Available by free download: The Heraldry of the O'Byrnes
An extraordinarily interesting paper is available in PDF format on the Acdemia website, entitled The Heraldry of the O'Byrnes, for which all researchers will be grateful to both Nicholas C. Burns and Daniel Byrne-Rothwell. The following note is self-explanatory and, hopefully, the link below will lead you to the paper in question.
FOREWORD In April 2010, when I was researching at the Genealogical Office Reading Room on Kildare Street, Dublin, I was introduced to the intricately drawn and tinted 17th century funeral entries for the surname Byrne. After viewing these remarkable old drawings, I felt that these had to be shared. This work illustrates, for the most part, previously unpublished Byrne coats of arms, including the ones I saw, and it attempts to "marry" these illustrations with the family history of the person who used them. Nicholas C. Burns
PREFACE The idea for this study originated with Nicholas C. Burns following his encounter with the beautiful Ulster Office armorials now in the care of the Genealogical Office, National Library of Ireland, Dublin. This primary source material has resulted in this ground- breaking study. Nicholas followed up his initial findings with fieldwork ranging from St Lasarian ' s Cathedral in Co. Carlow to the Byrne vaults in Co. Louth. I had the privilege of Nicholas sharing this material with me. To this end, I have engaged in much research and added m any discoveries. I would like to express my gratitude to Shaun O ' Byrne for his advice, contributions, and proofreading. I would a lso like to thank Dr Jan Bergmann who organised the exhibition "Die Irische Familie O ' Byrne in Sachsen" in Museum Niesky, Germany, (29 th May to 11 th September 2016) and especially for his kindness in sharing his portraits and armorial illustrations relating to the O ' Byrn family of Saxony with me. In addition, my thanks to Dr Katarzyna Gmerek of Pozn an for her fieldwork, ranging from Poland to Ireland and for her added arch ival research. She has contributed much to the background of the O ' Byrnes in Poland known as the d ' Obyrn. Finally, my gratitude to Dr Peter P. Bajer, Melbourne, Australia, for his invaluable advice and expertise in heraldry in Poland. Daniel Byrne Rothwell
(99+) The Heraldry of the O'Byrnes | Daniel Byrne-Rothwell - Academia.edu
Some years ago, the late Paul J. Burns generously agreed to share some notes from his personal research, which were published in 2001 by House of Lochar as The Clan O'Byrne of Leinster AD 400 - 1700; this little booklet of only 60 pages is still in print and provides a handy introduction to the subject. (You can buy a copy if you get in touch, £5.99 plus P&P). Subsequently, Paul devoted himself to an ambitious DNA project which has been outstandingly successful - it has exploded old myths, has revealed fascinating insights into ancient trading patterns and connections and it has established a very strong foundation for future research. The project is open to new entrants, whose contribution will be of real value to all concerned see http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/byrne/results. The chart on that page is impressive but needs interpretation, so navigate to the Project Homepage and take it from there. Do explore the whole site and maybe consider participation - maybe a confirmed family group of siblings could share the cost of sponsoring just one male sibling to represent them all?
Meanwhile, other individuals devoted themselves to historical research... one such researcher has concentrated on Armorials, the coats of arms, crests and mottos used by different Byrne and O'Byrne families. Daniel Byrne-Rothwell, Paul J. Burns and Nicholas C. Burns collaborated to produce a One-Name Sudy, which is published as Volume Three of the series featured here. Daniel Byrne-Rothwell, Paul J. Burns and Shaun E. O'Byrne collaborated in the fourth and final volume of the series, published in 2015.
Such ongoing research concerns all variants of the Byrne and O'Byrne name, which originates in Ireland but which is not restricted to any one county or sept. This site and its content has no hidden agenda - there is no intention to show that any one branch of the name is older than any other, or has precedence, or that any given descendant is a chieftain or has heraldic rights or anything else. The project is entirely devoted to genuine research and to the publication of vital source material of interest to researchers and geneaologists.
As part of this international effort, historian Daniel Byrne-Rothwell completed work on Volume 1 of "The Byrnes and the O'Byrnes" in 2008 and Volume 2 appeared in 2010. Volume 3 was published in 2012, co-authored with Paul J. Burns and Nicholas C. Burns, and Volume 4 was published in May 2015, to complete the series. These volumes are of extraordinary value and they are described in detail on this site; because they are so exhaustive they are necessarily quite large and the cost of postage is high - it is for this reason that this entire site is devoted to careful descriptions of each volume. The authors and publishers are united in their wish to make the collated information available to all who would wish to have it - but this is not undertaken as a commercial exercise. We give honest and extensive information on this site, and prospective purchasers can also refer to the physical copies which are held by National Library of Ireland (Dublin), The British Library (London), National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh), Bodleian Library (Oxford), Cambridge University Library, Trinity College Dublin, and National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth). The cover of the fourth and final volume is reproduced below:
