Family Background
Rickard is reckoned third lord of Athenry and Dunmore, both in County Galway. He was a grandson of Meyler de Bermingham, the founder of Athenry. He was the chief tenent in south Connacht of Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, who's desmene lands stretched from the port town of Galway to Meelick on the River Shannon, de Burgh's caput been the town of Loughrea.
Despite his ethnic background, de Bermingham and his family are always described in the Gaelic-Irish annals as Mac Fheorais, indicating his descent from Peter (Piarus, a quo (Fheorais) de Bermingham. The identity of Rickard's mother is uncertain though it is thought she was Gaelic, possibly an O'Kelly.
This may explain why the family were regarded as at least semi-Gaelic by bards and seanchai so early in their history. Alternatively, the appellation Mac Fheorais may have begun with Peter of Tethmoy, father of Rickard's grandfather, Meyler de Bermingham.
Rickard is described in Leabhar na nGenealach as:
Risteard na gCath - the battle of Ath na Riogh, the battle of Cnoc an Tochair and the battle of Fionnlugh
Read more about this topic: Rickard De Bermingham
Famous quotes containing the words family and/or background:
“If family communication is good, parents can pick up the signs of stress in children and talk about it before it results in some crisis. If family communication is bad, not only will parents be insensitive to potential crises, but the poor communication will contribute to problems in the family.”
—Donald C. Medeiros (20th century)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)