The O'Sullivan Clan and Noble Titles
A common pitfall for many individuals who strive to preserve a clan’s identity is to seek and claim noble titles. Some purchase dubious medieval titles such as the “Baron of This” or the “Lord of That”. Others simply make up their own titles. Either way, the process puts into question the person’s judgment, and possibly the person’s sanity.
The concept of noble titles is an anathema to an O’Sullivan. By definition, a noble title is a public announcement of servitude to a king or church. We are not the kind of people who readily pledge servitude to anyone or any institution.
This being said, several individuals of our clan have, in the past, accepted various noble titles, from the kings of England, France, and Spain. None of these titles exists today.
The name, “O’Sullivan” is a title in and of itself. It means “Of the House of Sullivan” and identifies the bearer of the name as a true descendant of the Eoghanacht kings of Ireland.
The one title that had true significance to the clan was that of “The O’Sullivan Mor”. This was the title given to the elected chief of the clan, or ‘Taoiseach’ in Irish. It is absolutely impossible to determine who, if anyone should inherit that title today. As Ross O’Connell explains in the Last Colonel of the Irish Brigade:
The last O’Sullivan Mor died at Tomies in 1762. He left an illegitimate son, whose grandson is a fisherman at Killarney. This grandson told me that when a gossoon some thirty years ago, he went to see his grandfather lying dead at Tomies. He saw not only his departed ancestor, but also a great pile of old papers, “maybe three feet high, mostly written on skins in Latin and Irish; and faith I was in dread they might fall into the hands of the Mahonys or some other new people in the country, and they might get more of the old O’Sullivan estates, so I burned them all myself”!
With this desperate act went up in smoke all of the genealogical links that would allow us to identify to which branches we all belong and to whom the title of “The O’Sullivan Mor” should be presented. As it is, the clan system as a form of government has ceased to exist anyway and we no longer need a chief to lord over us. Today, clan organizations such as ours serve only to promote and preserve our common Celtic family heritage and culture.
As the elected “Taoiseach” of the International O’Sullivan Clan I have pledged servitude to our family to research and disseminate accurate information concerning our history, language, music, art, and mythology. I, of course, claim no authority over our members. I serve merely as a representative of our clan to the Finte na héireann, the Government of Ireland, the United Nations, and other Clan organizations. I am very proud of the title and very aware of its modern limitations.
No O’Sullivan is more important than any other O’Sullivan in my humble opinion.
Gary B. Sullivan, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., F.A.C.S.
Taoiseach
The International O'Sullivan Clan
Dunderry Chateau du Gravier
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