The Ancient History of the Distinguished Surname Regan
The history of the distinguished Irish family name Regan belonged to the green valleys and mountains of the Emerald Isle from very ancient times.
Documentary evidence in the books by notable historians O'Hart, McLysaght and O'Brien, the Four Masters, baptismals, parish records, and ancient land grants, were researched by historians and they found that the family name Regan was first revealed in county Meath where they had been seated from very ancient times.
Variations in the spelling of the name were found. The surname was from time to time spelt Reagan, Regan, O'Regan, O'Reagan, and these changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Also translations from the Gaelic varied, and there were preferences for different spelling variations usually from a division of the family, or for religious reasons, or sometimes for patriotic reasons. Church officials and scribes spelt the name as it sounded, sometimes several different ways in the lifetime of the same person.
Traditionally, the ancient Kings of Ireland were descended from King Milesius of Spain, the grandson of Breoghan (Brian), King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile and Portugal. Milesius, a great general/king was instrumental in defending Egypt from the King of Ethiopia. Milesius turned his attention northward to Ireland to fulfill an ancient Druidic prophecy. He sent an army to explore this fertile island. On finding that his son had been murdered by the three resident Irish Kinds (the Danans), Milesius gathered another army to take his revenge on the Irish. He died before he embarked on the trip. His remaining eight sons conquered Ireland.
Heremon, eldest son of Milesius, reigned in Ireland for fourteen years, along with his brothers Heber, Ir and Ithe. They named the land Scota or Scotia, their mother’s name, the land of the Scots. This name would later be taken by the Irish Kind Colla in 357 when he was exiled to Scotland, leaving the name ‘Ir-land,’ land of Ir, youngest of the four sons of Milesius, to the Emerald Isle. The four Irish kingdoms eventually broke into five separate nations under the High King, or Ard Righ. These royal lines would later produce such great kings as the 4th century King Niall of the Nine Hostages who died in France while cutting off the retreat of the Romans from Britain, and King Brian Boru who died in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, finally expelling the Vikings from Dublin and Ireland.
This great Gaelic family Regan emerged in later years in the county Meath. This Royal distinguished Irish family were one of the four tribes of Tara, they were known as the Princes of Meath, and were descended from Riagan, nephew of the famous King Brian Boru. They were very prominent in the campaign against the Vikings and their Chiefs were present at the Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru finally expelled all the Vikings from Ireland. They were forfeited their lands during the Anglo/Norman invasion of Strongbow in 1172 and were dispersed to many parts of Ireland, principally to county Cork and Limerick. They again lost much of their remaining territories during the Cromwellian invasion of the 17th century and are believed to be descended from the Heremon line, specifically Morris O’Regan who described the Anglo/Norman invasion of Ireland by Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke in 1172. Notable amongst the family at this time was O’Regan of Meath.
A succession of invasions troubled the Irish people. Strongbow in 1172, Cromwell in the 17th century and the devastation of the great potato famine in 1845, all caused continued widespread misery and poverty, and the exodus from Ireland began, first a trickle, then a flood. Fifty years after the famine, the last straw, the population was reduced to less than half.
Irish clansmen joined the armada of sailing ships which sailed from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Liverpool, and Glasgow, many bound for the New World, some to Australia.
In North America, some of the first migrants which could be considered kinsmen of the sept Regan of that same family included James, John, Patrick, Thomas and William O’Regan settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Charles, Daniel, Denis, Edmund, Jeremiah, John, Margaret, Thomas and William Regan all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; John Regan settled with his wife and three children in Prescot, Ontario, Canada in 1825; John Francis Regan and his wife Julia Hubbard, left County Cork in the 1890’s and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
In the New World the Irish played an important part in building the nation, the railroads, coal mines, bridges and canals. They also moved westward with the wagon trains, and settled the mid west, some trekking as far as the west coast. Many became involved in politics and the police departments of the big cities of the East and Middle America.
During the War of Independence some were loyal to the cause, others, were loyal to the Crown, and moved north into Canada, becoming known as the United Empire Loyalists and being granted lands on the banks of the St. Lawrence and the Niagara Peninsula. During the American revolution many Irish formed the Irish Brigades in the great struggle, Union versus South.
Meanwhile, the family name Regan produced many prominent people President Ronald Reagan, U.S.A.; Donald Regan, American Financier; Gerald Regan, Canadian Politician; Reginald Regan, American Biologist. Thomas, Marie and John Regan, the children of the aforementioned John and Julia Regan became prominent in their own rights.
John, a major force in the New York City Labor scene, married Helen (Babe) Galvin, whose brother Bill Galvin was Commissioner of Markets in the Faunae Hall District for over 30 years and was the frequently mentioned Ma Galvin in the book chronicling James Michael Curley’s life, “The Last Harrah”. John and Babe had three children, John, Thomas and Ellen Regan Decker.
Marie married Joseph Fahey and had three children, Mary Ilene Fahey Baker, Fr. Joseph R. Fahey S.J., former President of Boston Collage High School, and Margaret Fahey Annett.
Thomas, a significant player in the Boston Police Department, married Anna Fahey, from Bangor Maine and they had a son, Thomas, who is currently residing in Stuart, Florida.
This is the Web Site of the Family of Thomas J. Regan Jr. and Donna L Friedman, his wife, and his two Children, David and Brian. Tom and Donna own Tower Consultants, Ltd., an Executive Search Firm, specializing in Human Resources (www.towerconsultants.com). David and Brian own PrintStaff, LLC, a Temporary Placement firm (www.printstaff.com)
David, who lives with his Life Partner, Jen Horton, has a daughter Ashley Tara Regan. Ashley has just started her first year at Tabor Academy, located in southern Massachusetts. Brian and his lovely wife, Sarah, currently reside in Brighton, MA. Sarah is currently working on a Master Degree in Business at Boston University.
Research has determined the Coat of Arms on the Home Page of this Web Site to be the most ancient recorded for the family surname Regan.