Clan Barrett

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Clan Barrett (Irish: Clann Bairéad) is an old Irish clan from County Cork and County Mayo, Ireland. The Barretts came to Ireland from Normandy with the Norman leader Strongbow in the 12th century.^[1] They first settled in Cork and later in Mayo and Galway, becoming two related Barrett families. The Cork Barretts were larger in number, but the Mayo Barretts became more famous in Irish history.^[2]

The name Barrett comes from the old French names Beraud or Berault, which mean "bear power".^[3] Over time, it took many spellings, such as Barrett, Barratt, Bairead and Baroid. In Irish, Bairéad can also mean "warlike" or "quarrelsome".^[4]

There were two main Barrett clans in Ireland — one in Cork and one in Mayo and Galway. For a long time, people thought they were not related, but new research shows they came from the same Norman family who lived in Pembrokeshire, Wales, before coming to Ireland.^[5]

The Barretts came to Ireland around 1169 as Welsh-Norman soldiers. They worked for the Norman lord Strongbow during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Some settled in Cork, where the area called "Barrett’s Country" was named after them.^[6] Others went north with John de Cogan to Connacht and became lords in Mayo and Galway.^[7]

Over time, both Barrett families married into old Irish families and became fully part of Irish life. People said they were "more Irish than the Irish themselves". In Cork, they built castles at Ballincollig Castle and Castlemore (later called Castle Barrett). They served many kings and nobles, and some fought in famous battles such as the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.^[1]

In Mayo, the Barretts built strongholds around Glencastle and Doolough. By the 1500s, the English called the area "Irrus Domnann", after the Barretts’ fort. The Barons of Irrus were the main lords of this land, living at Doolough Castle and ruling for almost 200 years. The best-known was Sir Edmund Barrett, who lived there until 1619.^[8]

Old records say the castle at Doolough was once home to the Barretts and the Barons of Irrus, and that Spanish sailors stayed there after a shipwreck.^[9] Even now, visitors can see the three mounds at Glencastle, where the Barrett fort once stood, and the ruins of forts and cairns nearby — reminders of when the Barretts guarded the Gates of Erris.

The Barretts stayed powerful until the 1600s, when wars and land confiscations under Oliver Cromwell caused them to lose much of their land. In Cork, they lost Ballincollig Castle by 1630, and Castle Barrett was destroyed after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 when Colonel John Barrett fought on the Jacobite side.^[10]

Some Barretts later moved abroad, including to America. One of the first was James Barrett, who settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s. His family fought in early American wars, including the Lexington Alarm in 1775.^[11]

The blazon of the Barrett coat of arms is: Barry of ten per pale argent and gules counterchanged. The crest shows a black half-lion wearing a red and white crown. The family motto is Frangas non Flectes: virtus probitas, which means "You may break me but will not bend me: Power and honesty".^[3]

• Official Clan Barrett website
• The Welshmen of Tirawley, ballad by Samuel Ferguson. Archived 18 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine