John O'Hart facts for kids
John O'Hart (whose name in Irish was Seán Ó hAirt) was an important Irish historian and expert in genealogy (the study of family history). He lived from 1824 to 1902. He is well-known for his work on the very old family lines of Ireland.
He was born in a place called Crossmolina in County Mayo, Ireland. John O'Hart cared deeply about his Roman Catholic faith and his Irish heritage. He first thought about becoming a priest, but instead, he worked as a police officer for two years. He also studied at Queen's University, Belfast.
John O'Hart worked for the national education system during the time of the Great Famine. This was a very difficult period in Irish history. He later became a genealogist, which means he helped people trace their family trees. He was very interested in Irish history. He passed away in 1902 in Clontarf, near Dublin, when he was 78 years old.
His Important Books
One of John O'Hart's big books, called The Irish and Anglo-Irish landed gentry, was 800 pages long. It was first published in Dublin in 1884. This book was so important that it was printed again in 1969.
Another famous book by O'Hart is Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation. This book first came out in 1876 and has been printed many times since then.
How He Found His Information
To create his detailed family histories, John O'Hart used information from many old writings. He looked at the works of people like Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh and Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh. He also used a very old Irish history book called the Annals of the Four Masters. These sources helped him trace family lines from medieval times (the Middle Ages).
For family trees that went past the 1600s, he used books by other historians like Bernard Burke and John Collins.
The Story of the Irish People's Origins
In his book Irish Pedigrees, John O'Hart wrote about the legendary beginnings of the Irish people. These stories trace the Irish back to Adam and Eve from the Bible, and then through the ancient kings of Ireland.
According to old Irish traditions, every Irish person is said to be a descendant of a king named Milesius. The story says that Milesius came from Spain around 1700 BC. This date comes from the Annals of the Four Masters. John O'Hart started each of his family trees with Adam. He listed Milesius as Adam's 36th descendant.
Here is a list of the legendary ancestors, starting from Adam, as presented by O'Hart: (1) Adam, his son (2) Seth, his son (3) Enos, his son (4) Cainan, his son (5) Mahalaleel, his son (6) Jared, his son (7) Enoch, his son (8) Methuselah, his son (9) Lamech, his son (10) Noah, his son (11) Japhet, his son (12) Magog, his son (13) Baoth, "to whom Scythia came has his lot", his son (14) Phoeniusa Farsaidh (Fenius Farsa) King of Scythia, his son (15) Niul, his son (16) Gaodhal (Gathelus), his son (17) Asruth, his son (18) Sruth (who fled Egypt to Creta), his son (19) Heber Scut (returned to Scythia), his son (20) Beouman, King of Scythia, his son (21) Ogaman King of Scythia, his son (22) Tait King of Scythia, his son (23) Agnon (who fled Scythia by sea with the majority of his people), his son (24) Lamhfionn (who led his people to Gothia or Getulia, where Carthage was afterwards built), his son (25) Heber Glunfionn, King of Gothia, his son (26) Agnan Fionn King of Gothia, his son (27) Febric Glas King of Gothia, his son (28) Nenuall King of Gothia, his son (29) Nuadhad King of Gothia, his son (30) Alladh King of Gothia, his son (31) Arcadh King of Gothia, his son (32) Deag King of Gothia, his son (33) Brath, King of Gothia (who left Gothia with a large band of his people and settled in Galicia, Spain), his son (34) Breoghan, King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal, his son (35) Bile, King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal, and his son (36) Galamh (also known as Milesius of Spain), King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal.
According to O'Hart's account, Milesius had four sons: Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Amergin. These sons, along with their uncle Ithe, were part of the invasion of ancient Ireland. Milesius himself had died before the invasion. Amergin also died during the invasion and did not have any children.
The stories say that the Irish people are descended from the other four invaders: Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Ithe. These are considered the four main family lines from which all true Irish people are said to come. For example, Conn of the Hundred Battles was a descendant of Heremon, and the famous Brian Boru was descended from both Heber and Conn.
