The Book of Sullivan

The original Book of Sullivans was last seen in the early nineteenth century. Hundreds of Sullivans have assisted in recreating the chronology (years AD or BC) here. Add your own Sullivan story by clicking HERE!

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Sullivan the Celt

Sullivan roots are found in the Celtic lands of central Europe.


-50000: First humans anatomically similar to today (sullchron)
-13000: End of Ice Age (sullchron)
-7000: First settlers in Ireland (sullchron)
-6000: Celtic Nose Length
-4000: Irish elm decline (sullchron)
-3212: French coastal megaliths (sullchron)
-3199: Irish oaks show sharp chill (Baillie)
-3190: Heckla eruption, Iceland (sullchron)
-3150: Iceman of the Alps (sullchron)
-3113: Mayan Creation date (sullchron)
-3100: Stonehenge foundations dug ()
-3075: Newgrange Megalithic Tomb
-3000: Carnac Megaliths (sullchron)
-3000: Cessair arrives in Ireland
-2700: Gilgamesh, King of Uruk (sullchron)
-2500: Partholon Arrives in Ireland (mythological)
-2400: Climatic disturbance; meteor impact? (SIS)
-2000: First Nemed invasion (mythological)
-1680: Santorini eruption ()
-1500: Fir Bolg (possibly the Belgae of NW Gaul, per Julius Caesar) (mythological)
-1400: Goidels at Exodus: Irish help Israelites to escape Egypt
-1263: Heber and Heremon (Keating)
-1000: Tuatha de Danann (mythological)
-500: Galicia: Milesian home?
-390: Pull Beards of Roman Senate
-335: Asks Celtic Chief's Fears
-300: Sons of Mil (from Spain, possibly Helvetians or Celt-Iberians)
-259: Egyptian revolt of Celts
-189: No casual sex for this Galatian
-100: Calls Gauls Bombastic
-50: Early Munster Settlers



Sullivan Arrives from Spain

Ancient stories suggest that Sullivan arrived in Ireland from Iberia in the early first millenium. Archaeological study of Iberian culture suggests that this may be a fact.


200: AD 47th Oliol Ollum, son of Princess Beara, father of Eoghan, founder of Sullivan line
200: Owen (Eoghan) More, celebrated king of Munster, father of Oliol (Williams)
200: Ascendancy of Eoganacht ancestors of Sullivans
375: Niall of the nine hostages (Keating)
450: Saint Patrick arrives (Keating)
575: Finghin founds O'Sullivan line, younger brother founds McCarthy line (Keating)
600: Fingan, son of Aodh Dubh, King of Munster (Williams)
750: Irish monks wander the globe, converting heathens (boniface)
950: Suildhubhain the blackeyed p114, generation 101 from adam (sull/burk)
1027: Brian Boru (Keating)
1050: Saint Bridget (sullchron)



Sullivan in the Age of Mac Beth

An eye for an eye.
1100: Gerald of Wales
1123: O'Suilleabhain [and others]deposed Tadhg son of Muireadach MacCarthaigh, and Cormac son of MacCarthaigh, his own brother, took the kingship from them in (McCarthy,)
1176: MacRaith O Suilleabhain defends Mac Carthaigh King of Munster
1193: Normans force Sullivans form Knockgraffan to Cork and Kerry (Williams)
1200: Rift between Sullivan, McCarthy (O'Murchadha)
1209: Sullivan kills F. M with axe over division of spoils (O'Murchadha)
1209: 9 A hosting by Finghin [MacCartaaigh]... and there was a
1214: Sullivan boys killed by McCarthy (O'Murchadha)
1214: Diarmaid [MacCarthaigh] treacherously killed the whole family of Domhnail Mor O Suilleabhain .. on the advice of many (McCarhty)
1253: Alinn O'Sullivan, Bishop of Lismore, dies (Four Masters)
1280: Sull unites with McCarthy against Normans (O'Murchadha)
1317: Sullivans rebel against \mcCarthy, except Flanns; break up into (O'Murchadha)
1320: The monastery of Bantry, in O'Sullivan's country, in the bishopric of Ross was founded by O'Sullivan from Franciscan Friars. In this monastery (Four Masters)
1350: Sullivans displace Driscolls (O'Murchadha)
1398: MacCarthy gave a great overthrow to the family of the O'Sullivans, killed O'Sullivan the Bold, and the two sons of O'Sullivan, the Great (Four Masters)
1404: War between McCarthy and Sullivan, Sullivan drowned (O'Murchadha)
1404: A war broke out between MacCarthy and O'Sullivan Boy. (Four Masters)
1411: O'Sullivan More was treacherously taken prisoner, and blinded, and his son killed, by Donnell Duv. O'Sullivan. (Four Masters)
1451: Dermot, the son of Teige, son of Cormac MacCarthy, was (Four Masters)
1460: Franciscan friary at Bantry founded by first titled Sullivan Bear (O'Murchadha)
1485: O'Sullivan Bear, i.e., Donnell, died (fn Beare, an ancient territory, now a barony in the southwest of Cork. This, as well as the adjoining barony (Four Masters)
1550: 1550: O'Sullivan (Dermot), a kind and friendly man (to his friends) and Fierre and inimical (to his enemies), was burned by gunpowder in his own castle (Four Masters)
1557: Clever Phrases Much Esteemed
1561: Donal born (berleth)
1562: Shane visits london (new history)
1563: father dies (berleth)
1564: O'Sullivan Beare was slain by a bad man, namely MacGiilicuddy (Four Masters)
1564: Pirate Haydon, married ot O'Sullivan's sister, has hq @ bearhaven, dunboy. P303 (o'murcada)
1565: McCarthy mor made earl of clancarthy, surrender and regrant (somerville-ross)
1565: Owen visits england with calncarty (o'murcada)
1565: Owen goes over to English, becomes knight. goes to london (berleth)
1568: O'sullivan useth long gallies p 726 (cusak)
1569: fitzmaurice rebellion- religious controversy starts (bottigheimer)
1569: Humphrey Gilbert pacification of munster (bottigheimer)


Elizabethan Conquest of Sullivan Lands:

The conquest of Ireland by the English takes place over the next three decades 1570-1600 and ushers in a century in which traditional Sullivan culture is rooted out by English settlers and landlords. Many Sullivans leave the country for adventure and military service in foreign countries, while others remain at home and endured a fractious relationship with their English masters.


1570: Elizabeth excommunicated (bottigheimer)
1570: Desmond rebls (bottigheimer)
1571: first Desmond rebellion (berleth)
1571: macarthy resumes title of maccarthy, act of contempt toward english p733 (cusak)
1572: ? owen imprisoned in limerick; robin hood escaspe p305 (o'murcada)
1573: desmond returns from prison-fence straddles (bottigheimer)
1574: desmond raids maccarthy more p734 (cusak)
1575: sidney doesnt trsut macsweeney pledges p 295 (o'murcada)
1575: isdney in cork; atteneded by clacare; desmond loyalty dubious;p 730 (cusak)
1575: fitzmaurice escapwes2 (bottigheimer)
1576: scots mercenaries p 101 (new history)
1576: sidneys mission to munster, macsweeney submits p 101 (new history)
1576: macsweeney executed with banner p 296 (o'murcada)
1578: maccaarthy and desmond dispute lands, almost fight p 731 (cusak)
1579: 1579 capt zouch p 20. owen beaten by gilbert p 65 (somerville)
1579: sack of youghal (berleth)
1579: peter whites school waterford p138,563 (new history)
1579: desmond burns youghal; ormond v. munster rebels; grey lands (new hist viii)
1579: fitzmaurice arrivies smerwick p 105 (new history)
1579: desmond murders english party at tralee p 738 (cusak)
1580: smerwick nov 10; sir james captured, executed oct 3 (new hist viii)
1580: eugene o'sullivan chief of beare put in prison for war duration p23 (o'sullivan)
1580: james sussex of the geraldines seized by queens maccarthy at cork, executed (cusak)
1580: 30,000 die in munster (berleth)
1580: lord deputy plunders as far as dingle, takes "sullivan beare hostage p742 (cusak)
1580: desmond rebellion ends 79-84 (berleth)
1580: dermot commands infantry of bear (o'sullivan)
1580: march. Maccarthy clancarty taking english side against the rebels p744 (cusak)
1580: ? daniel ravaged english with stones p 26 (o'sullivan)
1580: Sack of Munster
1580: Donal took no part in desmond rebellion (bacam)
1580: english atttacking desmond, o'sullivan submits p107; grey "fear not (new history)
1580: Spenser in Ireland (sullchron)
1580: A Native View of O'Sullivan
1581: smerwick massacre (bottigheimer)
1581: sanders dies; tribal warfare (berleth)
1581: raleigh captures lord roche p760 (cusak)
1581: annals say that capt zouch sends macsweeney and o'donovan to carberry to plunder o'sullivan beare suul w/50 kills 300 (four masters)
1581: O'Donovan cattle raid (bacam)
1581: rising of kavanaughs, o'connors, o'mores; sanders dies (new hist viii)
1582: sir john of desmond killed; pardon proclamation munster (new hist viii)
1582: zouch gets john p190. famine and plague (berleth)
1582: cap zouch kills john desmond (cusak)
1582: famine even in munster towns-70 die per day in cork (new history)
1583: owen o'sull comes in from gerald p 205 (berleth)
1583: desmond killed (new history)
1583: gilbert drowns sept 9; o'hurley arrested, tortured; desmond killed (new hist viii)
1584: bishop o'hurley executed (new history)
1584: june o'hurley executed; norris president munster; survey munster (new hist viii)
1584: perrot returns (new history)
1584: general peace after desmond war (cusak)
1584: survey of desmond lands (bottigheimer)
1586: thady o'sull sheltered by owen p 44 (o'sullivan)
1586: munster planatation on macsheey/desmond lands (bottigheimer)
1587: doanl chalenges uncle (berleth)
1587: donal challenges uncle; case lasts rtwo years p23 (somerville-ross)
1588: armada (new history)
1588: owen marries daushgters to clancarty illeg son and knight of kerry son (o'murcada)
1588: 1588 Florence Maccarthy marrries Earl of Clancarty's daughter
1588: munster plantation establushed 2 yrs (new history)
1588: Earl of Clancar claims: Rising Out, 50 Gallowglass, the Giving of the Rod, (sutro)
1588: Florence Maccarthy story p811 (cusak)
1589: Florence McCarthy jilts Julia O'Sullivan, daughter of Owen. Sir Nicholas Browne (sutro)
1593: Donal gets title at Mallow p 23 (somerville-ross)
1593: Owen's son-in law tries to kill Owen's oldest son (o'murcada)
1594: Donal Cam, florence maccarthy and o'neil allied (o'murcada)
1594: Owen implicated in desmond rebellion (new history)
1595: Donal revolts (new history)
1596: Earl of Clancarthy dies (somerville-ross)
1598: Essex, rebellion, munster overrrun (bottigheimer)
1600: florence macarthy "comes in" (new history)



Exile and Wandering

Many Sullivans leave Ireland for adventure and military service in foreign countries, while others remained at home and endured a fractious relationship with their English masters.


1600: Sir owen's son, sir owen fights on side of english against Donal (somerville-ross)
1601: Spanish land at Kinsale.
1602: The March of O'Sullivan Beare
1603: Donal O'Sullivan's march (sullchron)
1605: one of Owen's sons a page w/ king james; 2 brothers in spain (o'murcada)
1618: Donal O'Sullivan beare dies 1618 (sullchron)
1618: Dermot O'Sullivan Beare murdered in Spain (sullchron)
1633: Mac Carthaigh's Book, DA 905 03 compiled for (McCarhty)
1633: diarmaid o'sullivan copies florence maccarthy's book. p55 (o'murcada)
1645: Newtown-- 135 people, 208 cows, 131 oxen, Cambri (sullchron)
1650: Eoghan is 46th after Heber(Keating p228) (Keating)
1650: Daniel More 38th from Eogan More, (Keating)
1692: birth of owen, #23 after genealogy p 90; 1692-23*30=992 (sull/burke)
1704: John Williams, rls, ordeal witht theindians (sullchron)
1709: Poet O Rathaille (sullchron)
1714: John Suulivan executed. (sullchron)
1714: Joseph Sullivan hanged at Newgate.
1723: m john says his family will never see or hear from him again after he (sull/burke)
1723: summary of m jon p 30 (sull/burke)
1724: Litigiousness of Ensign Alferes Juan Julian O'Sulivan
1730: Tavern in Waban (sullchron)
1735: 1735 m john advises margery that he would like to marry her see p 26 (sull/burke)
1735: Master John in New England
1736: 1736 marg and m john married(or 1723???) (sull/burke)
1739: 1739 john osullivan at corsica (sullchron)
1739: John O'Sullivan of Kerry a "fat, well-fed seminarian"
1740: gen john sullivan b (sullchron)
1742: master john 50 1742 (sullchron)
1743: ad for "an escaped negro fellow, lusty stout and comely" (sull/burke)
1743: New Hampshire Wife Seeks Husband, Begs for Return
1744: james born (sull/burke)
1745: Daniel Sullivan sings "God Save the King"
1745: bonny prince charlie; sir john sullivan, who fou (sullchron)
1745: 1745 Lord Chesterfield lord-lieutenant of Irelan (sullchron)
1750: morty sullivan (sullchron)
1751: Darmod's Boddy and Memory
1752: John William Sullivan (sullchron)
1752: Letter from Cambray, France
1753: eben sullivan fights indians, p 16 (sull/burke)
1756: death of morty oge osullivan (sullchron)
1756: 1756 Sullivan, Great Hulking Brute
1756: Morty Oge O'Sullivan towed headless to Cork
1756: LORD Have Mercy; Last Words of Owen
1758: Young John, A carribean Fantasy
1760: Barry Lyndon beats tom sull, Captain Freeny (sullchron)
1760: Another Letter, Pitiable
1760: Hard Drinking
1765: agreement between john and father p 42 (sull/burke)
1765: Success in New Hampshire
1775: Master john studies french at 80+ p9 (sull/burke)
1775: Daniel; Gives Life for English Master
1776: Charms Abigail Adams, But Not Her Husband
1776: Studies French in Eighties
1777: Throws Soup on Native Americans
1777: Borgoynes captive army including irish back from (sullchron)
1777: Reprimand from G. Washington
1777: gen john sullivan (sullchron)
1778: Sergeant Thomas Sullivan Deserts
1778: Ailments of General John Sullivan
1778: Poet Owen O'Sullivan (sullchron)
1779: john sullivan defeatws iroqois (sullchron)
1781: john sullivan's intrigues, brother daniel, wooed (sullchron)
1784: Thomas Herbert Sullivan leaves for Holland after (sullchron)
1784: gen john writung to ireland for genealogy p 71 (sull/burke)
1784: Poet Owen O'Sullivan
1790: General, Retired, Sums Career
1790: Gen John (sullchron)
1790: Robbery Warrants for Owen and Tuige Sullivan of Dromsullivan
1792: Drown Aged Priests
1795: death of m john p51 (sull/burke)
1795: Death of Master John
1795: gen john sullivan d (sullchron)
1796: 1796 m john dies at 104 (sull/burke)
1797: Dennis Sullivan Hanged
1802: Last Seen Remnants of the Book of Sullivan
1809: A Visit to Finin Duibh
1809: Poets Competition
1810: samuel sullivan brother of mortimer converts to (sullchron)
1810: Chews Flesh, Wife Cleans Teeth with Jacknife
1817: James Forester sullivan Spanish Am war b (sullchron)
1820: Governor Sullivan Names Indianapolis
1821: barry sullivan b (sullchron)
1824: mortimer sullivans captain rock (sullchron)
1825: mortimer 0'sullivan converts to protestantism (sullchron)
1827: tim dan sullivanof cork b (sullchron)
1828: Cornelius Melody's tavern; Touch of the Poet (sullchron)
1832: Another Emigrant
1838: Marries Mexican Girl



Famine

Collapse of Ireland's principle food crop leads to famine and massive emigrationof Sullivans to the new world.


1845: James Forester sullivan Spanish Am war (sullchron)
1845: James Forester sullivan Spanish Am war (sullchron)
1847: big wave of immigration for sullivans (sullchron)
1847: alexander sullivan b (sullchron)
1849: My Sullivans
1850: Old Dan Sullivan
1850: O'Sullivan Clan in Australia
1851: Hawthorne writes Blithedale Romance on w newton (sullchron)
1853: yankee sullivan losses title- goes to ca; sh p41 (sullchron)
1853: James Forester sullivan Spanish Am war to aus (sullchron)
1855: Lineage of Sullivan's Hollow
1856: louis sullivan b (sullchron)
1857: will sullivan b (sullchron)
1858: John Lawrence Sullivan
1858: john l sullivan b (sullchron)
1859: John Sullivan 40 Julia O'Neil 19 Married
1860: Fenian Connections
1862: Timothy d sullivan b (sullchron)
1862: The Eugene O'Sullivan's Fight for the North
1865: timothy sullivan, photographer (sullchron)
1866: anne sullivan macy b (sullchron)
1867: ellen fitzgerald b ireland, kilorgan (sullchron)
1868: alan sullivan, canadian writer b (sullchron)
1869: cork mayor sullivans inflammatory toast (sullchron)
1869: daniel sullivan of cork-inflammatory toast (sullchron)
1870: barry 50 (sullchron)
1870: Julia Sullivan
1871: Richard Meehan b ireland (sullchron)
1871: For God's Sake Save the Piano, Catherine
1872: Louis Sullivan's Delight
1872: Sir Edward 50 (sullchron)
1873: "I'm Glad to be rid of the Place!"
1875: Pine Farm for boys, the Pest house at Angier sch (sullchron)
1875: tom sullivan attacks mex cattle rustlers (sullchron)
1875: marg sull b ireland (sullchron)
1876: alexander sullivan murders man (sullchron)
1876: James Forester sullivan Spanish Am war d 59 (sullchron)
1879: Accidentally Killed
1880: john h sullivan at hopi res (sullchron)
1880: john sullivan, indian agent (sullchron)
1881: Phoenix Family Man
1881: Beaten, Killed
1883: alexander sullivan ir na le (sullchron)
1883: Shot at Mineral Creek
1884: jeremiah sullivan among the hopis (sullchron)
1885: Cup that Cheers
1885: rich sullivan immigrates (sullchron)
1885: Otto O'Sullivan Knighted
1886: Presbyterean Minister
1886: Sullivan or Sorohan
1886: anne sullivan macy perkins (sullchron)
1887: Marietta was born and orphaned
1888: John L. Sullivan ill after losing to Mitchell (sullchron)
1889: john l sullivan, champ; kilrain fight. But loses (sullchron)
1890: Norumbega eben horsford thinks Leif Erickson her (sullchron)
1890: marg sull immigrates (sullchron)
1891: barry sullivan d 70 (sullchron)
1891: mary sull b boston (sullchron)
1892: Mary Sullivan born (sullchron)
1893: julia born (sullchron)
1893: Addio, 1892!
1894: Hit by Falling Brick
1894: Crooked Pol Turns Fifty
1895: Builds House on RR Tracks
1895: alexander 50 (sullchron)
1895: Satin, Lace, and Diamonds
1897: Ellen Sullivan works days washing Somerville nig (sullchron)
1897: uncle james born (sullchron)
1898: One Last Visit Home



Sullivan Established in the New World

Following several waves of emigration in the mid to late nineteenth century, Sullivan begins to establish himself in the big cities of America.


1899: thomas russell 50 (sullchron)
1900: Timothy d sullivan czar (sullchron)
1900: anne sullivan macy (sullchron)
1900: big tim sullivan woos jews and establishes corru (sullchron)
1900: james sullivan, boxer rebellion (sullchron)
1900: Big Tim Sullivan
1900: will sullivan senator (sullchron)
1900: Baseball in Muncie, Indiana
1901: louis sullivan kind chats (sullchron)
1901: Two Visitors
1902: Timothy d sullivan congress (sullchron)
1902: harry stack sullivan b (sullchron)
1902: frank 50 san francsico (sullchron)
1902: Great Bend, PA Sullivans
1902: Nora Born
1904: anna sullivan, union organizer b (sullchron)
1905: John L. Sullivan quits drinking 3/4/05 (sullchron)
1905: Louis Sullivan's decline (sullchron)
1905: john l sullivan reformed (sullchron)
1905: 10/28 wm born (sullchron)
1905: 10/28 wm meehan born (sullchron)
1905: Two Dead in Rhyolite Shootout
1905: mary sull works in brush factory? (sullchron)
1905: tim dan sullivanof cork tours us (sullchron)
1906: Gene O'Neill/Montauk Inn (sullchron)
1908: John L. (sullchron)
1909: The Good Old Boy
1910: Wild Bill of Sullivan's Hollow
1910: 9/13 mother born (sullchron)
1910: e w o'sullivan, australia politicinan (sullchron)
1911: maureen o'sull b ireland (sullchron)
1912: timothy daniel 50 (sullchron)
1913: Timothy d sullivan d51 (sullchron)
1914: james sullivan, santo domingo scandal (sullchron)
1914: tim dan sullivanof cork d 87 (sullchron)
1915: Marries Gertrude
1916: WW1 Soldiers die of Malaria
1916: Anne 50 (sullchron)
1917: Joseph E. Sullivan dies in the Diamond Mine
1917: Strongman, Booze Free, Marries Sweetheart
1918: john l sullivan d 60 (sullchron)
1918: Suicide, Unsuccessful
1918: john l dies (sullchron)
1919: eve at dearborn scholl (sullchron)
1920: maurice o'sullivan, 1904-1950 (sullchron)
1920: Nora Born
1920: james takes eve to plays (sullchron)
1922: Father graduates from English high (sullchron)
1924: Mark 50 (sullchron)
1924: eve living on school st, to girls high (sullchron)
1924: louis sullivan d 68 (sullchron)
1928: eve in franklin park (sullchron)
1928: O'Sullivan from Bantry Bay
1928: St Phillip Neri fouded to serve domestics (sullchron)
1930: Totem pole going (sullchron)
1930: Wallace Stevens, Sort of
1930: maureen o'sull imm (sullchron)
1931: eve in montreal, practice teaching (sullchron)
1932: A Rueful Life
1935: mary 50 (sullchron)
1936: anna sullivan organizes textile workers (sullchron)
1936: anne sullivan macy d 70 (sullchron)
1936: jwn 50 (sullchron)
1938: xmas before i was born- drunken fight (sullchron)
1938: Mary, Undercover Cop
1938: eve reading galsworthy during hurricane (sullchron)
1938: 6/17 eve and wm married (sullchron)
1938: Death of JWN
1939: sullivan/kerouac (sullchron)
1941: 7/15 moved to conn (sullchron)
1942: Five Sullivan Brothers
1942: harry 50 (sullchron)
1943: 12/15 moved to waban (sullchron)
1943: taking train from stamford to boston (sullchron)
1947: alan sullivan, canadian writer d 79 (sullchron)
1948: Wendell Jay Sullivan
1949: Florence P. Sullivan Invades U.S.A
1949: harry stack sullivan d 47 (sullchron)
1950: ? julia buys dunster road for 19k (sullchron)
1952: daniel sullivan quits democratic party; other su (sullchron)
1953: ellen fitzgerald and rich meehan died (sullchron)
1953: joe sullivan declining (sullchron)
1954: Four Harvard Sullivans Reach 50
1955: Cordingly Mill burned down in lower falls; jack (sullchron)
1955: Dad (sullchron)
1956: Buried Alive in Poems
1956: joe 50 1956 (sullchron)
1958: maureen o'sull vatican (sullchron)
1958: maureen sullivan vaticn award (sullchron)
1961: maureen 50 1961 (sullchron)
1962: Wild Bill 1962 (sullchron)
1962: maureen o'sull divorce (sullchron)
1962: Mia's Mom, Divorce
1963: wm sullivan, asst to j edgar hoover (sullchron)
1965: we are not alone-walter sullivan (sullchron)
1971: death joe sullivan (sullchron)
1975: Attends Pompton Plains High
1977: pop newton=90000 (sullchron)
1977: daniel sullivan/eugene o'neill (sullchron)
1984: sullivans travels j poular film and tel wint 198 (sullchron)
1985: 12/8 julia dies (sullchron)
1986: Arizona Leader
1987: gilbert o'sullivan sued (sullchron)
1988: New World Meets Old World - and Flees
1988: That evening I looked in my local telephone directory
1989: Dies in Cabin
1991: Colleen: Suicide
1991: An infamous Sullivan
1993: Cork
1995: The (un)happy home of my (un)happy ancestors
1996: Book of Sullivan/O'Sullivan
1996: Looking for lineage!?
1997: A Legendary O'Sullivan
1997: Proud or Not?
1997: The Sullivan Family is a circle
1997: Coat of Arms

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