HERALDRY OF THE PURCELL FAMILY
The coat of arms of Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe and head of the Purcell family of Ireland (d. 1599). He was the great-great-grandfather of the last Baron of Loughmoe, Colonel Nicholas Purcell (d. 1722). The blazon of this coat of arms, also called the Loughmoe arms, in formal heraldic terminology is: Or, a saltire between four boars’ heads couped sable (that is to say, on a yellow or gold shield, a black saltire or St. Andrew’s cross placed between four black boars’ heads).
Impaled arms of James Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe (d. 1652), on left, and of his wife Elisabeth Butler (sister of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and 12th Earl of Ormond), on right.
Over the centuries, heralds from the Office of Ulster King of Arms, Ireland’s chief heraldic authority, kept records called Funeral Entries. These recorded heraldic and genealogical details of deceased members of the nobility and gentry. They often also included details of funerals, including the names of those in attendance. The above drawing, showing the arms of Butler impaling Purcell, depicts the arms described in the Funeral Entry for Piers Butler, gentleman, of Nodstown, Co. Tipperary. Piers lived from 1558 to 1627, dying on 21 February 1627, and was buried at Holy Cross Abbey, not far from Loughmoe. Piers was the only son of Walter Butler, 4th son of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond and younger brother of Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond. Piers Butler of Nodstown was married to Ellen Purcell, daughter of Thomas Purcell, Baron of Loughmoe and sister of two Barons of Loughmoe, Ralph Purcell and Richard Purcell. According to the drawing and to the Funeral Entry, Piers bore the traditional Butler coat of arms (Or, a chief indented azure – that is, a blue dented stripe at the top of a gold or yellow shield), with a black martlet (a bird, like a swallow) for differencing. (In heraldry, a martlet was often used to designate a fourth son. Thus, these were the arms originally borne by Piers’s father, Walter Butler, 4th son of the 9th Earl of Ormond.) The arms of Piers’s wife Ellen Purcell were the traditional arms of the Barons of Loughmoe (Or, a saltire between four boars’ heads couped sable). The letters on the black-and-white sketch identify the colours applicable: ‘B’ for blue or azure, ‘O’ for ‘or’ (gold or yellow), and ‘S’ for sable (black). Sources: ‘Coats of Arms From the Funeral Entries’ [taken from the Journal of the Association for the Preservations of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, vol. 7 (1907-1909) and vol. 8 (1910-1912) (coat of arms no. 616)] [a volume published by the Irish Memorials Association (undated) and in the National Library, Dublin, call number A13471); Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (London, 1884), pp. 154, 829; Edmund Curtis, editor, Calendar of Ormond Deeds (Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1970), vol. VI, pp. 51-52; and Lodge’s Peerage of Ireland (1789), vol. 4, p. 28.
A 1678 drawing of the arms of Captain Edmund Purcell (of the Purcells of Clonmacoge, Co. Tipperary) contained in a draft confirmation of arms by Richard St. George, Ulster King of Arms. The letters written on the shield in this black-and-white drawing identify the colours pertaining to the shield: ‘S’ (for sable, or black) indicates that the boars’ heads and saltire are black, and ‘Or’ indicates that the shield is yellow or gold. (From the archives of the Chief Herald of Ireland)
Between 1691 and 1750, many young men of landed or formerly landed Catholic families left Ireland to pursue careers abroad as military officers. Anti-Catholic legislation enacted after the 1689-1691 Jacobite war made it impossible for them to have military careers in Ireland. Two such young men became Army officers in the Austrian service: Captain John Edmond Purcell (son of Major Theobald Purcell of Ballymartin, Co. Kilkenny) and James Butler, 8th Viscount Mountgarret. They were closely connected, because John Edmond Purcell’s sister Anne was married to Mountgarret’s younger brother (and eventual successor), Edmund Butler. Such young men, once settled in the various Catholic kingdoms of Europe, had to prove their ‘gentle’ or noble origins in order to qualify for consideration for military commissions in various foreign regiments. To obtain such proof, they would apply to Ulster King of Arms (the official herald in Ireland), who would furnish an appropriate certificate or confirmation of their coats of arms and ancestry. The above photograph is of a portion of a hand-painted copy (made in Vienna, probably in the 19th century and now in private hands in Budapest) of the certificate issued in 1755 to Captain John Edmond Purcell of the Austrian service by Ulster King of Arms. It shows his coat of arms. The Latin text of the certificate states: To all and singular to whom these presents shall come, I, John Hawkins, gentleman, Ulster King of Arms of all Ireland, send Greeting. Know ye that I the said King of Arms by the power and authority of his Royal Majesty under the Great Seal of Ireland do confirm that Captain John Edmond Purcell descends in the legitimate male line from Hugh Purcell, knight, of Rorestown, Co. Tipperary, second son of the Baron of Loughmoe in the said County Tipperary as is clearly shown in the attached genealogy. And that the coat of arms depicted above does properly pertain to the said John Edmond Purcell. In testimony of which I have signed my name and title and placed the seal of my office on this 27th day of September 1755.
The above is a photograph of another portion of the heraldic certificate issued in 1755 by Ulster King of Arms to Captain John Edmond Purcell of the Austrian service. See the preceding text. It shows the arms of his sister, Anne Purcell, on the right, impaled with those of her husband, Edmund Butler, 9th Viscount Mountgarret, on the left. The 9th Viscount had succeeded his elder brother, a Catholic and an officer in the Austrian service, in 1749. The 9th Viscount, born in 1687, was originally a Catholic but conformed to the Church of Ireland in 1736, prior to succeeding to the peerage. It is likely that Ulster King of Arms received many requests for certificates of arms from so-called ‘Wild Geese’ Irishmen serving or wishing to serve as officers in the armies of the Catholic monarchs of Europe. Ulster may well have given priority to Captain Purcell’s request, however, because in 1755 his sister Anne Purcell’s son, the 10th Viscount Mountgarret, a barrister, was then sitting in the Irish House of Lords.
Burton Park near Churchtown, Co. Cork has been the seat of the Purcells of Burton Park and now of the Ryan-Purcells of Burton Park for more than 200 years. This is the only branch of the family still in possession of its historical residence. They descend from the Purcells of Croagh, Co. Limerick, an offshoot of the Purcells of Loughmoe.
The castellated gate entrance to Burton Park, displaying a carving of the Purcell arms
The castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford was the seat of the Purcell-FitzGerald family (descendants of Lieutenant-Colonel John Purcell and his wife Mary FitzGerald) from circa 1818 to 1966. It is now the Waterford Castle Hotel. The Purcell-FitzGeralds were descendants of the Purcells of Ballyfoyle, Co. Kilkenny, an offshoot of the Purcells of Loughmoe.
The great hall of the castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford (now the Waterford Castle Hotel), with the arms of Purcell quartering FitzGerald displayed above the main fireplace.
A closeup of the arms of Purcell quartering FitzGerald. Our thanks to the Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort, a 4-star resort, for the use of this photograph.
A drawing of the arms of the Purcell-FitzGerald family showing Purcell quartering FitzGerald. These are the same arms displayed in the previous photograph of the main fireplace in the great hall of the castle at the Little Island, Co. Waterford, now the Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort.
The late Fra’ Matthew Festing was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until 2017. The Order of Malta is the world’s oldest surviving order of chivalry, a lay order of the Catholic Church, and a major humanitarian organisation dedicated to the relief of the sick and the poor. The Grand Master of the Order of Malta is considered a head of state by many countries, because, although it no longer has any territory, the Order is deemed to be a sovereign entity in international law and exchanges ambassadors with more than 110 countries. In its humanitarian efforts, the Order employs some 50,000 doctors, nurses and paramedics, assisted by 95,000 volunteers in more than 120 countries. After Matthew Festing was elected Grand Master, a painting was made of his 16 quarterings (the coats of arms of his great-great-grandparents). The painting shows, among other arms, the Purcell coat of arms, through Matthew Festing’s great-grandmother, Victoria Purcell. He was proud of his descent from the Purcells of Ballyfoyle. An Englishman, Matthew Festing was graduated from the University of Cambridge and rose to the rank of Colonel (Reserve) in the British Army. He was a direct descendant of the English Catholic martyr, Blessed Sir Adrian Fortescue. Matthew Festing’s father, Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing, was Chief of the Imperial General Staff in the United Kingdom.
This drawing of the wax heraldic seal used by Geoffrey Purcell in 1362 is the earliest surviving Purcell coat of arms in Ireland using a boar theme. It is preserved in one of the Ormond Deeds, in the National Library, Dublin. It appears that the boar is facing in the wrong direction, due to an engraving error. In the 1350s, when the bubonic plague was ravaging Tipperary and causing the deaths of many, including Purcells, Geoffrey Purcell was engaged in a succession struggle with his close relation, Hugh Purcell, over who should be the head of the family. Geoffrey prevailed and wrested Loughmoe from Hugh.
There were several Purcell coats of arms used apparently interchangeably in Ireland by descendants of the Purcells of Loughmoe. The coat of arms above, used by Nicholas Purcell, Sheriff of Dublin (died 1616 or maybe it says 1626), is similar in some ways to the 1362 seal of Geoffrey Purcell, above. This is from the archives of the Chief Herald of Ireland.
The boar has been a theme in Purcell heraldry since at least 1362, if not before. Its use plays on the Purcell surname, which was ‘Porcellus’ in some Latin manuscripts, such as a Latin charter in Normandy, dated circa 1052 A.D., which refers to ‘Hugo Porcellus’ (Hugh Purcell), lord of the vill of Montmarquet, a location near the French town of Aumale in Normandy. In Latin, ‘porcellus’ means little pig or piglet. A piglet as a symbol, however, conveys no martial threat. In contrast, another member of the pig family, the wild boar, was often used in heraldry to convey the fierce and tenacious aggression of a warrior. (Note: The image above, displayed on a glass panel, has been copyrighted by Dennis Roberts and is used with permission.)