The Monaghan Coat of Arms

My mother's surname is Monaghan, and my father's is O'Brien. My mother had this Monaghan Coat of Arms tucked away at home:

Translated simply:

Azure - the colour azure blue; a chevron, between three mullets (regular looking stars) or (the french for gold - in this case the colour of the stars and the chevron).

A knight in complete armour resting the sinister (Latin for left) hand on the hip, and holding in the dexter ( Latin for right) a tilting spear (the weapon), thereon a forked pennon (flag) argent (from the Latin for silver), charged with an escutcheon (shield shape) of the arms.

The motto: Felis demulcta mitis means The stroked cat is meek, meaning something along the lines of Gentle in Peace, Fearless in War.