"The Irish Kennedys" - A Book Review

The Irish Kennedys by Brian Patrick Kennedy (and other works)

A short review.

I have just finished reading the 498 pp second edition of the book 'The Irish Kennedys' written by Australian Brian Patrick Kennedy. Brian is to be congratulated on a truly definitive piece of work which wonderfully combines the ancient genealogy and history of the Kennedys from their origins in south west Ireland over one thousand years ago, with his own personal quest to trace his roots.

The book contains a bumper 58 (!) chapters which cover the rise and decline of the family right up to their suppression and dispossession under Cromwell and their eventual emigration overseas. Yet oddly I find the later chapters, where Brian attempts to bridge the gaps in the records to trace his line back to the first Irish Kennedy, by far the most thrilling. It is often said that 'genealogy is not a spectator sport', this book disproves that once and for all. What a shame that, when their old house in Ireland is found in a state of abandon, negotiations to regain ownership never come to fruition.

When the book went to press the Trinity College Dublin Irish DNA project was in progress but had not yet reported, and gets a brief mention at the beginning of Brian's book. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the report included DNA tests for over 60 male Irish Kennedys and I believe this, along with the rise of the commercial DNA testing companies, will open up many new chapters in the story of the Kennedys of both Ireland and Scotland. It would provide an excellent starting point for that Third Edition.

Much of the book is original research by the author. He also makes reference to the works of Irish historian Dr. Dermot Florence Gleeson (1896-1962).

If you are an Irish Kennedy, the book is a must. If you are a Scottish Kennedy, give it a read too and find out about our brothers across the water. It seems that no-one really knows right now whether the two Kennedy families are connected or not but our common name means we ought to be interested in each other. Maybe someone will step up to the plate and write an equivalent book about the Scottish family.

Further references

The Last Lords of Ormond. A history of the "Countrie of the three O'Kennedys" during the seventeenth century. Gleeson, D.F.; London, 1938.

The Last Lords of Ormond : Cromwellian plantation, prelude and aftermath in the "Countrie of the Three O’Kennedies". Gleeson, D.F. 2nd edition imprint Nenagh, Co. Tipperary : Relay Books, 2001.

This book is hard to track down and one prominent seller of rare Irish books ignored my email enquiry so I went elsewhere! My copy cost me £65.50 so you need to really want it.

A review by Raymond Gillespie appears in the Tipperary Historical Journal 2002.

Visit author Brian Kennedy's web site.

Iain Kennedy

Glasgow

18th July 2007 (external link updated 18th September 2007)