Origins & History of the Byrne Clan
Byrne derives from the Gaelic Ó Broin, meaning “descendant of Bran” (bran being the sacred Celtic raven, symbol of wisdom and battlefield courage). The clan traces its descent to Bran mac Máelmórda, an eleventh-century King of Leinster.
Driven from the fertile plains of Kildare into the mountainous stronghold of Glenmalure in County Wicklow, the O’Byrnes waged fierce guerilla resistance against English rule throughout the Tudor era.
In America, Byrnes populated New York, Boston, and Chicago, rising from industrial labor to municipal political prominence.