The Furlongs of Ireland by J. Furlong- 1981- Part 1

"There is good reason to believe that the first Furlong in Ireland was one Robertus de Furlang and that he was a son of the "Furlong" estate in Devon owned by John de Furlang. The earliest written history of the house located to date is 1616 when the daughter of the owner at that time, John Helman, married John Carew of "Antony" Cornwall. Today the house stands in approx. 100 acres of fine farm land with a drive up to the front door from the road of approx. one third of a mile.

The English Furlongs have a coat of arms in heraldic records but we do not know if the Devon family was the holder. Only one person holds a coat of arms. it is considered bad manners to use arms held by another. Every descendant is required to have the arms confirmed by the Chief herald. Only the eldest son may use the same arms. A slight change must be made for other members of the same family. The arms of the English family "Furlong" is given as; two bars between 8 marlets. Crest one eagles head erased ppr. Motto is " Liberaltis" ie Liberality. Eventually symbols were used on grave stones and became a sign of status. we do know the English land owners of prime property after 1066 were liable to have their land taken from them by the Norman conquerors any time. For several hundred years the Normans continued to exercise a tight control on government and property. We can imagine that their sons could expect very little if they were not part of the "in" group and or spoke Norman- French.

Robertus might have been one of the younger sons. Only eldest sons received the property on the death of the holder in those days. No doubt he hoped to improve his fortune when he joined Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, to invade Ireland. Strongbow's army consisted of Norman knights, Flemish troops, Welsh archers and a few Englishmen. We can imagine how exciting it was, the horses being led on to the long low Viking ships to be rowed and sailed fifty miles across the Irish Sea to Bannow Bay in Wexford. Milford Haven in South Wales is one of the finest and biggest natural harbours in the world. Most of those going on the trip and those watching on shore would remember the 1066 invasion when all those who assisted the Norman William to win received rewards big enough to make them rich. The 1169 attack is one of the best reported early invasions in history. We have two descriptions, both by Normans. One " The Conquest of Ireland" by Gerald the Welshman and "The Song of Dermot and the Earl" by an unknown writer. Both accounts are easy to read and very accurate in detail. Gerald was a relative of most of the knights who were in the invasion. The war party of 600 men landed in Bannow Bay about 10 miles from our old family property.

There were several invasions into Ireland between 1169 and 1172 as the Normans reinforced their footing in Wexford. We do not know at which of these dates Robertus landed but we do know he was knighted when he saved King Henry the Second life from a wild boar in the Forest of Glynn near Wexford City in 1171. Henry the Second, King of England was also a Norman prince who held more land in France than the King of France who's power he threatened. As a boy between eight and twelve years of age he had spent 4 years in Bristol, England. It is revealing that he was able to spend that period there and never learn to speak English. He never did speak any English ( or Irish either) although he was King of England for thirty five years (1154-1189)

After Strongbow's army had been in Ireland several years Henry became concerned in case Strongbow set himself up as king and independant so he hurried over in 1171. He also was in hot water in England due to the murder of Thomas Becket so it was convenient to be out of the public eye for a while. It was on this visit that Robertus saved his life. I suspect the Normans were macho types who expected their leaders to engage in such sports. He may have fallen off his horse or dismounted to spear the boar when it charged him. He was hunting deer it is said. However Robertus was in the right place at the right time and he received a knighthood and a demise called " Carrigmannon" of 1500 acres that his family held until 1638.