Denis O'Conor Don

Denis Armar O'Conor, O'Conor Don (Irish: Donnchadh Ó Conchubhair Donn; 1912–10 July 2000) was hereditary Chief of the Name O'Conor, and is a direct descendant of Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland with a surviving male-line lineage and was seen by some as a nominal claimant to that defunct position.[1]

Life

Born in London in 1912 to Charles William O'Conor son of Denis Maurice O'Conor and Evelyn Lowry-Corry, a granddaughter of Armar Lowry-Corry, 3rd Earl Belmore, O'Conor grew up in Hertfordshire. He was educated at Downside School in Somerset, England. After finishing at Downside, he went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and later served in India and was part of the retreat to Dunkirk but saw no further action as he was honorably discharged due to injuries to his face. He moved to Ireland some years later with his second wife, Rosemary, and bought a farm in Co. Wicklow where he farmed until he moved to Dún Laoghaire in the 1970s.

He inherited his title in 1981 from his second cousin Fr. Charles O'Conor, a Jesuit priest. He used his position to promote an interest in Irish heritage from genealogy, local history to archaeology. He became President of the Dún Laoghaire Genealogical Society in 1991 and President of the Genealogical Society of Ireland in 1999. He was also Deputy Chairman of the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains.

He married Elizabeth Marris and they had a son, Desmond, later a banker. With his second wife, Rosemary (née O'Connell Hewett), he had two sons: Kieran a senior lecturer in Archaeology at the National University of Ireland Galway and Rory. A daughter, Gail, died aged thirteen.

His eldest son, Desmond, inherited his title of O'Conor Don.

Ancestry

Descent from High King of Ireland[2]

Distinctions

References

  1. ↑ Curley, W.; Vanishing Kingdoms.
  2. ↑ O'Hart, John (1892). Irish Pedigrees or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. Dublin: James Duffy and Co. Limited. ISBN 9781376251142.


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