Ancestry

Meyler was a great-grandson of Robert de Bermingham who is said to have obtained a grant of Offaly from Strongbow

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland . Like his father, he was also commonly known as Strongbow...

 or Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 about 1172. Robert's son (Meyler, killed 1211) and grandson (Peter, died 1254) were both described as of Tethmoy, which is thought to have been the baronies of Warrenstown and part of Coolestown. Peter de Bermingham had sons James, Andrew, Maurice and Meyler.

Athenry

Peter and Meyler participated in the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Peter obtaining Dunmore in County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

 and Tireragh in County Sligo.

Meyler himself made a separate settlement in an area called Clann Taidg

Clann Taidg

Clann Taidg was the name of a medieval cantred located in what is now County Galway, Ireland.It consisted of the parishes of Athenry, Monivea, Tiaquin, Kilkerrin, Moylough, Killererin, Ballynakill-Aghiart, Kilmoylan, and possibly Abbeyknockmoy....

, and founded a castle by the River Clarin at a ford called Áth na Rí (ford of the kings, or kingdoms). This became the town of Athenry

Athenry

Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...

.

Family

Meyler married Basilia de Worcester of County Tipperary

County Tipperary

County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...

, and had issue Peter (d. 1309?), Basilia de Bermingham

Basilia de Bermingham

Basilia de Bermingham, fl. 1250?, religious patron and ancestor of the family Mac Jordan of Connacht.Basilia was a daughter of the heiress, Basilia de Worcester of Tipperary, and Meyler de Bermingham , the founder of Athenry. She had brothers Peter and Archbishop William of Tuam . Her nephew,...

, and William (Archbishop of Tuam, died 1309). Two of the latter's sons, Will Finn de Bermingham and Simon de Bermingham, were killed with their cousion John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth

John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth

John de Bermingham, 1st Earl of Louth was an Irish peer. He was the commander of the Anglo-Irish army in the Battle of Faughart, the decisive battle in the Irish Bruce Wars 1315–1318...

 during the Bragenstown Massacre in 1329.

Peter de Bermingham survived Meyler till as late as 1309, and had issue Meyler (died 1302) and Rickard de Bermingham

Rickard de Bermingham

Rickard de Bermingham , aka Rickard Mac Fheorais, was Anglo-Irish lord of Athenry.-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...

, who successfully defeated King Fedlim of Connacht at the Second Battle of Athenry

Second Battle of Athenry

The Second Battle of Athenry took place at Athenry in Ireland on 10 August 1316 during the Bruce campaign in Ireland.-Overview:The collective number of both armies are unknown, and can only be estimated. Martyn believes the royal army to have been as much as or more than a thousand, while that of...

. Rickard's eldest son, John, was also killed at Bragenstown but was succeeded by his brother, Thomas de Bermingham.

Descendants

Meyler's senior descendants ceased with the death of Thomas, 19th Lord Athenry, in 1799, but the name is still common in Galway via junior branches. Among his descendants were philosopher Francis Bermingham

Francis Bermingham

Francis Bermingham, fl. 1652, was a Franciscan and Irish writer.Bermingham was a descendant of Meyler de Bermingham, , the founder of Athenry....

 and astronomer John Bermingham.

Select genealogy

Available evidence indicates that Myler's ancestor could have been one Richard, alive in 1066 and recorded as holding four hides of land at Birmingham as a Knight-service

Knight-service

Knight-service was a form of Feudal land tenure under which a knight held a fief or estate of land termed a knight's fee from an overlord conditional on him as tenant performing military service for his overlord....

 in 1086 for William fitz Ansculf. The descent is uncertain; the family may have been descendants of fitz Ansculf via the Pagnall family. The following family tree is based on their presumed descent from Richard of Birmingham (fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 1066-1086). If true, it may indicate the family to be of English rather than Norman origin.

Richard, alive 1066-1086
|
|
William de Birmingham, fl. 1100-1135
|
|
Peter de Birmingham, fl. 1154-1166.
|
|
William, fl. 1172-1189.
|
|_________________________
| |
| |
Peter, fl. 1213/1215 Robert of Tethmoy, fl. 1172.
| |
| |
William, fl. 1250. Myler of Tethmoy, died 1211
| |
| |
William, d. 1265. Peter of Tethmoy, d. 1254
| |
| |_________________________ William de Worchester, fl. 1230.
William, fl. 1283-97 | | | | |
| | | | | |
| James Andrew Maurice Myler = Basilia de Worchester
William, fl. 1305 |
| |______________________________________
| | | |
William, fl. 1325 | | |
| Peter Basilia William de Bermingham

William de Bermingham

William de Bermingham, Archbishop of Tuam 1288-January 1312.De Bermingham was a member of the family of Baron Athenry. His father was Meyler de Bermingham . He had a number of children. Among them were Will Finn de Bermingham and Simon de Bermingham, killed with their cousin John de Bermingham, 1st...

|______________________ =Ni Cellaigh? =Jordan de Exeter

Jordan de Exeter

Jordan de Exeter was an Anglo-Norman knight, Sheriff of Connacht, and ancestor of the Clan Siurtain Gaileng/Mac Siurtain/Mac Jordan of Connacht.-Life and family:...

  d. 1309
| | | | |
| | | | |
Fulk, fl. 1340-67 William Rickard Jordan Oge Simon
| | d. 1322 d.1319 d. 1329.
|____________ | |
| | William |
| | fl. 1441-79 Thomas, d. 1375
John Thomas | |
fl. 1397 | |
William, fl. 1449 Walter, d.1428
| |
| |
Edward, d. 1538 Thomas, d.1473.

See also

• De Birmingham family
  De Birmingham family
  The de Birmingham family held the lordship of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also helped invade Ireland and were rewarded with the Barony of Athenry...
  
  

External links

• http://books.google.ie/books?id=kVslRbrSH7QC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=tethmoy&source=bl&ots=k8N_47voWF&sig=htyy3-3IPIXzfuFK40UJyoBQKaE&hl=en&ei=4IdaSveVGuSrjAeygrUb&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5
• http://www.edenderryhistory.org/history/EdenderryHistoryMiddleAges.html
• http://www.irishmidlandsancestry.com/content/family_history/families/fitzgerald_offaly.htm