Arms of the third GSI President

• Arms of the third President of the Society

The Society’s third and current President, Rory Stanley, FGSI was duly inaugurated at a ceremony held at the Evening Meeting on Tuesday 8th December 2009.

(Pictured above: The Society’s new President, Rory Stanley, FGSI, viewing the details of his new Arms presented to him by the International Association of Amateur Heralds).

The ceremony also included the investiture of four new Fellows of the Society, including the current Cathaoirleach, Séamus Moriarty and the Director of Archival Services, Séamus O’Reilly who were both appointed by the President. The Society’s new Vice-President, Maj. Gen. David, The O Morchoe, CBE (Wexford) and the Society’s Honorary Herald, Andrew Tully, MAPM (South Africa) were also invested as Fellows.

The new President was elected by the College of Fellows on May 7th 2009 and though he assumed his position on election, it was decided to host the official inauguration at the end of the year. A former Cathaoirleach, Rory Stanley, FGSI, succeeds Tony McCarthy, MA, FGSI, who held the position from 2005. The Society’s first President, Denis, O Conor Don, FGSI held the position from 1991 until his death in 2000.

Rory received the Presidential Chain-of-Office from Vice-President, David, The O Morchoe and then the President invested the new Fellows with their warrants of appointment. Vice-President Stuart Rosenblatt, PC, FGSI accepted the Warrant of Appointment on behalf of Andrew Tully of South Africa.

At his inauguration, Rory, like his predecessor, was presented with his own personal Coat-of-Arms by the International Association of Amateur Heralds. The Society is very grateful to the IAAH for this wonderful presentation.

   Mr. Rory Stanley, FGSI.

The Arms were designed and emblazoned by Melvyn Jeremiah of the United Kingdom serving as IAAH President and Andrew Tully of South Africa as GSI Honorary Herald.

The symbolism of the arms focuses on the Stanley heritage and the armiger’s avocation of genealogy, his professional life and his appointment as President of the Society. The design of the President’s personal arms incorporates the stag’s head cabossed which is a feature of the arms borne by many branches of the wider Stanley family.

The field parted per pale and the partition line dancetty allude to the arms of Rory’s mother’s family, the Farrelly arms. The golden and blue tincture of the mantling and the ermine fur of shield relates to those often attributed to the Stanley name whilst again recognising his mothers ancestry.

The crest holds much symbolism as the scroll acknowledges the armiger’s professional life as a newsagent and his genealogical background whilst the shamrock shows his passion for Ireland. Again, the Stanley colours of blue and gold are repeated on the sleeve.

The motto incorporates the Gaelic version of the surname and was the version of his name used when Rory was in primary and secondary school. It also encapsulates the historic transition from an English surname of a planter or Cromwellian soldier through intermarriage and assimilation over the centuries to become an Irish surname with a Gaelic rendition. Translated as ‘Victory to Stanley’, ‘de Stainléigh Abú’ symbolises how the surname became Hibernicised as it incorporates the standard Gaelic war-cry and refers to Rory’s own extensive One-Name Study of the surname Stanley where he has gathered information from persons of the name from around the world, especially, those with connections to Ireland.