The Sheehy Family Crest
In High Valley, at Grandma Sheehy’s house, above her armchair, carefully hung in a small frame, was written her and her husband’s wedding date with the crests of the Sheehy and Storie families to either side. On the left was the Sheehy crest, where a cacophony of imagery danced across deep blue and vivid white quarters, on the right stood the Storie crest, a humble yet sturdy tower in a soft yellow. Growing up, that little frame conjured in me the sight of valiant knights bravely defending their kin against invaders, but it was only until recently did I sit down to actually find out what sort of adventures my great, great, great, great grandparents might have had. Carrying the name Sheehy myself, I was particularly drawn to the crest bearing my name. As I looked for some explanation of the different symbols on this image, I dove deep into the topic of heraldry; I heard mentions of warrior clans and savage fighters; I read about Irish lords refusing to accept English power and battling over their right to be free. Who knew a little drawing with your name underneath it could carry so much history?
Most European surnames have a crest associated with them, but turn back the clock 1000 years or so, and crests actually belonged to individuals. They were like personal trademarks, and they were particularly useful when trying to distinguish between two men who were otherwise covered from head-to-toe in metal armour. You could pick out your comrades on the battlefield or you could cheer on your favourite swordsman in knightly tournaments. Because crests tended to be personal, the symbols would refer to distinguishing facts about the owner, their family or it would embody their values. Crests would be inherited, usually from father to the oldest son (or grandson if no sons in that generation), or in some countries, the owner could will it to whoever he chose. The other sons would create their own, usually by making a variant of their father’s.
Many a book describes the hundreds of symbols that are in use with their associated meanings, the eight standard colours and the different formations, all in some fancy sounding french. Crests are still officially recognised today, where each country will have its own authority regulating their use. Sadly, simply having the name of the crest does not give someone the right to use it. So while the US Heraldry office won’t pay much attention to the odd blog post, there might be a slight risk to using it as a logo for your product or company on the mass market. That said, anyone can create their own crest. Or for that matter, you don’t even need to be a person! The USA government has a well known crest all to itself.
The Sheehy crest has two distinctive parts: the blazon of arms that houses the different symbols, and above this, a single arm raised above the shield wielding a serpent-wrapped sword. The blazon is split into four quarters. In the first walks a silver lion, its front paw raised upward. In the second slither three green lizards. In the third three golden pole-axes standing at attention. In the fourth drifts the silhouette of a three-masted ship. The left quarters in blue, stand up against the two silver quarters on the right. Or as the office of heraldry would describe it:
Quarterly, first azure a lion passant guardant argent; second argent three lizards vert, third azure three pole-axes in fess or; fourth argent a ship with three masts sable.
Above the blazon, an armoured arm wields a sword ready to fend off assailants. A snake is wrapped around the sword. Or according to the heralds:
An arm in armour cooped below the elbow and erect holding in the hand a sword, the blade entwined with a serpent all ppr.
We can get a general idea about the significance of the symbols (or make some educated guesses), but unfortunately, the original inspirations for each symbol are lost to history and the only way to really know why the ancient Sheehys chose them would be too learn old Irish, travel back in time and ask them. The lions were a popular symbol which tended to embody strength and valour. Its pose (“passant guardant”) is distinctive where the lion, viewed from the side, has one paw raised in the air and takes a walking pose while looking towards the viewer. The pole-axe alludes to duty and military service (indeed, the Sheehy clan were gallowglass whose weapon of choice was the pole-axe). The ship suggests a notable expedition by sea. In fact, both the lion and ship appear on the O’Donnel crest, a clan from which the Sheehys are a branch. Lizards were symbols of vigilance or good luck. The colour blue evokes loyalty, chastity, truth, strength and faith. The silver evokes truth, sincerity, peace, innocence and faith.
As hinted by the three axes, Clan-Sheehy were gallowglass. That is to say they were mercenaries, but while today that may hold connotations of selfish men fighting for the highest bidder, the Sheehys were in fact fiercely loyal to the Earl of Desmond. They were mercenaries only in the sense that their job was to fight and they had little other responsibilities. The Fitzgeralds who held the Earldom of Desmond would employ Sheehys for generations, eventually recruiting some into commanding ranks within the local army or even using them as bodyguards. Originally from Scotland, the gallowglass would be shipped to Ireland in the spring to be the muscle in local disputes and then return to Scotland in the winter. Naturally, some would decide to settle in Ireland and the Sheehys eventually became an Irish family like any other.
Gallowglass were fierce. They were formidable fighters, fearless of death or injury. They were particularly strong in one-to-one combat, which is why they preferred ambushes, guerrilla tactics, fighting in close quarters, and using their knowledge of the land to gain advantage. Unfortunately for them, they did not update their methods when the English soldiers became more organised. A well trained infantry, holding its formation, strategically placing pikeman in the ranks, could easily vanquish a band of gallowglass (or decimate them with musketeers). Nonetheless, the Sheehys had a reputation for being particularly brutal in battle. In the 1700s, an English commander recorded of the gallowglass that they were “picked and selected men of great and mighty bodies, cruel and without compassion”, “choosing rather to die than to yield”. Another soldier recorded how Clan-Sheehy would “throw themselves screaming over the English pikes until the pikeman’s hands ran red with blood”.
It is unlikely that the gallowglass Sheehys wore their crest to battle, but they may have used it as a sort of trademark for themselves. Eventually as stability came to Ireland and the need for brute strength was gone, they traded their pikes for hoes, and survived as they could. Today all that remains of their ruthlessness and harrowing name is the small crest that sat up above a grandma’s armchair where she took her afternoon nap.
