Ireland
Historically, the term "sept" was not used in Ireland until the 19th century, long after any notion of clanship had been eradicated. The English word "sept" is most accurate in referring to a subgroup within a large clan, particularly when that group has taken up residence outside of their clan's original territory (e.g., the O'Neills, MacSweeneys, and O'Connors).
Related Irish septs and clans often belong to larger groups, dynasties, such as the Dál gCais, Uí Néill, Uí Fiachrach, and Uí Maine.
Recently, the late Edward MacLysaght suggested the English word "sept" be used in place of the word 'clan' with regard to the historical social structure in Ireland, to differentiate it from the centralized Scottish clan system. This would imply that Ireland possessed no formalised clan system, which is not wholly accurate. Brehon Law, the ancient legal system of Ireland clearly defined the clan system in pre-Norman Ireland, with its electoral system limited to the senior sept's members (see derbfine), which collapsed after the Tudor Conquest in the 16th century. The Irish, when speaking of themselves, employed their term "clan", which means "family" in Irish.
Read more about this topic: Sept
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
“Out of Ireland have we come,
Great hatred, little room
Maimed us at the start.
I carry from my mother’s womb
A fanatic’s heart.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here, and sea fog, and eerie stories. That’s not because there are more ghosts here than in other places, mind you. It’s just that people who live hereabouts are strangely aware of them.”
—Dodie Smith, and Lewis Allen. Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland)
“In Ireland they try to make a cat cleanly by rubbing its nose in its own filth. Mr. Joyce has tried the same treatment on the human subject. I hope it may prove successful.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)