How far back is a good question. Fortunatly my family - O'Neill - is one of the oldest traceable families in Europe. However saying that one needs to consider that most state records were lost in Ireland in the late 1700's or early 1800's and so what my family has depended upon are the writings of "THE FOUR MASTERS" and "HEREMONS GENEOLOGIES" Heremon was the first king of Ireland and the O'Neills as well as many other families of Ireland are descended from him and his brothers. Ireland High King - the 1st - ruled1698 to 1668 BC Heremon the seventh son of Milesius and Tea (pronounced Cha) and the third and youngest son to have a family. It was he who led the invasion of Ireland and became the first High King. From Heremon were descended the High Kings, Kings, Nobility, and gentry of Connaught, Dairiada, Leinster, Meath, Orghialla, Ossory, of Scotland since the fifth century, of Ulster since the fourth century. Heremon refused to allow the Picts to settle in Ulster. He did allow them to take Tiata De Dancan widows as their wives and from Scotland to pay tribute to the High KingHeremon the seventh son of Milesius and Tea (pronounced Cha) and the third and youngest son to have a family. It was he who led the invasion of Ireland and became the first High King. From Heremon were descended the High Kings, Kings, Nobility, and gentry of Connaught, Dairiada, Leinster, Meath, Orghialla, Ossory, of Scotland since the fifth century, of Ulster since the fourth century. Heremon refused to allow the Picts to settle in Ulster. He did allow them to take Tiata De Dancan widows as their wives and from Scotland to pay tribute to the High King. The above information was recorded in "HEREMONS GENEALOGIES" Now one has to remember that history is not always an exact science so dates and events are somewhat obscure due to the changing of calendars and methods of recording time. Fortunatly much work has been done on my family roots it is more interesting to me in gathering the many generations of the American O'Neill/O'Neall families. My ancestor arrived in the Americas in 1730. Jim O'Neall ---------- From: MMB[SMTP:marmarbrandl@trump.net.au] Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 1998 4:09 PM To: FIANNA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: How far back?