ÓGallchobhair Arms
are described as:

ARMS
"Argent a lion rampant sable treading on a serpent in fess proper between eight trefoils vert."

CREST
"A crescent gules out of the horns
a serpent erect proper."

Click on the hyperlink text below to see what it means:

Arms:  Argent a lion rampant sable treading on a serpent in fesse proper between eight trefoils vert.

Crest: A crescent gules out of the horns a serpent erect proper.

Motto 1: " Buaidh no bas"
 ,,,,,,,..,,,,,, Victory or Death

Motto 2:  "Mea gloria fideles"
,,,,,,,,,..,,,, My Glory is my Honor

v

he Arms associated with the Clann O'Gallagher are known as "sept arms," and belong to any male who can show he is a descendant of the O'Gallagher, according to Edward MacLysaght ¹, the first Chief Herald of Ireland.  

The O'Gallaghers (O'Gallchobhair) family claims descent from High King Aimireach, who is said in some texts to be the founder of the O'Gallchobhair or O'Gallagher family. By right of their blood descent from the royal Heremonian house through Niall of the Nine Hostages they were given the right to blazon as clan badge, the rampant (erect and rearing) lion of that house. This privilege was allowed only to chiefs of the blood royal. ²

Though there are other coats of arms associated with individuals who bore the Gallchobhar surname and variants (such as Gallaugher), the arms and crest shown are the known sept arms of the clann. The following pages will provide heraldic descriptions and terminology, as well as some scholarly articles on the practice of heraldry as it was applied by our ancestors.  We will also be providing web graphics for all clann members who wish to download our collection of heraldic art.

Sources:
(1) Edward MacLysaghts, Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins. (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1972) 9-13.
(2) Colonial Families of the United States of America: Volume III, by George Norbury Mackenzie / ISBN 0806302259

The Coat of Arms
*

The traditional method of displaying arms is called an achievement of arms, and consists of six basic parts:

1. Crest - some arms exist without a crest.
2. Wreath
3. Mantling
4. Helm
5. Shield
6. Motto - Often nonexistent.

The mantling may take any shape save that it shows both top and underside. It often appears "slashed" as from battle.

Warriors in heavy armor or mail faced a common problem of discomfort: the sun, basking down upon the metal, would soon heat it to the point it seemed like an oven inside. To alleviate this, they took to wearing a long but light garment over their armor called a surcoat. By the XIII^th century the surcoat had become short, and many knights wore their emblems (also called bearings or arms) on their surcoats as well as their shields. Thus originated the expression "coat of arms". In the XIV^th century an even shorter surcoat was worn, called a jupon.

The knight’s head was protected by a helm covered with a cloth called a contoise or mantling or lambrequin, used to shield it from the sun. The helm was distinguished further by mounting a unique crest upon it. The crest was fashioned from leather or wood and often took the shape of men, beasts or monsters.

Notes on Assuming
a Coat of Arms

Surprisingly few people who use a coat of arms and crest today have any actual right to do so. Armorial bearings do not simply belong to all persons of a given surname, but belong to and identify members of one particular family. Coats of arms and crests are a form of property every bit as much as corporate logos, such as those used by Coca-Cola™ and Disney^®, and may rightfully be used only by the male-line descendants of the individual to whom they were first granted or allowed. 

The particular laws regarding the Assumption of Arms vary according to the country such arms were originally granted. European laws of the continent are generally the most strict and rigid as to who may even bear arms at all, limiting them to the nobility only.

English and laws are a bit more relaxed as to who may bear arms, granting that any true gentlemen (esquire) may be worthy of the honor. Assumption of Arms, however, is another matter, and there are very intricate rules on how this is accomplished.

Irish laws (not to be confused with North Ireland, still part of Great Britain) are by far the most laid back and common sensed to this writer's thinking, and generally assume that any male who can show direct descent from the original grantee (clann patriarch) may bear and display his arms, but not necessarily the crest. More information may be found in this article on the subject. 

American (U.S.) laws all but pretend the subject doesn't even exist, as our founding fathers were rather disgusted with the whole notion of nobility and a structured class society which the entire science of heraldry seems to assume, and sought to do away with it altogether. As a result, Americans are technically quite free to assume arms willy nilly, which generally serves only to dilute the entire purpose of heraldry to a moot subject. It is interesting to note, however, that U.S. laws concerning corporate logos and merchant marks are quite particular and strict, and companies who own such marks and names as Coca-Cola^®, Kleenex™, Pepsi™, Disney^® protect these heraldic symbols with a vengeance, spending tens of millions of dollars in the design, marketing and defense of these unique and valuable identities. As the reader can see for himself, U.S. law even obliges me to use the ^® or ™ notice when using them in common text.

While some countries provide that arms may be granted only by the sovereign or established authority, the U.S. constitution presumes that ALL men are their own sovereign (in theory at least), so there is nothing stopping Americans from creating and registering their own unique arms. In addition, the Republic of Ireland grants arms to any male who can show direct lineage, and there are other nations who grant arms to any nationality in much the same manner as the U.S. patent office may grant a patent. For more information, please see this article.