Hynan from O hEidhneain (has also been "O Hinane", "O’ Hynane" and "Hinan"): The surname is from the Gaelic ‘EIDHNEAIN, meaning "Ivy". A rare name found in Counties Limerick & Tipperary, Ireland. The Hynan motto "Dia Mo Neart" means "God Is My Strength."
I've seen three different versions of the coat of arms. My Uncle Larry had brought one back from Ireland twenty years ago, that my father always had up on the wall. His is a white shield with three red stripes, and the crest is a wolf’s head scraped out, black, bearing on the neck a star shaped figure in white. I found the one below in an Irish import store in 1995. This summer (1997), David Hynan found another one (bottom of page).
There are only 52 phone listings for the name Hynan in the United States. Thanks to the internet, I have located Hynan’s in Ireland and England that I have been writing to.
The land of Ireland has been peopled by the Legendary Celts since the 4th century B.C. Armed with superior iron weapons, the invaders defeated the Tuatha De Dannan (people of the goddess Dana), a gifted race which had ruled Ireland for almost two hundred years.
The name Hynan originated with these Celtic invaders who first arrived in Ireland from Northern Spain around 350 B.C. Hynan is one of the modern anglicized forms of the very old and distinguished Irish name O hEidhneain and it is a form of the name which is now very rare and found only in Counties Limerick and Tipperary. More common forms of the name are oheyne, heines and hynds.
The clan originated in southern Ui Fiachra in south Co. Galway where they held a large tract of territory stretching from Gort to Oranmore. It was called Ui Fiachra Aidhne after Eogan Aidhne (advocate/pleader) son of Daithi, the last pagan King of Ireland who was killed by lightening at the foot of the alps in 429 A.D.
The name O hEidhneain was then taken from the celebrated Guaire Aidhne, King of Connacht in the 7th century. The Lord of Aidhne, Maoilruanaidh O hEidhneain, lost his life commanding forces of Connacht at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, where his son-in-law Brian Boru defeated the Vikings. For the space of 600 years his descendants were the chief family of Ui Fiachra Aidhne and Lords of Aidhne.
Millions of Irish people had to emigrate in the 19th and 20th centuries, many to the United States. Fr. John O' heyne (d.1715), was a prominent bearer of the name. He was an historian of the Dominican order and a distinguished missionary priest.
My father, Edward Vincent Hynan (born 2/21/28 in Brooklyn, New York), now deceased, was very interested in finding out more about his ancestry. I have continued this interest because there are so few Hynan’s left that I know I am related to. My father’s siblings are: Lawrence Paul Hynan (living in California), and the following, whom are now deceased; John Daniel Hynan (who lived in Florida), William Francis Hynan, Dorothy Elizabeth (married name: Box) and Edna Veronica (married name: Murray) (all remained in New York). My grandfather’s name was John Joseph Hynan (who was born 5/18/1880 and died when my father was 2 years old on 12/28/29, his wife: Matilda Liebscher), John’s father was Patrick. Patrick was born in 1845 (approx.) and married Eliza Dineen at Farran Doyle in the city of Kanturk, County Cork. Patrick left Ireland in 1875 (approx.) and came to NY with very uncertain papers, that gave no history, or sibling information, other than the fact that his parents were Thomas and Margaret.
I have one brother, Edward V. Hynan, Jr. (born 4/17/62) and my mother's name is Rose. They were both born in Brooklyn, New York. I was born in the summer of 1971 in Huntington Station, New York.
I am currently researching the name to find out if Patrick or Thomas had siblings. I’m hoping to find grand or great-grandchildren of Patrick and Thomas’s siblings so that I can expand my family tree and know exactly where we came from.
