Our common ancestors - de Clare - Contents
de Clare
Richard FitzGilbert de Clare [see here, descendant of Charlemagne],
born 1035,
part of the Norman invasion of England,
his 2nd cousin William the Conqueror conquered England in 1066 and granted him Clare, Suffolk, after which the family took their name,
he built Clare Castle, Clare, Suffolk,
had issue:
Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare, Lord of Clare,
born c.1066,
present at the murder of William II in 1100,
received lands in Wales
from Henry I,
including Cardigan Castle, Wales,
mar Alice de Claremont
[descendant
of Hugh Capet, King of France,
descendant of
Charlemagne],
had issue:
- Richard de Clare, Lord of Clare,
born pre-1100, had issue:
- Roger de Clare, Earl of Hertford,
born post-1115, had issue:
- Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford,
born c.1153, had issue:
-
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Gloucester,
born c.1180,
mar Isabella Marshal and had issue:-
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, born 1222.
- Isabel de Clare,
mar Robert le Bruce and had issue.
-
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, born 1222.
-
Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Gloucester,
born c.1180,
- Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford,
born c.1153, had issue:
- Roger de Clare, Earl of Hertford,
born post-1115, had issue:
- Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, born c.1100.
- Alice de Clare,
mar Aubrey de Vere and had issue.
- The de Clare family
- Clare, Suffolk
- Clare Castle is now a ruin, in Clare Castle Country Park.
- The Irish county of
Co.Clare:
- The modern Irish county of Co.Clare was historically part of the north Munster Gaelic kingdom of Thomond, dominated by the O'Briens, Kings of Thomond.
- The region was granted to the de Clare family in 1275, and they became Lords of Thomond.
- The Thomond motor car was named after this region.
- There are several theories on the origin of the name
of the Irish county of Co.Clare:
- When the boundaries of the modern Co.Clare were fixed by Sir Henry Sidney in 1565, it was apparently named after the de Clares (it did not have a separate name before, because it was just part of Thomond). So ultimately Co.Clare would be after Clare in Suffolk.
- Another theory is that Co.Clare is after the Gaelic "clar", meaning a plain, or a level piece of land. The county's Irish name today is "An Clar".
- A further theory is that the Gaelic "clar" also means a plank or board, and that Clare Castle (also here), S of Ennis, is named from a bridge of planks built over the river Fergus, and the county is named after that.
