The Kavanaghs

This book is the definitive work on the Kavanaghs, Cavanaghs, Cavanaughs. They all descended from Donal the first Kavanagh born c. 1120 A.D. He was the illegitimate son of King Diarmuid McMurrough, King of Leinster. Diarmuid's legitimate sons were all killed in battles against other Irish clans or while being held hostage and so the kingship devolved on Donal. The book traces the fortunes and misfortunes of Donal's descendants from the time of his death down to the 17th century. Oliver Cromwell arrived in Ireland in the mid-17th century and carried fire and sword throughout the land. The Catholic population (the vast majority of Kavanaghs were Catholic) was brutally dispossessed and tribes and septs were scattered. Many of the downtrodden people (like the Kavanaghs) eventually made their way to America. After the Great Famine of 1845 many thousands of Irish people, including Kavanaghs took ship and went to England and America where their descendants live and prosper today.