A Warm Hello to Clan OLochlainn Members:
Rita is a US member of the ODaveron clan who has been immersed in both Davern and Burren research for a number of decades, which has included many trips to her ancestral Burren landscape.
This article below, besides noting the close, medieval educational links with Clan OLochlainn, also evokes a term from those distant times when kinship was a pivotal feature for the functioning and well-being of clan affairs. We are delighted that Rita has connected with us, and she has helped to rekindle that sense of kinship and friendship.
— Edward
The O’Davoren clan members have been inspired by your progress in reuniting the OLochlainn clan group, across time and continents. You seem to have had a great deal of fun with your research and resulting connections. We ODaverons hope to follow suit, and are working on the DNA end of the research as well as our family trees.
We expect them to lead us back to shared ancestors, including those from the O’Davoren Law School which was located at Caher Mac Nachteen on the Burren during medieval times. The annual Burren Law School, held each year at the Burren College of Art (Newtown castle), commemorates this medieval ODaveron Law School.
Cathail Tigh Bhreac, image: Rita Davern. Recently excavated site, just north of Caher Mac Nachteen stone fort. It is believed to be the actual site of the medieval O’Davoren Law School. There are recessed areas in the walls, where the archeologists believe scrolls were kept.
The ODaverons had a gathering in 2015 at Caherconnell Stone Fort, Burren, County Clare, and another gathering was held last May in Ballyvaughan, County Clare to witness a preview of a documentary film about this Burren clan.
For more information, see http://www.burrengirl.com.
We thank you for your dedication and commitment to the preservation of Egerton 88 (ODaveron Legal Manuscript), as well as ongoing work towards digitizing that document, mainly located at the British Library, London.
What a generous and important contribution to Gaelic Legal history!
Best Wishes,
Rita Davern
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Clan Ólochlainn 