The Mac Cana were a Gaelic Irish

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

who held lands in Clancann and Clanbrasil in what is now northern County Armagh, and had the title of 'Lords of Clanbrasil'. It is the origin of the surname

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Etymology

The name ''Mac Cana'' means "son of Cana". This literally means " cub/whelp", and is claimed to be a term for a young warrior.Quinn, Sean. ''Surnames in Ireland''. Irish Genealogy Press, 2000. p.54

History

The Mac Cana originated as chiefs of ''Cenél Aengusa'', the name of a kindred and its territory in Tír Eoghain.AJ Hughes and William Nolan (editors). ''Armagh: History and Society''. Geography Publications, 2001. p.318 In the 12th and 13th centuries they extended their lands along the south of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

where they gave their name to the territory of Clancann (''Clann Chana''), later the barony of

Oneilland West Oneilland West (, the name of an ancient Gaelic district) is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is also called Clancann (''Clann Chana''), after the Mac Cana clan. It lies in the north of the county on the south-western shore of Lo ...

. This lay in northern County Armagh between the River Bann and River Blackwater. They also became chiefs of the neighbouring territory of Clanbrassil (''Clann Bhreasail''), east of the Bann, later the barony of Oneilland East. The main settlement in Clanbrassil, Lurgan, was originally named ''Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana'' ("ridge of Mac Cana's townland"). Nearby Portadown (''Port an Dúnáin'') is believed to be named after a fort of the Mac Cana. An English map from the early 1600s shows a prominent house at Maghery in Clancann, which was probably the last residence of the Mac Cana chiefs. The Mac Cana and their neighbours were vassals of the powerful

O'Neill dynasty The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern ...

of Tyrone. During the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

(1594–1603), the O'Neills and their allies fought against English expansion in Ireland. Following the English victory and Flight of the Earls, the English seized the lands of the O'Neills and their allies. This would seem to include the Mac Cana. This land was colonized by English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, during the

plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

, the Mac Cana re-took Lurgan and Portadown from the settlers. Irish rebels killed about 100 captured British settlers at Portadown by forcing them off the bridge into the River Bann, and shooting those who tried to swim to safety. Known as the Portadown massacre, it was the biggest such massacre during the rebellion. The rebels were likely under the command of Toole McCann.Mac Cuarta, Brian. ''Ulster 1641: Aspects of the Rising''. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast, 1993. p.126 Following the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

and

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...

, the area was re-taken by the English. Toole McCann was captured and executed by English forces in 1653, although he denied ordering the massacre. Under the

Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 The Act for the Setling of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against Irish civilians and combatants after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest. British historian John Morrill wrote that the Act and ...

, Irish rebels and many native Irish Catholics lost most of their land. Some were given poorer lands in Connaught or

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, and others were exiled from Ireland. This may be the origin of the McGanns, an anglicised Connaught variant of 'Mac Cana'.

References

{{reflist Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties