The Upper Ormond Kennedys : Their Claims to Tipperary Soil

After first entering Upper Ormond by invitation from close relatives, the Kennedys occupied the large Iron Age trivallate ringfort at Rathurles. From there they spread out across Upper Ormond where they developed a strong attachment to the soil as farmers. Their herds of cattle and fields of cultivation were the essential foundation of their great family. There are still many farms owned by Kennedys and their descendants in Upper Ormond to this day. The Norman Invasion of the 12th century challenged the Kennedy’s right to their native soil. Through courage and determination they held their lands for 300 years in the face of a formidable adversary. In the Civil Survey of 1654, sixty-two Kennedys are listed as the proprietors of over 14,000 statute acres of land in Upper Ormond. Unable to resist the might of Oliver Cromwell’s army the Kennedy families were dispossessed of most of their lands. Some of them were transplanted to Connacht, some sought refuge in the mountain wilderness and others remained as tenants of the conquering English grantees of their lands. There were many changes of land ownership over the following centuries. After almost 250 years as tenants the Kennedys were able to regain ownership of a portion of land in Upper Ormond through English and Irish Land Acts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Kennedys of Upper Ormond, together with their kinsmen in Lower Ormond, have earned their place in Irish history. That history deserves to be celebrated. The evidence provided in this book proves that the Kennedys suffered grave injustice when they were dispossessed of their lands. It proves that they remained on Tipperary soil and contributed to the wealth of Ireland and that of other peoples.