Whalen/Phelan DNA Surname Project

[MikeWhalen]

the following was written a few years ago by myself for a personal family history and I thought others might be interested in some tidbits I came up with.....

" Fast WHALEN Facts


• The Whalen/Phalen surnames together are the 44th most common Irish surname today.
• There are approximately 12,000 Whalen/Phalen’s in Ireland today with “Eighty percent of the Phalen’s belonging to the Counties Waterford, Kilkenny and adjacent areas, while Whalen’s extended further into Wexford and Carlow."
• According to the ‘Primary Valuation’ property survey of 1848-64 that recorded renters, Co. Laois had the most Whalen households at 492, next was Co. Waterford at 474, Co. Tipperary was 3rd at 256, 4th was Co Kilkenny at 227 and 5th was Co. Wexford at 219
• The Irish Co. that had the fewest number of Whalen’s living in them were Derry, Down and Sligo all at 1, with Antrim and Belfast City at 2 each
• 150 years ago in Ireland, the very highest concentration of Whalen households in Ireland were in the South and East and almost evenly divided between the historical strongholds of O’Faoláin Tribes/Sept’s in both Leinster and Munster Province. Ulster Province or Northern Ireland is almost bare of Whalen households and Connaght Province has minimal numbers
• Whalen is an ancient Celtic name that was first spelled FAOLÁIN and whose origin dates back to around 200 A.D.
• There are three separate ‘historical’ Whalen bloodlines in Ireland, from three different Irish provinces and social ranks - Records show Whalen’s were Princes in Munster Province, Castle Nobility in Leinster and a Bardic Family in Ulster.
• According to the 2001 Canadian Census, there were some 1,761,000 people in Ontario, who were of Irish decent, which I believe is close to ¼ of the entire population of the Province. Canada wide 3,822,000 citizens have Irish roots.


Whalen Facts from “Our Name in History - The Whalen Name”

The following comes from a book I ordered (from the ‘Ancestry.com’ firm) that was full of mostly useless general history that focused on the US. Nevertheless, I was able to distil the following ‘Whalen’ related statistics from it, some of which are fascinating and clearly apply to Canadian Whalen’s. One of the U.S. military statistics actually includes a big surprise as it speaks of a grandson of our Patriarch Patrick.

• As of 2000, there were 10,372 Whalen households living in the U.S.
• Liverpool England was by far the most commonly used Port of Departure for Whalen’s emigrating to the US with over 1100, the next was Yarmouth Nova Scotia with 106, Queenstown, Ireland at 57, St. Johns Newfoundland at 53, Aspinwall, Panama at 42, Halifax Nova Scotia at 31, London at 25 and Galway Ireland at 17.
• The most common U.S arrival ports for Whalen’s were New York at 1067, Boston at 372 and Philadelphia at 100.
• In 1840 the states with the most Whalen households were New York at 23, Kentucky at 12, Maryland at 9, Indiana at 5 and Virginia at 5.
• The most common Christian names for Whalen’s in 1880 were in order: Mary, John, Thomas, William, James, Anna, and Elizabeth.
• The most common Christian names for Whalen’s in 1960 were in order: Michael, John, William, Mark, Richard, Deborah, James and David.
• In 1860, Whalen’s owned a total of 23 slaves, with 9-17 in Maryland, between 4-8 slaves in Georgia and 1-3 slaves in Kentucky and Alabama. 52% of the Whalen slaves were men and 48% were women.
• In the U.S Civil War, 302 Whalen’s fought for the Union and 35 for the Confederacy.
• The most common Union Civil War Units with Whalen’s in them were the 48th Penn. Inf. with five, 90th Illinois Inf. with five, 81st Ohio Inf. with four, 9th Mass. Inf. with four and 35th Indiana with four.
• In 1880, the States with the most Whalen households were: New York 408, Massachusetts 159, Illinois 152, Penn. 121 and Ohio with 81.
• In 1880 in the US, the most common occupations for Whalen men were: Labourer 569, Farmer 308, Farm Labour 78, Blacksmith 44, Carpenter 39, Miner 34 and Teamster 32.
• In 1880 in the US, the most common occupations for Whalen women were: keeping house/housekeeping 1,687, servant 230, domestic servant 24 and works in cotton mill 24.
• In 1880, Labourers and Skilled Labour made between 1-3 dollars for the average 10 hr. workday ($1 in 1880 = $17.83 in the year 2000).
• In 1901 in Canada, there were 488 Whalen households in Ontario, 183 in Nova Scotia, 156 in New Brunswick, 104 in Quebec and 19 in B.C.
• In WW1 in the US, there were 3,095 Whalen men drafted.
• In 1920, the states with the largest number of Whalen households were: New York 1,031, Mass. 467, Penn. 422, Illinois 352 and Ohio 193.
• In 1920, 97.5% of Whalen’s were considered literate and that was several points (3-6 approx.) higher than the average rate.
• In 1920, 1,108 Whalen ‘heads of household’ owned their home and 1,643 rented. Whalen home ownership was less when compared to the general public by a significant margin (5-15% approx.).
• In WW2, in the last of 4 US drafts called the ‘old man registration’ and the only one available to the public, 437 Whalen’s were drafted.
• In WW2, 22.6% of Whalen’s had a grammar school education, 64.4% had at least 1 yr. of high school and 13% had at least 1 yr. of University.
• In WW2, for the initial rank of Whalen’s in the US army, 838 were Privates, 17 were P.F.C.’s, 6 were Corporals, and 4 were First Sergeants. There was a total of 980 Whalen’s enlisted in the US Army.
• U.S. Military Service burials for Whalen’s by War: Indian Wars 1, Civil War 19, Spanish-American War 12, WW1 61, WW2 354, Korea 73, Vietnam 27 and Desert Storm 1.
• U.S. Whalen’s buried by service branch (approx.): 560 Army, 190 Navy, 110 Air Force, 100 Marines, and 15 Coast Guard.
• In 2000, the states with the most Whalen households were: New York with 1,164, Mass. 844, California 746, Florida 646 and Penn. 603.
• In the US, between 1850 and 1880, the most common causes of death for Whalen’s were: Consumption (T.B.) 12.5%, Scarlet Fever 4.7%, Heart Disease 3.1%, Marasmus (malnutrition, usually infant) 3.1%, Infant Cholera 2.3%, Convulsions 2.3%, Croup (child respiratory) 2.3%, Inflammation of Bowels 2.3%, Phthisis (T.B. -archaic name for it) 2.3% and Teething 2.3%.
• The most common Whalen ‘days’ of death are Wednesday and Monday, the most common Whalen ‘months’ of death are January and December (this is certainly true for our ancestors).
• In 1840 there were 73 Whalen households, which was the 4,552nd most common household name in the US, in 2000, there were 10,372 and it is now in 2007 the 1,142nd most common household name.
• In 1860, there were 56 or 10.8% of Whalen households headed by women, 1880 it was 246 or 15.8% , 1920 it was 511 or 18.2%.
• In England in 1881, the most common occupations for Whalen men were: Coal Miner 6, Cotton Operative 3, Painter 2, Cooper and Boot maker 2. For Whalen women, it was: Cotton weaver 5, Laundress 3, housekeeper 3, factory worker 2 and Tailor 2.



Mike

[MikeWhalen]

from April 2012....

Here is the updated geno map showing the actual geographic locations of project members at a minimum, the confirmed by paper trail County level or their significant DNA matches to someone that has a confirmed geographic place in Ireland (thus bridging many brick walls for our members who were 'stuck' in the new world)

I had a real problem matching up the size of the fonts when I added 4 members today-no clue why so my appologies for the appearances
on another note, the geno map is starting to become a victim of the projects success...we are up to 71 tested members, many who are now on this map and its becomming more and more difficult to fit in new information...a good problem to have, but I dont like the messyness and crowdedness of the present map and if we get any more members in certain area's I wont be able to fit them in easily
...I will think over how to solve this...I suspect some sort of ground level redo with much less info is the only way around it but I hate to drop any of the info I've chosen to put in...in any case, a problem for another day

I ask all project members to take a look and see if I have you on the map, assuming you have at least an Irish County of origin via paper trail, or a solid dna match to someone that does...its really easy for me to miss one of Frances's updates and 'lose' one of the folks I'm supposed to update-dont be afraid to give feedback, all is welcome


Whalen-Ireland-mapAug 13b 2011.jpg

Mike

[MikeWhalen]

from March 2012....

The largest single common dna group in the project is the L144 guys. I did this map showing the oldest recorded geographical locations for our men that had the marker and came up with what I found was very convincing proof that they are a legacy of the Whalen Barons of the old Ossory Kingdom. There is a clear geographic 'hot spot' within 40 K of the Whalen Castle stronghold in Rathdowny. Fair warning, my co admin Francis feels there is other information that suggests they reprecent the Dieces Whalens...so there is no consensus on the point


WHALEN-DNA-L144-105.jpg

Mike

[MikeWhalen]

**another exerpt from my family saga that deals with the 3 historical Irish Whalen families

"The first of the Whalen kin noted in history is…

• O’Faoláin (The Wolf) –Historically speaking, the first and largest bloodline of Whalen’s are the Faoláin’s from the semi ‘mythological’ line of Milesian King’s who are said to have invaded Ireland from Gaul (Spain and southern France) and who were also known as the Goidel/Gael, which is the root of the word Gaelic. This invasion happened around 100-200 BC. They almost certainly migrated due to pressures from Rome’s Imperial expansion and the great Caesar himself. Stemming from a younger brother of the famous High King Conn of 100 battles (d. 157 AD), these Phalen/Whalen’s eventually became Princes and Chieftains of the Decies Tribe in the Waterford/Tipperary area of Munster Province. Interestingly, a small sept of these Decies Whalen’s migrated into Leinster province in near by Kilkenny Co. They seemed to have controlled a large part of land in the southeast section of Kilkenny, and it’s recorded that a powerful Bishop named Phalen came from this line.

We will go into much more detail below about this Tribe but I do have one brief poem about them from the Annals:
“Aryan speaks of them thus: "Two gentle chiefs whose names I tell, rule the Desies. I affirm it. O'Bric*** the exactor of tributes, with him the wise and fair O'Felan. In Moylacha of the fertile slopes, rules O'Felan for the benefit of his tribe. Great is the allotted territory, of which O'Felan holds possession".

***Footnote- O'Bric, now ‘Brick’, without the prefix O'. This family originally possessed the southern Desies, comprised in the present county of Waterford, but they had sunk under the O'Faelains or O'Phelans, who were originally seated in the northern Decies in the present county of Tipperary some time before the English invasion. O'Faelain, now made Phelan, in the anglicized form of the name, without the prefix O' and by some, Whelan. “

This Whalen surname exists to this day, unlike the next one according to some research. This Whalen Tribal name held the second highest Irish rank of ‘Princes’ in the social classes and order, with only ‘King’ above it.

Why A Wolf?

The first time one of the sons of Fiacha Suidhe was formally named and called a ‘wolf’ in the Annals was 19 generations after Fiacha lived and around the 800’s AD. This of course made me curious as to why someone might be called the Gaelic for Wolf, and I found the following regarding ancient and Celtic symbology.


Intelligence & Cunning
“The wolf is a cunning, intelligent creature, capable of out-thinking hunters. It can teach us how to read the signs of nature in everything, how to pass by danger invisibly, how to outwit those who wish you harm, and how to fight when needed. Sometimes the wolf, when seen on a journey, will lead you to a spiritual teacher and guide.”

In addition, various sources note:
“As a Celtic symbol, the Wolf was a source of lunar power. Celtic lore states that the Wolf would hunt down the sun and devour it at each dusk so as to allow the power of the moon to come forth…. To understand totem wolf symbols, one must first understand the heart of the Wolf. This takes time because the Wolf has had to endure many false stereotypes, misconceptions, and misunderstandings.
Some common traits that accompany totem wolf symbols: Intelligence, Cunning, Communication, Friendliness, Loyalty, Generosity, and Compassionate
Not at all the picture of ferocity or terror, the Wolf is a creature with a high sense of loyalty and strength. Another misconception is that of the “lone wolf.” To the contrary, the Wolf is actually a social creature, friendly, and gregarious with its counterparts.
The Wolf is an incredible communicator. By using touch, body movements, eye contact as well as many complex vocal expressions – the wolf makes his point understood. Those with totem wolf symbols are of the same inclination – they are expressive both vocally and physically. Those who have the wolf as their totem animal are naturally eloquent in speech, and also have knack for creative writing.
Totem wolf symbols belong to those who truly understand the depth of passion that belong to this noble creature. The Wolf is a representative of deep faith, and profound understanding. Further, the Wolf possess a high intellect, and have been observed using strategies about hunting, habitat and migration. “


The second ancient group of the Whalen namesakes noted in history are….
• O’Faoilain (The Wild One) - The second smaller but older bloodline ‘O Faoileain/Phelan’ came from either the Érainn Tribes (500-300 BC) or the Tuatha De Danann Tribes (300-100 BC) who invaded Ireland and were originally from Belgium (the Celtic Belgae Tribes that Caesar mentions in his chronicles) and Normandy respectively. The Whalen’s were part of a larger clan (Fitzpatrick were the Kings, then Chiefs of the line) that was centered in the Kingdom of Ossory, Leinster Province. The Phalen/Whalen’s were centered in the western plains of ‘Mahg Lacha’ in Upper Ossory. Subsets of our Whalen’s were the O Horahan and the Delany clans.

Just to really confuse things, evidently Clan names historically changed at times and ‘morphed’ into something completely different on occasion (perhaps ‘daughtered’ out). That happened to our Whalen’s in Ossory. Evidently, they were originally called O Kealy, and somehow it switched to Phalen/Whalen. It remained ‘our’ name for many centuries, and then changed again to O'Byrne in medieval times.

Finally, one researcher emailed me some information that contained an ancient poem regarding these Whalen’s:

“In Magh Lacha of the warm hill slopes
Is O'Faolain of manly tribe;
Extensive is the district due to them,
Which the O'Faolains have filled.”

The third possible group of Whalen ancestors from history are rather obscure and lesser in rank…

Some records say that this Whalen bloodline surname no longer exists although I have run into contradictory evidence as well. This Tribal name held the third highest Irish rank of ‘Noble Ruling Family’ in the social classes and order.

• O'FELAN -The third distinct Whalen clan has very little known about it at this time. It is known that social rank wise, it was considered a ‘Bardic Family’ and was centered in the north of Ireland in Ulster Province. The largest amount of information is on the Whalen’s in Armagh County, who are possibly a sept of Brassail Clan (MacCann’s) who were located at the south end of Lake ‘Lough Naogh’.
• A separate historical source has Whalen’s “In west Ulster it is O Fialain, being a distinct Bardic family”.
• Finally, another record denoting a variety of family names and locations has them noted simply as “O'FELAN, Fermanagh”, meaning of course that they were located in Fermanagh County, Ulster Province.

It is unclear if this name still exists. This Tribal name held the lesser but still considered privileged Irish rank of ‘Bardic Family’ in the social classes and order.

More Options, Never An Answer It Seems

It is interesting (and a little frustrating) to note, that while we have no clue which, if any of these above ancient bloodlines actually are the same as mine, we do have solid genealogical facts that could associate us with all three. In other words, all this research and we still can’t strike even one off the list!

Mike

[MikeWhalen]

*this is yet another exerpt from the family saga I did, please ignore any references to my personal branch and know that the pictures did not copy over so some references might not quite make sense...

The Munster Whalen’s

Multiple Irish sources predominantly note the Whalen name means WOLF, and is in fact, an ancient Irish Sept (sub branch of a family or Clan) that can be found in its original Gaelic form as far back as the Third century AD. The original Gaelic form of the Whalen name seems to have been spelt two ways, the older “Ua Fáeláin” (from the Dark Ages) and relatively more recent “Ó Faoláin “ (starting in Medieval times). One Irish genealogical site reports, “Ó Faoláin, faol, wolf. A sept of the Decies, Waterford; Ó Faoláin was the first chief to fall resisting the Invasion in 1169. See also Phelan”

Another source notes the following explanation regarding the Whalen Tribe or Clans name actually being named the Deisi or Decies. Ancient Celtic records indicate that there were separate branches in both Northern and Southern Tipperary in addition to the eventually more powerful and Original group in Waterford and elsewhere.
One of the best synopses I’ve found is the following:
“Ó Faoláin is the name of an important Irish sept prominent in the southeast of the country. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "faol" meaning a wolf, "Faoláin" being a diminutive form (little wolf). The original Faoláin from whom the surname is derived, was nineteenth in descent from Fiacha Suidhe, a younger brother of Conn of the Hundred Battles, who reigned as High King for thirty five years until his death in A.D. 157. This makes the O Faoláin sept of the same origin as Commisky and Ó Bric.
It is natural that the present day representatives of the sept of Ó Faoláin should be found in the places mentioned, because their chiefs were Princes of the Decies, in west Waterford, before the arrival of the Normans.
Aryan (an ancient Druidic chronicler) speaks of them thus: "Two gentle chiefs whose names I tell, rule the Desies. I affirm it. O'Bric the exactor of tributes, with him the wise and fair O'Felan. In Moylacha of the fertile slopes, rules O'Felan for the benefit of his tribe. Great is the allotted territory, of which O'Felan holds possession".

Conn of the Hundred Battles
The actual ancient Irish Annals, that were the oral histories passed down through millennia first by the druids, and then by Celtic Bardic tradition and finally recorded by 4 medieval Irish Monks, list and give brief biographies of all the ‘Milesian Dynasty’ Irish High Kings and their lines from about 1800 BC to Elizabethan times. Modern historians generally agree that anything before 200 AD is not particularly reliable, but everything after that is surprisingly solid.


High King Conn of Ireland in a historically accurate picture from about 130 AD. Note the spear is the favoured weapon of choice for the Celts. Conn is the elder brother of the Faoláin founder, and thus the Great Uncle x 100 of any Decies Whalen

The story of ‘our’ High King Conn begins in 122 A.D., which is right on the cusp of historical reliability. This last quote from the Irish Annals pertains to our link to the High King of Ireland and his two younger brothers, one of which is the key ancestor of all the Ó Faoláin’s and eventual Whalen’s….
“80. Conn Ceadcathach or Conn of the Hundred Battles; his son (Ed. Note - they mean Conn is the son of the 108th High King Fedhlimidh [Felim] Rachtmar);
this Conn was so called from hundreds of battles by him fought and won: viz., sixty battles against Cahir Mór, King of Leinster and the 109th Monarch of Ireland, whom he slew and succeeded in the Monarchy; one hundred battles against the Ulsterians; and one hundred more in Munster against Owen Mór (or Mogha Nua-Dhad), their King, who, notwithstanding, forced the said Conn to an equal division of the Kingdom with him. He had two brothers - 1. Eochaidh Fionn-Fohart, 2. Fiacha Suidhe (Ed. Note-my Caps), who, to make way for themselves, murdered two of their brother's sons named Conla Ruadh and Crionna; but they were by the third son Art Eanfhear banished, first into Leinster, and then into Munster, where they lived near Cashel.
They were seated at Deici Teamhrach (now the barony of Desee in Meath), whence they were expelled by the Monarch Cormac Ulfhada, son of Art; and, after various wanderings, they went to Munster where Oilioll Olum, who was married to Sadhbh, daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles, gave them a large district of the present county of Waterford, a part of which is still called Na-Deiseacha, or the baronies of Desies. They were also given the country comprised in the present baronies of Clonmel, Upper-Third, and Middle-Third, in the Co. Tipperary, which they held till the Anglo-Norman Invasion.
Conn reigned 35 years; but was at length barbarously slain by Tiobraidhe Tireach, son of Mal, son of Rochruidhe, King of Ulster. This murder was committed in the High Kings Palace at Tara, A.D. 157, when Conn chanced to be alone and unattended by his guards; the assassins were fifty ruffians, disguised as women, whom the King of Ulster employed for the purpose.


In any case, the original Faoláin noted in the Annals was the 19th direct descendant of Fiacha Suidhe who was in turn a younger son of the 108th Milesian Monarchs of Ireland Fedhlimidh (Felim) Rachtmar and seemingly the youngest brother of the 109th High King Conn Ceadcathach. Using very rough calculations, it seems our name first occurred around 820 A.D. Four generations later, Ó Faoláin is used as a surname in the Annals the very first time, and he is the Great Great grandson of the Faoláin. Not coincidentally, this occurs around 1070 A.D., just after the Norman Invasion of England and William the Conqueror’s instituting the practice of using Surnames.

What is particularly cool about this (and why I love this research) is I arrived at the 1070 date by counting backward and forwards the listed generations in the Annals and used their very occasional actual dates to figure they internally use 45-50 yrs. as a generation count. I did not know my rough calculation exactly matched the known historical reality of when surnames were first starting to be used until I was typing the above sentence.

Fiacha Suidhe’s Story-High King Conn’s Baby Brother
The following stories are about the Whalen’s name ultimate ancestor Fiacha and his mighty son Aonghus and they come from “THE HISTORY OF IRELAND -BOOK 1 AND 2 BY GEOFFRY KEATING-Section 44-XLIV”. (note how the spelling of various Gaelic names changes)

“As to Conn's other brother, namely, Fiachaidh Suighdhe, he got land near Tara (Ed Note-Ancient seat of Kings in Meath County), namely, the Deise Teamhrach; and he did not become king of Ireland.
Now he had three sons, namely, Rossa and Aonghus, (called Aonghus Gaoibuaibhtheach), and Eoghan, the third son. But Aonghus Gaoibuaibhtheach surpassed his contemporaries in valour.
And High King Cormac (Conn’s Grandson) at that time was at enmity with a powerful personage, and no one protected him from Cormac but Aonghus Gaoibuaibhtheach; and the king gave Aonghus to him as a security. Aonghus took this nobleman under his protection. But after this, Ceallach, son of Cormac, took this nobleman prisoner in violation of the security of Aonghus, and took out his eyes without the king's permission.

When Aonghus Gaoibuaibhtheach heard this, he proceeded to Tara, accompanied by a numerous host, and slew Ceallach by a cast of his spear, as he stood behind king Cormac in the court, and wounded the king himself in the eye, leaving him with only one eye. Cormac assembled a large host and banished Aonghus and his kinsmen.
These descendants of Fiachaidh Suighdhe involved Cormac in much fighting.
However, Cormac drove them into Leinster, and they remained there a year; and thence they went to Osruighe, and thence they came to Oilill Olom (King of Munster Province), whose wife, Sadhbh daughter of Conn, was their kinswoman and Aunt.
Oilill Olom gave them the Deise in Munster, for their native territory was the Deise Teamhrach, before they were banished by Cormac.
These three sons of Fiachaidh Suighdhe divided that territory between them into three parts; and they are called the descendants of Oilill Earann, and the Earna.
--

[MikeWhalen]

Part 2...

These descendants of Fiachaidh Suighdhe, who are called the Deise, possessed only the district known as Deise Dheisceirt, that is, from the Siuir (river) southwards to the sea, and from Lios Mor to Ceann Criadain, up to the time when Eithne Uathach was married to Aonghus son of Natfraoch, king of Munster.
For it was about that time that Aonghus gave them Deise Thuaisceirt, that is, from the same Siuir to Corca Athrach, which is called the Plain of Cashel.
And O Faolain, who came from that stock, was king of Deise Thuaisceirt; and the place in which his residence was situated was on the brink of the Siuir to the west of Inis Leamhnachtaf (Ed. Note-1 mile west of Clonmel) ; and Dun Ui Fhaolain is the name it is called to-day.
Another kinsman of his occupied Deise Dheisceirt, and he was called O Bric; and he had his stronghold beside the sea, in the south, in the place which is now called Oilean Ui Bhric. And the Deise were divided thus between these two races until the race of O Bric became extinct; and O Faolain obtained the chieftainship of the two territories, and held it for a long period afterwards
These descendants of Fiachaidh Suighdhe, who are called the Deise, possessed only the district known as Deise Dheisceirt, that is, from the Siuir southwards to the sea, and from Lios Mor to Ceann Criadain, up to the time when Eithne Uathach was married to Aonghus son of Natfraoch, king of Munster. For it was about that time that Aonghus gave them Deise Thuaisceirt, that is, from the same Siuir to Corca Athrach, which is called the Plain of Cashel.

I know it can be difficult for the reader to get through some of these stories, given the very unfamiliar names, but I wanted to give a ‘flavour’ of what was going on back in the late Second Century with what would eventually become known as the Decies Tribe and specifically the eventual Whalen’s. It is very difficult to track down a site that has all the different information and I wanted to get at least some key parts documented.

The above fights are all between close kin, kin that would eventually be known as Whalen’s, be it nephews and uncles or first cousins. I’ve even seen one brief and very different story that tells of the split between High King Conn’s brother Fiacha, and Conn’s son High King Art and then grandson High King Cormac. This other version says the feud started because a niece of Fiacha’s was raped, and he killed the rapist, who was under the protection of Cormac for some reason. and that started the major family dispute. I have not been able to find solid enough documentation about the last story to put in the Saga, but it might help explain why Conn’s daughter Sadhbh, who married the powerful King of Munster, sided with Fiacha against her brother Art and gave them huge tracks of land in Munster after they were driven from Meath and Leinster.

Finally, I found a passage from the classic ‘History of Ireland’ that has a small poem regarding the beginning of the feud…like most poems, it doesn’t give us any key answers, but its fun to read:
The two brothers of Conn without faults
Were Eochaidh Fionn and Fiachaidh Suighdhe;
They slew Connla and Crionna,
Conn's two sons, two fair youths;

Art hated Eochaidh Fionn
After the two sons had been slain;
He took the name of Art Aoinfhear
After his two brothers were slain.

The poem seems to say that High King Art, son of Conn and surviving brother of the 2 slain ‘fair youths’ blamed only one of his uncles for the killings. It’s clearly stated that both Eochaidh and Fiachaidh did the killing, but Art only ‘hated’ Eochaidh for what had happened. It also says that High King Conn’s two brothers (‘our’ Fiachaidh. and the hated Eochaidh) were ‘without fault’, obviously meaning to portray them in a positive light. I’ve read many passages in this particular history, and believe me, if the author wanted to call them ‘treacherous scum’, or some similar negative characterisation, he would have.

I have no explanation for these contradictions and mysteries of how the Whalen’s ended up being ruling Princes in Waterford and Tipperary, but would remind the reader that Irish Scholars do believe these people actually existed, although a lot of mystical story telling gets woven into the tales (there are several well known and very magical stories regarding High King Art and his battling demons and other supernatural creatures).


Saying Our Name in Gaelic

On a point of pronunciation, I asked a man who used the DNA Forum’s web site (that I often visit for the DNA part of my research) and who is a Scot fluent in ancient Gaelic, how you would actually pronounce the ultimate founder of the Whalen name Fiacha Suidhe and our Clans original name O Faoláin. ‘Harry’ kindly responded using phonetic spelling to get the sounds right;

“Mike, as to your first query: Fee-uch-uh Soo-yeh (The ch is a guttural sound as in Scots 'loch', or Ugh! as an exclamation of disgust)’ and ‘As to O Faoláin, it's roughly Oh-Feh-lawn, with the stress on the last syllable”.

Druidic Oral Histories and Masterly Medieval Irish Monks

More generally, the oral Druid genealogies passed down literally over many centuries and were eventually made into key Irish historical records called the Annals by four Irish Monks. These ‘four Masters’ referred to the Whalen Tribe (the Deisi) and Clan many times. It should be noted that they seem to exclusively look at these Munster Whalen’s and not the Leinster or Ulster ones. The first entry being:
“For 265 (AD), Cormac afterwards fought and gained seven battles over the Deisi [of Mide/Breagh], in revenge of that deed (Ed Note- the killing of High King Cormac’s son as explained above), and he expelled them from their territory, so that they are now in Munster”.

The ancient Irish ‘Annals’ also note the ‘Ua Fáeláin’ (Whalen Sept of the Deice’s Tribe) in 265 AD and our surname ancestors were recorded as being involved in major power struggles for many years over the territory around the River Boyne in North East Ireland near Dublin and possibly Meath County. A quick look of the Annals shows that the Whalen’s were a warrior clan who seemed to be at constant battle with their neighbours.

Frankly, the various accounts in the Annals become very confusing, with many an entry noting year by year, and sometimes month by month, famous chieftains of our Tribe, winning, dying, losing, retreating, resurging, triumphing and falling over the centuries. In addition, it seems that there is more than one major Druidic genealogical history that had been written down (there seem to be four major ones), and while the ones I’ve seen seem to agree on most of the main facts, details nuances and dates change between them.

Déisi

The following are a few quotes that, while rather confusing at first, use the ancient Gaelic titles and names to place the different major branches of the larger Whalen clan. The simple bottom line is, this ‘Whalen’ name comes from a powerful Irish Tribe that was based in Munster Province and was originally centered around the South east and coastal areas of Waterford, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Wicklow and Carlow Counties. In good times we spread inland to parts of Kilkenny and Cork Counties, and in bad times, we retreated or were pushed back. It is unclear whether at some point the Tribe had a Kingdom in the Waterford area or whether it was considered a princedom. I have seen both terms used in respected documents. (Ed. Note - It appears to have been more of a Princedom as the Faoláin line came from the brother of a High King of Ireland, although some notes say Faoláin’s are ‘Kings of the Decies’).
It is probably useful to remember that the Irish had a general history of having dozens upon dozens of small ‘Kingdoms’ (up to 150 at one point) that were at times ruled by an over king or ‘High King’. I rather suspect many of the Irish ‘Kingdoms’, when compared to political entities elsewhere in England or the Continent, would be more the level of Earldoms and Duchies and not true Kingdoms. It does seem clear that the ancient Irish had a rather ‘liberal’ or forgiving definition of who was called a King.

In fact, it is well known that this very splintered and independent tribal/political arrangement in Ireland is what sabotaged a fierce and ‘well feared by others’ warrior society. This diffusion of power and parochial tribal allegiances allowed the Irish to be routinely conquered and subjugated by better-organized countries led by a single, powerful, absolute Monarch.

‘Dun Faelan’ or ‘Fort Whalen’

Irish records note that ‘our’ Fiacha Suidhe originally established his stronghold in the middle of Tipperary County, in what’s now know as the Baronies of Clonmel, Upper-Third, and Middle-Third. It is said he built on the banks of the River Suir, which meanders roughly down the center of Tipperary until it comes to the Ocean at Waterford City.


Mid Tipperary Co.- Castle of Cashel, better known as the ‘Rock of Cashel-only 25 km north of Clonmel, where we now know that Fiacha Suidhe, the true Whalen Patriarch built his ‘Stronghold’ around 200 AD and on the River Suir in south of the ‘Golden Vale’.

[MikeWhalen]

part 3

We are also told that there was a major Whalen Fort or ‘Dun Faelan’ somewhere near the critical landmark and later seat of power called Cashel. The ‘Rock of Cashel’ is now one of the best preserved major Castles in Ireland and had been the Capital of the ancient kingdom of Thomond (which was the size of a province and roughly took up the ‘midsection’ of Ireland).

It is unknown exactly what sort of structure made up the Fort Whalen, but it likely was a ‘Hill Tower’ type design at first. It would have had anywhere from one to three protective walls around a central stone tower and the complex would be large enough to defend not only the Noble families, but much of the local populous. It should also be noted that it might have been built more than once, as it was common for new military designs to be introduced over the centruries to improve the structures. We know Fiacha would be considered the ‘Iron Age” when he first built the stronghold in the late 100’s AD. Later, when the Annals note that the Tribal chief ‘Fealen’ made his ‘Dun Feolain’, it would have been the ‘Dark Ages’ and around 500-600 AD.

Typically with structures like Dun Faelan, there was a 3 or 4 story round stone tower built on the top of a large hill. The Iron Age versions of these did not take full advantage of the size or location of the hill, whereas the Dark Age ones maximized natural terrain advantages. The bases of these towers could be 8-10 feet thick and the few surviving examples show an excellent mortar-less stonework craftsmanship rivalling Egyptian stonework.


A picture of a 2000 yr old ruins of an Irish Iron age Fort called Dun Aunges, similar to what Fiacha would have built around 200 AD. I especially like this picture because Dun Faelan was built on the banks of the River Suir and would have been of similar placement-note the largest inner wall and the succeeding outer walls

In any case, the Whalen Fortress would not look like the huge and massive castles we are used to seeing in pictures or movies today. Most of those are based on the huge and sophisticated Norman strongholds, or the even more modern King Henry the Eighth or King Louis the Fourteenth style ‘super’ Fortresses depicted in movies.

Dun Faoláin or Fort Whalen?
A good example of thick round stone tower type forts built on hilltops
It’s interesting to note that the Suir River runs fairly close to Cashel and one can’t help but wonder if the stronghold built by Fiacha Suidhe is the same structure that is later called Dun Faelan (remembering that the Faelan name did not appear in the line until 19 generations after Fiacha). I could not find any other information on the Whalen Fort other than to know for sure it existed in the Dark Ages (Ed Note-one mystery solved, see next update for the actual location of Dun Faoláin).

Update -March 2008-‘Our Fort, in the Rough’

The location for Dun Faoláin has been found and I was close in my guess!
Using the place name ‘Inis Leamhnachta’ from the annals when describing where Fiacha first made his stronghold near Cashel, I finally found a reference to it on the web, and upon examination, they clearly note the remains of Dun Faoláin or Fort Whalen.
The Dun Faoláin is located on the banks of the Suir River on a hill just 1 mile west of the town of Clonmel in Tipperary Co where it borders Waterford Co. It is located on what is now known as the 400 acre ‘Marlfield Estate’. Clonmel is in the south end of what’s known as the ‘Golden Vale’ (originally due to its excellent grazing land) of Tipperary and is only 25 km south southwest of the Rock of Cashel.

Once I found that, I was able to find the following confirmation in a Scholarly document from the History of Ireland web site:
Dun Ui Fhaolain-fort on the r. Suir to the west of Inis Leamhnachta- a mile west of Clonmel; the residence of O Faolain (King of Deise Dheisceirt).

Ironically, the remains of Dun Faoláin are smack dab in the middle of an elite golf course and housing development! A brochure for the Marlfield Estate says
“While archaeologists believe there is evidence of habitation on the estate dating back to the Bronze Age, the earliest surviving human imprint is an early Christian era Ring Fort, probably of the Ui Faoláin Clan, which now overlooks the 16th green”

So it turns out we do have the remnants of the Faoláin Ring Fort I predicted earlier and that according to the Marlfield archaeologists, was made around 500-600 AD.

Update - Aug. 2007-Real Princes, Who Woulda Thunk It?

I have purchased a huge historical map of Ireland that places all the family names recorded by either the Annals, modern historical scholarship or various government records upon it. This map notes the traditional social position of each name under ancient Ireland’s Brehon Laws. All these names are cross-referenced by ethnic origin and general family status with 14 separate categories.

Examples of traditional Irish social ranks are in descending order; King/Prince>Ruling Lord>Noble Chieftain Family> Bardic Family (poets, historians, heralds), and Erenach Family (managers of ecclesiastical lands). In addition, other important groups
such as Norman Families, Gallowglass Families, Scot, Welsh, and various others are listed.


It is a wonderful map that has been framed and hung in my house, not the least because I find the Whalen name 4 separate times, and each time we are noted as ‘Princes’ when indicating social position! All of the Whalen ‘Princes’ were found in the County of Waterford and were in 4 separate Baronies or districts. The four separate strongholds were noted as; ‘O’Felan’ and he was a Prince in the ‘Gaultive Barony;’ ‘O’Phelan’, a Prince in ‘Decies’, ‘O’Felan (Whalen)’ a Prince in ‘Coshbride;’ and ‘O’Felan’ a Prince in ‘Upper Third’ (bordering Tipperary Co.).


It’s fascinating to note that the ‘(Whalen)’ in parenthesis in the above line is actually on the map and uses ‘our’ specific spelling of WHALEN. I have no explanation for that as I always understood the ‘Whealen/Whelan’ variations to be older. Perhaps it’s Whalen that is the oldest.


The following is a brief quote from a textbook that gives some other details about our tribe and indicates they once controlled territory up to Dublin itself:


”The Déisi Mumhan were of County Waterford and southern County Tipperary. Sept’s included Ua Bric (O'Brick) and Ua Fáeláin (Phelan/Whelan/Whalen). The earlier origins of the Déisi are stated to be on the plains of the River Boyne (near Dublin), where the tribes of the Deisi Brega continued to flourish in early medieval times. An ancient genealogy has the Ua Fáeláin of Déisi in descent from “Fiacha Suidhe”, a brother of High King Conn Ceadchathach (of the Hundred Battles and High King of Ireland).”

A map showing the location of the various Irish Tribes, using Gaelic names just prior to the Norman Invasion of 1100-I have inserted the two ‘Whalen’ Castle locations( see ‘Phalen’ & ‘Dun Faoláin’) to give a frame of reference, along with a large ‘WHALEN’ to show the traditional Princedom of the Whalen’s

Deisi Tuaiscirt-the Tipperary Co. Branch

Another quote that narrows down the exact sub branch of the Deisi that our Tipperary Whalen’s might have come from:
”The Déise Becc (Déisi Bicce) was noted regarding the Baronies of Small County and Coshlea in southeast county Limerick. The parish of Athneasy, alias Áth na nDéise, is said to derive it’s name from the Déise Becc. They are sometimes referred to as 'In Déis Deiscirt' to distinguish them from their northern neighbours, the 'In Déis Tuaiscirt' who is represented in the Dal gCais. However the terms déisi tuaiscirt and Déise Deiscirt were also applied to the O'Felans and O'Brics of north and south Decies (Dési Muman), respectively.”

So, to translate the above, the Faoláin’s were first the northern branch of the Decies (or ‘Deisi Tuaiscirt’) and ruled in Tipperary, while their close cousins the O’Brics (or ‘Deisi Deiscirt’) ruled the southern or Waterford Decies. It’s unclear how long that lasted, but it began around 200 AD, and at some point, the Faoláin’s either pushed out or in some way, took over from the O’Brics. This left our Whalen’s as the sole rulers of the Decies for many centuries and the Tuaiscirt and Deiscirt ‘tags’ were dropped as meaningless.

One last note for the reader if you have stuck with me so far, is the use of the original Gaelic for name places and family names can get very confusing. The fact that they use different spellings for the same darn word, sometimes in one paragraph (see the paragraph above for a good example), illustrates some of the challenges of genealogy and the task of teasing out meaningful information from ancient sources.

Here Is A Mouthful
In summation, there is a real possibility that our Family name stems from the Ancient Gaelic “DÈISI” Tribe (in what’s now known as Munster Province, Waterford and various surrounding county areas), of the “DÈISI TUAISCIRT” Branch (Tipperary County), of the Sept “UA FAELÀIN” (the Wolf), which ultimately produced the modern PHELAN-WHELAN-WHEALEN-WHALEN family names.

Deisi > Deisi Tuaiscirt > Ua Faelain >O’Faoláin> Phelan >Whealen >Whalen

We can also say our family name is possibly descended from an Irish High King of the Ancient Milesian dynasty. Our name ultimately comes from a man named Fiacha Suidhe who was one of the younger sons of the 108th High King Fedhlimidh (Felim) Rachtmar and a younger brother of the very famous and successful 109th High King, Conn Ceadcathach, or Conn of the Hundred Battles.

Finally, according to recent Irish Census statistics, the Phalen/Whalen name is among the 50 most common Irish surnames in Ireland (44th to be precise). It is estimated that there are some 12,000 souls with a Phelan/Whelan surname in Ireland with most living in the Province of Munster and in the counties of Waterford and Kilkenny and the neighbouring areas.

[MikeWhalen]

part 4

Can I Have My Counties Back, Now Please

The reader might have picked up on this last point before, but to be clear, if you’re wondering what happened to our ‘Princedom”, there was a little thing called the 2nd Norman Invasion. In 1169 Henry, the grandson of William the Conqueror, authorized a Norman invasion of Ireland (led by Duke Strongbow and his Norman, Welsh and Flemish troops) and it was the east coast (our coast) of Ireland that first felt the brunt of it, and the first landing occurred at Waterford.

The annals proudly note that it was a brave Prince and Chieftain of the Decies Tribe who first resisted the Norman invaders and fell in the onslaught. After the conquest, the remnants of the Decies were pushed inland (Tipperary was one of the most common refuges it seems, along with Kilkenny Co and possibly Cork Co.). They certainly lost their land and probably most, if not all their influence, as did almost all other Celtic families. The ‘Powers’ family primarily supplanted them in their old territory as they were major supporters of Duke Strongbow and the English/Norman King Henry.


and the following is a response from a friend at the old dna forums, 'Dubhthach', who knows a heck of alot more about the Irish language than I do, he adds...

"specifically Faolán means "little wolf" the suffix "-án" implies a dimunitive in the Irish language. The spelling of the nominative singular form of name is Faolán this is what the man would have been know as. In Irish surnames are in the genitive cause. The genitive singular of Faolán been Faoláin thence: Ó Faoláin

In Middle Irish Ó was written as Ua. In comparison Uí is pronuned as ee (in Irish vowel combinations the Long vowel is the one pronounced), Uí also has a more broader meaning and would be used in expressions such as "Clann Uí Faoláin" (The Children of Faolán -- Clann == one's children) or Bean Uí Faoláin (The wife of Ó Faoláin -- Mrs. Ó Faoláin) Ó literally means grandson/descendant.

Pronunciation depends on dialect in Munster the AO vowel cluster is pronunced like a long e (É) sort of like the ay in bay or ey in whey
In Ulster/Connacht ao is pronunced as long i (í) like the ee in bee

á (long a) is sort of like the aw in lawn or yawn

Initial F when broad also tends to have an offglide sound which is sort like a w (it's kinda like a half-vowel)

So you will here pronunciation like Fwee-lawn and Fway-lawn

Thence angliscations like Phealan, Whealan, Whalen these tend to somewhat reflect the local dialectical variation in Irish language.
Anyways another way of saying wolf is "Faolchú" (Cú = hound/dog), the most common expression now adays is "Mac Tíre" (Son of the country -- thence the surname McAteer)

In comparison a Wolfhound is "cú faoil" (faoil = genitive of Faol)

Mike

[Vickie Whitty]

Mike My married name is Whitty, how ever I was born with the last name Whalen . Upon research I have found two family crests, one from England and one from Ireland, I don't know very much about my family, is there some way to trace back and find out? My Father Stanley Wilber Whalen, And grandfather Thomas Jefferson Whalen, I know my father was born in Tennesse in 1918, but thats about all I know.

[MikeWhalen]

Hi Vickie, welcome to the forum!
We have had many women be the ones that took an interest in their fathers line's genealogy, my co-admin of the whalen/phalen dna surname project, Francis, has done a great amount of work on her dads line.

The key is getting a male that is in that line to get DNA tested, and STR test is the best for this (there are 2 basic types of test...STR & SNP, each is very useful for different questions). Is your dad still alive and would he be willing to do a mouth swab to collect the DNA needed? A biological brother or son or even his father would do, but as a girl, thats one thing you cant supply yourself.

If you did have one of your Whalen male donors, then you could first join the Whalen/Phalen DNA surname project (to get a discount on the price of the testing) and then test for a couple of hundred bucks, the 67 STR test by FTdna-then you can compare your results with both our projects (we have 70-80 Whalen males tested now with about 8-9 distinct groupings) and the FTdna data base....if you get a good match, that can often (but not always) break through your genealogical 'brick wall' and link you up with kin you did not know of and also any paper trail back to Ireland they might have

Of course, traditional pen and paper genealogical research is great and I dont know if you have done much on that. If you have and are at a dead end (as I am with my line) then a DNA match is the only hope to get around it.

as for the crests, are either of these the ones you saw?
whelan-dublin.jpg whelanMunster.jpg

when doing my research on my family line some years ago, I dubbed the one on the left the the Leinster Whalen crest as the knight that was awarded it was originally from that province. The other one was dubbed the Munster Crest, its author unknown but the stags head is the ancient symbol for Munster province. Historically, there were well known but distinctly different Whalen/Phelan clans based in each provice, with the Powerful Dicies Tribe in Munster and the middle power Barons of Offaly in Leinster

For 100 bucks, I had created the Whalen crest you see as my avitar, quite personalized for my family line...great fun and means nothing of course...there are some very serious 'crestology' guys that go on about the official rules and how no one else can clam the crests but 1 special guy and so forth...and that most crests are modern (meaning last few hundred years) and meaningless....I cheerfully ignore all them and have my crest on my coffee mug and key chain

anyway, hope this helps..check out the link at the bottom of my sig to see our surname web site to see how it all sorta works...feel free to ask questions, Francis is better at some things than I and she is super helpfull

regards

Mike