Clan O'Dwyer
O'Dwyer (Irish: Ó Dubhuir), also known as Dwyer, Dyer is one of Ireland's oldest Gaelic noble or aristocratic houses, based most prominently in what is today County Tipperary. The name means "dark coloured", in reference to their progenitor Dubhuir mac Spealáin's hair colour. Ancestry A claimed ancestor of the O'Dwyer clan was King Milesius of Spain, who according to legend conquered Ireland for the Gaels. Documented paternal ancestors of the clan are of the Laigin, specifically, Cairbre Cluichechair, who was the son of Cú Corb, King of Leinster (himself the son of High King, Conchobar Abradruad). Cairbre Cluichechair moved into Munster, founding the Dál Cairbre Aradh at an early stage. However, according to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Dwyers were chiefs of the Dal Cairbre Arad tribe who in turn came from the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC, which was before the Laigin who were the third wave of Celts to settle in Ireland. History There are accounts of the O'Dwyer family participating in the Battle of Clontarf and Irish clan warfare. The O'Dwyers eventually emerged as Lords of Kilnamanagh in the High to Late Middle Ages,