Hi Ryan and Gerry, many thanks for your kind greetings. I have done quite a lot of research on my family and have found, many interesting facts concerning the O'Briens and other Irish families I'm related to. I didn't know we were connected to the great O'Rourkes of Leitrim, I would greatly appreciate any further information if you have it. I don't know if I'm related to Pat O'Brien, though I probably am somewhere along the line, I'll do some research and keep you updated. Really fantastic community, how very lucky I am to have stumbled on it. If yous are somehow related to the families in my tree, O'Brien, O'Byrne, O'Reilly, Brophy, Finnegan, Morrin, Molloy, Drennan, Cullen, Lennon, McMahon or Shepherd, It would be great to share what ever information we have about the so said families. Regards, Joshua.

Indeed they appear not to have been on the same side of the battle field on numerous occasions. The deadliest enemies of the O'Rourkes I believe were the O'Reillys of East Bréifne, a clan I am also related to. The only period our famillies seam to have fought together was during the Confederate and the Jacobite wars. Many O'Rourkes figure in the 1641 landowners list, have you found which branch you are descended from?