^[22] she notes evidence in the annals (early Irish records), such as the Annals of Ulster recording the 744 AD destruction of Corcu Mruad by the Déisi and agrees with Gibson. Both say there was a short-lived Eóganacht chiefdom tied to a chief-king named Commán.^[23][24]

The Dessi Genealogies (family lists of the Déisi people), written in books like the Book of Lecan, Rawlinson B 502, and the Book of Leinster, say that Suibne mac Comáin (died 658) was a king of Déisi Muman (old Irish for Munster).^[25] This was a small kingdom in Munster that followed the bigger Eóganacht confederation (group of dynasties).^[26]

His son Congal mac Suibne (died 701) is named in the Annals of Ulster. He is called rí na nDéisi (“king of the Déisi”). He was killed by the Connachta.

The Déisi Munster were a Gaelic people in early medieval Munster. They lived in what is now County Waterford, Tipperary, and Clare. Often they worked with or supported the Eóganacht kings from the 5th to 8th centuries.

Some historians think the Déisi Muman and the Eóganacht were very closely linked, maybe an overlapping group.

Historians Cotter and Gibson write about two men who may have been brothers:^[27][23]

1. Colmán mac Comáin (died 751) is named in the Annals of Inisfallen. He died on the Aran Islands. Gibson says he may have been a son or descendant of the chief of Tulach Commáin. Cotter calls him one of the four sages of Ireland.^[27][23] Gibson also suggests the Aran Islands may have been part of Tulach Commáin’s land at one time.^[28]
2. Célechair mac Commáin died in the battle of Corcu Modruad in 705. This battle was one of many fights in north Clare in the 8th century. His death is written in the Annals of Ulster, Annals of Tigernach, and Annals of the Four Masters.^[29]

Old genealogies and annals list members of the clan:

• Suibne mac Comáin (d. 658) – king of the Déisi Munster
• Congal mac Suibne (d. 701) – his son, king of the Déisi
• Célechair mac Comáin (d. 705) – killed in battle in Clare^[5]
• Colmán mac Comáin (d. 751) – died on the Aran Islands, called a sage of Ireland^[5][27][23]
• Giolla Comáin mac Néill (d. 991) – king of Uí Díarmata in Connacht^[30]
• Commán of Roscommon – a saint, 6th century^[31]
• Coman of Kinvara – an early medieval saint^[32]

The family name Ó Comáin is written in Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh’s 17th-century book Leabhar Mór na nGenealach (“The Great Book of Irish Genealogies”). This book is an important source for studying Irish family history.

Ferchess mac Commán was a fian warrior and poet in early Irish stories, an ancient member of the household of King Ailill who ruled southern Ireland. In legend, Ailill commands Ferchess to avenge the death of his son, Éogan, by slaying Lugaid Mac Con, the High King of Ireland and Ailill’s stepson — an act later remembered in the naming of the "Rapids of Ferchess".^{[33][34][35][36][37]}

The clan name survives in the place names Tullycommon^[38] (Irish: Tulach Commáin) and Cahercommane.^[3]

The first naming of the site Cahercommane was written down by Thomas Johnson Westropp in the early 1900s. In his surveys he called it both Cahircommane and Cahercommaun. He also found a 1585 deed (legal record) from Queen Elizabeth I that used the name Tullagh Coman for Tullycommon, suggesting the name came from a person called Commán.^[27][39]

In 1938, Hugh O’Neill Hencken wrote about his dig (archaeological excavation) at the site. He used the spelling Cahercommaun, but he noticed the Ordnance Survey map showed it as Cahircommane. Both he and Westropp agreed the name probably came from a historical figure called Commán, linked to the old chiefdom in Clare.^[40][39]

The big stone fort of Cahercommane was studied in 1934. Excavations (careful digs by archaeologists to study the site) showed it was built in the 8th or 9th century.^[41]

According to John O'Hart in Irish Pedigrees, by the 13th century, the clan lost most of its lands after the Anglo-Norman invasion.^[42] The name survived in County Clare and is found in the 1659 census.^[43]

Modern Revival

Today, the clan’s seat is at Newhall Estate^[44] with its ancestral capital nearby at Cahercommane (both in County Clare, Ireland).^[3]

Since 2025, the successor (head) of the clan is Fergus Commane, Chief of Ó Comáin.^[45]

The clan chief is also custodian (person who takes care of) of Killone Abbey^[46] and the Holy Well of St John the Baptist^[47] in Newhall, County Clare. Important places for the clan’s history and religion.^[48][10]

• "Annals of Innisfallen." CELT Project. University College Cork.
• "Annals of Ulster." CELT Project. University College Cork.
• "The History and Topography of the County of Clare." Frost, James. Internet Archive.
• "Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae." O'Brien, M. A. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
• "Irish Kings and High-Kings." Byrne, F. J. Four Courts Press.
• "Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation." O'Hart, John. M.H. Gill & Son.
• "Leabhar Mór na nGenealach." Mac Fhirbhisigh, Dubhaltach. Edited by Nollaig Ó Muraíle. De Búrca Rare Books.
• "CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts." CELT Project. University College Cork.
• Gibson, D. Blair. From Chiefdom to State in Early Ireland. Cambridge University Press, 2012.Cambridge University Press
• Gibson, D. Blair. Tulach Commain: A view of an Irish chiefdom.
• "Cahercommaun Triple Ring Fort." Academia.edu. Academia.edu