Pátraic surnames in the Fiants and Patent Rolls of Ireland Part 1: a method of approach to mega-data, and a Mac Caisín case study

Abstract

The fiants and patent rolls of Ireland are an extraordinary and largely untapped source of information. This article taps into this valuable source with a focus on interrogating Pátraic-surnames, i.e., Patrick, Fitzpatrick, Kilpatrick, Mac Giolla Phádraig and Ó Maol Phádraig, which document grants, leases, and pardons, etc., issued under the Great Seal of Ireland. The extant records of fiants are for the period 1521-1603, and the patent rolls 1514-1575 and 1603-1633, i.e., much of the reign of Henry VIII of England to the eighth year of Charles I of England. Ireland's fiants and patent rolls provide mega-data on names, places, occupations, relationships, and more, and Pátraic-surname records uncover rich narratives from all over Éire. Yet, there is a tendency for the vastness of the records to overwhelm, so a systematic approach is required to extract the maximum value. This article provides a method for 'eating an elephant', and one key is having a secure temporal frame of reference via which associations, familial and otherwise, can be understood. By way of example, the surname Mac Caisín begins this series of articles on Pátraic surnames in the Fiants and Patent Rolls of Ireland. The choice of Mac Caisín may appear strange at first, since it is not obviously a Pátraic surname. However, this article argues the case study of Mac Caisín provides a clear example of how an interrogation of the fiants, and patents reveal many instances where members of Pátraic families are recorded by other names, such as Mac William, Mac Edmund, Mac Flynn and, maybe, Mac Caisín. Understanding such names in the fiants and patents requires a sound knowledge of context so they can be distinguished as surnames or patronymics. Still, even then, there is evidence that members of Pátraic families sometimes took other surnames due to, for example, fosterage or to 'mask' a clerical lineage. This article seeks to answer questions about the Mac Caisín of Osraí (Ossory), who were unquestionably the close associates of the Fitzpatrick barons of Upper Ossory. Were the Mac Caisín either a lineage from an individual called Caisín (a name meaning curly-haired) Mac Giolla Phádraig, or a line out of fosterage, or of a ‘surname-masked’ clerical lineage; or, was there even any kinship bond?