How the Welsh/Walsh family name originated in Ireland, and how settlers of that name ebbed and flowed between Ireland and Wales
Walsh is among the five most numerous surnames in Ireland, found throughout the country. There are concentrations of Walshes in Leinster in counties Kilkenny and Wexford, in Connacht in counties Mayo and Galway, and in Munster in counties Cork and Waterford. Walsh is a semi-translation of the early Irish surname Breathnach, meaning ‘Welsh’ or ‘Breton’, later anglicised as 'Brannagh' and 'Walsh'. The Walsh surname has the same historical origin as Wallace, Wallis and Welch, but arrived at its present form by a more circuitous route. These surnames derive from the Anglo-Saxon / Old English term 'wælisc' (or wealas), used in different parts of early Britain to denote the native Welsh or Britons.
In medieval Ireland the generic terms 'le waleys' and 'walensis' (among others) were used to indicate 'a Welshman', including some of the adventurers from Wales who arrived in the wake of the Cambro-Norman campaigns after 1169 CE. A similar phenomenon occurred in other parts of the British Isles, where the Walsh name emerged from areas of Welsh settlement. In England the surname Walsh is ranked about 105th, in Scotland the surname Wallace is ranked in the top 50.
The Walsh surname in Ireland, among others, appears early in the records as Walensis, then as Waleys and le Waleys, then in the Irish form as Brenagh and Bretnagh, and eventually anglicized as Walshe, Walsh, Branagh, Brannagh, etc. Other variant spellings also exist, including surnames such as Walch, Welsh and Welch. The medieval name Waleys, or le Waleys, seems to derive from the Old Norman-French word "waleis", likely originating from the Anglo-Saxon term noted above. The name Brenagh originated from the Irish (Gaelic) term "breathnach" which signified a "Briton". Patrick Woulfe (Irish Names) lists the name Brathnagh as an older English or Anglicized form of Breathnach, but gives no date for this name. George Black (Surnames of Scotland) gives the name Braithnoch as being from the "Irish Breathnach (more anciently Breatnach), a 'Welshman'." Edward MacLysaght (Irish Families) gives the first of the name in Ireland as "Haylen Brenach, alias Walsh, son of 'Philip the Welshman' who was one of the invaders of 1172." From Father Edmund Hogan's Onomasticon Goedelicum (Dublin, 1910) comes the term "bretanach"; now Breathnach; one of the Welsh families in Ireland, now Walsh. It also cites the term "brethnaigh"; alias Breathnacha, the Walshes or Welshmen of Iar-Connacht.
In Ireland, unlike many of the early Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman families such as the Burkes, the Fitzgeralds, etc, who can trace their ancestry to a small number of known individuals, the Walsh family name arose independently in many different places. A few exceptions are mentioned in Irish history although there are others. These include 'Philip of Wales', a hero in a naval battle of 1174, whose descendants were thought to include the Walsh of the Mountain families of south-central County Kilkenny; 'David Welsh', noted at the battle of Limerick in 1175, whose descendants were cited south of Dublin at Carrickmines; and 'Walynus', who arrived about 1169, and whose descendants were stated to have settled in northern Kildare, in southern Meath, and in County Mayo, among other places. Early Walshes in Ireland included the names of Walter and Robert Walsh who settled near Dublin. Later the names of Walter, Edmund and Robert ran in a series in the Castlehale family of (Co. Kilkenny) Walshes over a period of two centuries. The Philips were most numerous in Kilkenny, but most prominent, perhaps, in Kildare. The Richards were always in evidence in Dublin and Kildare, and for a time, in Tipperary. The Henrys seem to have stuck to Dublin and Wicklow. The Howels, or Hoyles, were in Kilkenny, in Dublin, and in Wexford. Nicholas appears to have been a characteristic Waterford name, and is also found in Kildare. Gilbert appeared in Dublin and Cork in the thirteenth century. It was a de Clare name which in this instance came through the Desmond Fitzgeralds.
As previously mentioned, the Walsh surname in Ireland had its Irish roots in the Welsh and Welsh-Norman clans who first participated in the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland. As cited by J. C. Walsh (Walsh 1170-1690), "they more than likely came from some of the leading houses of Wales." Some have placed their relation and descendancy from Owen Gwynned, Prince of North Wales, and his sons Ririd and David.
There was much in common between the early Welsh and the Irish. They were of the same Gaelic stock, and had the same system of selecting rulers by tanistry. Both would set aside the eldest son of a chief from the succession for even a physical blemish, both took hostages from defeated enemies, and both made a practice of blinding possible rivals. The Welsh were also, as the Irish were not, guilty of mutilation for the same object. In times of trouble the Welsh chieftains found refuge in Ireland, and the Irish chiefs in trouble were welcome in Wales. Of all who went to Ireland following the Cambro-Norman Invasion, those of Welsh blood were most likely to accommodate themselves with ease to the new conditions.
As to the family origin of the first who went to Ireland, it seems clear that they were drawn from the leading houses of Wales. Ririd, who settled in Dublin County, was a son of Owen Gwynned, Prince of North Wales; and a brother of David, Owen's son and successor. There is some indication that David, son of this David, also went there. Philip FitzRhys was clearly of the house of South Wales. Philip and David "Walsh", who are mentioned in the early histories, and for whom it is claimed that both Strongbow and Raymond le Gros were their uncles, appear to be with the Geraldines rather than with the de Clares. In the early years they were very close to the Fitzgeralds, and Meyler Fitz Henry was their constant friend. Other families of le Waleys (Walshs) undoubtedly descended from Cadwallader, brother of Owen Gwynned, and Alicia de Clare, but the indications are that they came later to Ireland............
...........It is more than a little curious how these early arrivals from Wales seemed to gravitate to the mountains. It was natural enough, no doubt, that they should like the kind of country they came from, but the more likely explanation is that they were chosen, in those early fighting years, for their value in mountain warfare. A relief map of Kilkenny shows a great level plain between two ranges of hills. On the plain there were no Walshs; the mountain country to the south was filled with them. Castlehale itself stood on the northern edge of the mountain land, with a wide outlook across the plain. It was the same in Dublin and in Wicklow. For five full centuries the Walshs were in the mountains there, posted at points commanding the mountain passes. They were in the Comeragh Mountains in Waterford, and had their castles on the mountain flanks. They were on Carrickbyrne in Wexford. They were in the mountains of Kerry. They thrived in these places and were a sturdy stock.
The Walsh Arms (in Wales?)
In Owen's list [Nicholas Owen, British Remains, London, 1777] of the ancient arms there are two entries which have a bearing on the origin of the Walshs of Ireland. For instance, the arms he attributes to "Cadogan of Bachan" are precisely those borne for centuries by the Walshs of Castle Howell (Hale) in Kilkenny, namely, "Argent, a chevron gules between three pheons erect." Cadogan may refer to Cadogan ap Cadwalader who was in Cardigan, Wales in 1151 at the time of Robert FitzStephen. This Cadogan was "claimed" to have brothers referred to as 'le Waleys' and one of them, either Ralph or Richard, was perhaps married to Isabel de Carew who was a sister of Raymond le Gros. The term Bachan may refer to Cantref Bychan, or Cantref Bachan as used by Geraldus Cambrensis in his "Description of Wales" written about 1194. Cantref Bychan was an area of south Wales which was reportedly held by the Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffydd) and the princes of Deheubarth from 1136 to 1158, and again from 1162 to 1282.
Other references to Cantref Bychan include the Castle of Cantref Bychan, or 'chastell y Cantref Bychan', an earlier name for Llandovery (aka Llanymddyfri in Carmarthen) Castle which was constructed by the Norman marcher lord Richard Fitzpons beginning around 1116. Circa 1136 Hywel ap Maredudd ap Rhydderch, a Welsh noble is noted to have expelled the Anglo-Norman Fitzpons (Clifford) family from Cantref Bychan. After the Normans retook the castle, Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd is cited to have taken it back circa 1162. In 1216 the Treaty of Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) confirms Rhys Gryg as Lord of Cantref Bychan and Cantref Mawr; the lands of the Towy (Tywi) valley. The river Tywi was an important boundary of great antiquity, separating Cantref Mawr on the north bank from Cantref Bychan (specifically Cwmwd Iscennen) and Cantref Cydweli on the south bank. Cydweli had been in Anglo-Norman hands since c.1110 but Iscennen, as well as Cantref Mawr, remained nominally independent in the hands of the Welsh, unlike the rest of Cantref Bychan, until 1284 (source: Rees, 1932). Carreg Cennen at the head of Welsh Cantref Bychan (the commote of Is-cennen) was originally a castle site of the Princes of Deheubarth.
Cantref Bychan, anciently part of the gwlad of Ystrad Tywi, or the kingdom of the Towy Valley, is in the northeast corner of Carmarthen, and quite close to Denbigh, which included the cantreds of Rhos and Ryfoniog. Also nearby in Cardigan is Ystrad Flur (Strata Florida). Owen gives as the arms of "Cadogan of Ustrad Flur," "Azure, a lion rampant argent," the arms of the Walsh of Carrickmines, except the latter, as a mark of "difference," are "debruised by a fess per pale of the second and gules." The first abbey of Strata Florida was founded by the Cambro-Norman Robert fitz Stephen in 1164 for the Cistercians, but by the next year came under the support of the prince of Deheubarth, Rhys ap Gruffudd. Cadogan of Ustrad Flur may refer to Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, Lord Nannau and Prince of Powys, born in Cardigan, Wales about 1080, died in 1110/1111. Cadwgan reportedly had a banner with a "a lion rampant" prominently displayed on it. His son, Owain, abducted the beautiful Nesta.
The arms of Walsh of Ballykilcavan, "Argent, a fesse azure between six martlets sable," seem to be of an origin quite different than the previous two, pointing either to Philip of Wigorn (de Worcester) himself or to Walshs who, for centuries in that district on the eastern border of Wales, bore these arms, and some of whose descendants came to Ireland in official positions in later centuries. However, it looks as though they were in Ireland as early as 1200 A.D. Philip de Worcester was granted land in the south of County Tipperary about the year 1185.
Welsh of Monmouthsire
About 1128 Guy de Sancto Wallerico was granted lands in Chepstow, Caerwent, Monmouthshire, south Wales, which may have included Dinham Castle. The arms of the family 'Welsh' seated at Dinham Castle and at Llanwern down to the the early part of the 17th century, as well as those of notable Walshs of England, were the same as the coats of Sancto Wallerico, that is: "Ermine, a bend sable". Guy de Sancto Wallerico left a son Reginald, whose line ended in coheiresses early in the reign of Henry III; but Guy may have had another younger son or sons, from whom perhaps descended a family whose name we find written Le Walleys, Wallens, Walshe, and finally after some other variations of orthography, Welsh. The corruption of Wallerico (Walerie or Waleries) to Walsh is no more strange than many others that could be named. However this may be, two of the family accompanied Strongbow to Ireland in or about 1170; these were David Le Walleys, and Phillip Le Walleys, younger sons of Ralph and brothers of William Le Walleys. It may be right to observe that Dinham, and Llanwern were mesne fees, the former certainly, and probably the latter, at that period held under Strongbow (Gilbert de Clare) as Lord of Chepstow.
It is probable that at one time Dinham was their principal seat, as several of them are found described as of this place, thus Adam De Dinham in the reigns of Henry III, and Edward II. William De Dinham, or William Le Walsh in the Reign of Edward III. Christopher Welsh, who was High Sheriff in 1569, was the last of the family who held Dinham.
Source: "Notes on the Ecclesiastical Remains at Runston, Sudbrook, Dinham, and Llan-bedr", by Octavius Morgan and Thomas Wakeman, 1856. Printed for the Monmouthshire and Caerleon Antiquary Association, by Henry Mullock, Newport.
Footnote to above: Between 1200 and 1210 Philip Walensis and Henry de Sancto Waleric were witnesses to a grant of land in Ely O'Carrol (Ireland) from William de Braose to Adam de Hereford. Among the other witnesses included Robert Walensis. (source: Ormond Deeds, i. p. 9-10. Original charter in the Register of St. Thomas [Rolls Series])
This contribution to our understanding of Wales-Ireland history is quoted by kind permission of Dennis Walsh from his wonderful website 'Walsh Family Genealogy and History'.
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~walsh/
