The Uí Lochlainn,[1] also known as the Ó Lochlainn family,[2] were a leading kindred in the Burren region of County Clare.

The Uí Lochlainn were a branch of the Corcu Mruad.[3] In Irish their surname was Ua Lochlainn and Ó Lochlainn.[4] Forms of the personal name Lochlainn first appear on record in the tenth century; the earliest known bearer being Lochlaind mac Maíl Shechnaill, heir of the Corcu Mruad, whose death is noted in 983.[5]

In the sixteenth century, the family's principal seat was situated in the Gragans, at a tower house near the site of the later Gregans Castle.[6] The Uí Lochlainn chieftains lost autonomy in the seventeenth century, although later descendants of the chiefs continued to live in the heart of the family's ancestral lands until twentieth century.[7]

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References

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  • Gibson, DB (2012). From the Chiefdom to State in Early Ireland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-01563-0 – via Google Books.
  • Ó Cuív, B (1988). "Personal Names as an Indicator of Relations Between Native Irish and Settlers in the Viking Period". In Bradley, J (ed.). Settlement and Society in Medieval Ireland: Studies Presented to F.X. Martin. Irish Studies. Kilkenny: Boethius Press. pp. 79–88. ISBN 0863141439 – via Google Books.
  • Ó Murchadha, D (1992–1993). "Nationality Names in the Irish Annals" (PDF). Nomina. 16: 49–70. ISSN 0141-6340.