A few words about heraldry and "Family Crests"
First, there is no such thing as a Fagan family coat of arms. According to experts in Heraldry, 'Arms' were (and are) granted to individuals (and their direct descendants). Patrick O'Shea[1], one such expert, writes, "Most of these examples of armorial bearings originated as English Grants of Arms in the late Medieval or early Renaissance periods. Today the regulation of armorial bearings in Ireland is handled by the Chief Herald of Ireland or the U.K. College of Arms (in Northern Ireland), and both authorities continue to make new grants of arms to worthy individuals".
(We do have an Association Coat of Arms which all registered members of the 'Tribes' are allowed to use!)
Heraldry was brought to Ireland with the Anglo-Normans in 1169 A.D. The Irish nobility began adopting this type of heraldry during the next centuries. But Ireland was not devoid of heraldic symbols of its own. O'Shea writes that "It seems clear, then, that the use of personal standards, belonging to the chief of a sept, which passed to his successors, had long been practiced by the time of the Battle of Magh Rath (A.D. 637 - Annals of Tigernach), and that the adoption of the English system of heraldry was merely an evolutionary step in an already well-established Gaelic tradition."
The ancient Irish had their own system of symbols that were later sometimes adapted to the Norman system. The symbol or picture displayed on an Irish banner was called a suaicheantas or samlach. Each clan's symbol was unique allowing men to easily be distinguished "from all others by those shanachies whose duty it was to attend the nobles when about to contend in battle, and that these shanachies might thus have a full view of the achievements of the combatants, so as to be able to give a true account of their particular deeds and valor." (Keating[2])
The question of 'family or Clan arms' is one which is summed up by O'Laughlin[3]: "Treating arms as if they belonged to a family, is a practice which is not entirely proper - for arms are granted to, or held by and individual - not a family in the traditional way of things. But then Ireland was not an entirely proper example. Anciently there was a claim of the entire 'Irish Clan' to the ownership of the land, and to the naming of a Chief. The Irish clan held the land and the chieftancy, (and its arms then), somewhat in common. In Ireland, the chieftainship might pass to a cousin, not just a son of the chief. So grew the practice of male descendants using the arms, rather than just the oldest son. Hence comes the concept of arms belonging to the Irish clan as a whole, not just a single individual.".
As O'Laughlin points out, the former Chief Herald of Ireland, Edward MacLysaught lent his opinion in favor of the rights of a 'sept' to display the arms of its Chieftain. One must take care and do the proper research prior to displaying arms, to make sure that there is no conflicts with property and inheritance laws and customs. In the case of the Fagan arms shown on this page, it is recorded by O'Laughlin as baing dated '1900', which means that it was found or contributed by a member of the Irish Genealogical Foundation but dated before the coming of the Irish Free State in 1922.
Clan Crests
Typically what we see used in a Clan Crest is the part of the armorial called the Crest, which sits on the Torse, which sits on the Helm, which sits above the Shield whereupon the Arms are installed. In the case of the name Fagan: The Crest for one specific Fagan (see below) is "A griffin argent, winged and tufted or supporting in the talons an olive branch vert, fructed gold." This specific Fagan's Motto is: "Deo patriaeuqe fidelis".
These arms have been recorded for a specific individual named Fagan:
According to Burke's Peerage & Gentry, This Coat of Arms was issued to Thomas Fagan of Dublin and is recorded as:
"The pedigree entered in the Visitation of Dublin, 1605, by Daniel Molyneux, Ulster King of Arms, commences with THOMAS FAGAN, of Dublin; m 1524, Amy Nangle, dau of the Baron of Navan, and by her acquired large estates in Dublin and elsewhere. He left issue, two sons,
1a - Christopher, Mayor of Dublin 1573, High Sheriff 1565; m Joan, dau of Sir James FitzSimons, Mayor of Dublin, and had, with seven daus., an only s, Thomas, of Castle Fagan and Palmerston, Co Dublin (will 10 July, 1599), who left an only child Elinor; m her cousin Richard Fagan, of Feltrim.
2a RICHARD, of whom we treat.
WILLIAM CHARLES (TRANT) FAGAN, is the present male representative of the family of Fagan of Feltrim; b 3 Jan 1877"
Unless you are the direct descendant of this individual with proof of inheritance, simply "being a Fagan" does not mean you can bear the arms shown - it belongs to William Charles (Trant) Fagan and/or his descendants.
Fagan: Arms; Per chevron gules and erm. in chief three covered cups or. Crest; A griffin argent, winged and tufted or supporting in the talons an olive branch vert, fructed gold. Motto; Deo patriaeuqe fidelis.
In the heraldic tradition regarding the Crest, the griffin in the crest, is a mythical creature, with the head, wings and talons of an eagle and the body and hind legs of a lion. It is thus composed of the most royal of the birds and the beasts. The griffin was thought to find and guard mines of gold and hidden treasures. It is a principal device in heraldry, signifying valor, strength, vigilance, and perseverance. (A distinctive feature of the griffin is that it has ears, which are large and stand up from its head. This is the only feature that differentiates a griffin's head from an eagle's. The griffin can be found in all sorts of positions but a female griffin's wings are never closed. A male griffin, for some reason, does not have wings; instead it is adorned with spikes at various points on its body and the male griffin is seldom found. In the middle ages hybrids such as this one were assumed to be possible and to actually exist, just as a mule, which is a cross between a horse and a donkey, existed. Mules were known to not be able to reproduce though, so it seemed logical that a hybrid like a griffin would not be able to either. This explained why griffins were so rare and hardly ever seen.) The olive branch being held by the griffin obviously means peace or concordance.
References
1 Patrick M. O'Shea, Proto-Heraldry in Early Christian Ireland: The Battle Standards of Gaelic Irish Chieftains, http://www2.smumn.edu/uasal/IRHERALD.html (this original link is no longer active. Try this one for a copy)
2 Geoffrey Keating, The History of Ireland (BOOK I-II) Author: Geoffrey Keating, (circa 1640) CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland. — http://www.ucc.ie/celt
3 Michael C. O'Laughlin, The Irish Book of Arms, (Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Irish Genealogical Foundation, 2000) ISBN 0-940134-86-1