Red McManus shield with boar headsGreen McManus shield with a griffinMcManus Heritage

McManus Heritage

The McManus Clan Association: gatherings, newsletters and the early website

Phil McManus’s historical account of the association founded in 1992 and its early Internet presence.

Historical account from Phil McManus’s original clan website, supplied for this archive.

Beginnings in 1992

The McManus Clan Association Ltd. was officially begun in 1992 by Betty McManus of Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, in conjunction with Bórd Failte’s Irish Homecoming promotion. Representation from Enniskillen for the Fermanagh sub-group was invited to participate.

Those involved in planning the clan’s activities were Joseph McManus, Betty McManus, Stella McManus-Keogh and Patrick McManus (Drumshanbo); Dermott McNabb (Carrick-on-Shannon); Pat McGuiness and Frank McManus (Enniskillen); Christopher Meehan (Mohill); Pat McManus and Hugh Gibbons (Keadue); John McGahern (Fenagh); Joe McManus (Ballinamore); Sarah McManus (Drumshanbo); and Donald Neary (Carrick-on-Shannon).

Betty registered the clan with Clans of Ireland Ltd. The account records that it received official clan status, with Betty as the clan contact.

The first gatherings

The first McManus Clan gathering, held in Drumshanbo and Carrick-on-Shannon in September 1992, was such a success that the committee continued the reunion the following year in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Both parts of the clan could enjoy hosting the reunion. Sean McManus of Emly, County Tipperary, was elected the first honorary chieftain of the combined clans.

The committee subsequently decided to hold gatherings less often, allowing overseas members to attend regularly at a more manageable cost, and to alternate the venue.

Bulletin boards and the clan website

In May 1994, a letter was sent to members by post and copied to bulletin boards on CompuServe and America Online—the clan’s first Internet presence described in this account.

At the Drumshanbo reunion in 1996, the committee invited suggestions for improving communication and the reunions. Phil McManus of Oregon, USA, volunteered as Internet liaison, posting to bulletin boards and developing a clan website.

The website was added in April 1997, with information about past and future gatherings. Jim Maguire of Washington State helped create and maintain the original pages using Phil’s input and design. Phil later took over their maintenance and moved them to a new home.

The original AOL address was http://members.aol.com/manus/. Browse the archived website.

The 1998 reunion and newsletter

The fourth reunion, held in 1998, marked the 500th anniversary associated with Cathal Og McManus. The Enniskillen subcommittee hosted it, a year earlier than the normal interval, in the area where Cathal Og had lived and worked.

December 1998 saw the inauguration of the clan’s official newsletter. Michael McManus of Durham, England, had previously produced a newsletter as an extension of clan activities; his final issue appeared in September 1998.

In 1999, the website became partly bilingual in Irish and English to support the Irish language.

Membership at the time

The account describes growth from 42 memberships, representing approximately 120 people, in 1992, to more than 200 memberships and over 500 people worldwide. It lists Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Spain and the United States. These are historical figures from the account, not current membership totals.

Archived membership page.

In his later personal account, Phil says the association wound down in 2001.

Gathering articles