The Cotter family (Irish Mac Coitir or Mac Oitir) of Ireland was a Norse-Gaelic family associated with County Cork and ancient Cork city. The family was also associated with the Isle of Man and the Hebrides.
Evidence suggests an ultimately Norwegian origin of the name.
The Cotter name can be found in various places in County Cork in Ireland, such as Ballymacotter and Farrancotter. A related name is also found on the Isle of Man.
Norse origins
The Cotters are noted as one of the very few Irish families of verifiable Norse descent to survive the Norman invasion of Ireland,Ó Murchadha, pp. 261–4 although it is currently unknown if this is genetically paternal or only maternal. This question mattered considerably less to the Norse of the period than to the Gaelic Irish, whose entire rigid class structure was and remains based on agnatic descent.
A family manuscript of later date claims the Cotters are descendants of Óttar of Dublin (Son of Mac Ottir), who was King of Dublin from 1142 to 1148, through his son Thorfin and grandson Therulfe. This is not impossible, nor even improbable, but currently remains unverified, the greater part of the history of the Norse in Ireland, and especially those in Munster, being lost. The Gaelic Mac Coitir was originally Mac Oitir, literally meaning "Son of Óttar", but by common Irish and Scots usage implying a 'descendant of Óttar'.Ó Murchadha, p. 261
Ottar dynasty
Óttar of Dublin belonged to what has been referred to as the Ottar dynasty, a family of powerful jarls and sometimes kings of the Irish Sea region and surrounding waters, characterised by the repeated use of the personal name Óttar.
There is a record of a possible member of the dynasty, one Óttar Svarti ("Ottar the Black" - in Irish it would have been rendered 'Oitir Dubh'), an Icelander (connections between Iceland and the Norse settlements in Scotland and Ireland were relatively close), addressing Cnut, King of England and Denmark, in a praise-poem: "Let us greet the king of the Danes, the Irish, the English and the Islanders; his praise travels through all the lands under heaven." The connection between Norse aristocrats and poetic abilities is well attested.E. Kock, E. in Den Norsk-Isländska Skaldediktningen (2 vols., Lund, I946-50), i. 141.
Ottir Iarla
The only Óttar associated with Munster in the Irish sources is one Jarl Ottar or Ottir Iarla also known in Irish as Ottir Dub (Óttar the Black), who makes appearances in the famous Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib. In that he is associated with the Viking settlement of Cork.Todd, pp. 30–31 It states that after the combined forces of him and Ragnall ua Ímair raided a number of places in Munster, they then split into three parties, one of which settled in Cork. From other accounts it would appear this Ottir had a significant career in Scotland and England as well.Steenstrup, pp. 13 ff He is also later reported in the Cogad to have conquered and received tribute from the whole of eastern Munster from his seat at Waterford.Todd, pp. 38–41 Ottir appears to have joined Ragnall in battle, or possibly led an expedition of his own, against Constantine II of Scotland in or around the year 918, and perished then,Todd, pp. 34–35 for which see his article.
Lacking sources, it cannot be demonstrated that the Cotters of Cork or Mac Ottir of Dublin descend from this Jarl Ottar, but he did live in the right period for his name to be adopted as a surname. For example, the famous O'Neill dynasty take their name from his contemporary Niall Glúndub, who also died in battle.
Ottir Dub In 1014 a Norse-Gael leader called Ottir Dub (Óttar the Black), a possible descendant of Ottir Iarla, is recorded as fighting on the side of Sigtrygg Silkbeard the King of Dublin against Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, at the Battle of Clontarf. In the battle Ottir led a sub-division of the Norsemen of Dublin, who were under the overall command of Dubgall son of Amlaíb. The Annals of Ulster state: "...of the Foreigners there fell Dubgall son of Amlaíb, Sigurðr son of Hloðver jarl of the Orkneys, and Gilla Ciaráin son of Glún Iairn heir-designate of the Foreigners, and Ottir Dub and Suartgair and Donnchad ua Eruilb and Griséne and Luimne and Amlaíb son of Lagmann and Broðar who killed Brian, commander of the fleet of the Lochlannaig, and 6000 who were killed and drowned." In Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh Ottir Dub is referred to as one of the four king's deputies (also translated as "petty kings") and admirals of the Vikings; as "king's deputies" they are likely to have been deputies to King Sigtrygg of Dublin.
Jarl Óttar of Man (Otter Fitz Therulfe) The chronology and nature of Jarl Óttar's rule in the Isle of Man is unclear, though his death in battle on the island in 1098 is consistently referred to. One version states that in 1095 King Magnus Barefoot of Norway took control of the Isle of Man with a fleet of 160 ships. He placed a Hebridean or Norwegian jarl named Óttar as his vassal ruler over the island. Óttar is said to have alienated the inhabitants of the southern part of the island, who rebelled under a chieftain named MacManus or Macmaras.Callow, Ch. V According to the Chronicle of Man, however: "In 1098 there was a battle between the Manxmen at Santwat, and those of the North obtained the victory. In this contest were slain the Earl Other, and Macmaras, leaders of the respective parties." The chronicle then states that the after effects of this Manx civil war was the reason that Magnus Barefoot was able to take the island with ease later the same year. Magnus is said to have visited the site of the recent battle where unburied remains were still evident.Chronicle of Man, Vol I, under the year 1098 If the latter version is accurate then Óttar would appear to have been a sovereign prince within the island before the arrival of Magnus Barefoot, rather than a royal vassal. All versions agree that in 1098 a battle was fought between the forces of Óttar, with many men from the north of the island adhering to his cause, and those of MacManus or Macmaras at Santwat (Santroust or Sandwath). Accounts indicate that the fight was long and sanguine, with heavy losses on both sides. The followers of MacManus were winning when the women of the north rallied their menfolk who then reversed the course of the battle. Óttar's army won the battle, but he was killed along with MacManus.Cotter 1938, pp. 23-24.Callow, Ch. V. Jarl Óttar was the father, or possibly grandfather, of Óttar of Dublin.Williams, p. 142
Óttar, King of Dublin
Óttar (in Irish Oitir Mac mic Oitir) was from the Norse-Gaelic territory of the Western Isles of Scotland; he seized control of the Kingdom of Dublin in 1142. Following his take over of Dublin he "...burned the cathedral of Kells, and plundered that town."Cotter 1938, p. 24 This most likely refers to the Church at Kells in County Meath.
According to several versions of the Brut y Tywysogion an Óttar based in Dublin, and described as the "son of the other Óttar," was active fighting as a mercenary in Wales in 1144.Williams, p. 143 Contemporary annals suggest that Óttar was co-king with Ragnall mac Torcaill, until Ragnall was killed in a battle against the forces of Midhe (Meath) in 1145 or 1146.Annals of the Four Masters (M1146.3) Óttar retained control of Dublin until 1148 when he was "treacherously killed" by Ragnall's kin, the Meic Torcaill.Annals of Tigernach (T1148.3)
Thorfinus filius Oter (Thorfin son of Óttar) Further information: Corrin (surname)
Óttar of Dublin's son Thorfin was described as the most powerful princeps (jarl) of the Hebrides. Thorfin was instrumental in the replacement of Godred II Olafsson as the major power in the Hebrides by Dubgall the son of Somerled. He conducted Dubgall throughout the isles compelling many local chieftains to acknowledge his authority and render hostages (1154–1155). It has been claimed that Thorfin was acting out a blood feud as Godred had played a part in instigating Óttar's murder; Godred is recorded in some sources as ruling Dublin for a short period after Óttar's death.Cotter 1938, p. 25Chronicle of Man Vol. I, under the year 1154 The historian Gareth Williams has postulated a kinship link between the mother of Dubgall, Ragnhildis Ólafsdóttir, and the Óttar family which may also have affected Thorfin's political inclinations.Williams, whole article.
Therulfe MacCotter Therulfe was the son of Thorfin and grandson of Óttar of Dublin. Following the fall of the Kingdom of Dublin, and a considerable part of the rest of Ireland, to the Anglo-Norman invasion Therulfe took part in an expedition, consisting of 35 ships, mounted by the Ostmen of Cork in 1173 or 1174 against the Normans under Adam de Hereford, deputy to Raymond le Gros. The expedition was defeated in a naval battle at Dungarvan or Youghal, the Ostmen attacked using axes and slingshot, the Normans replied with bows and crossbows. The leader of the Men of Cork, named 'Gileberti filii Turgarii', was killed. With the remnants of the fleet Therulfe returned to Cork, where he settled. In Cork he married a woman named Joane or Johanna le Fleming, described as a "foreign lady."Frowde, pp. 330-331
Though the two Óttars and Thorfin are attested historical figures, and a considerable amount of circumstantial evidence suggests that they belong to the same family, their precise father-son relationships and also their ancestry of Therulfe are unambiguously stated only in a lost manuscript once belonging to the Cotter family of Cork. The document was discovered at Rockforest following the death of Sir James Cotter the second baronet in 1829.Ó Cuív, p. 137 (footnote 6) Though the original manuscript subsequently disappeared, some of the information from it survived in a digest compiled by the Reverend Charles P. Cotter which was eventually published in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society by G. de P. Cotter in 1938.
Cotters outside Ireland
Murdo MacCotter Possible evidence that the Cotter family maintained "foreign" interests may be the presence in the 15th century of one Murdo MacCotter in Orkney, fighting under the head of Clan MacLeod of Harris. According to the account he actually slew the Earl of Orkney in single combat,MacDonald & Fergusson, p. 106The Celtic Magazine: History of the MacDonalds. September 1880, Volume V although it is unclear which one this might have been. Presumably this was a raiding party launched from the Hebrides. Murdo MacCotter later became the ensign bearer for the head of Clan Maclean. It is unknown if he belonged to the MacCotters of County Cork or perhaps belonged to a related sept based elsewhere.
Isle of Man The MacCotters appear to have retained a presence on the Isle of Man long after the end of Norse rule there. Here the surname eventually came to be spelled Cottier.Manx Surnames This must be distinguished from the identical looking English surname Cottier. The Manx MacCotters are said to descend from a brother of Óttar of Dublin named Acon or Haro (presumably the Norse name Hakon or similar was intended), who was born on the island.
Presence in Dublin and Meath
The Cotters of County Cork
Maurice Makotere "from the world's end"