Gen 6: Edward ‘Jack’ Byrne (1801-1854) & Margaret Mulvaney (1801-1876)
County Kildare Ireland to McHenry County IL

The appearance of Edward ‘Jack’ Byrne in the family tree, as the father of Catherine Burns, may be of historical importance. His descendants in Ireland trace his lineage back to ancient times and heroic efforts and events. I would dare you to find an Irishman whose life was not a historic effort. Jack was born on December 18, 1801, in Davidstown, Castledermot in County Kildare, Ireland. He sailed from Liverpool, England in 1842 and arrived in New York in April of that year.  His wife was Margaret Mulvaney (1801-1876). She was born in Kilcullen, County Kildare, Ireland.  Her parents, per parish records, were Peter and Margaret Mulvaney. Margaret (b 1801) had a brother Mathew (1803-1877), who came to America with her.  Mathew was married to the sister of Jack Byrne, Mary Byrne (1798-1888).  So, we had a brother and sister, married to a sister and her brother, all coming together to America in 1842.

Mathew insisted on spelling his first name with one ’t’ in the middle as that was how his mother spelled it when she completed the birth certificate. The Byrnes and Mulvaney families first settled in Townsend NYC, and then 2) Niagara Falls NY, and then 3) Minnesota. Several of the Byrne children Americanized their surname, hiding their Irish heritage in a world that viewed the Irish as a nuisance.  Four separate surnames were adopted by Jack’s children: the original Byrne, Burne, Burns and Burnes carried forward. The family struggled over the course of one generation regarding the appropriate spelling. Byrne family historians point to the fact that second and third generation descendants in America frequently returned to the spelling ‘Byrne’ to reflect pride in their heritage. It was only the first generation who, in the face of incredible discrimination and prejudice in America, sought refuge in a name change.

Little is known of each life lived among the ancestors of Jack Byrne. But here again, an interesting pattern emerges among the pages of those family historians who have a nose for history and a desire to be a part of that history, after the fact. The surname ‘Byrne’ evolved from O’Byrne and O’Brien and in patrimonial patterns that translates as ‘of Brian.’ And of course, right away Monty Python fans are thinking, “Oh, we descend from that guy in the Life of Brian.”  No, that is not it.

Brian Boru is the man people are pursuing. It wasn’t enough that the old Irish king gave his life trying to rid the island of Vikings in a frustrating attempt to unify Ireland. Now everyone wants a piece of his DNA to add to their William Wallace and William the Conqueror and Ghengis Khan pedigree. Once Edward ‘Jack’ Byrne showed up in my family tree I started getting queries from people who wanted me to join their various Brian Boru societies. For a donation of 20 dollars I could join Boru’s legions.  I began anticipating letters from Nigerian princes, seeking my support for the Brian Boru Foundation of Nigeria.

On the off chance that there may be a link to the eleventh century iconic hero, I dabbled in research. An assortment of collections related to the history of Ireland allowed me to slip back 27 generations in time to the year 1014 AD. I was very much reminded of my research into the Whittington tree and my wife’s ties to William the Conqueror and Alfred the Great. The connections at some point are always dubious and sometimes so frail as to seem fictitious.  If I had a strong need to send twenty dollars off to a society of Boru fanatics, I could justify my pedigree. The thought of dressing up in heavy armor and joining the annual reenactment of the Battle of Clontarf is not a priority. I did learn a lot about Irish history in the process and can now recite several banal tales of lurid activity and bloodshed.

A third cousin of ours, Derek Byrne, also descends from Edward ‘Jack’ Byrne and Margaret Mulvanney. Derek is presently living in the outskirts of Dublin, and proudly shares his lineage online. I searched through the body of his work and found myriad other family historians whose work provides the same lineage. There seems to be common agreement: A person who lays claim to Edward ‘Jack’ Byrne of Castledermont, Kildare (b 1801) also lays claim to the likes of Edmund MacHugh Ganeagh O’Birn of Ballinakill Clonmore and the famous Feaghe Mc Hugh O’Byrne of Glenmalure. It all does lead back to Brian Boru in a magical mystery tour sort of way.

So, who was Brian Boru?