N 243 COATS OF ARMS IN

FU LL COLOUR
SOx
7

WUWY
wUW)
Sd
Edward MacLysaght

IRISH FAMILIES
THEIR NAMES, ARMS AND ORIGINS
with 27 full-colour plates depicting 243 family arms,
by Myra Maguire, sometime Heraldic Artist to the
Genealogical Office, Dublin Castle

Fourth, revised edition, with a foreword by

Professor Etienne Rynne

The name of Dr Edward MacLysaght is

synonymous with standard works on Irish
surnames and Irish family history — subjects
which he has studied for over fifty years.

Trish Families was first published in 1957. Its

aim was to correct errors long current and to
present in an accessible form essential facts
about Irish nomenclature and families. It
immediately established itself as the book on the
subject. This fourth edition has been completely
reset; many articles have been revised or added
to; additionally there are new appendices and a
glossary of technical terms.

Trish Families deals with the more widespread

and prominent names. The huge interest in this
subject in the Irish diaspora — particularly in
the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia
— led the author to publish much additional
material on less prominent names; all of this is
included in More Irish Families, a companion
volume. His The Surnames of Ireland is a
handbook giving summarised information on
some 4,000 names.

Edward MacLysaght (1887-1986) was already

in his forties when he began to make history his
career. He served as Chief Herald and
Genealogical Office of the Irish Office of Arms,
as Keeper of Manuscripts at the National
Library of Ireland and, for many years, as
Chairman of the Irish Manuscripts Commission.
nH 010001.
3 8043

KNOWSLEY

LIBRARY SERVICE

FOR REFERENCE

ONLY

26447646
,
 EDWARD MacLYSAGHT

IRISH FAMILIES
 ann wee Aout ee eons

lt
p'ehfih +

Edward MacLysaght
WHE Too

i
IRISH FAMILIES
Their Names, Arms and Origins

FOURTH EDITION
Revised and Enlarged

LW
SS

EDWARD MacLYSAGHT
MA, DLitt, MRIA

;
IRISH ACADEMIC PRESS
This book was typeset and printed in Ireland
by SciPrint Limited, Shannon,
for Irish Academic Press Limited,
Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

© Irish Academic Press Limited 1991

ISBN 0-7165-2364-7

First edition 1957

Second edition 1957
Third edition, revised 1972
Reprinted 1978
Fourth edition, revised and enlarged 1985, reprinted 1991

KNOWSLEY LIBRARY SERVICE

26447646
HUYTON
20 oct 1998
 Contents

Foreword by Professor Etienne Rynne 5

Preface to the First Edition (1957) 7
Preface to the Fourth Edition (1985) 7
Technical Terms used in the Text 9

PAR 1 ONE

I Introduction 11
II Mac andO 15
III The Distortion of our Surnames 21
VI Distribution and Continuity 25
V Christian Names 33
VI Changes of Name 37

PART Two

Irish Families 41

PAK? THREE

Barony Map 157

Irish Family Arms (Plates) 159

PART FOUR

Anglo-Irish Surnames 187

APPENDICES

A. Surnames indigenous and common in Britain which are

used as the anglicized forms of Gaelic Irish surnames 199

B. Surnames commonly and correctly regarded as Gaelic

Irish which are nevertheless found indigenous outside
Ireland (though less commonly than those in Appendix A) 202

C. Gaelic Irish surnames which have an English appearance

but are nevertheless rarely, if ever, found indigenous in Britain 202

D. Gaelic Irish surnames which have a foreign appearance but are

nevertheless rarely, if ever, found indigenous outside Ireland 203
 E. The best known of the Norse, Norman and English names
which have become “naturalised” by long association with Ireland 204

F. Irish surnames rarely found outside particular

counties or baronies 205

G. Anglo-Norman sumames formed from trades, etc. 209

H. The commonest English, Scottish and Welsh surnames

found in modern Ireland 210

I. Blazons: description of Irish family arms shown on colour plates 211

MAPS

Ulster 221 Munster 222 Leinster 223 Connacht 224

INDICES

Index to Names in Maps 225

Index to Names 230
 Foreword

dward MacLysaght was a multi-faceted character, probably the most idiosyncratically so of all
H Irishmen of the near-century of his lifetime (1887-1986). A man of many interests and talents, his
fields embraced the Irish language; Irish politics; Irish people; farming; horticulture; journalism;
poetical, fictional and academic writing; lecturing; and many more and varied aspects of real and academic
life. None, however, was more favoured than history and the related sciences of genealogy and Irish family
nomenclature, for which he was best known and is best remembered.
His early life was too full of action and activity of various types to have allowed much scope for his
academic talents to flourish, so it was not until he was almost into his forties that he obtained an MA
degree—for a thesis on the history of the Lysaght family (published in 1935 under the title Short Study of a
Transplanted Family). While he also published more purely historical studies, notably what he always
considered to be his maximum opus (among many magna opera) and for which he subsequently, in 1941,
received a DLitt from the National University of Ireland, namely /rish Life in the Seventeenth Century: after
Cromwell (published in 1939; revised and enlarged 1950; reprinted 1969), his interest in Irish family history
and surnames was evident from an early stage: in 1915 he had published a short correction to the Irish version
of the name Lysaght in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, vol. 21, p. 103, while
at the end of 1920 he published “Conchubhar MacCluin, a shloinne agus a shaothar” in Misneach, uimh. 58;
and in 1919 his first real work on surnames in Ireland, “A Forgotten Blue Book”, appeared in the Catholic
Bulletin, vol. 9, pp. 657-673.
Dr MacLysaght’s scholarship and interests led to his appointment as an inspector for the Irish Manuscripts
Commission in 1938 (he later served as chairman of that Commission from 1956 until his eventual retirement
in 1973 at the age of almost eighty-six), and also led in 1949 to his appointment as Keeper of Manuscripts
in the National Library of Ireland, a post he held until retirement in 1954; in 1943 he was, furthermore,
appointed by the then Taoiseach, Eamon de Valéra, to the Governing Body of the School of Celtic Studies
in the Institute of Advanced Studies, Dublin. Meanwhile Dr MacLysaght’s acknowledged expertise on Irish
family names made him the obvious person to be chosen to take charge of the Office of Arms, in Dublin
Castle, which had been established in 1552 by Edward VI (now the Genealogical Office). For this new post
he was given the title Chief Herald of Ireland, succeeding Sir Neville Wilkinson, the last Ulster King of
Arms, who had died three years earlier. He was formally appointed on 31 March 1943, thus starting work in
the post on April Fool’s Day, something which we can be sure amused him greatly and which he probably
thought quite appropriate! Despite the new title, it was genealogy rather than heraldry which chiefly involved
him henceforward until his sudden and unexpected death at ninety-eight and a half years of age in March
1986.
Dr MacLysaght’s well-known major works on Irish family names all appeared during the last thirty years
of his life, and comprise a truly remarkable output for a man in retirement years. Leaving aside the numerous
historical and other books and articles which appeared under his name during those thirty years, the
publications concerned with his major interest included:

| Irish Families: their names, arms and origins, Dublin 1957 (reprinted or revised and enlarged
1972, 1978 and 1985).
2. More Irish Families, Galway 1960 (revised and enlarged 1982).
3 “Note on the name Napper Tandy”, Co. Louth Archaeological Journal, 15:2 (1962), 190.
4 Supplement to Irish Families, Dublin 1964 (incorporated in the 1982 edition of More Irish
Families).
 5 Guide to Irish Surnames, Dublin 1964 (revised and enlarged 1965).

6 “Irish Surnames—Fact and Fiction”, Eire-Jreland (Saint Paul, Minn.), 1:3 (Summer 1966), 6-13.
7 ‘“Moloneys and the Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls”, in E. Rynne (ed.), North Munster Studies,
essays in commemoration of Monsignor Michael Moloney, Limerick 1967, pp. 533-535.
8 “Family Names”, Encyclopaedia ofIreland, Dublin 1968, pp. 119-121.
9 The Surnames of Ireland, Shannon 1969 (revised and enlarged 1973, 1978, 1980 and 1985).
10 “Surnames of County Clare”, North Munster Antiquarian Journal, 12 (1969), 85-89.

11 “Christian Names in Ireland”, North Munster Antiquarian Journal, 13 (1970), 53-56.

12 Articles on the prefix Mac, and on Fitzgerald, O’Brien, O’ Donnell, O’Neill and Ponsonby,
Encyclopaedia Britannica, London and Chicago, 1973.
13. “The Irish Chieftainries”, Burke’ s Irish Family Records (American edition), pp. 45-50
(reprinted in Burke’s Introduction to Irish Ancestry, London 1976, and in the 1982 edition of
More Irish Families, pp. 15-20).
14 “The Irish-Norman Names”, /reland of the Welcomes, 25:4 (July-Aug. 1976), 13-14.

15 Bibliography of Irish Family History, Dublin 1981.

All who have even the slightest interest in Irish family names will realise that the current editions of items
1 and 2 above, namely /rish Families and More Irish Families, are pioneering, standard and definitive works.
While these two publications are limited to all the principal Irish families and thus perhaps not as generally
“useful” and “popular” as item 9, The Surnames of Ireland, they will continue to serve as models for such
work and remain as outstanding examples of their kind for many years to come.
De bharr a chuid oibre ar shlointe na nGael ba ceart diinn uile bheith an-bhuioch do Eamonn Mac
Giolla lasachta. Beidh tabhacht go cionn i bhfad lena shaothar.

Those wishing to know more about Dr MacLysaght, the man and his work, are recommended to refer to
Edward MacLysaght, 1887-1986: a memoir by Charles Lysaght (Dublin 1988); to pages 1-11 of
“Féilsgribhinn Eamoinn Mhic Giolla Iasachta”, the special volume of the North Munster Antiquarian Journal
brought out in his honour in 1975; to the obituaries (by E. Rynne and E.G. McAuliffe respectively) on pages
118-120 of volume 28 of the same Journal (1986), and on pages 139-141 of the 1986 volume of the /rish
Genealogist, to various articles in Irish newspapers (notably the /rish Times for 25 May 1970, 8 October
1973, 7 February 1978, 23 January 1980 and 8 March 1986); and, of course, to his own writings: si
monumentum requiris, circumspice.

ETIENNE RYNNE
January 1991
 Preface to the First Edition (1957)
he raison d’étre of this book is fully explained in Chapter I. Briefly it is to correct errors
5 Bee current and to present in easily accessible form essential facts about Irish nomenclature
and families.
In the course of the twelve years during which I have been collecting material with this object I have
received information from many people — especially my colleagues in the National Library. It would
not, I hope, be invidious to mention four of these by name: Mr. T. P. O’Neill, who is a walking
dictionary of national biography; Mr. Alfred MacLochlainn, whose controversial mind I have always
found stimulating; Mr. Basil O'Connell, who probably knows more about the ramifications of Munster
families since 1700 than anyone living; and Mr. Gerard Slevin, the present Chief Herald of Ireland.
Mr. Slevin most kindly undertook the laborious task of reading the book before it went to the printer
and Mr. O’Connell read it in preof. I am indebted to them for the correction of some errors of fact
and for many helpful suggestions, nearly of all of which I was glad to adopt. I should add that Mr.
Slevin does not agree with me in one or two matters of opinion relating to heraldic practice. It has
been suggested that, as I have been Chief Herald and Keeper of Manuscripts in the National Library
and the author of historical works of an academic nature, I should not write a book which is intended
to have a popular appeal. However, the need for such a book is generally admitted and it seems to me
that only a man who writes with authority can hope to succeed in correcting popular misconceptions.

Preface to the Fourth Edition (1985)

rish Families (first edition 1957) proved to be the first in a series of books, being followed
by More Irish Families (1960) and Supplement to Irish Families (1964). In 1981, at Irish
Academic Press, I had the pleasure of seeing the two last-mentioned volumes published as an
integrated text under the title More Irish Families. And now, in my ninety-seventh year, I have the
further pleasure of editing for the same Press the fourth edition of Jrish Families; this has been
completely reset in the same format as the new More Irish Families.
This new edition of Jrish Families incorporates additional material on the families discussed which I
had previously included as appendices in the other volumes. I have omitted from this edition the
Bibliography: this has recently been published in an up-dated form in a separate, slim volume.
It is over twenty years since Jrish Families was first published. However, I do not think any sub-
stantial revision of the text is called for. It is true that the population of Ireland has increased con-
siderably in the intervening period, and the greater Dublin area has attracted more and more new
“settlers” from the provinces; estimates given in the text as to the numbers of bearers of a particular
name have not been revised for this edition; it may be assumed that these numbers have increased
and that many names are now more common in Dublin than they were before. Nor have I changed
refereices to “fifty years ago” and that sort of thing. I have outlived by the grace of God many
people whom I previously described as contemporaries and who were to the good when I first wrote;
I have tried to correct many of these references for this edition. I hope the reader will forgive me
whenever he finds that I have failed to do so.

E. MacL.
 vel

iWfeedsb /e

.
‘) “bs lura fh
tiow

e tre

YR ee
: pet vin
‘

ihe wea
jot veoh

aor) corth yay

y ioe yi af
-
ria Ww Ala ‘st

no3m, ofl. ab
wnivory wit poet
bytive: need Jon we
i
atil HIG SADE erent "
» " J ur ‘auoy “Stl” of eee
Tyo yleaqherey in
vot! a yrtem tends ona
“ ot (ollnt eved | eds ateilhad
= aaWw)

/
han
 Technical Terms used in the Text

Adventurer. A person who subscribed (‘“‘adventured’’) a “pardons” to the humblest of the native Irish.
sum of money for the equipment of an army to File. A poet.
suppress the Rising of 1641 on the security of lands Gaelic. Tiis word in Ireland has no relation to Scotland.
to be confiscated from Irish porprietors. As a noun it is used to denote the Irish language; as
Aspiration. The addition of the letter H to a consonant, an adjective to denote native Irish as opposed to
thereby modifying its sound, e.g. BH = V. (Cf. PH in Norman or English origin.
English, which gives the sound of F). Galloglass. (Irish galloglach). A heavily armed mercenary
Barony. A territorial divison next in order of size to the soldier, usually but not always of Scottish origin.
county, each county comprising from 5 to 20 Gavelkind. “A system of tribal succession by which land,
baronies according to its extent. on the decease of its occupant, was thrown into the
Betagh. This term (from the Irish biatach, food-pro- common stock, and the whole area re-divided
vider), called betagius in mediaeval Latin, was among the members of the sept.” (O.E.D.)
applied to Irish “‘villeins” under the Norman régime. Hearth Money Rolls. In the 1660s a tax known as hearth-
Brehon. (Irish breitheamh, genitive breitheamhan, a money was exacted. It was a charge on hearths; the
judge.) The terms Brehon Law and Brehon System rolls recording the tax, therefore, indicate who lived
refer to the Gaelic legal system in force before the in more substantial dwellings as distinct from
Norman invasion: this system was not completely hearth-less cabins.
superseded until the seventeenth century. Idleman. This word is used in the Fiants etc. as the
Census. The so-called census of 1659 was not a complete equivalent of a gentleman, as opposed to workman.
census of population in the modern connotation of Kern. (Irish ceithearnach). An Irish soldier, lightly
the word. There is a difference of opinion as to its armed.
exact purpose: it was carried out in connexion Ollav. A professor or learned man; a master in some art
with the hearth-money tax. or branch of learning.
Coarb. The following passage is quoted from J.F. Pale, the. The district centred on Dublin under the full
Kenney’s Sources for the Early History of Ireland control of the government of the King of England.
p. 747: By the eleventh century ... in the average It varied greatly in extent as the power of the
church the abbot, generally known as the comarba English waxed and waned. At the end of the
(coarb), “heir,” of the saintly founder, or, if it were fifteenth century it comprised only Co. Dublin and
not the saint’s principal establishment the aircinnech parts of Louth, Meath and Kildare.
(erenagh), “head,” had become a lay lord, whose Pardon. \n Tudor times this was equivalent to immunity
family held the office and the church property from from the effects of anti-Irish legislation, only in
generation to generation. In some cases, apparently, some cases being an actual pardon for a specific
all trace of a church-establishment had disappeared, offence.
except that the incumbent claimed for his lands the Sept. A collective term describing a group of persons
termonn of the ancient monastery, those privileges who, or whose immediate and known ancestors,
and exemptions which had from of old been bore a common surname and inhabited the same
accorded to ecclesiastical property; but generally locality.
the comarba or aircinnech maintained a priest. Shanachie. (Irish seanchaidhe). An antiquary, story-
Dalcassian. From Dal Cais — which is a collective clan- teller.
name like Ur Maine (Hy Many), Ui Fiachrach (Hy Tanist. Heir presumptive to a chief, lord or dynast.
Fiachra), Corca Liadhe: see discussion in Chapter II. Termon. See Coarb above.
Eclipsis. The suppression of a consonant at the beginning Titulado. In a general way this denotes the principal pro-
of a word by the insertioh before it of another prietor in a townland or a street. For a note on the
consonant of the same class, e.g. M before B specialized meaning of the term see R.C. Siming-
(labials), D before T (dentals). ton, Analecta Hibernica, No. 12, p. 177.
Eponym, (adj. eponymous). One who gives his name to Townland. The territorial sub-divison of a parish, each
a people, place or institution. townland greatly varying in size, commonly averag-
Erenagh. See Coarb above. ing from 250 to 400 acres. The term has no relation
Fiant. This is short for “Fiant litterae patentes.” Fiants to a town or city.
were warrants to the Chancery authority for the Undertaker. A person, usually English, who, as a
issue of letters patent under the Great Seal. They condition of obtaining a grant of lands confiscated
dealt with matters ranging from commissions for from Irish proprietors, undertook to plant thereon
appointments to high office and important govern- English or Scottish settlers in place of the
ment activities to grants of “English liberty” and dispossessed occupiers.
 a

frepal tah : t; t2
wae we ’
a eee oe
wareeri ys
yO

bast 4 /
?

al lew

t : 5 ‘ ribs
5 /
° '

ne

ie oor

t . thre
" ; ye 9

Rt Tri tz j $ r ean“ ‘i she

= r : 1% a biet (
ry a woe
ator ia ¥

‘ _ ‘ ' : levi as ter

' ‘ j P ins iad! ® ha
i ka 5 i ‘olgQneet |
d } iimveine a & ws
F Z at) (oeelot™
Vo amg
: , , ie) ov?
: wit vil) woetd 1 ee
Ww ae ib ace sibel! <org2 JD
Lig j ‘ * WTAocerryS FH Acai ta rege 4 !

$s. ds , we wm .to MW oloted Solin 20) 40

asi y > ame rays re joo ” 3 eels “ike of} Yo ib
: (siataoh) 7 pwaled O
Hoan sits / ) wraw vet avvtp Orbe ont) eer METRES , y
“ ha oy aes “ — w ROBuInecH 1 seal 3
eétals) Gn ad of! are Pet ss
P ; ‘
inet) ‘: psleeieg oereifll foal” ”
sol fem =~
;
-

» iw adn J : ‘jas wit vol 9fmadiaa vison) a af amy ™

7
bateedliges « ; vor
teat teen) sl tobe Leareg Genie
SP wiaie, ot A ny a io. ee er
—a Ww " ; < ty] mreray incinorgend bie voit lo 1¢
' eee wp lime“ etpiefill Saget” So amass
 PART ONE

Chapter I

Introduction

he subject of Irish families is one in which much interest is evinced, but the popular books
usually consulted and regarded as authoritative, particularly in America, are in fact un-
reliable. The inaccurate and misleading information thus imparted with cumulative effect
is, however, much more deplorable in the armorial sphere than in the genealogical.
It is an indisputable fact that the publication presenting colour plates of Irish arms which is
probably most widely consulted is no less than seventy per cent inaccurate, not only in mere
detail, but often in points of primary importance and of an elementary kind. Apart from their
many grotesque heraldic blunders the compilers of this work seem to have had a sort of rule of
thumb; if they could not find arms for one Irish sept they looked for the name of another some-
what resembling it in sound: thus, for example, they coolly assigned the arms of Boylan to Boland.
This frequently resulted in the arms of some purely English family being inserted in their book
of “Irish Arms” the Saxon Huggins being equated with O’Higgins, and so on. When this arbitrary
method failed them they fell back on the arms of some great Irish sept. To quote one instance of
this: Gleeson, Downey, Noonan and McFadden are all given the arms of O’Brien, though none of
these septs had any connexion whatever with the O’Briens or with each other. Consequently many
Americans of Irish descent are in good faith using erroneous and often English arms derived from
the spurious source in question.
A certain cachet has been given to this because, in the more recent editions of O’Hart’s Jrish
Pedigrees, these same coloured plates have been inserted as if they were an integral part of O’Hart’s
book. The serious genealogist uses O’Hart with caution, if at all, for he is a far from reliable auth-
ority except for the quite modern period. John O’Hart, however, undoubtedly did a vast amount
of research, no matter how he used the information he acquired: I know that some of these errors
of ascription can actually be traced to him, but it is surely an injustice to him that his well-known
name should be used as a cover for the propagation of false and often ludicrous heraldic statements.
It is a common popular error to. speak of coats of arms as “crests”. This is another heraldic
faux pas of which this extraordinary production is guilty. It can now be dismissed from further
consideration.
Turning to another aspect of our subject, it is a pleasure to be able to say that there exists a
book which deserves high praise: the Reverend Patrick Woulfe’s Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall (Irish
Names and Surnames). It is unfortunately little used abroad. I take this early opportunity of ack-
nowledging my indebtedness to Father Woulfe’s work. The errors in it are very few and it is open to
adverse criticism in only two respects, neither of primary importance: first his guesswork in the
matter of the derivation of Irish names — for this a knowledge of Middle Irish is essential, for
Middle Irish differs from Modern Irish more widely than does modern English speech from that of
Chaucer; and secondly his tendency to turn the blind eye to the extent of English immigration. For
example, while he tells his readers that Ford, Hearn, Matthews and Moore can be either of English
or Gaelic origin, Boyle, Collins and even Ellison and Freeman are treated as if they were exclusively
Gaelic. There are a great many instances of this inconsistency. Notwithstanding these minor defects
his book is most valuable.
His primary objective was to provide in dictionary form the Gaelic and English equivalent of

11
 every extant Gaelic-Irish surname and of the commoner foreign names now found in Ireland, with
some account of their origin and history. To accomplish the latter adequately for some 3,500 names
within the compass of a single volume was obviously an impossibility. In parts II and IV of the
present work this is done more fully for some 500 surnames. The names thus dealt with are those
which are most numerous in Ireland to-day, or most famous, together with some rarer ones which
are included in the illustrated armorial section.
The selection of the 243 armorial bearings illustrated in Part III needs some explanation. Why,
for example, are such well-known and numerous names as MacCormack and Healy missing there,
while Troy, Mulvihil and O’Davoren, comparatively rare names, are included? The answer to this is
that not all.ancient Irish families have traditional arms recorded in authoritative heraldic sources.
The Genealogical Office in Dublin Castle, formerly known as the Office of Arms, is of course the
principal source for such information.
Grants and even Confirmations of Arms to individual members of a sept do not give to other
persons of the same name, not included in the terms of the grant or confirmation, any right to use
such arms. There are, however, a number of coats of arms on record which by custom are regarded
as appertaining to all members of a sept. The majority of these are illustrated in Part III.
At this point it would be well to consider what we mean by the term “‘sept’’ — the word “‘clan”
has been avoided because its use might imply the existence in Ireland of a clan system like that so
highly developed in Scotland, which in fact we never had in this country.
The term “sept” has never, as far as I know, been given an authoritative technical definition.
It can perhaps best be explained by saying that it is a collective term describing a group of persons
who, or whose immediate and known ancestors, bore a common surname and inhabited the same
locality.
Some danger exists of persons not of the true ancestry of a sept being inextricably identified with
it. There is no doubt that up to the middle of the seventeenth century many of the labouring class
had no hereditary surnames. As this interesting point is discussed in Chapter II it is referred to here
only to indicate a possible objection to a wide interpretation of sept arms, namely that “‘serfs”’
(as they have been called in this connexion) may, when the practice of using transitory surnames
died out, have assumed as their permanent surnames those of their masters, rather in the same
way as the negroes of fhe plantations in the West Indies sometimes assumed planter surnames.
While this contention is not without substance, the consensus of opinion is that such assumption
was not at all widespread.
The elasticity inherent in the concept of sept arms is repugnant to British heraldic practice.
In England armorial bearings are held to emanate from the Sovereign and are hereditary, though
devoid of sanctions to protect what may be regarded as a family heirloom and personal property;
in Scotland the right to bear arms is strictly regulated by law; on the Continent, again, heraldic
usage differs considerably from British.
Ulster King of Arms (as the head of the Irish Office of Arms in Dublin was called) who derived
his authority, like Garter and Lyon, from the King of Great Britain and Ireland, continued to
exercise his functions in Ireland until March 31, 1943, when his office was transferred to the
Government of Ireland and has since been known as the Genealogical Office, its head being entitled
Chief Herald of Ireland. This transfer took place more than twenty years after the establishment of
the Irish Free State.
On taking over we were at first inclined to adopt the British attitude in heraldic matters; but after
a few years the particular conditions existing in Ireland, politically and historically, induced a
modification of outlook, especially in regard to sept arms. In England and Scotland all arms to be
found in the records of the heraldic authorities, if not extinct, can be claimed by certain specific
individuals. Sept arms, as recorded in the Office of Arms in Dublin Castle, as I have said, have come

12
somewhat loosely to be regarded as appertaining to all members of the sept.
The peculiar circumstances of Ireland, it may be added, were recognized two centuries before
the transfer to an Irish authority took place, since Confirmations of Arms, based on use, were
issued in Ireland, but not in Great Britain where settled conditions existed.
It must be emphasized that the acceptance of the principle of sept arms in no way implies that
arms appertain to a surname as such. It does not mean, for example, that every man called Kelly
or O’Kelly may legitimately use the well-known arms of O’Kelly of Ui Maine. There were several
distinct septs of O’Kelly; and O’Kellys of the Meath or Kilkenny septs have no better title to the
said arms than a Murphy or an O’Brien. No one, however, can reasonably object to an O’Kelly
taking a proprietary interest in those arms, provided that he is unquestionably of a family originating
in the O’Kelly country in Connacht.
Briefly, then, the position is that the arms illustrated in Part III of this book may be displayed
without impropriety by any person of the sept indicated if he really does belong to that sept.
Nevertheless anyone wishing to bear arms in the true heraldic sense, e.g. to have them inscribed
on silver or seal or in stone carving, would be well advised to apply for a Confirmation of such arms
from the Chief Herald at Dublin Castle, which can be obtained at a moderate fee on production of
evidence of descent. Corroborative evidence of “user” is also required in all cases where the proof
afforded by descent is inadequate. Searches to obtain such evidence are undertaken by the Genea-
logical Office.
All the arms in this book have been taken from the archives of the Irish Office of Arms (Genea-
logical Office) and the depiction has been done by the heraldic artist employed by that authority.
They may, therefore, be regarded as authentic and accurate. The genealogical data to be found in
the body of the work has been derived from a variety of sources. Here again the records of the
Genealogical Office, which date back to its establishment in 1552, are the main primary source.
There is also much genealogical and nomenclature material in the (as yet) uncatalogued collection
of family archives in the National Library with which, as Keeper of Manuscripts in that institution,
I have most fortunately had exceptional opportunities of familiarizing myself.
Of the printed works which I have used the most helpful are undoubtedly ““The Four Masters”
and the other Annals (Loch Cé, Innisfallen, etc.), ““The Topographical Poems’”’ and the many pub-
lications of the Irish Archaeological Society, and particularly John O’Donovan’s notes thereon;
among works issued by the Irish Manuscripts Commission, many of which have been frequently con-
sulted, the so-called? Census of 1659 was especially valuable; the diocesan and county histories
were helpful in varying degrees; while papers printed in the archaeological and historical journals,
particularly Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries Ireland, have proved a mine of
information. These, I fear, are too numerous to specify separately. I have consulted numerous
family histories, some of which indeed are scholarly works, but as many of these were written
by enthusiastic and uncritical amateurs the statements they contain can as a rule only be accepted
where independent evidence is forthcoming: in short they are useful chiefly as pointers to more
authentic sources.
Finally, a word should be said about a Government publication of an unusual kind. It is entitled
Special Report on Surnames in Ireland, but it is ordinarily cited as ‘“Matheson”’ from the name of
the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages under whom it was produced. It was published
in 1894 with a re-issue in 1909. In addition to a general dissertation on the subject and some very
interesting examples of the vagaries of spelling and even recent translation of Irish surnames, it
purports to list those for which five or more births were registered in 1890 and it usually gives the
county or counties in which each name is most prevalent. It was possible in 1957 to say “is” rather
than ‘“‘was’”’ in this connexion, because various tests (which will be indicated at the appropriate
places in this book) show that the distribution of surnames in Ireland had not altered materially

13
 in the sixty years which had elapsed: tne revolution in transport, emigration and all the other
disturbing elements of modern life, which might be expected to change the pattern, had not in
fact done so; however, the growth of Dublin in recent decades must have had its effects. Matheson,
therefore, has been found very useful, especially in the preparation of Part II of this book. A
further bluebook sponsored by Matheson was issued in 1901: this is entitled Synonymes of Irish
Surnames and is of considerable interest.
The unsettled conditions produced by successive invasions, rebellions, agrarian revolution and
emigration have resulted in the wholesale loss of family papers so that, though every effort is now
being made to save what remains, we have in Ireland nothing comparable to the family and local
archives in which Britain is so rich. The destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922 was also
a major disaster to Irish genealogists, particularly to searchers concerned with the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. Nevertheless there are compensating factors. The Gaelic order was essentially
aristocratic in character, and the Norman invaders who were assimilated into it were no less so.
Thus was created a unique corpus of mediaeval genealogical material, the greater part of which has
been preserved. In this we may include not only the actual genealogies and genealogical tracts and
poems but also the Annals, the ‘“‘Book of Rights’’ and such like works. These sources are of the
greatest value in the preparation of a book on Irish families.
Finally, reference should be made to a vast and, until quite recently, almost unexplored manu-
script source, namely the papers relating to the Wild Geese and their descendants now for the
most part stored in Continental archives, particularly in France, Austria and Spain. These, together
with much ecclesiastical material, have become available for consultation in Dublin, thanks to the
initiative and energy of Dr. R. J. Hayes, Director of the National Library of Ireland, who under-
took a scheme for the microfilming of Continental records relating to Ireland.
Having indicated in this preliminary chapter the nature of the problems inherent in Irish genea-
logy and heraldry we may now proceed to consider the subject in its various aspects. This I hope
to do in a way calculated to interest the general reader as well as the student.

1. Many of the oldest armorial bearings have no crests. In some cases different crests were in use by the several branches of a family
or sept, while the arms were common to all. A crest on the other hand cannot exist except as an apanage of a coat of arms.

2. Cf. JRSAI, LXXIII 22, “Census or Poll Tax”.

14
 Chapter II

Mac and O

he successive invasions of Ireland from Strongbow to Cromwell, culminating in the final

destruction of the Gaelic order and the long drawn out subjection of the Irish people
under the eighteenth century penal code, together with the plantations of foreign settlers
and the more peaceful infiltration of Englishmen in the commercial life of the country, have made
Irish surnames more mixed than those of a nation with a less disturbed history. The situation can
no doubt be paralleled in several mid-European states, but there is nothing comparable to it in any
of our nearer neighbours such as England, France, Germany, Holland or Spain, where foreign names
are exceptional and native ones are seldom hidden under alien guise. This latter is a phenomenon
which is extremely common in Ireland.
It has often been stated that surnames were introduced into Ireland by King Brian Boru. Though
this cannot be accepted as historically accurate it is a fact that Ireland was one of the first countries
to adopt a system of hereditary surnames; or perhaps it would be truer to say that such a system
developed spontaneously. At any rate the Macs and O’s were well established as such more than a
century before the Cambro-Normans or, as they are more usually called, the Anglo-Normans, came.
It is hardly necessary to state that these prefixes denote descent, mac (son) indicating that the
surname was formed from the personal names, or sometimes calling, of the father of the first man
to bear that surname, while O names are derived from a grandfather or even earlier ancestor, o or
ua being the Irish word for grandson, or more loosely male descendant.
Many instances occur of Mac names and some of O names in the Annals, lists of bishops
and other records relating to the centuries between the time of St. Patrick and that of Brian Boru.
These, however, were not hereditary surnames, but merely indicated the father (or grandfather)
of the man in question. Thus to take, by way of example, two successors of St. Patrick in the see
of Armagh, Torbac MacGormain (d. 812) and Diarmuid O Tighearnaigh (d. 852), these were not
members of families called MacGorman and O’Tierney, but were respectively son of a man whose
baptismal name was Gorman and grandson of one who was christened Tierney.
Prior to the introduction of surnames there was in Ireland a system of clan-names, which the
use of surnames gradually rendered obsolete except as territorial designations. Groups of families,
many of them descended from a common ancestor, were known by collective clan-names such as
Dal Cais (whence the adjective Dalcassian), Ui Maine (or Hy Many), Cinel Eoghain, Clann Cholgain,
Corca Laidhe. The expression “‘tribe-names’’, used by John O’Donovan in this connexion, is per-
haps more expressive, though a more modern authority, Professor Eoin MacNeill, objected to this
term as misleading. In some cases the tribe-name did subsequently become the surname of a leading
family of the clan or tribe, but as a rule this did not happen; and, as the tribe name was usually
identical with the surname acquired by some quite unrelated sept in another part of the country,
confusion is apt to arise. Thus the Clann Daly embraced the O’Donnells and other northern septs,
Clann Cahill became O’Flanagans etc., Munter Gilligan was chiefly composed of the O’Quins of
Annaly and Hy Regan was the tribe name of the O’Dunns. It would be outside the scope of this
book to pursue this aspect of Gaelic nomenclature. A brief account of it will be found in Woulfe’s
Sloinnte and it is more fully dealt with in MacNeill’s Celtic Ireland.
The location of the clans or tribes to which allusion is made in Part II, as well as ancient terri-
tories such as Thomond, Breffny and Ossory, is indicated on the Barony Map (see Part III below).
A study of this map shows that many of the tribe names have been perpetuated in the names of
baronies, some like Keenaght, Pubblebrien and Iraghticonnor easy to identify, but more hardly

15
 recognizable in their English guise as, for example, Iverk (Ui Eirc), Tirerrill (Tir Oilella) and
Tullyhaw (Teallach Eachdhach).
The first of the major invasions of Ireland in historical times (1169-1172) resulted in the forma-
tion of a new set of surnames belonging to the Norman families which in due course became Hiber-
niores Hibernicis ipsis. The old Latin cliché is applicable to the names as well as to the people who
bore them, for no one to-day would regard Fitzgerald or Burke as any less Irish than O’Connor
or MacCarthy.
Names in this category (see Appendix E) are numerous and widespread in Ireland, and most of
them have in the course of time become exclusively Irish, as for example Burke, Costello, Cusack,
Cogan, Dalton, Dillon, Fitzgerald, Keating, Nagle, Nugent, Power, Roche, Sarsfield and Walsh.
Some of them, of course, like Barry and Purcell, though generally regarded as Irish, are found in
England also since the twelfth century. To-day, no doubt, almost all the Norman-Irish surnames
which are increasingly common in England became established there as a result of nineteenth
century and particularly of recent emigration from Ireland.
The second great upheaval, five hundred years later, was of a more devastating character. In the
seventeenth century the dire effects of conquest were intensified by religious persecution, and the
three main events of that century resulting from military aggression — the Plantation of Ulster, the
Cromwellian Settlement and the Williamite forfeitures — followed by the Penal Code which was at
its severest in the first half of the eighteenth century, inevitably led to a lack of accord between the
new settlers and the old inhabitants of the country. The natural process of assimilation was thus
retarded, indeed it is not too much to say that it was deliberately prevented. Thus the Elizabethan
immigrants and those that followed them in the next century did not become hibernicized as the
Normans had. Part IV of this book is devoted to a consideration of the place of their descendants
in the Irish nation of modern times.
A feature of the degradation of the Gael and the inferiority complex it produced was the whole-
sale discarding of the distinctive prefixes O and Mac. Nor was this confined to the down-trodden
peasantry. The few Catholic gentry who managed to maintain to some extent their social position,
while keeping their O’s and Macs within the ambit of their own entourage (usually in the remoter
parts of the country), were so deeply conscious of belonging to a conquered nation that they fre-
quently omitted the prefixes when dealing with Protestants, not only in legal matters but also in
ordinary social intercourse. Thus we find Daniel O’Connell’s uncle, that picturesque figure univer-
sally known as “‘Hunting Cap’’, signing himself Maurice Connell as late as 1803 when approaching
the Knight of Kerry to enlist his influence in a court case; while MacDermott, Chief of the Name,
though ranking as a prince among his own people and himself a prominent banker in the middle
of the eighteenth century, invariably signed himself simply Anthony Dermott.
It has been stated that one of the causes of the disuse of the prefixes Mac and O in the eight-
eenth century was the inclusion in the Penal Code of a provision to that effect. I can find no such
clause in any of the relevant Acts. No legislation dealing with this question was ever passed except
in so far as the Statute of Kilkenny (1367) affected the Irish of the Pale. This indeed had no bearing
on the use of Mac and O but it did, no doubt, mark the beginning of the practice of translating
Irish names into English, which in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries became widespread and,
I may add, proved more often to be mistranslation than translation. Nevertheless pressure was
exerted in other ways to bring about the degaelicization of surnames. For example, even two
generations before the Penal Code was in full force we find O’Conor Roe entering into a composition
in which he binds the Irish chiefs under his influence to “forego the customs and usages of their
Brehon Law .. . and to give up prefixes to their surnames” (5 January 1637. This quotation taken
from Genealogical Office MS. 178, p. 293, is by no means an isolated case). We may be sure that
this undertaking was made by O’Conor with his tongue in his cheek and that it was ignored, but it

16
serves to indicate the official outlook in this respect:
I may refer here to the widespread belief outside Ireland that Mac is essentially a Scottish prefix.
To us this idea is absurd, for many of our foremost Irish families bear Mac names such as MacCarthy,
MacGuinness, MacGrath, MacGillycuddy, MacKenna, MacMahon, MacNamara and so on. Neverthe-
less, it is a fallacy widely held. It is true, of course, that many Mac names in Ulster are Scottish in
origin, having come in with the seventeenth century planters; and these tended to retain their Gaelic
prefix when those of Catholic Ireland fell into disuse. In any case the Scottish Gaels are originally
of Irish stock and Scotland herself took her name from the word Scotia which in Latin was at first
used to denote the land inhabited by the Irish race.
At the beginning of the present century under the growing influence of the Gaelic League a
general reversal of the process began to be perceptible. Yet even to-day there are scores of Gaelic
names with which the prefix is seldom, if ever, seen, e.g. Boland, Brophy, Connolly, Corrigan,
Crowe, Garvey, Hennessy, Kirby, Larkin, to mention a few of the commonest.
The extent of this resumption can best be illustrated by the mere fact that while in 1890, accord-
ing to Matheson’s calculations, there were twice as many Connells as O’Connells, to-day, (judging
by such tests as directories) we have nine O’Connells for every Connell. I do not know the present
proportion of O’Kellys to Kellys, but I am sure it is very much higher than it was in 1890 when the
official estimate for all Ireland was 55,900 Kellys and only a mere 400 O’Kellys.
As I will devote some detailed attention to this matter in Chapter IV, I will pass now to another
class of Mac surnames which is of considerable interest. This is the assumption by Norman families
of surnames of a Gaelic type and the formation under those designations of what practically amount
to septs or sub-septs on the Gaelic model. The majority of these, such as MacSherone ex Prendergast
and MacRuddery ex Fitzsimon, are nearly extinct to-day, as are the various offshoots of the Burkes,
though no doubt some of their descendants did revert to their original surnames. Berminghams,
however, survive under the name of MacCorish or Corish, Stauntons as MacEvilly, Archdeacons as
MacOda or Coady and Nangles as Costello (formerly MacCostello). Woulfe says that the latter was
the first Norman Mac name. Not all such Norman name assumptions retained a Gaelic form, for
d’Exeter, first gaelicized as MacSiurtain, eventually became Jordan (now a common name in the
West) and the Jenningses, formerly MacSeoinin, were originally Burkes.
This practice of forming sub-septs was not confined to Norman families. Among the offshoots
of O’Brien were MacConsidine and MacLysaght. MacShane stemmed from O’Neill: in due course
this was turned by translation into Johnson and as such is found in that numerous class of concealed
Gaelic surnames referred to in Appendix A. So the name MacShera, now rare, was adopted by some
of the Fitzpatricks. MacSherry (whence the place name Courtmacsherry) on the other hand was a
Gaelic patronymic assumed by the English family Hodnett. MacSherry, it should be noted, is also
an indigenous Gaelic surname in Breffny.
Fitzpatrick, which up to the seventeenth century was MacGilpatrick, is in a class by itself, being
ihe only Fitz name which is Gaelic: otherwise Fitz (from French fils) also denotes a Norman origin.
It is possible, however, that some of the Fitzhenrys may originally have been MacEnery.
Unless we adopt an exclusive and doctrinaire attitude we must admit Fitzgerald, Fitzgibbon and
Fitzmaurice as Irish. As I have already remarked many other Norman surnames are among our best-
known surnames to-day. It would be ridiculously pedantic to regard these as anything but Irish.
Not only have they been continuously in Ireland for seven or eight centuries, but they are also not
found in England except, of course, when introduced by Irish settlers there. The Norman name
Power, indeed, holds first place for County Waterford.
One of the most striking and interesting of the phenomena to be observed in a study of our
subject is the tenacity with which families have continued to dwell for centuries, down to the
present day, in the very districts where their names originated. This obtains in almost every county

17
 in Ireland. Thus, according to Matheson’s returns, the births registered for the distinctive Kerry
names of Brick, Brosnan, Culloty, Kissane, MacElligott and MacGillycuddy, to take more cr less
random examples, are entirely confined to that county. I will revert to this point later on in Chapter
IV (see also Appendix F).
In many cases local association has been perpetuated in place names. Indeed it is a characteristic
of Irish place names, particularly those beginning with Bally, Dun, Clon etc., that a large proportion
of them are formed from personal names. Ballymahon, Lettermacaward, Drumconor, Toomevara
are a few examples to illustrate this point. Many such will be noticed in Part II of this book. It is
dangerous to jump to conclusions and easy to make mistakes in this field: thus Kilodonnel in
Co. Donegal is the church of O’Toner, not of O’Donnell as would appear at first sight. Similarly
Doonamurray has nothing to do with the surname Murray, being a corruption of Dun na mona;
nor has Drumreilly any etymological connexion with the sept of O’Reilly. Of course the associa-
tion, especially in the case of the Kil words, is often ecclesiastical rather than genealogical, for many
are formed from the names of pre-surname saints and hermits, and so have no interest for the
student of surnames. Those place names beginning with Bally and other Irish words were almost all
formed before the seventeenth century and too often when a family was thus distinguished it has
ceased to exist or has almost died out in the immediate neighbourhood of the particular townland
so designated, but in many cases they are still numerous there. Nearly all such are Gaelic or Hiberno-
Norman family names. There are, however, some exceptions such as Ballybunion and Ballyraddock
which are formed from the English surnames Bunyan and Maddock.
After the 1602 débacle, as we must regard the battle of Kinsale, place names with the prefix
Castle and Mount or the suffix Town and Bridge like Castlepollard and Crookstown, and occas-
ionally a combination of both like Castletownconyers, began to be used. For the most part these
names honoured planter families, with whom must be classed renegade Gaels who forsook their
own people and religion and backed the winning side; though where they represent translations
from older Irish place names, as in the case of O’Brien’s Bridge and Castledermot, this of course
does not apply. This aspect of our subject can be dismissed without further examination: it can
be studied by anyone interested in it by a perusal of a map or gazeteer, or better still the Index
of Townlands, Parishes etc. officially published in connexion with the decennial censuses of the
nineteenth century.
Of more interest to us here is the converse, i.e. those surnames which were actually formed
from places. In England they constitute one of the most numerous classes; in Ireland they are
comparatively rare: so much so indeed that all of them that I know can be enumerated here, being
too few to make one of our Appendix lists. Apart from Anglo-Irish names taken from places in
England like Welby, Preston etc., the only Irish place names so used I have met are Ardagh, Athy,
Bray, Corbally, Finglas, Galbally, Sutton, Rath, Santry, Slane and Trim, some of which are very
rare. Dease (and Deasy), Desmond, Lynagh, Meade, and Minnagh, formed from extensive terri-
tories, may also perhaps be included. Not all place names found as surnames can be accepted in
this category. Cavan for example is not taken from the town but is a synonym of Keevane or occas-
ionally an abbreviation of Kavanagh; Navan is Mac Cnaimhin, Limerick is O Luimbric, Kilkenny
is Mac Giolla Choinnigh and Ormonde is found in County Waterford oddly enough as a corruption
of O Ruaidh. The most numerous of these in Ireland to-day is Galway or Galwey. It does, it is true,
derive from a place, but the place is Galloway in Scotland.
Deasy, mentioned above, might be placed in the class which we may call descriptive. It
indicates ‘“‘a native of the Decies’, as Lynagh means ‘“‘a Leinsterman’’, Moynagh ‘‘a Munsterman”
and Meade (with its earlier form Miagh) ‘‘a Meathman’’. These have a topographical significance, as
have Spain, Switzer, Wallace, Brett, London. Quite a number of descriptive surnames, which at
some period must have superseded a normal family surname, are formed from adjectives such as

18
Bane (white), Begg (small), Crone (brown), Creagh (branchy), Duff (black), Gall (foreign), Glass
(green), Lawder (strong), Reagh (brindled).
Phair or Fair is also one of these, but it has been subjected to translation, being the Irish adjective
fionn.
Akin to adjectives are names in the genitive case, of which a few are found among genuine Irish
surnames, e.g. Glenny (sometimes Glenn) for a’ ghleanna and Maghery for an mhachaire. Here also
the process has in some cases been carried a stage further, an chnuic becoming Hill and an mhuillinn
Mills; but when met to-day Hill and Mills are more likely to be of English origin.
Everyone knows the old rhyme which ends with the lines ‘“‘And if he lacks both O and Mac no
Irishman is he’’. Like most general statements this is not wholly true for, disregarding the undoubted
claims of the Burkes, Fitzgeralds etc., we must admit Creagh, Deasy, Crone, Maghery and the other
descriptive surnames as genuinely Gaelic. Indeed two of the best known and essentially Irish names,
Kavanagh and Kinsella, have neither O nor Mac, for they are the descriptive type.
Both of these, however, sometimes have an O tacked on to them erroneously. There are some
curious instances of this error. A’ Preith (meaning “‘of the cattle spoil’’) is well known in County
Down for generations under the anglicized form of O’Prey. Gorham was formerly credited with an
O in Co. Galway. De Horseys became O’Horseys before ever the influence of the Gaelic League
revival brought bogus O’s and Macs into being. Two of the most remarkable, not to say ridiculous,
of these mistakes are to be found in Limerick city and county where Mackessy (in Irish O Macase
and recte O’Mackessy in English) appears as McKessy; and Odell, a purely English name, as O’Dell.
In this connexion, I should refer to those Mac names which through long usage in the spoken
language have become O’s. The best known of these are O’Growney and O’Gorman. Other examples
of this appear here and there in Part II.
We have already noticed instances of the sub-division of the great septs and the consequent
formation in the middle ages of new surnames like MacConsidine. This arose for various reasons,
not the least of which was the desirability of readily distinguishing between a number of people
of the same name. For a similar reason a system of nomenclature exists to-day, particularly in the
western counties, whereby the father’s christian name is added to a man’s legal name. Thus in
Clare, where there may well be several Patrick O’Briens in a single townland, they are known as
Patrick O’Brien John, Patrick O’Brien Michael and so on. This is not merely a colloquial conven-
ience, for these designations are used in ordinary business transactions such as completing an order
form or supplying milk to a creamery, and they appear very frequently in the official voters’ lists.
A similar practice, very much in vogue in Limerick in the seventeenth century, has misled some
writers unfamiliar with Irish conditions. The normal method was to add the father’s name, as in the
example given above, but with the prefix Fitz. Thus, to take a well known Limerick surname, John
Arthur son of Stephen Arthur was almost invariably described as John Arthur FitzStephen, so that
to the uninitiated the man’s surname appears to be FitzStephen.
There are many examples in the sixteenth and seventeenth century records of persons whose
names as set down therein are a veritable genealogy. John MacMahon MacWilliam MacOwen
MacShane was, of course, John MacMahon whose father’s christian name was William and his great
grandfather’s was Shane. Ignorance of this practice on the part of the enumerators probably
accounts for the extraordinary number of MacShanes and MacTeiges returned as surnames in such
records as the 1659 census all over the country. According to this there were large numbers of
MacWilliams, MacEdmunds, MacDavids, MacRichards etc., and in the same way Fitzjames (some-
times alias MacJames) appears as a common surname. The prevalence, according to the returning
officers, of Oge as a surname bears out this assumption. Similarly Bane is given as a common
surname, though there is little doubt that it was in fact, like Oge, merely an epithet. Bane does exist
as a modern surname, Oge, however, does not, though it may have occasionally survived by trans-

19
 lation, as Young. The Ormond Deeds, especially those of the sixteenth century, contain a great
many names formed by prefixing Mac to a christian name. Besides those mentioned above,
MacNicholas, MacPhelim, MacRory, MacThomas and MacWalter are of most frequent occurrence.
Of all these names the only two to be found in any considerable numbers as surnames to-day are
MacShane and MacTigue, as it is now spelt. The latter has in some places been shorn of its Macs
and is written Tighe.
In this connexion it must not be forgotten that a not inconsiderable number of people in the
lower stratum of society did not use hereditary surnames even as late as 1650. In examining family
documents I have met with cases of this: a witness signs himself James MacThomas, whom we know
to be the son of Thomas MacTeige — or more probably being illiterate he makes his mark beside the
name. Nevertheless it can safely be stated that the great majority even of the labouring class did
have hereditary Mac and O surnames at least from the middle of the sixteenth century. By the
eighteenth, of course, the cottier and small farmer class had come to include a considerable pro-
portion of the old Gaelic aristocracy.

20
 Chapter III

The Distortion of our Surnames

ven in Ireland, where there is a genealogical tradition, it is quite common for people to
3 be uncertain of their ancestry for more than three generations. Consequently a man in
these circumstances whose name is, say, Collins or Rogers, to take two common in Ireland,
cannot assert with certainty that he bears a native Irish surname. However, if he is a Collins, born
and living in Dublin perhaps, whose people came from West Cork the odds are very strongly in
favour of the true name being the Gaelic O Coileain. Smith, the commonest surname in England,
comes high up in the Irish list — fifth in that given by Matheson. There can be no doubt that many
of our Irish Smiths are the descendants of English settlers and traders, but it is equally probable
that at least eighty per cent of the Smiths of County Cavan are of native stock, being MacGowans
or O’Gowans who, under pressure of alien legislation or social influence, accepted the translated
form and have used it ever since.
It is in this class of surname that Woulfe must be used with caution. In the case of some fifty
per cent of the names which I have listed in Appendix A there is nothing in his Sloinnte to indicate
that there is an English surname exactly identical with the form used in Ireland as the anglicized
version of a Gaelic surname. Some examples of this, taken almost at random, were given in Chapter I.
Many of these dual-origin surnames are translations, like Smith and Oaks, or more often pseudo-
translations such as Kidney and Bird. Some indeed of the latter are very far-fetched, even ridiculous,
as for example the grotesque transformation of Mac Giolla Eoin into Monday from a fancied
resemblance of the last part of that name to the Irish word Luain.
So far we have been considering English names which in Ireland may conceal those of genuine
Gaelic families. The list given in Appendix A includes the commoner surnames in that category. In
a smaller number (see Appendix B) the converse obtains.
Such names as Moore, Hart, Hayes and Boyle, which are, of course, genuinely Irish and are often
regarded as exclusively so, are also found as indigenous surnames in England. So here again there is
no certainty in the absence of an authentic pedigree, or at least of a well-founded tradition, as a
guide. It has been pointed out for example that Guinness, which stout has made world-famous as
an Irish name, and is in that case probably rightly derived from Magennis or MacGuinness of County
Down, occurs in English records of some centuries ago in the rural county of Devonshire.
Probably the most reliable and scholarly work on English surnames is that of Professor Weekley.
Yet he includes in his lists, without any mention of Ireland, several like Geary, Garvin, Grennan and
Quigley: typical Gaelic-Irish surnames which, while they are no doubt occasionally found with the
French or Anglo-Saxon background he indicates, when met in England at the present time are much
more likely to have been brought there by Irish immigrants.
Apart from these surnames of possible English origin there are many indisputably Irish surnames
not indigenous in England which assumed in their anglicized form a completely English appearance.
What, for example, could be more English in appearance than Gleeson, Buggy, Cashman, Half-
penny and Doolady, to cite only a few examples. All of these are genuine Gaelic surnames. The list
given in Appendix C shows them to be surprisingly numerous.
Once again the converse of this is also true. No one unacquainted with the subject would doubt
that such very Irish sounding names as Gernon, Laffan, Gogan, Henebry and Tallon, and even
O’Dell, all quite common in Ireland, are Irish, yet none of them is of Gaelic origin. This list,
however, is not so long — see Appendix D.
Some Gaelic surnames in their modern anglicized form have acquired an equally un-Irish guise

21
 but have a foreign rather than an English look. Coen, a variant of Coyne, and Levy, a common
abbreviation of Dunlevy, suggest the Jew; I know a Lomasney who is always refuting the erroneous
belief that he is of French origin, and I expect Lavelles and even Delargys and Delahuntys may have
the same difficulty; Hederman and Hessian have rather a German sound, while Nihil, well known in
County Clare, and Melia, synonym of O’Malley, might be Latin words. Most of this class, however,
are occasional variants, such as Gna and Gina for (Mac) Kenna or Manasses for Mannix, or rare sur-
names like Schaill, Thulis and Gaussen.
In some cases the anglicization process has had very unfortunate results. The beautiful name
Mac Giolla Iosa, for example, usually rendered as MacAleese, takes the form MacLice in some places.
The picturesque and heroic O Dathlaoich in County Galway ridiculously becomes Dolly and the
equally distinguished O Sealbhaigh which is anglicized Shelly in its homeland (Co. Cork) is Shallow
in Co. Tipperary. Schoolboys of these families, unless they use the Irish form, need no nicknames;
Grimes, too, is a miserable substitute for its Gaelic counterpart O Greachain, which has also Grehan
as a more euphonious anglicized form.
These corruptions, of course, are due to the influence of the English language, the spread of
which in Ireland was contemporary with the subjection and eclipse of the old Catholic Irish nation:
names of tenants were inscribed in rentals by strangers brought in to act as clerks, who attempted
to write phonetically what they regarded as outlandish names; in the same way Gaelic-speaking
litigants, deponents and witnesses in law cases were arbitrarily dubbed this and that at the whim of
the recording official (see entry for O’Broder below). It was not until the nineteenth century that
uniformity in the spelling of names began to be observed, but the seventeenth century was the
period during which our surnames assumed approximately the forms ordinarily in use in Ireland
to-day.
The corruptions we have noticed above have been cited as examples of the tendency to give Irish
names an English appearance. Most of them have at least some phonetic resemblance to their originals
or else were frankly translations or supposed translations. There is, too, a large class of Irish sur-
names anglicized in a way which makes them quite unrecognisable. Often these distortions are
aesthetically most unpleasing, as Mucklebreed for Mac Giolla Bride and Gerty for Mag Oireachtaigh.
Citing only official registrations with the Registrar-General, Matheson notes a particularly flagrant
example, viz. a family of O’Hagans in County Dublin who have actually become Hog, which in the
absence of his testimony one would naturally assume to be simply the well-known English surname
of Hogg (O’Hagan is unlucky in this respect. According to Woulfe the very English and plebian-
sounding Huggins is one of its synonyms in Ireland). Rather less cacophonous is Ratty for Hanratty.
Forker for Farquhar (in County Down) may perhaps be regarded as comparable to the contraction
in England of Cholmondeley to Chumley and Featherstonehaugh to Fanshawe in less aristocratic
circles, these of course being phonetic spellings. The most curious instances of phonetic abbrevi-
ation recorded by Matheson is the birth registration of a Dalzell child at Dundalk tout court as
“D.L.”’, that being the peculiar pronunciation of Dalzell in its native Scotland.
The commonest of all Irish surnames, though not aesthetically objectionable, is a good illustra-
tion of decadence, for Murphy is a far cry from MacMurrough and O’Morchoe, as is Dunphy from
its synonym O’Donoghue. My own name, which I am glad to say is a true Dalcassian (Co. Clare)
one, is an excellent example of the distortion we are considering, for no one would readily connect
MacLysaght, especially when shorn of its Mac, with Mac Giolla Iasachta. The seventeenth century
officials did at first render it as McGillysaghta, etc. in documents in English, but this proved too
much of a mouthful to last long.
This name is also an example of that fairly numerous class in which the initial letter (excluding
the prefix) is misleading. The L of Lysaght and of Leland derives from the gioLLa. The original L of
Lally on the other hand is to be found in the MaoL of the original. In the same way the C of Clancy,

aa
the K of Keogh and the Q of Quaid are from MaC; the G of Gaynor and Gorevan from the MaG
prefix (Mag is a form of Mac frequently used with names beginning with a vowel), while the II of
Ilhenny can again be traced to the glOLla of the Gaelic form.
Another tendency in the anglicization of Irish surnames is the absorption of uncommon names
in common ones. Blowick, for example, tends to become Blake, Kildellan is merged in Connellan,
Cormican in McCormick, Sullahan in Sullivan, Kehilly and Killkelly in Kelly, and so on. Certain
well-known family names such as Courtney, Conway and Leonard have gobbled up in the course of
time, not one, but half a dozen or more minor ones. We must presume that this was a result of the
general Gaelic depression, part of the same indifference and hopelessness which acquiesced in the
lopping off of the Mac and O from so many old Irish surnames.
I have said that the mutilation and corruption of Irish surnames took place in the seventeenth
and to a lesser extent in the eighteenth centuries. It must be admitted, however, that even to-day,
fifty years after the foundation of the Gaelic League, the gradual re-gaelicization of names resulting
from its influence is to some extent counterbalanced by the opposing forces of de-nationalization.
This is found more in pronunciation than in spelling: though even in this official registration age
pronunciation does tend to affect spelling. A notable example of what I have in mind is the internal
H. The English seem unable to cope with this sound which presents no difficulty to an Irishman:
for Mahony they say Mah-ney (or, as they would write it, Marney, since the internal R is also dead
in England). Now Dublin and suburbs with over 650,000 people contains more than one fifth of the
population of the Republic and one seventh of the whole country; and Dublin for all its genuine
political nationalism is in most ways more English, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say,
more cosmopolitan, in character. The contrast between Connacht and Dublin is as marked as that
between Dublin and England. Of course the good old Dublin accent has lost none of its distinctive
raciness, but it is only to be heard in the mouths of one section of the citizens. The gradual dis-
appearance of regional Irish accents is much to be deplored: it is due to a number of causes in-
cluding the B.B.C., the cinema, the much increased intercourse with England resulting from the
recent mass emigration to that country, and perhaps I may add the “refinement” aimed at in
convent education. However, I must not allow myself to go off at a tangent on this interesting
topic, which is irrelevant except in so far as it is concerned with the pronunciation of surnames.
In America the distortion of the name Mahony takes a different form, for it is often mispro-
nounced Ma-honey, just as the wrong vowel is stressed in Carmody and Connell. In Ireland one does
not hear Ma(r)ney for Mahony or Clossey for Cloghessy, but boggling at the internal H has come to
Dublin now. I know a family in Dublin named Fihilly: the parents insist quite rightly that there are
three syllables in the word, but the younger generation are content to answer to “Feeley” and so
pronounce the name themselves; Gallaghers in Sydney, after a long losing battle with Australian
philistinism, have had to accept “‘Gallagger’’ with the best grace they could. This, however, may be
partly due to the ocular influence of the middle G. There is another difference in these two cases,
besides the fact that the Fihilly deterioration took place in Ireland itself: Feeley has actually
become a recognized way of spelling that name. Similarly there are Dawneys who were originally
Doheny.
The surnames Hehir and Cahir in Thomond are still dissyllables, but the latter when denoting the
town of that name in Co. Tipperary has become immutably ‘“‘Care’’. This again prompts a long di-
gression on place names: but that subject, so full of pitfalls for all but the most learned, would be
out of place in this book.
The internal H is not the only stumbling-block for English people and anglicized Dubliners.
They pronounce Linnane as Linnayne and Kissane Kissayne. Our ane sound, which is intermediate
between the English ‘“‘Anne”’ and “‘aunt’’, is not heard in English speech. Similarly O’Dea is called
O’Dee. These emasculated pronunciations sound like affectation to people who come from the

23
 places where those names originated and still abound. This is not to deny that there is actually
a name O’Dee, but that is not a Clare name, as O’Dea emphatically is.
Some English inspired innovations fortunately do not last. During the first World War a neighbour
of mine in Co. Clare named Minogue joined the British army; in due course he returned as Capt.
Minogue — Captain ‘‘Minnow-gew’’, if you please, not ‘““Minnog”’! He may have got the idea from
the mistake of a fellow soldier but he adopted the monstrosity and even insisted on it.
One of the most irritating of the examples of capitulation to English influence is the adoption
of the essentially Saxon termination ham for the Irish ahan, ann, etc. This is not confined to sur-
names: the Gaelic word banbh, called bonnive in English in the less anglicized counties, is bonham
in most places. Rathfarnham, recte Rathfarnnan, is the best known place so anglicized; while on our
own ground we have the very English-looking Markham, a Clare surname of which the normal
version should be, and indeed formerly was, Markahan (cf. the place name Ballymarkahan in Co.
Clare).
In the same way, but less noticeably, the final S so dear to English tongues degaelicizes Higgin(s),
while the addition of an unnecessary D has somewhat the same effect on Boland. This D seems to
have been a matter of chance for Noland is almost as rare as Bolan.
Quite often the anglicization of a Gaelic surname resulted in the adoption in English, whether
consciously or not, of one which carried a certain social cachet like D’Evelyn for the usual Devlin,
Molyneux for Mulligan or Delacour for Dilloughery. Montague for MacTadgh or Mactague probably
arose in the same way, the sound Montag at some period giving way to Montagew through the
ocular influence of the spelling. The cognate Minnogew for Minogue was just “swank”. We may
assume that the good captain’s descendants have gone back to plain Minnog, as it is only a matter
of pronunciation in their case.
There are other examples of this tendency which cannot be shed so easily. When Mulvihil has
thus become Melville and Loughnane Loftus, resumption of the true patronymic necessitates (in
practice, though not in strict law: see Chapter VI) certain legal formalities. I am told that there are
people whose name was originally Mullins (O Maolain) using the form de Moleyns. I have not met a
case myself. According to Burke’s peerage the best known family of the name, the head of which
is Lord Ventry, are not true Irish Mullinses at all, and they presumably had justification for
assuming the form de Moleyns in place of Mullins, a step which they took in 1841.
Some people with Mac names insist on the Mac being written in full, others prefer Mc, and for-
merly M’ was quite usual. It is hard to understand why any objection should be taken to Mc or even
M’, since these are simply abbreviations of Mac.! The practice of some indexers, notably in the
Century Cyclopaedia of Names, of differentiating between Mac and Mc is to be deplored, since the
reader must seek the name he wants in two places — in the Macs, which are interspersed among such
words as Maccabees and Macedonia, and in the Mcs many pages further on. It is impossible to
differentiate satisfactorily. Take MacGillycuddy for example: it appears in the work in question as
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, yet the Chief of the Name always subscribes himself McGillycuddy of the
Reeks. The idea that Mac is Irish and Mc Scottish is just another popular error. Mcc, however, may
fairly be called an affectation, being merely the perpetuation of a seventeenth century scribe’s
slip of the pen.
The most prevalent of peculiarities in the spelling of names — the use of two small f’s for a capital
F — would seem to have arisen not through snobbery but from ignorance: the originators of this
now carefully treasured blunder were probably unaware of the fact that in seventeenth century
documents the normal way of writing F was ff, a symbol almost indistinguishable from f f.

1. Throughout this book I use Mac in full merely for the sake of consistency. I have also put an apostrophe after the prefix O
because, though there is no logical reason for this (unless it be a relic of the accent in Irish), it has become so universally accepted
that to omit it might seem to be an affectation. ;

24
 Chapter IV

Distribution and Continuity

rom the time of the early missionaries, whose names — St. Columban, St. Finan, St. Gall
fk and a hundred others — are famous in the history of Europe, the Irish have been a roving
race. Descendants of Irishmen who, some voluntarily, more perforce, became emigrants are
to be found abroad to-day not only in the United States, Great Britain, Australia and other English-
speaking countries, but throughout Europe where the posterity of the Wild Geese are still numerous,
though their Irish names are often disguised under forms more consonant with the language of the
country of their adoption. Just as the French D’Aubyn and Joie became Tobin and Joyce when
naturalized in Ireland so cid our O’ Dwyer and Shea become Audoyer and Chaix in France. In Spain
the alteration has been less marked: O’Donoghue, for example, is O Donoju there.
At home, however, the extent to which the present-day descendants of the old Gaelic families
still inhabit the territories occupied by the medieval septs from which they stem is most remarkable.
Examples of this phenomenon occur repeatedly in the articles on the septs which form Part II of
this book: in fact, exceptions to the rules are rare.
In this chapter three areas have been taken for consideration in this connexion. I have chosen
Counties Limerick and Clare, taken together, for particular attention for two reasons: first because,
being myself of Co. Clare by ancestry and lifelong residence, I have made a closer study of the
families and surnames of Thomond than of other places, and secondly because an analysis on the
lines about to be presented to the reader was made for the county of Limerick by Father Woulfe
some years before his Sloinnte was published. The other two areas, Donegal and Leix, were chosen
almost at random as typical counties suitable for such a survey in Ulster and Leinster. I have also
dealt with Antrim and Down, which differ remarkably from all the other counties in Ireland.
Father Woulfe’s articles! dealt only with the County Limerick. He based his findings on the
current (1914) voters’ list which showed that of the 19,000 persons then registered approximately
14,500 had surnames of native Irish, 2,100 of Norman and 1,700 of English origin (the remainder
being doubtful or miscellaneous). As I am dealing with the two counties of Limerick and Clare, and
as the number of voters is not much greater than it was in 1914, I find it impossible in the time at
my disposal to make an exhaustive count of the current registers for both Clare and Limerick.
However, a complete count was made for over 50 names in the County Clare lists, and I made
considerable use of those of Limerick County and City in other ways as will appear later in this
chapter.
Taking the number of births in the year as indicative of the numerical strength of various names,
Matheson found that the following twelve names were the commonest in the country as a whole:
Murphy, Kelly, Sullivan, Walsh, Smith, O’Brien, Byrne, Ryan, Connor, O’Neill, Reilly, Doyle. There
is no precise way, short of a detailed examination of the last census or the voters’ lists for the thirty-
two counties, to check the accuracy of this list for the present time. A rough and ready test, how-
ever, is to be found in the Telephone Directory or in Thom’s Directory of Dublin. Any capital
city is, as far‘as names are concerned, more or less a reflection or microcosm of the whole country.
By these tests the position is seen to be almost unchanged, the only noticeable difference being that
Kennedy comes up into the first dozen and Byrne, as might be expected where Dublin is concerned,
rises from seventh to second place.
If we now take the figures given by Father Woulfe for County Limerick and compare them in
the subjoined table with the returns in the 1659 census we find that the same surnames predominate
at both periods.

o>)
 Position 20th 17th Position
in List Century Century in List
(No. of Voters) (No. of Families)

Ryan ] 644 145 5 (mostly Mulrian then)

O’Brien 2 375 201 2
O’Connor 3 364 172 3 (included MacConnor)?
Fitzgerald 4 309 62 12
Sullivan 5 244 39 r,
Murphy 6 pacebe ma 14
Hayes dij sia 153 4 (O’Hea then)
O’Connell 8 220 57 tS
Walsh 9 218 66 ip
O’ Donnell 10 ZS 205 1 (including MacDonnell)”

Matheson’s Report substantially corroborates the modern figures. It is true that he found that
Moloney occupies the tenth place — it is only twenty-first in Woulfe’s list — but the influence of
County Clare in the composition of Limerick city (which is not in Woulfe’s count) probably
accounts for the inclusion of this well known Clare name.
In computing the order of the 1659 count the names McShane (242), McTeige (227), McDonagh
(126) and McDermott (74) were disregarded, as in the majority of cases these were not hereditary
surnames (see discussion in Chapter II above).
A similar comparison for County Clare is expressed in the following table. In this case the figures
for the twentieth century are taken from a recent voters’ register — hence the great increase in the
number of voters; women’s suffrage and indeed adult suffrage have been introduced subsequent to
the date of Father Woulfe’s survey.
Position 20th century 17th century Position
in List (No. of Voters) (No. of Families) in List
MacMahon l 1,594 124 2
MacNamara 2 1556 90 5
O’Brien 3. 945 88 6
Molony 4 922 141 1
Kelly 5 832 28*
Keane 6 713 14*
MaclInerney 7 690 a Io
Ryan 8 685 10*
Murphy 9 592 31*
Lynch 10 574 12*
O’Connor 11 549 107 3
Hogan 12 488 62 10
O’ Loughlin 13 460 34 9
O’Halloran 14 447 73 8
Griffin ’ 15 426 26*
Considine ' : 16 400 21%
*There were undoubtedly a greater number of families of these names than is indicated in the tables. The published returns do not
give all the information collected in the census. They state for each barony the number of families only in the case of the more
numerous names in that barony. Thus, if there were, say, four families of a given name in each of the eleven baronies, that name
would not appear in the returns though there would be actually forty-four families so called. They would, however, be included in
the population total.

26
 In this case the interval between the date of the modern figures given above and that of
Matheson’s is some sixty years, but once again the remarkable constancy of the statistics is demon-
strated; and the next four names, which would be in both lists, are the typical Clare names Hickey,
Clancy, MacDonnell and Moroney. Of these all but Moroney come in the first twenty of the 1659
list.

We are also able to compare Matheson’s birth registration figures for 1890 with the census
returns of 1921, thanks to the statistical information collected by Jeremiah King in his Kerry Past
and Present. The result here is striking, for the eighteen most numerous Kerry surnames specified
by Matheson are the same as the eighteen most numerous names in the census with the single ex-
ception of O’Donoghue, which is tenth in the census though surprisingly not included in Matheson’s
list. They are: Sullivan, Connor, Shea, Murphy, MacCarthy, Moriarty, Fitzgerald, Griffin, Connell,
Brosnan, Foley, Leary, Clifford, Walsh, Cronin, Lynch, Mahony and Daly, in that order. The posi-
tional variation in the 1921 census is slight. The latter indicates that Casey, O’Brien, Kelly,
Moynihan, Keane, Stack, Kelleher and Sugrue come next in numerical strength. The Petty census of
1659 tells us that most of the names mentioned above were numerous in Kerry in the seventeenth
century.

Having satisfied myself by these and other tests that the birth registrations as given by Matheson
can be confidently used as the basis of modern population distribution, at least as far as the more
numerous names are concerned, I have taken his figures for my comparison in the case of County
Donegal.

Position Modern 17th Position

in List (No. of births century in List
in a year) (No. of
Families)

Gallagher 1 196 160 2

Doherty 2 160 267 l
Boyle 3 102 82 5
O Donnell 4 102 88 4
MacLoughlin 5 81 153 3
(Mac)Sweeney 6 50 46 9
Ward 4] 40 17 28 (MacAward)
Kelly : 8 a3, 61 6 (including O’Cally)
MacGinley . ; 3d 21 22
MacFadden . 3 10 33 20 23 (including MacPaden)

In the first fifteen in 1659 are O’Cunigan (alias Cunningham), MacDevitt, MacMurray, O’Broll-
oghan and MacColgan, all names intimately associated with north-west Ulster.

Leix, like most of the midland counties, is less satisfactory for our purpose, so far as the modern
figures are concerned, because there no names preponderate like Gallagher, Doherty etc. in Donegal
or MacMahon and MacNamara in Clare. Dunne, the leading name in Leix (or Queen’s County as it
then was) had only 34 births registered in the test year taken by Matheson in contrast to the 196
registered for Gallagher in Donegal. The figures for Leix, set out as for the other counties, are:

27
 Position Modern 17th Position
in List (No. of Births century in List
in a year) (No. of
Families)
Dunne l 34 105 6
Delany : 2 30 PAW 2 (spelt Dullany then)
Phelan (and Whelan) 3 30 263 1 (includes 10 Heelan)
Conry or Conroy 4 19 39 18 (returned as Conrahy)
Lalor 5 18 141 3
Fitzpatrick .~ 6 17 134 4
Ryan q Ss _ =
Carroll 8 12 45 15
Byrne : 9 11 72 9
Kavanagh . 4 } 10 11 —
Kennedy 11 ~ —

The ubiquitous Kelly and Murphy, and the local Ossory Brennan follow with ten births. The
1659 returns includes in the first dozen Kelly (121), Bergin (80), MacEvoy (77), Brophy (65) with
Moore (53) thirteenth, all traditional Leix names still found’there. The absence of Ryan from the
‘“‘census”’ is notable (see note on p. 26 above).
It will be seen that the commonest surnames in County Leix in our own day are all of Gaelic
origin, as is also the case in County Donegal where Campbell, which comes far down the list, is the
only one of planter stock, though Donegal was one of the counties included in the Plantation of
Ulster. In County Limerick, on the other hand, as we have already seen, Father Woulfe found that
about eleven per cent of the people bear Norman surnames.
As might be expected, Norman names are much less in evidence in County Clare than in County
Limerick, and those which are at all numerous such as Burke and the ubiquitous Walsh are immigrant
families from other counties and not, like Herbert, Fitzgerald and de Lacy in County Limerick,
original Norman settlers. In fact, the only Norman name which appears to belong in that sense to
County Clare is Miniter; Studdert, though it might now, perhaps, be classed as a Clare name, is
of much later introduction.
It will be observed that the prefix Mac is much less common in Limerick than in Clare, where
the two most numerous surnames are Macs with a third, MacInerney, not far behind. I estimate that
in County Clare some twenty-seven per cent of the indigenous Gaelic surnames are Mac names,
whereas in County Limerick the proportion is less than twelve per cent.
Oddly enough in County Clare though MacMahon considerably outnumbers Macnamara it is
invariably the latter which is indicated by the use in ordinary parlance of the plain Mac as an
abbreviation: indeed so usual is this that it is often written in the abbreviated form, generally
with the addition of a K — Mack. This is also done in County Limerick where a similar practice
obtains with Fitzgerald, which is commonly abbreviated to Fitz. In other counties, particularly
in County Down, the abbreviation is Fitch, which does duty for Fitzpatrick and Fitzsimons and,
according to Matheson, is often actually used in registering births.
We have already observed that families still tend to be found in considerable numbers in the
county or district of their origin. A glance at the tables given above will show that this is true of the
commoner names in County Clare, for 13 out of the 20 cited are of Thomond origin and the re-
mainder (apart from the ubiquitous Murphy, Walsh and Sullivan) belong to an adjacent county. In
this connexion it is interesting to observe that the following less common surnames, also of Clare
origin, are all given by Matheson as still far more numerous in their original habitat than anywhere

28
else. For this purpose Limerick must be included with Clare, owing to the position of the city on
the county border and for the reasons put forward by Dr. John Ryan S.J., in an informative article
on the Dalcassians.?

Cloghessy Hehir Minogue

Clune Hickey Mulqueen
Crowe Killeen Nestor
O’Dea Lahiff Neylon
Enright Liddy Normoyle
Grady Looney Quinlivan
McGuane Loughlin Sheedy
Halpin Lysaght Talty
Haran

In the foregoing list I have omitted the Mac and O except in the case of O’Dea and MacGuane,
which in County Clare are seldom if ever found without the prefix. Of course, many Loughlins and
Gradys, and some Hehirs and Hickeys use the O, while Lysaght, like Clancy in the earlier list,
though usually truncated, is often met with its Mac attached; but none of the other seventeen,
nor Moloney, Griffin, Moroney and Considine in the list of commoner names, are ever, I think, to
be seen to-day with the Gaelic hallmark to which they are really entitled.
On the other hand certain names for some reason never lost the prefix. O’Brien and O’Neill
seldom shed the O, except in colloquial speech, and in County Clare at any rate O’Donnell always
retained it; while among the Macs MacMahon is seldom Mahon and, for philological or phonetic
reasons, MacNamara and MaclInerney escaped.
We have noted in Chapter II how general has been the resumption of Mac and O throughout
Ireland. Though as I have just remarked there are many names in Thomond which have not re-
sponded to this tendency it has occurred there to a marked extent in others.
The following table shows the position in this respect regarding the name O’Sullivan for Limerick.
It is based on the voters’ list:

No. of No. of Percentage

O’Sullivans Sullivans using the
prefix O
1914 : : 51 . 193 21%
1944 ; : 191 90 60%

If we take the well-known Clare name Halloran, which Matheson returns as Halloran (67)
O Halloran (25), we find that in the current voters lists for County Clare quite fifty per cent are
now called O’Halloran. In this connexion it may be remarked that the use of these voters’ lists for
this purpose probably results in a considerable underestimate of the extent of the resumption, as in
going through them | noticed several examples of people who appear in the register without the
prefix, notwithstanding the fact that to my own knowledge they do ordinarily use the Mac or O
as the case may be.
The most remarkable case of “resumption” is probably O’Gorman. This name, so far as Clare is
concerned, is really MacGorman, but so completely was the Mac dropped in the eighteenth century
that it appears to have been forgotten, and when the Gormans began to re-gaelicize their patronymic
they put an O before it instead of a Mac. The first offender was probably the famous Chevalier,
though it is hard to understand why he, with his antiquarian knowledge, can have been guilty of

23
 such an error, unless he had some evidence that he himself was actually an O’Gorman; for there
is undoubtedly such a name, though it is very rare and apparently unconnected with Thomond.
Another example of confusion between Mac and O is to be found in the Limerick Mackessy,
This, as mentioned in Chapter II, is an O name (O Macasa), but I find some of them calling them-
selves McKissy. they are so described in the recent voters lists for Limerick city on which I worked.
There are also examples not of resumption but of erroneous assumption. The use of the form
MacArthur, for example, is quite without authority so far as Ireland, and especially Limerick,
is concerned. There are, of course, the Scottish MacArthurs, but our Arthurs are of Norse origin and
they did not at any period prefix a Mac to their name: to do so now is therefore not a resumption
but a solecism.
Reverting to the matter of the prevalence of surnames from which I digressed to discuss the use
and disuse of Mac and O, it is worthy of remark that some essentially Clare names which are quite
numerous in the voters’ lists do not appear in Matheson’s table, though he states that it includes
every name of which five or more births were registered in the selected year, e.g. Rynne (95 voters),
Nihil (55). A few others, like Durack and Gallery, appear to be dwindling, since in each case there
were less than five births registered in 1890 and there are less than thirty Clare voters at the present
time.
By the same test it might be thought that the good old Clare name of O’Honeen, or O’Huonyn as
it was formerly spelled, was likewise almost extinct. There is good reason to believe, however, that
this is one of those names which, having undergone a process of translation or pseudo-translation,
are no longer in anything like their original form and, just as O Fiachnach is Hunt in County Clare
and O Mocheirghe of Leitrim is always Early, so the English name Greene was substituted for
O Honeen.
Names in that category are not common in Thomond but we have a number which suffered
severely in the process of anglicization and would seem to those unfamiliar with them to be typically
English. Some of these have already been noticed in Chapter II. Essentially Thomond names of this
class are Arkins (O hOrchdain), Crowe (Mac Conchradha), Kett (O Ceit), Long (O Longaigh), Sexton
(O Seasndin), Shine (O Seighin) and Thynne (O Teimhin).
Of the names mentioned above one or two, e.g. Long and Greene, may in certain cases be not
only English in appearance but English in origin. They belong to that numerous class of Irish
surname whose anglicized form is the same as a common English name, with which we have already
dealt in Chapter II.
As this chapter deals largely with County Limerick it may not be out of place here to mention an
element of the population scarcely found outside that county: I refer to those families which we
know as the Palatines. They were planted in County Limerick in 1709 and for many generations
remained a distinct and unassimilated race. Their descendants are still there, but none in sufficient
numbers to be included in Matheson’s birth registration statistics. Ruttle and Switzer, Palatine
names, do appear, but in both cases the figures relate to migrants to Dublin. The voters’ lists, how-
ever, show that Ruttles are still quite numerous in West Limerick.
To some extent the same observations apply to Huguenot names, though of course the Huguenot
settlers were not, like the Palatines, confined to one area. Irish families of Huguenot ancestry have
produced a number of prominent men — the names La Touche, Lefanu, Cannon and Maturin, for
example, attest this, but numerically they form an insignificant proportion of the population.
Before leaving this aspect of our subject reference may be made to another useful source of
evidence, namely estate rentals. I examined many of these during the period I was inspector for the
Irish Manuscripts Commission, and a large number also passed through my hands in the manuscripts
department of the National Library. A few of the great estates, such as Ormond, Inchiquin,
Kenmare and Lismore, have rentals for the seventeenth century. The majority, however, are of the

30
nineteenth century. While these corroborate the statement that surnames are found at all periods
in the area of their origin, it is also abundantly clear from a perusal of them that many surnames
which were numerous even as late as a hundred years ago are now extremely rare if not extinct. To
take one or two typical examples: Larminee and Varrily both appear very frequently in the
O’Donnell (Co. Mayo) rentals of 1826-1830, but have almost disappeared from the same estate in
1862. Other names in the former, now rare, are Dordan, Dyra, MacEvea, Gettins and Toorish.
Similarly in the Westby (Co. Clare) estate rentals of 1850 we find many Fennells, a name now
scarce in Co. Clare. The Inchiquin rental for 1699, however, which comprises parts of Co. Limerick
and Co. Tipperary as well as Clare, has surprisingly few rare names, though older forms such as
MacEnroe (mod. Crowe) and Dawley (mod. Daly) occur frequently. The recurrence of names now
rare or extinct is particularly noticeable in the Elphin diocesan census of 1749, an extremely inter-
esting document now in the Public Record Office, Dublin.

It can be accepted that the two main conclusions to be drawn from the data given for the counties
dealt with in this chapter are to a great extent applicable to the whole country, namely that the
commoner names in each area to-day are in fact the names of septs belonging to that county, and
the uncommon names originating in a county or district are still chiefly found there. It would be
impracticable and tedious to examine every county in detail; but the following list, compiled from
Matheson’s report showing the commonest names in each county, is added here both as additional
evidence and because it will probably be found of general interest.

It will be noticed that in seven of the nine Ulster counties the most numerous name is a Gaelic-
Irish name. The other two -- Antrim and Down — include the city of Belfast where there was, and
is, a large British element in the population. The surnames of these two counties are the subject of
a detailed analysis made just a century ago and published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology
(1857 and 1858). These most informative articles are accompanied by maps and statistical tables which
show the location and numerical strength of some 250 family names for Down and nearly 200 for
Antrim. From these if appears that, even disregarding the Belfast area, the majority of the people in
Antrim and Down were of British origin; and Matheson’s figures for more than a generation later
corroborate this. The Gaelic element, however, was numerous. The principal Gaelic names were:
(for Antrim) MacMullen, MacNeill, MacAlister, MacAwley, Kennedy, Kilpatrick, MacBride, O’Neill,
Hamill, MacDowell, MacCormick, McKeown, MacDonnell, in that order; and (for Down) MacKee,
Magee, MacCullough, Murphy, MacDowell, MacConnell, O’Hare, Lowry, Kelly, Quin. Someof these
have a Scottish background. O’Neill and Neill were listed separately: if taken together they would
stand higher. Many interesting facts emerge from a study of these maps and tables. For example,
the concentration of O’Haras in the barony of Glenarm and of O’Hares in the barony of Iveagh, or
the prevalence of families called MacKeating, chiefly in the barony of Lecale, Co. Down.

CONNACHT MUNSTER

Galway: Kelly Clare: MacMahon

Leitrim: Kelly Cork; Sullivan
Mayo: Walsh Kerry Sullivan
Roscommon: Kelly Limerick: Ryan
Sligo: Brennan Tipperary: Ryan
Waterford: Power

S|
 ULSTER LEINSTER

Antrim: Smit Carlow: Murphy

Armagh: Murphy Dublin: Byrne
Cavan: Reilly Kildare: Kelly
Derry: Doherty Kilkenny: Brennan
Donegal: Gallagher Leix: Dunne
Down: Thompson Longford: Reilly
Fermanagh: Maguire Louth: Byrne
Monaghan: Duffy Meath: Reilly
Tyrone: Quinn Offaly: Kelly
Westmeath: Lynch
Wexford: Murphy
Wicklow: Byrne

1. Journal of the North Munster Archaeological Society, IV. 1. 16-27; IV. 2. 75-111; IV. 3. 197-206.
2. In the 1659 “census” much confusion exists as between Mac and O. In the case of MacConnor the prefix Mac appears to have
been used carelessty by the enumerator instead of O, on the other hand MacDonnell and O’Donnell should be kept separate and
distinct, but the presentation of the figures in the census makes this impossible.
3. Journal of the North Munster Archaeological Society, Vol. Il. 4. 202 et seq.

32
 CHAPTER V

Christian Names

hough of minor importance in comparison with surnames the question of the prevalence
of christian names is of sufficient interest to merit a brief examination.
In America and in England the use of surnames as christian names has become very
widespread since the end of the nineteenth century. In Great Britain famous surnames like Cecil,
Douglas. Gordon, Leslie and Stanley are now regarded there as recognized christian names and are
common as such; while in the United States you are more likely to meet, say, a Calvin D. Smith
than a plain Tom Smith. The almost universal initial representing a second forename is, of course,
characteristically American. Mr. Harry S. Truman, twice President of the United State: (who, by
the way, was given a genuine christian name at baptism) is reported to have often said that he did
not know what his S. stood for and rather thought it was just an ornamental initial and no more.
In Ireland fancy forenames — we can hardly call Berkeley, Melville, Spencer and the like Christian
names — are almost unknown, except in Protestant families of ‘““West British’? outlook, with whom
in Victorian times the “‘Castle Catholics” could be coupled. Nor do we find the Old Testament
biblical names, once so popular in England, adopted to any appreciable extent in Irish families at
any period; and we never had in Ireland anything comparable to the extravagance of the Crom-
wellian Puritans who condemned their children to bear such extraordinary forenames as “‘Praise-
God’, “‘Christ-died-to-save-us’’, and the like.
In modern times in Ireland, particularly in Catholic Ireland, christian names are generally chosen
from those of saints: but we still have a fair share of old Gaelic personal names in use, such as Brian,
Connor, Dermot and Manus, which are not to be found in Irish hagiology. However, most of the old
Gaelic names were actually borne by some early Irish saint: the commonest of them to-day are
Aidan, Brendan, Colman, Donough, Fergus, Finbar, Fintan, Kevin, Kieran, Lorcan and Phelim
among men, and Brigid, Dympna and Ita among women.
Gaelic names such as those just referred to have become more popular of late years, but the
great majority of our people bear christian names which are not of Irish origin; and this has been
the case since the destruction of the old Gaelic order. In a number of cases, however, Gaelic names
are disguised under the foreign synonyms arbitrarily chosen to represent them. Thus Connor was
equated with Cornelius, Cormac and Callagh with Charles, Donough with Denis, Lorcan with
Laurence, Rory with Roger, Teig with Timothy, and, most far-fetched of all, Dermot with Jeremiah.
An examination of the Fiants and other late sixteenth century sources shows that Gaelic christian
names were still usual up to that time; but from the seventeenth century onwards the conditions
now obtaining prevailed, and the only changes to be observed are the waning and waxing of the
popularity of certain individual names, while the common use in one part of the country of some
which are scarce in another is also an interesting point to which reference will be made further on
in this chapter.
The numerical strength of our various christian names can best be shown by means of a statistical
table. That which follows has been compiled from the voters’ lists of four counties. For simplicity
of co:nparison the extensive counts made for this purpose have been reduced to a common ratio,
and the figures given below represent the number of persons per thousand of that county’s pop-
ulation who bear a particular christian name. It should be mentioned that the modern tendency
to substitute Gaelic forms for English, e.g. Sean for John and Liam for William, hardly noticeable
yet in the registers, is likely to be more apparent in future; and also that the figures given for the
less common names must be regarded as only approximate.

33
 Limerick Clare Donegal Offaly
John . : : f 175 204 168 159
Patrick : ; : ; 149 170 158 135
Michael : : ; : 114 171 52 129
William ; , : : 94 26 64 69
Thomas } ; ‘ ; V2 95 39 60
James } ; f ; 71 75 124 82
Denis f , i 40 8 18 16
Daniel : 3 : t 35 25 38 17
Edmund~ : : ; ; 24 3 _ _
Timothy 5 : . ; 23 15 2 25
Maurice : : i } 19 2 - —
Cornelius p : : ; 19 8 — 10
Joseph : : E 18 32 44 59
Christopher : ; : 5 ii. 4 2 10
Laurence : : ; : ss 1 2 10
Edward : ( , ; 14 10 40 82
David : : ; ’ 2 2 4 2
Martin : ’ ; : 10 PE, 3 28
Jeremiah ; A c : 9 6 l --
Peter ; : f : 8 17 29 29
Stephen ; : : ; 6 b3 ] 1
Francis a 18 24 17
Robert : ‘ F : l _ 24 7
Hugh " ; : ; — = 46 8
Charles : : , — — 38 12
Bernard t ‘ : : — _ 20 15

Other names:

Limerick Clare Donegal Offaly

Bartholomew Austin Anthony Andrew
Brian Andrew Owen Bartholomew
Gerald Henry Roger (Rory) George
George Brian Kieran
Nicholas Matthew Philip

A similar count was undertaken for the mid-seventeenth century, a number of sources being
chosen for this purpose such as the Civil Survey, the Books of Survey and Distribution, the Crom-
wellian Certificates, etc. This field is too extensive to allow of the production of exact figures,
but the result is quite accurate enough to enable us to assess the comparative popularity of christian
names in 1650 and in 1950. Then as now John headed the list though its proportion of the whole —
approximately nine per cent —- was much less than that of the present day. Thomas, William, James
and Edmund come next with about five per cent each. The old Gaelic names Connor, Dermot,
Donough, Rory and Teig (with of course many varieties of spelling) each accounted for nearly
three per cent of the Catholic population, and with these names may be included the equally pop-
ular Hugh or Ee (Aodh) and Daniell (or Donell). Patrick, Richard and Nicholas were little less
numerous. Then came Maurice, Edward and Robert approximately equal with the Gaelic Brian
and Murrough. The list of those names which each exceeded one per cent is completed by Andrew,

34
Christopher, Francis, Garrett, Henry, Loughlin, Mahon, Peter, Piers and Terlagh. It will be ob-
served that Michael and Joseph, which are among the most numerous christian names in Ireland
to-day, have not been mentioned: of these, Joseph is very rarely met with in seventeenth century
records, but Michael does occur occasionally.
The main conclusions to be drawn from the foregoing are that while John is, and has been con-
sistently since 1650, the most popular christian name throughout the country, the great popularity
of its present day rivals Patrick and Michael is of comparatively recent date. Growing devotion to
the Archangel may account for the latter. As regards Patrick it has frequently been stated that it
was almost unknown as a christian name before the time of Patrick Sarsfield and that its wide-
spread adoption can be attributed to the honour in which that celebrated Irish soldier was held.
It is, I think, true that the name Patrick was thus first popularized; but it is quite erroneous to say
that the name was uncommon before his time, as we have already seen in considering the 1650
figures. It has been suggested that the mediaeval Gaels had so great a veneration for the patron
saint of Ireland that they refrained from giving his name to their sons, just as they did not call their
daughters Muire, the Irish name for the Blessed Virgin, Maire being used for Mary, and it is true
that the form Giolla Padraig (Gilpatrick) is found in mediaeval records. Nevertheless the Annals,
the ecclesiastical registers etc. contain many Patricks from Patrick O’Scannell, Bishop of Raphoe
(1261-1265), onwards.
Even within the past half century certain tendencies can be perceived. For County Limerick we
have a ready means of comparison without having recourse to the labour of making a count of the
voters’ lists of fifty years ago: for Father Woulfe published many years before the appearance of
his magnum opus an analysis of the names of County Limerick, including the christian names.
For the most part their comparative popularity remains much the same, but it is of interest to note
that there has been a very marked fall in the number of Jeremiahs, and Bartholomew and Philip
share this decline, while a very considerable increase is noticeable in the name Joseph and also,
though in a less degree, in Christopher and Martin.
All over the country, and particularly in County Limerick, William is and was a favourite name.
The association of William of Orange with a disastrous period of Irish history has surprisingly had
no effect on its popularity. On the other hand the odium attaching to Cromwell has made Oliver
a hated name in Ireland, but this is offset by the reverence felt for the martyred Oliver Plunkett,
especially since his beatification.
As we have seen, the old Irish forenames fell into disuse with the submergence of the Gael. The
persecution of the Catholic Church and its adherents, which was an integral part of the policy of
conquest, had the effect of making the Irish people more conscious of their religion and stiffened
their determination not to relinquish it: it is from this period we may date the practice of calling
children by the names of saints.
Every diocese has its patron saint. In some his name is to be found in frequent use as a christian
name in that diocese: thus Kierans are quite numerous in the counties embraced by the dioceses of
Clonmacnoise and Ossory, but not elsewhere; similarly Brendan is not uncommon in Kerry and
Clonfert, Finbar in Cork, Colman in Cloyne, Malachy in Down and Armagh, Eugene in Derry, Kevin
and Laurence in Dublin, Phelim in Kilmore and Nicholas in Galway. On the other hand many of
them have never been adopted: it is indeed very seldom one hears of a boy called Mel (Ardagh),
Jarlath (Tuam), Nathy (Achonry), Munchin (Limerick), Fachanan (Kilfenora and Ross) or Otteran
(Waterford). The name of another saint associated with County Waterford, however — St. Declan —
is often used in that county, but seldom elsewhere.
Certain christian names are also closely associated with particular surnames. Thus Florence (a
curious anglicization of Finghin or Fineen) suggests MacCarthy and Tiernan O’Rourke. Other
familiar combinations are Garrett Fitzgerald, Niall O’Boyle, Myles O’Reilly, Quentin O’Kane, Heber

35
MacMahon, Randal MacDonnell; Aeneas and Manus are association with O’Donnell, and Donough,
Kennedy and Lucius with O’Brien, while Boetius was a favourite name with the MacEgans and
the MacClancys.
Little has been said in this chapter about women’s christian names. Historically the sources for
statistical information are meagre since the records available, dealing as they do with agrarian,
ecclesiastical and military affairs, relate almost entirely to men. The modern voters’ lists, of course,
contain as many women as men, but there are much fewer women’s christian names than men’s
and much less variation geographically. Mary is by far the commonest of these, exceeding even
John in numbers. In the seventeenth century it was rare. Brigid, until comparatively recently almost
as popular as Mary, has of late years been sadly neglected. Another present-day tendency to be
noted is the marked increase in the use of old Gaelic names such as Nuala, Sive, Sheila and Una.

36
 Chapter VI

Changes of Name

he Adaptation of Enactments Acts of 1922 embraced not only laws applicable to Ireland
enacted by Statute but also the common law as it existed at the time of the establishment
of the Irish Free State. The law of the land relating to personal names, which was and is
for the most part determined by usage, not statute, is therefore substantially the same as that in
Great Britain. It is so lax that it surprises, even shocks, continental observers of Irish life and
customs.
That it should be possible for Moses Solomon to become Maurice Salmon without any official
act involving registration or fee seems odd enough to them: but that Jacob Isaacs can become first
Jack Ivers, and that Jack Ivers may later merge into John McIntyre or even Pat Murphy, entirely
motu proprio, seems incredible. Indeed the metamorphosis can be accomplished without any
intermediate onomatopoeic stage.
As the law stands a person’s name is determined by ‘“‘common repute’’. So well established is
that principle that there have been cases in the British courts in which marriages have been de-
clared void on account of the use by one of the parties in the publication of the banns of the
name appearing in his or her baptismal record rather than that acquired by common repute; and this
would seem to be in accordance with common sense if the publication of banns is to be regarded as
more than a formality.
The general idea is that a deed-poll is required to effect a change of name. This is a popular error.
According to Linell and other authorities on the law governing changes of name, and the various
judicial judgements given both in Great Britain and Ireland during the past ninety years, there are
(apart from a special Act of Parliament or Oireachtas) two methods of changing a name, viz. by
Royal Licence, and by prescription. As the law stands, therefore, a name cannot legally be changed
by deed-poll, a deed-poll being merely evidence of the intention to acquire (or occasionally of the
fact of having already acquired) a new name by prescription. The growing practice of resorting to
a deed poll with the object of effecting a change of name motu proprio is a contrivance of com-
paratively modern introduction, the first isolated instance of its use in England being in 1851 and
in Ireland much later. It has, however, obtained a sort of quasilegal sanction, especially since the
further step of registering such deed-poll at the Central Office of the High Court became part of
the usual procedure in these cases. This indeterminate state of affairs is far from satisfactory; for not
only does it enable undesirable foreigners to acquire Irish names with a minimum of difficulty and
expense, it also gives a colour or legality to the assumption by an impostor of such a designation
as, say, “The O’Carroll”, to which he has no shadow of claim.
If we except the rectification by parents of an error in registration, a point to which I will revert
later, there is, therefore, apart from prescription by common repute (and its corollary deed-poll),
only one way in which a name can be changed by legal process, viz. by Government Licence. This
is simply a republican adaptation of the Royal Licence which obtains in England and was available
here also up to 1922. By that means a man’s name can be changed, as it were overnight, with no
possibility of legal doubt. This method, however, costs a considerable sum (£60) and is seldom
employed except in the case of landed estates long in the possession of one family whose last male
representative wishes to perpetuate their surname and so leaves the property on condition that the
heir assumes that of his predecessors.
I have referred already to another type of name change — a minor one — viz. the correction of
registration errors. These, which usually occur when the registration is done by someone other than

37
 a parent, are quite frequent and are seldom detected until the person in question is in his or her
teens, when a birth certificate is required for school or employment purposes. The Registrar-General
accepts corrections when vouched for by the parents; but on the certificate both the original error
and the correction appear. Thus if John Mackessy is entered as John McKessy, the latter can never
be expunged, though it is a blunder, since McKessy, as we saw in Chapter II, is an O name. However,
there is not immediate necessity for codification in this respect.
We now come to a category which includes a great many of the older generation of Irishmen:
those who have resumed the prefix O or Mac, dropped by the ancestors during the period of Gaelic
submergence. “(Common repute”’ has of course covered their case as the law now stands; but new
legislation on the subject, since it must necessarily abolish the validity of prescription by common
repute, would have to provide for the acceptance of such resumptions and their registration at a
nominal fee by the competent authority. A difficulty arises here, for that authority (who it would
be, will be considered later) should be competent in more than the legal sense of the word. It would
be ridiculous to allow people with obviously non-Gaelic names to “resume” imaginary prefixes,
to become, for example, O’Hodge or MacParker. These would be easy enough to detect, but how
would an untrained official know when to allow Moore to become O’Moore and Johnson MacShane,
or when a Smith was genuinely a MacGowan? Indeed even an expert would be confronted with
many difficulties, so great has been the destruction of Irish records.
The latter really belong to the next class of name change I have in mind: re-translation. We have
already seen in Chapter III how numerous are those names of English appearance which were
formed by the translation or pseudo-translation of old Gaelic patronymics — Banks, Hand, Woods
and so on. Should these be allowed to resume their original form on the same easy terms as the Mac
and O people? Is anyone called Smith, even if he is the son of recent English immigrant, to have
an equal right with a genuine County Cavan MacGowan to the form of the name? Clearly the
“competent authority’ would need a very knowledgeable advisory council to help him decide
such knotty problems.
I may mention, en passant, that there is at present, at any rate for the simple resumers of Mac
and O, a very easy expedient for the parent who is chiefly interested in his children and posterity.
All Mr. Sullivan has to do is to enter his own name as O’Sullivan when registering his children’s
births and they become O’Sullivans automatically thereby.
I have cited already some examples to show that the allowance of indiscriminate and uncon-
trolled name-changes can be, and is in fact, an abuse: discretion forbids me to quote any of the
more flagrant actual cases which have come under my notice officially. In the same way our easy-
going system of birth registration can be, and occasionally is, abused. A person registering the
birth of his child can make any statement he chooses as to his own name, rank, profession etc. Thus
John Smith, bookmaker, of Clontarf (I trust there is no such person in existence — if there is I
apologize for the accidental use of his name) can, when registering his son’s birth, describe himself
as the Prince of the Blasket Islands, adding K.M., D.Litt., V.C. and any other bogus degrees or
distinctions he likes. It is not the function of officials accepting civil registration entries to question
the accuracy of statements made, and, unless they contain something obviously blasphemous or
obscene, they do not in fact do so. No doubt if confronted with an entry giving the child’s name as
Dirty Pig and the father’s as say Mahomet or Buddha some query would be raised as to the sanity
of the parent, but in practice anything not definitely offensive passes. In Britain some control is
exercised under the Criminal Justice Act of 1925 and the Registration Regulations of 1927 but
these of course do not apply to this country.
In this connexion I may mention that there are other ways of procuring quasi-official recognition
of a fake title, as for example by registering a bogus deed at the Registry of Deeds and obtaining
there a copy in the form of an imposing looking legal document: this in fact does not purport to

38
be in any way a guarantee of the factual accuracy of the original, but can easily be used to impress
the uninitiated, and particularly foreigners who are accustomed to a more rigid code in such matters.
I have in the past few years met actual instances both of birth registration and of registration of
deeds of the most outrageous character, but regret that for obvious reasons I cannot cite them here.
I think enough has already been said to indicate that legislation is needed to create a more
rational state of affairs in the matter of the use and control of personal names; unless, as sometimes
seems incredibly enough to be the case, we wish, like the Government of Northern Ireland, to adopt
a legislative policy of step-by-step with Britain. Perhaps the first move in this direction might be the
setting up of a commission to consider the whole question, though, having regard to the fate of the
findings of so many commissions in the past, both under the Union and since we became in-
dependent, I hesitate to advocate this.
It may be assumed that the main principle of the Bill would not give rise to controversy. It must
provide that a person’s only legal name is that which appears on the birth certificate and further
that this can be changed if only the change be carried out in proper legal form.
As intentionally misleading statements in birth registration are very rare and would be difficult
to prevent, we may take it that little or no amendment need be contemplated in this respect.
Turning to the question of name-changing we can probably also take it as axiomatic that changes
should not be allowed unless good cause for such action be forthcoming. This postulates, as I have
already remarked, a really Competent Authority and a properly qualified Advisory Council, and
possibly also an Appeal Board. If the Competent Authority must be an existing higher civil servant
the choice would lie between the Registrar-General, who is now responsible for birth certificates,
and the Chief Herald, who is the official through whom at the Genealogical Office changes of
name by Government Licence are carried out under existing arrangements. That office keeps an
official register for this purpose. There has also been established at the Genealogical Office a register
of persons who have submitted adequate evidence of change of name by prescription (without the
execution of a deed-poll) — cases frequently occur particularly in connexion with illegitimacy and
adoption — and the Chief Herald’s certificate to that effect is in fact more conclusive as evidence
of such change of name than a deed-poll, since it testifies to an established and fully proved fact
and is not given where any doubt exists as to the propriety of such changes; whereas, as I have
said, a deed-poll is usually no more than the expression of an intention. This register at the Genea-
logical Office has no legal sanction beyond being excellent evidence of change by prescription.
The Competent Authority, whoever he might be, and his advisors or the Appeal Board, would no
doubt have many difficult border-line cases to decide on. No opposition could, of course, be offered
to testamentary or marriage settlement changes, to resumptions of Mac and O, to genuine re-
translations and to other equally simple cases. Less obvious would be those applications prompted
by aesthetic considerations. For example, many people would greatly dislike bearing surnames like
Bugg, Bastard, Coward, Death or Grubb.
These are all well-known English surnames occasionally found in Ireland: we have nothing in the
anglicized version of our Irish names to vie with these, and those like Buggy, Levy and Looney
which are suggestive or lacking in harmony have only to be changed back to their original form
to become unobjectionable.
If I were the official to make the decision I would have no hesitation in granting a Mr. Bugg’s
application to make a change; I would, however, have something to say about the name he took in
place of it. If, for example, he proposed to call himself O'Connor or MacMahon I would agree if
his mother belonged to those families; otherwise I would not permit the assumption by outsiders
of ancient Gaelic patronymics. There is much food for thought and study in this aspect of the
question but it would be tedious to pursue it in further detail here.
A scale of fees would have to be prescribed to cover the various types of name-change. If Govern-

39
 ment Licences were retained in the schedule they would head the list even if the present rate were
reduced. The lowest would enable a person registered in one of the official languages of this country
to use for legal purposes its form in the other. Hitherto the need for revision in this respect has been
felt chiefly with students of the National University who wish to use the Gaelic form of a name
registered in its anglicized version, and find that they are obliged to follow exactly the form and
spelling shown on their birth certificates. (Oddly enough, Trinity College is less strict in this way.)
But for the necessity of guarding against freak gaelicization this fee could be fixed at something
quite nominal, just to cover the cost of registration. No case, however, even the most obvious,
should be passed without the approval of some responsible and trained official. Many clerical
officers are as well-informed and well-educated as their superiors; but if one of the ignorant or
indeed of the casual easy-going type happened to be in charge of the machinery of such regis-
tration it is by no means improbable that some invention as O hEidhin (Hynes) for Heinz or even
a concoction like Mac a’ Rosa for Rosenbaum might slip through unnoticed. Once again it would
be tedious to pursue this by-path further.
There is one other class of name variant to which I have made no reference in this chapter: stage
names and noms de plume. Difficulties do exist at present, but our suggested Act would auto-
matically remove them, for they arise from the doctrine of “‘common repute’’. I am able here to
quote an actual case to illustrate the interesting complications which can arise, as the gentleman
in question has told me he has no objection to being cited. Some thirty-five years ago a young man
from County Westmeath called John Weldon wrote a very striking novel under the nom-de-plume
of Brinsley MacNamara, and he followed this up with Abbey plays and other works which estab-
lished him as one of the leading figures in the Irish literary movement, always under the name of
Brinsley MacNamara. Indeed, very few people were aware that that was not his original name:
so much so that when at the age of fifty or so he became Registrar of the National Gallery his
letter of appointment was made out to Brinsley MacNamara, not to John Weldon, and in spite of
the fact that the error was pointed out to the authorities the name MacNamara was and is still used
in all official documents. It is therefore the indisputable fact that under the present law we could
find a man who had two entirely different and equally valid legal names; for though by common
repute and prescription he irrevocably became MacNamara he never relinquished his original name
which he retained for domestic and family purposes: thus when he attended the wedding of his
son (called Weldon) he was described in the reports as Weldon, not MacNamara.
No better example of the lack of precision in the law now governing nomenclature in Ireland
could be found. In itself it is merely interesting and does not illustrate an abuse. That abuses under
the present system can and do exist has I think been demonstrated earlier in this chapter. It is to
be hoped that some event such as a cause célébre turning on the misuse of a name will occur to
make headlines in the newspapers and so focus attention on the necessity for codification.

40
 PART TWO

Irish Families

O’AHERNE, Hearne (O’Heffron) This Irish surname

was.first anglicized O’Hagherin, which is a fair phonetic
approximation of the original Gaelic O hEachtighearna,
derived from the Irish words each a horse and tighearna
a lord. Later this was corrupted to O’Aherne and finally
the prefix O was dropped. The O’Ahernes were origin-
ally a Dalcassian sept and up to the middle of the
fourteenth century they were dynasts of Ui Cearnaigh,
their territory being in the neighbourhood of Sixmile-
bridge, Co. Clare, not far from the city of Limerick. In
the course of time they migrated southwards and in
1659, when Petty’s census was taken, the name was
numerous throughout Counties Cork and Waterford.
At the present time it is almost confined to Counties
Cork and Limerick; but in the form Hearn and Hearne
it is also well established in Co. Waterford. In this conn-
exion it should be observed that Hearn is a fairly
common indigenous name in England, so that persons
so called in Ireland may be immigrants from that Athy comes into prominence in the history of the city
country. is (c. 1320) as a party to a series of deadly disputes
The Bishop of Kerry from 1336 to 1347 is described between the Blakes and the Athys in which the Athys
in the records as Alan O’Hathern alias O Hachierane. were worsted. They were never comparable in influence
The most noteworthy of the name in modern history with the more powerful of the Tribes, but several of
were John Aherne (c. 1769-1806), United Irishman them held important posts, e.g., William de Athy, Treas-
and intimate friend of Wolfe Tone, who, after the latter's urer of Connacht 1388.
death became an officer in Napoleon s Irish Legion; and The surname Athy, now scarce, is a type which is
John Aheron author of the first book on architecture common in most countries but very rare in Ireland,
printed in Ireland (1754). being formed from a place name. The Athys were of
The Gaelic name O hUidhrin, that of an Offaly sept, Norman stock, settled at Athy, Co. Kildare (the Red
has also been anglicized Hearne, Heron etc., though Book of Ormond records two tenants named de Athy
Heffron and Haveran are more usual forms in English. in Co. Kildare in 1311), whence they soon migrated to
Giollananaomh O hUidhrin (d. 1420), who completed Galway.
O’Dugan’s celebrated “Topographical Poem,” is usually
O’Heerin in English. Arms illustrated on Plate I.
MacAULIFFE Thename MacAuliffe is almost peculiar
to Co. Cork and is scarcely found outside Munster. The
ATHY No records exist for Galway prior to the date MacAuliffes are a branch of the MacCarthys and their
of the Anglo-Norman invasion; among the earliest pre- chief resided at Castle MacAuliffe near Newmarket,
served the name Athy appears as a leading family in that Co. Cork. Their territory in that part of the country is
city. It subsequently became one of the “Tribes of described in a grant of land to a stranger in 1612 as
Galway”,* which appellation, according to Hardiman, “Clan Auliffe’. It should be noted however that the
was invented as a term of opprobrium by the Cromwell- term Clan Auliffe normally refers to a branch of the
ian forces who regarded unfavourably the close bond of O’Farrells of Co. Longford and has no connexion with
friendship and relationship between the chief families the sept of MacAuliffe. The last recognized Chief of the
of the city, and it was afterwards adopted by them asa name, Michael MacAuliffe, was according to Dalton a
mark of distinction. Nevertheless the first time the name colonel in the Spanish army and died in Spain in 1720;
*The “Tribes” were fourteen in number, viz. Athy, Bodkin,
O’Donovan however ascribes that position to a minor
Browne, Deane, Darcy, Fant, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, official at Kenmare in 1840. In Irish the name is Mac
Martin, Morris and Skerrett. Some authorities reckon the Amhlaoibh, i.e., son of Auliffe (anglice Humphrey). The
number as thirteen, omitting Deane; but as this name appears same Gaelic name is also anglicized MacAuley, which is
as early as 1448 in a responsible position in Galway, whereas an entirely different sept (q.v.). The famous French
the Morris family did not go there until 1485, it seem proper
to include Deane among the Tribes. Analecta Hibernica 14, p. 72
physician Joseph Oliffe (1808-1869) was actually born
(“fourteen”) and pp. 171-184 (‘‘thirteen”). Fant is omitted in Cork, his ancestral name being MacAuliffe.
in Hardiman. Arms illustrated on Plate I.

41
MacAWLEY, Cauley, Magawley This name is spelt present barony of Barretts in Co. Cork. They did not,
in many different ways, the most usual being MacAuley, however, become entirely gaelicized like their Connacht
MacCauley, Cawley, Macaulay, MacGawley and Magaw- namesakes. Those Barretts who early acquired a large
ley. There are two main Irish septs of MacAuley etc. part of north Mayo were lords of Tirawley and founded
entirely different in origin and location. One is Mac there a sept on the Irish model. The chief of this sept
Amhalghaidh, i.e., son of Auley, an old Irish personal was known as MacWattin - it is spelt MacVaittin by
name now obsolete. This sept was at one time of con- O Donovan in his translation of the Four Masters, and it
siderable importance, being lords of a wide territory in so appears in the Annals at various dates in the fourteenth
the west of Co. Westmeath and north of Offaly: in the and fifteenth centuries. In the sixteenth, however, the
Elizabethan Fiants this is called “McGawley’s Country”, “Composition Book of Connacht” (1585) which includes
the centre of which was Ballyloughnoe in Co. Westmeath. the names of many Mayo Barretts, as do the Fiants of
The Four Masters-describe them as Chiefs of Calry. They approximately the same date, describes the then Chief
are descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, their of the Name as Richard Barrett, alias MacPadine; and
surname being taken from his descendant Auley, who it is interesting to note that the surname MacPadden is
flourished in the thirteenth century. Their pedigree is found in Mayo to-day, while MacWattin is unknown.
recorded in the Office of Arms, Dublin Castle, in great It must also be remembered that the name MacPadine
detail; the Chief of the Name a century ago was Count was adopted by certain families of the Stauntons, another
Magawley Cerati, son of the Prime Minister of the of the Anglo-Norman invaders. Some of these again adopt-
Empress Maria Louisa. Up till that time they preserved a ed as their Gaelic surname Mac an Mhileadha (anglice Mac-
close connexion with their homeland in Co. Westmeath. Evilly), so that confusion may easily arise, especially as
The other sept was called in Irish Mac Amhlaoibh. there is an Ulster name MacPhaidin (MacFadden, Mac-
They are a branch of the MacGuires and belong to Co. Fadyen, etc.), and this is also found in Gaelic Scotland.
Fermanagh, where they have given their name to the The Munster Barretts, in spite of their somewhat
barony of Clanawley. dishonourable treatment by Sir John Perrott and later
It should be noted that Mac Amhlaoibh is also the by John St. Leger, managed to retain the bulk of their
name of a quite distinct Munster sept, the anglicized property until 1691 when the Williamite confiscation
form there being MacAuliffe (q.v.). The same Gaelic deprived Col. John Barrett, the head of the family
form is used by the Scottish clan of Macaulay. Many of at that time, of 12,000 acres. This Col. Barrett had
the Irish born Macauleys and MacAuleys, particularly raised a regiment of infantry for King James’s army
those living in the counties adjacent to Belfast, are in Ireland, and subsequently was killed in the French
descendants of Scottish settlers in Ulster. service at the Battle of Landen in 1693.
The outstanding figure of the name in Irish history In the eighteenth century Richard Barrett (c. 1740-
is Catherine MacAuley (1787-1841), foundress of the 1818), “the Poet of Erris”’, was also a prominent United
Order of Mercy. Arms illustrated on Plate I Irishman, and George Barrett (d. 1784) was a cele-
brated landscape painter. Rev. John Barrett (1753-1821),
of Dublin University, was a noted Hebrew scholar. In
BARRETT, MacPadine, (MacEvilly, Staunton) The the nineteenth century Michael Barrett, the Fenian,
surname Barrett came to Ireland with the Anglo-Norman condemned for the attempt to blow up Clerkenwell
invaders at the end of the twelfth century, and, in due Prison, was executed in 1868 — the last public execu-
course, became hibernicized, though not to the extent tion in England. Laurence Barrett (1838-1891), a leading
that some others such as Fitzgerald and Burke did, inas- American actor, was the son of an Irish emigrant, but
much as Barrett is still a common name in England. the other Barrett family of American actors were of
Though they came to Ireland at the same period, the English extraction. Arms illustrated on Plate I.
ancestors of the Irish Barretts were of two quite distinct
families whose names were at first different and who
settled in widely separated parts of the country. The BARRY Though not peculiar to Ireland, Barry is one
surname Barrett to-day is most numerous in Co. Cork of the names introduced into the country following the
and in the Mayo-Galway area, in fact approximately Anglo-Norman invasion — like Burke, Roche, Fitzgerald,
where their forefathers established themselves more than etc. — which can now be regarded as essentially Irish.
seven centuries ago. The former were Barratt (in Irish As early as 1179 Philip de Barri obtained extensive
Baroid), the latter Barrett (in Irish Bairéid). O’Donovan grants of land in Co. Cork (in the baronies of Barrymore,
states that both lines were Welsh; Woulfe, who writing Orrery and Kinelea). Philip’s posterity prospered and
sixty years later usually accepts O’Donovan’s opinions, multiplied, and the several branches of the family
disagrees and regards Bardid as of Norman origin (from formed septs somewhat in the Irish fashion, the chief of
the Norman French name Baraud) and Bairéid as Anglo- which were the important Barry Mor, Barry Og, Barry
Saxon. Roe, while minor branches became Barry Maol (bald)
The Munster Barretts, though numerically stronger and Barry Laidir (strong). The Barrys of Rathcormac,
than those of Connacht, were of less importance in the Co. Cork, adopted the surname MacAdam, taken from
medieval or Gaelic period; nevertheless they were in- one Adam Barry - Adam being a common christian
fluential enough to give their name to an extensive name in Anglo-Norman families. The baronies of Barry-
territory, viz. Barrett’s Country, i.e. approximately the more and Barryroe were so named from the two most

42
important of these septs. The former is very large and
the latter very small, due to the fact that by Elizabethan
times when the boundaries of the baronies became
stabilized, the area of the Barryroe lordship had been
very much reduced.
The name, since the twelfth century, has always been
principally associated with Co. Cork, and modern
statistics indicate that quite fifty per cent of the Barrys
in Ireland belong to that county, the majority of the
remainder being also from the province of Munster. In
this connexion it should be stated that there is a Gaelic
surname O Beargha belonging to a sept which, at one
time, were lords of a territory in the barony of Kenry,
Co. Limerick. Except in cases where a pedigree is pre- 1890), leading horticultural authority in the U.S.A.
served, or a family tradition exists, it is not possible to Gerald de Barri, or Barry (c. 1145-c. 1220), better
be certain of the origin of the Barrys in Co. Limerick known as Giraldus Cambrensis, though famous for his
and north Cork, but it is probable that even there many, commentary on twelfth century Ireland, was, of course,
if not most of them, are of Norman stock — though, himself Welsh not Irish.
of course, continued intermarriage with their Gaelic Arms illustrated on Plate I.
neighbours has made them indistinguishable from the
older race.
One of the leading descendants of Philip de Barry O’BEIRNE Though the pronunciation of this name
became Baron Barry in 1490, and his family was advanced is very similar to O’Byrne there is no connexion between
in the peerage as Viscount Buttevant in 1535 and Earl the two septs (however, in Co. Kildare O’Beirne is found
of Barrymore in 1627. The Four Masters record that in as a synonym of O’Byrne). O’Beirne belongs almost
1507, Barry Roe, accompanied by the chief men of his exclusively to Connacht. One branch, allied to to the
people, went from Cork on a pilgrimage to Spain and MacDermots, and the other leading Roscommon families,
that all were lost at sea on the return journey. in the thirteenth century displaced the O’Monahans as
Among the most distinguished Irishmen of the name chiefs of a territory called Tir Briuin between Elphin and
are two soldiers of the 1641 war — David Barry, Earl of Jamestown on the Co. Roscommon side of the Shannon,
Barrymore (1605-1642), and Gerald Barry who was also and they appear as such in the “Composition Book of
an author of note —the former was killed in that war and Connacht” (1585); and in 1850 there was still an
the latter outlawed and exiled to Spain. There was a O’Beirne of Dangan-I-Beirn in that territory. The other
Capt. Barry in the Irish Brigade in France who would branch possessed territory in the adjoining county of
have been arrested for his anti-revolutionary sympathies Mayo, north of Ballinrobe. At the present time O’Beirnes
at the time of the French Revolution but for the fact are chiefly found in Counties Roscommon and Leitrim.
that the letter he had written, expressing these views, While no O’Beirne has left a lasting mark on the
was in the Irish language and there was no one among his history of Ireland several distinguished themselves in
captors who could translate it. Kevin Barry(1902-1920) the service of France in the eighteenth century. The
may also be included in that category for he was an sept has produced one or two interesting characters
active member of the I.R.A. in the Irish War of Independ- who may be mentioned here. Thomas Lewis O’Beirne
ence and was hanged for his part in it. (1748-1823), though reared a Catholic (his brother was
In the field of literature “Lo” (probably James) a Parish Priest in Co. Meath) became a Protestant Bishop
Barry (b. c. 1591) is regarded as the first Irish dramatist; of Meath in 1789; and Henry O’Beirne (b. 1851), an
while John Milner Barry (1768-1722), Sir Samuel Barry Irish emigrant, was well known in America on account
(1696-1776) and Sir David Barry (1780-1835), all of his writings about the Texas Indians, among whom
physicians, wrote widely on medical subjects; while he settled permanently.
James Greene Barry (1841-1931), did valuable work as a Arms illustrated on Plate I.
historian in his native Co. Limerick. In art James Barry
(1741-1806), was a celebrated painter, and Sir Charles
Barry (1795-1860), was the architect of the London BLAKE, Caddell, (Blowick) The Blakes are one of
Houses of Parliament. Spranger Barry (1719-1777), the “Tribes of Galway”. They descend from Richard
himself a fine actor, built theatres in Dublin and Cork. Caddell, also called Blake, who was Sheriff of Connacht
The most renowned of all Irish Barrys did not, like most in 1303. It was not until the seventeenth century that
of the foregoing, come from Co. Cork: he was John the name Blake finally supplanted Caddell. for three
Barry (1745-1803), who was born in Co. Waterford hundred years they appear in the records of the city as
and is known as the “father of the American navy”. “Caddell alias Blake” or ‘“‘Blake alias Caddell’, Blake
He is one of the very few individuals who have been being originally an epithet —/e blac, i.e. black. The name,
commemorated by the issue of an Irish postage stamp. of course, is also well-known in England: for a note on
Another who made a name in America was also born the poet William Blake, see O’Neill (p. 242). Apart from
far from Co. Cork — Belfast-born Patrick Barry (1816- their activities in the city government and in the eccles-

43
iastical wardenship of Galway, the most distinguished O’BOLAND, Bolan The older form of this name —
member of this family was Sir Richard Blake who was O’Bolan — is almost obsolete, though it is occasionally
chairman or speaker of the Assembly of Confederate found without the prefix O. The usual modern form —
Catholics at Kilkenny in 1647, Francis Blake, being also Boland — never has the O, though entitled to it, the
on the Supreme Council. William Rufus Blake (1805- Gaelic original being O Beolldin. The addition of the D
1863), the popular American actor, was of Galway at the end of the name is an anglicized affectation com-
parentage. The man who killed Red Hugh O’Donnell by parable to changing -ahan into -ham, as in the case of
poison is said to have been one James Blake. William Markham and Markahan. This final D does not once
Hume Blake (1809-1870), an emigrant from Ireland, appear in the Elizabethan Fiants though the name in
became the head of the Canadian judiciary and his son, four different forms occurs nine times in those records,
Edward Blake (1833-1912), was a leading statesman in principally in Co. Sligo.
Canada. Martin Joseph Blake (1853-1931), should also There are at least two distinct septs of the name, one of
be mentioned on account of his extensive genealogical the Ui Fiachrach line, seated at Doonaltan, (barony of
researches, partly published in Blake Family Records. Tireragh, Co. Sligo); the other being Dalcassian, of
The Blakes were among the most extensive land- Thomond. The former may be distinct from that of
owners in Connacht in the sixteenth century and this Drumcliff, also in Co. Sligo, where O’Bolans were
was equally true in the nineteenth: their principal es- erenaghs of the church of St. Columban. The Thomond
tates were at Ardfry, Balglunin, Kiltullagh, Menlo and sept is descended from Mahon, brother of Brian Boru:
Renvyle, all in Co. Galway. for this we have the authority of ““An Leabhar Mhuimh-
A branch of the Galway Blakes settled in Co. Kildare neach’’, but MacFirbis traces them to another Mahon,
where they gave their name to Blakestown in that less closely related to the great Brian. Present day repre-
county. sentatives of these septs are chiefly found in north
It should be added that there are some scattered Connacht and in east Clare where the picturesque fishing
families of Blake in the west of Ireland who are of village of Mountshannon on Lough Derg perpetuates the
Gaelic origin, for O Blathmhaic, anglice Blowick, is homeland of the sept in its Gaelic name Baile ui Beoldin -
known to have become in certain places in Co. Mayo, (or Ballybolan). In the seventeenth century it was also
being an example of the unfortunate tendency of rare numerous in Offaly. References to the name O Beolldin
Irish surnames to become merged in common ones of occur occasionally in the Annals in early medieval times,
a somewhat similar sound. but since the Anglo-Norman invasion they have not been
Arms illustrated on Plate I. prominent in the political or cultural history of the
country. Boland’s Mill was the scene of a famous en-
counter in the insurrection of 1916. Frederick Boland
BODKIN This un-Irish sounding name is intimately was Ambassador to Great Britain, Ireland’s permanent
connected with Galway, the Bodkins being one of the representative in the United Nations Organisation and
fourteen “tribes” of that city. They are, in fact, an Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin.
offshoot of the Fitzgeralds, being descended from Arms illustrated on Plate I.
Maurice Fitzgerald the ancestor of the Earls of Desmond
and Kildare. Richard, Maurice’s grandson, acquired ex-
tensive lands in east Galway in 1242. The name Bodkin O’BOYLAN, Boyland The O’Boylan sept of Oriel,
is said to have originated from an incident in the career which sprang originally from the same stock as the
of Richard’s son, Thomas Fitzgerald — the tradition O’Flanagans of Fermanagh, were in early medieval
being that in the course of a famous single combat he times located in a widespread territory stretching from
gained the victory by means of using a short spear called Fermanagh to Louth. Later they were reduced by the
a baudekin, whence the expression buaidh baudekin, MacMahons, but still retained the greater part of the
from which the surname was formed. Be that as it may barony of Dartry in Co. Monaghan. O’Dugan in his
there is no doubt as to the authenticity of their descent fourteenth century “Topographical Poem” praises them
from the Fitzgeralds. for their horsemanship and comments on their blue eyes,
It was in the fourteenth century that the Bodkins, calling them “the bold Kings of Dartry”. They were still
then called Boudakyn and later Bodekin, established more numerous in the Monaghan-Cavan-Meath area
themselves in the city of Galway, and from that time than elsewhere. In Irish the name is O Baoigheallain
until the Cromwellian upheaval and the submergence which is etymologically akin to O Baoighill, anglice
of prominent Catholic fainilies, they were one of the Boyle (q.v.). The prefix O is seldom if ever used with
more important of the “tribes”. There were several Boylan in modern times, but the alternative form
mediaeval bishops of the name and a number of officers Boyland is sometimes found. The name does not appear
in King James II’s army in Ireland. Walter and Dominick prominently in Irish political or military history. Teresa
Bodkin were members of the Supreme Council of the Boylan (b. 1868) was a poetess of some note. Monsignor
Confederation of Kilkenny in 1647. One of them, at Patrick Boylan was a distinguished contemporary
the siege of Galway in 1652 refused to sign the articles Hebrew scholar and President of the Royal Irish
of surrender. Forty years later Col. John Bodkin was a Academy. Arms illustrated on Plate I.
prominent Jacobite leader. Francis Bodkin was a
notorious pirate captain: in 1673 his crew were captured
but he escaped.

44
O’BOYLE Boyle is O Baoighill in modern Irish, the O’Gradys, of the same family as O’Grady of Kilbally-
derivation of which is possibly from the old Irish word owen, Co. Limerick (see O’Grady, below): from the time
baigell, i.e. having profitable pledges: modern scholars of Henry VIII onwards these O’Gradys identified them-
reject the derivation baoith-geall. It is thus of course selves with the English cause: for that reason, perhaps,
a true native Irish surname and the O’Boyles were a they adopted the form Brady instead of Grady. The first
strong sept in Co. Donegal with a regularly initiated Protestant Bishop of Meath, for example, was Hugh
chieftain seated at Cloghineely: they shared with the Brady, a Clareman, son of Donough O’Grady. The
O’Donnells and the O’Doughertys the leadership of the Limerick branch, on the other hand, having been Brady
north-west. Ballyweel, near Donegal town, is a phonetic for a generation or two, reverted to the correct form
rendering of Baile ui Bhaoighill (i.e. the home of the O'Grady.
O’Boyles). These O’Boyles were noted for their ruddy All the Bradys who have distinguished themselves
complexion. Nevertheless the best-known Boyles conn- in the cultural and political history of Ireland were
ected with Ireland were men of English race. When from Co. Cavan. The most notable of these are Fiachra
Richard Boyle landed in Ireland in 1588 as a young man MacBrady (fl. 1710), and Rev. Philip MacBrady (d.
without influence few could have anticipated that he 1719), both Gaelic poets, the latter of whom became a
would become what has been termed the “first colonial Protestant clergyman and was very popular with the
millionaire”. He acquired the extensive property of the people of Co. Cavan, perhaps because he satirized his
executed Sir Walter Raleigh in Co. Waterford. This colleagues. In this category we may also place Phelim
formed the nucleus of the vast estates he was to bequeath Brady (fl. 1710), usually referred to as “bold Phelim
to his numerous family on his death in 1643, by which Brady the bard of Armagh”. Thomas Brady (1752-1827),
time he was Earl of Cork and had held high government a farmer’s son from Cootehill, Co. Cavan, became a
office. The best known of his sons (born in Ireland) were Field Marshal in the Austrian service; another who was
Roger Boyle (1621-1679) Earl of Orrery, and Robert prominent in military service outside Ireland was Michael
Boyle (1627-1691), chemist and experimental physicist. Brady: he was executed for his part in the service of the
It is worthy of note that of 15 Boyles in the Dictionary “Young Pretender” in 1745. In the ecclesiastical sphere
of National Biography 14 belong to this Anglo-Irish Gilbert MacBrady was Bishop of Ardagh from 1396 to
family. Some Gaelic-Irish Boyles or O’Boyles have also 1400; and three MacBradys were bishops of Kilmore in
distinguished themselves, notably William Boyle (1853- the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: in 1580 John
1922) Abbey Theatre dramatist, John Boyle (d. 1832) MacBrady was succeeded in the same see by Richard
the well-known wit, and Richard Boyle (1822-1908) the Brady a distinguished Franciscan. Andrew MacBrady
railway engineer whose heroism during the Indian in 1454 was the first bishop of Kilmore to provide a
Mutiny was renown. The name is common (being in- cathedral church for the diocese. A Catholic descendant
cluded in the fifty most numerous in Ireland), parti- of Hugh Brady, first Protestant Bishop of Meath, Edwin
cularly in the Ulster counties of Donegal, Tyrone and James Brady (1869-1952), had an adventurous life in
Armagh (it takes third place in the first named). It is many lands and was the author of some fine sea ballads.
only in comparatively recent times that the discarded He was born at Carcour, New South Wales. Apart from
prefix O has been at all widely restored. the Gaelic poets the most important literary man of the
Arms illustrated on Plate II. name was William Maziere Brady (1825-1894), author of
Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland.
Arms illustrated on Plate I.
(Mac)BRADY In Irish the name Brady is Mac Brad-
aigh so that it should correctly be MacBrady in the
anglicized form; the prefix Mac, however, has seldom if O’BRALLAGHAN, Bradley — Few Irish surnames have
ever been used in modern times; the modern use of the been more barbarously maltreated as a result of the
prefix O instead of Mac with this name is erroneous. introduction of the English language into Ireland than
The MacBradys were a powerful sept belonging to O Brollachdin, which for some extraordinary reason was
Breffny, their chief holding sway over a territory lying generally given as its anglicized form the common
a few miles east of Cavan town. The Four Masters record English name of Bradley, though in a few places, notably
many illustrious chiefs of the name there. The historian in Co. Derry, it is quite rationally called in English
Abbé MacGeoghegan says that the MacBradys are a O’Brallaghan. No doubt a proportion of the Bradleys
branch of the O’Carrolls of Calry, Co. Leitrim, a state- in Ireland are descendants of English settlers, but those
ment which has been often repeated, but modern auth- who bear the name in the counties adjacent to Co. Derry
orities refute this. In any case they have always been and also in Co. Cork have justification for believing that
pre-eminently associated with Co. Cavan; and it is in Co. they are really O’Brallaghans, because it was in those
Cavan and adjacent areas the Bradys are mostly found areas that the sept originated, the Cork line being a
to-day. They are indeed very numerous in Ireland with branch which in early times migrated southwards.
an estimated population of nearly 10,000 persons so Actually they are first heard of in Co. Tyrone, the
called. county adjacent to Co. Derry on its southern border. It
A number of families of Brady are also to be found is interesting to note that modern statistics show that
in the district around the village of Tuamgraney, Co. Counties Derry, Tyrone and Donegal are still the home-
Clare. These are in fact not truly Bradys at all but land of most Irish Bradleys, with Cork their main strong-

45
hold in the south. (O) Brolloghan is a cognate form of The best known modern bearer of the name was Dan
(O) Bralloghan. According to Mr. W. Maxwell-Brodie, Breen, one of the most prominent fighters on the Irish
the O’Brologhans of the Western Highlands of Scotland side during the War of Independence 1916-1921.
were of the same stock as the O’Brologhans of Derry
whose name has been anglicized as Brodie in modern
times. (O)BRENNAN, (Mac)BRENNAN _ In modern Ireland
A remarkable number of O’Brallaghans (or rather there are many Brennans: the name comes twenty-eighth
O’Brollachain for the English language was then un- in the statistical list of Irish surnames. Here and there
known in Ireland) distinguished themselves in the one is met with the prefix O, but to-day the form Mac-
eleventh and twelfth centuries: Maelbrighde O’Brollach- Brennan is seldom if ever found.
ain (d. 1029) builder; his sons Aedh (d. 1095), pro- The simple form Brennan is used in the anglicized
fessor, and Maelbrighde, bishop of Kildare (1097-1100); form of two quite distinct Gaelic Irish surnames, viz. O
another, Donal O’Brollachain (d. 1202), was Abbot of Braondain and Mac Branain. The former is the appellation
Derry; while Flaibhertach O’Brollachain (d. 1175) of four different unrelated septs; the latter of one only.
rebuilt the Cathedral at Derry in 1164. The only Irish- Judging by the present day distribution of the name,
man of special note called Bradley was Most Rev. two of these five have survived in large numbers in the
Denis Mary Bradley (1846-1903), a Kerryman popular districts around their original habitats. It is sufficient,
with all denominations in his diocese of Manchester therefore, just to mention en passant the three others
(New England). which were located respectively in counties Galway,
Westmeath and Kerry.
Mac Brandin was chief of Corcachlann, the old name
(O)BREEN, MacBREEN- At the present time the of a territory in the eastern part of Co. Roscommon: a
Breens are distributed widely throughout Ireland. They succession of these chiefs appear in the Annals between
are always called simply Breen though originally there 1159 and 1488. While the leading members of the sept
were both MacBreens and O’Breens. The former, Mac retained the Mac until the submergence of the Gaelic
Braoin in Irish, were an Ossory sept seated near Knock- order in the seventeenth century, the substitution of
topher in Co. Kilkenny; but after the Anglo-Norman O for Mac, in some cases, is noted as early as 1360.
invasion they were dispersed by the Walshes and sank in The present day Brennans of Counties Roscommon,
importance. Though in 1659 they were noted as still Sligo and Mayo, however, are nearly all MacBrennans,
numerous in Ossory — the prefix Mac had even then or more correctly MacBrannans.
been dropped — Co. Wexford, adjacent to Co. Kilkenny, The principal O’Brennan sept was that of Ossory:
is the area in which the name Breen is now chiefly found, they were chiefs of Ui Duach (mod. Idough) in the
and it is reasonable to assume that these are MacBreens. northern part of Co. Kilkenny. Their influence naturally
The most important O’Breen (O Braoin) sept in waned as English power became paramount in Leinster,
mediaeval times was that possessed of territory in and though several O’Brennans retained some portion
Counties Westmeath and Offaly near Athlone. Their of their former estates, the seventeenth century re-
chief was Lord of Brawney. As late as 1421 O’Breen of duced many of them to the status of rapparee - indeed,
Brawney is mentioned in a contemporary document several famous or notorious bands of tories in Leinster
with O’Conor and MacMorogh as a great chieftain of the were led by Brennans, and in the next century, one of
Irish nation. The name Breen is seldom met with in that the most intrepid and chivalrous of all Irish highwaymen,
area to-day, but it is said to be now disguised there James Freney, was, he asserted, instructed in his calling
under the alias O’Brien. The infamous Jemmy O’Brien of by the last of these tory Brennans.
1798 notoriety was an O’Breen, not an O’Brien of The most distinguished of the sept was Most Rev.
Thomond. It is also a fact that a comparable corruption John Brennan (1625-1693), Bishop of Waterford and
occurred in the case of the O’Breens of north Connacht Archbishop of Cashel, friend of Geoffrey Keating and
who in course of time became Bruen in Co. Roscommon, Saint Oliver Plunkett: though constantly the object
a name fairly common there now (which Breen is not), of special attention from priest-hunters, he was elusive
and Browne in Mayo. William Browne (1777-1857), of enough to remain continuously in his dioceses which
Foxford, famous Argentine admiral, was possibly of the he administered with marked wisdom, and his periodical
Connacht O’Breens (see Browne, below). Finally the reports to Rome are of the greatest value to the historian
name has been common in Co. Kerry, at least since the of the seventeenth century. Another John Brennan
seventeenth century. Henry H. Breen (1805-1882), the (1768-1830), popularly called the “wrestling doctor”
poet, was a Kerryman. Francis Breen, the 1798 rebel, and well known in his day for his satires on Dublin
was from Co. Wexford. The Brawney sept is represented doctors, was also of the Ossory sept of O’Brennan and
in history by Tighearnach O Braoin, the annalist, who considered to be chief of the name. Among exiles of the
died at Clonmacnois, where he was Abbot, in 1088, and name we may mention the Abbé Peter O’Brennan
by Donal O’Breen, Bishop of Clonmacnois from 1303 to who was executed in 1794 for his resistance to the
1324. Elizabeth Breen was one of the Irish nuns arrested French Revolution.
in France in 1793 during the Terror. Patrick Breen (d. An interesting account of the O’Brennans of Ossory
1808), whose diary of the Donner exploration party will be found in the Journal of the Royal Society of
is remarkable for its stark realism, was born in Ireland. Antiquaries, vol. I, pp. 230-254.
Arms illustrated on Plate IT.
46
MacBRIDE, Kilbride | MacBride is Mac Giolla Brighde people of the name was registered as plain Brien, now-
in Irish i.e. son of the follower or devotee of St. Brigid. adays it is rarely to be found without the prefix O.
The name is numerous in Ulster, particularly in Counties The outstanding figure is, of course, Brian Boru (941-
Donegal and Down. They are first heard of as erenaghs 1014), whose remarkable career as High King of Ireland
of Raymunterdoney, Co. Donegal, a parish which in- ended with his death on the field of the battle of Clontarf
cludes Tory Island. In the seventeenth century they when the Norsemen were finally subdued. Brian, in fact
settled at Gweedore in the same county. Several of the used no surname; it was, however, in regular use forty
sept were bishops of Raphoe, the most distinguished years after his death. According to Eleanor Hull’s History
of whom was John MacGilbride (d. 1440). A branch of of Ireland (p. 201) the first O’Brien to adopt the surname
the sept was established in Co. Down and in the 1659 was Donagh Cairbre (1194-1242), son of Donal, who
census MacBride appears as a principal Irish name in submitted to Henry II. From 1055 to 1616. the last
three different baronies of that county. year recorded by the Four Masters, O’Briens figure in
MacBride is also a well known name in Scotland. the annals of every generation, over 300 individuals
Though the majority of Irish MacBrides are Catholics of the name finding a place in that great work. In this
four prominent Ulster Protestants of the name are note- respect they are outnumbered only by the O’Connors,
worthy, all being of the same family: David MacBride the O’Neills and the O’Donnells. In the “Annals of
(1726-1778), physician and inventor; John MacBride Innisfallen”, which deal principally with the southern
(1730-1800), admiral in the British navy; Rev. John half of Ireland, the O’Briens appear more often than any
MacBride (1650-1718), Presbyterian author; and John other sept, though in this the MacCarthys run them close.
David MacBride (1778-1868), scholar and head of Murrough O’Brien (d. 1551) was the first Earl of
Magdalen College, Oxford. The miniaturist Alexander Thomond; Murrough of the Burnings (d. 1674) was sixth
MacBride (1798-1852), was born in Co. Monaghan. Baron Inchiquin.
Sean MacBride (b. 1904), a Nobel prizewinner and Coming to modern times, the difficulty is to select
former Minister for External Affairs, is the son of the a few names from the many O’Briens who have been
late Major John MacBride (1865-1916), executed after prominent in the political and cultural history of the
the 1916 Rising, and Maud Gonne MacBride (1865- country. The descendants of Brian Boru, in the main
1953), who was one of the most picturesque figures in line, have been peers of the realm under three titles,
the modern Irish political scene. Earls and Marquises of Thomond, Barons and Earls
In Connacht the name MacBride sometimes takes the of Inchiquin and Viscounts Clare. The two former
form Kilbride. have more often than not been on the side of England,
notably Murrough O’Brien, first Earl of Thomond
(d. 1551), who was one of the great Gaelic chiefs to
O’BRIEN In these brief accounts of Irish septs and acknowledge Henry VIII, and the other notorious
families in which only a page or two is devoted to each Murrough O’Brien, sixth Baron Inchiquin (1614-1674),
subject, it is impossible to do justice to the greatest of whose exploits during the war of 1641-1650 earned him
them, such as the O’Briens, the O’Connors and the the sobriquet ‘“Murrough of the Burnings’”. The
O’Neills, about whom whole volumes have been written Viscounts Clare, on the other hand, present a different
and more has yet to be added. From the tenth century, picture; the first of these, Daniel O’Brien (1577-1663),
when the sept rose to the High Kingship of Ireland in was a member of the Supreme Council of the Catholic
the person of Brian Boru, down to the present day, Confederates; it was the third Viscount, also Daniel
the O’Briens have always been prominent in the history O’Brien (d. 1690), who raised the famous Irish Brigade
of the country. regiment known as Clare’s Dragoons, which was later
Before Brian Boru’s time, the Dalcassian clan, known commanded in many famous battles on the continent
as the Ui Toirdealbhaigh, to which they belonged, was by the fifth Viscount, Charles O’Brien, whose distin-
not of outstanding importance in Thomond: the great- guished military career ended when he was killed at the
ness of Brian gave them pre-eminence there and in due battle of Ramillies in 1706, while his son, Charles
course the sept, which took the surname O’Brien from O’Brien, sixth Viscount (1699-1771), upheld the family
him, divided into several branches and possessed a great tradition at Dettingen and Fontenoy, and became a
part of Munster, of which they were frequently kings. Marshal of France. Younger branches of these noble
The O Briens of Ara (north Tipperary), a territory they families produced William Smith O’Brien (1803-1864),
acquired from the O’Donegans about the year 1300 had who broke away from the “landlord”’ tradition of his
as chief Mac Ui Bhriain Ara; those of Co. Limerick gave relatives and became one of the best known of the
their name to the barony of Pubblebrien; another branch Young Irelanders. His daughter, Charlotte Grace O’Brien
was located around Aherlow by the Galtees; and another (1845-1909), was a philanthropist, author and zealous
south of the Comeragh Mountains on the rich lands Gaelic Leaguer, and his brother, Edward O’Brien (1808-
near Dungarvan. In all those areas, and especially in Co. 1840), devoted his short life to similar causes.
Clare they are numerous to-day: the name, in fact, is so Other O’Briens whose names are honoured for their
common that it comes sixth in the statistical list relating part in the struggle for the restoration of Irish independ-
to Irish surnames, with an estimated population of more ence are Most Rev. Terence Albert O’Brien (1600-1651),
that thirty thousand persons. In this connexion it may Dominican Bishop of Emly, who was hanged by Ireton
be observed, that though fifty years ago one third of the after the Siege of Limerick; James Francis Xavier O’Brien

47
(1828-1905), the Fenian, and William O’Brien (1852- Alan Broderick who was appointed Surveyor General
1928), who devised the “Plan of Campaign” and founded of Ireland in 1660. Arms illustrated on Plate I.
the United Irish League. Another William O’Brien (b.
1881), nationalist, labour leader and friend of James
Connolly, was active in Irish affairs. Add to all these
Fitzjames O’Brien (1828-1862), the Irish author who
was killed fighting in the American Civil War; Jeremiah
O’Brien (1740-1818), with his brothers John and BROWNE Though this is one of the commonest of
William, heroes of naval exploits against the British all surnames in England (more often without the E
in the American War of Independence; Most Rev. John there), it is included here because the Brownes were one
O’Brien (d. 1767) and Rev. Paul O’Brien (1763-1820), of the ‘“‘Tribes’’ of Galway. The arms illustrated on Plate
two noted Gaelie scholars; and there are still many II are those of the Galway Brownes. There are many
names which may justly be considered worthy of a place other distinguished families of Browne in Ireland,
in this brief account of a great and famous Irish sept. notably in Connacht — that of Lord Oranmore and
Arms illustrated on Plate II. Browne and the Brownes of Breaghwy, Co. Mayo — and
in Kerry the Brownes of Killarney, whose historic
Kenmare peerage has recently become extinct. No less
O’BRODER, Broderick, Brothers _ Broderick is a fairly important were the Brownes of Camus, Co. Limerick;
common indigenous surname in England. Nevertheless Field-Marshal Maximilian Ulysses Browne (1705-1757)
very few Irish Brodericks are of English extraction. was son of Col. Ulysses Browne, of Camus, Co. Limerick.
The name affords a good example of the practice, which George Count de Browne (1698-1792) was yet another
grew up during the two centuries of English and Pro- famous continental soldier of the Camus family.
testant domination in Ireland after the Williamite Wars, The Galway Brownes are descended from a Norman,
of assimilating old Gaelic surnames to well-known le Brun, who came to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-
English names somewhat resembling them. Thus for Norman invasion. The Brownes, or Brunachs, are men-
Lehane Lane was widely adopted, MacFirbis became tioned by MacFirbis in his Hy Fiachrach as one of the
generally Forbes and Cunnigan Cunningham; and in the four Norman tribes who wrested the territory of Tirawley
same way O Bruadair and Mac Bruadair, which were at from the Fiachrach following the invasion. They estab-
first anglicized as Broder and Brouder, acquired the lished themselves in Galway by intermarriage with its
forms Broderick and Brothers. Father McErlean, in his leading family, the Lynches. By similar alliance with the
introduction to the poems of David O Bruadair, referring O’Flahertys and the O’Malleys they secured their position
to a recent generation remarks “those who to their as an Irish family of the West. The Brownes of Killarney,
neighbours are Broders become Brodericks when they on the other hand, stem from an Elizabethan English-
go marketing in the country town or when they enter man, but there again intermarriage with influential
a rent office or a court of law”. It has been held that Gaelic families in Kerry consolidated their position. A
this sept is of Norse origin but there is no basis for this very full account of this family is given in The Kenmare
beyond the fact that Bruadar was a common name in the Manuscripts, published by the Irish Manuscripts
Scandinavian countries. Even had it been taken from this Commission.
source that is no proof of Norse blood, but the fact is Referring to the Brownes of Connacht mention
that many Bruadars are on record in Ireland before the should also be made of John Browne, the first high
“Danish” invasions began and before surnames came sheriff of Mayo (1583). He was of the family already
into existence. Several distinct septs of O Bruadair existed at that time well established at the Neale, in the barony
in early mediaeval times of which two may be mentioned of Kilmaine. His descendants who became, in the senior
here since their descendants are still found in or near line, Barons of Kilmaine and, in the junior, Earls of
their original territory. One was located in Co. Cork — Altamount, have since been closely associated with Co.
in the barony of Barrymore — to which David or Daithi Mayo. Seated at Westport the 3rd Marquis of Sligo (Sth
O Bruadair the poet belonged. It was presumably a Earl of Altamont) was, prior to the land legislation of
branch of this which settled as a Munster family in Iverk the late nineteenth century, owner of an estate of
(Ossory), where they were well established in the seven- 114,000 acres.
teenth century. In Co. Limerick, where the name is now Admiral William Brown (1777-1857), celebrated as
quite numerous, they are registered as Brouder and the creator of the Argentine navy, was born at Foxford,
Broderick in about equal numbers. The other belonged Co. Mayo. It is thought that his family was a branch of
to Co. Galway, the most famous of whom was Fr. the Connacht O’Breens whose name appears in the
Anthony O’Bruadair, O.S.F., the martyr; the existence sixteenth century Fiants, inter alia, as O’Browne. No
of two townlands called Ballybroder (in the parishes conclusive proof, however, of this descent is as yet
of Kilmeen and Loughrea) should be mentioned; Mr. P. forthcoming.
J. Kennedy tells me that he knows more than 30 families Recently two of the most important men in Galway
of the name in the area between Galway and the city were Brownes: Michael Browne, Bishop of Galway,
Shannon. The best known of all Broderick families in and Patrick Browne, President of University College,
-Ireland is that of which Lord Midleton is the head. The Galway, and a Gaelic poet of distinction.
first of these to come to Ireland was an Englishman, Sir Arms illustrated on Plate II.

48
O’BUHILLY, Buckley The Irish surname O Buachalla than any other Norman family. They adopted Brehon
(derived from the Gaelic word buachal a boy) is usually Law and proclaimed themselves chiefs after the Irish
anglicized Buckley. Buckley is of course a common fashion, forming, indeed, several septs of which the two
English name, but it is safe to say that few Irish-born most important were known as MacWilliam Uachtar
Buckleys are of English extraction. The more Irish- (Galway) and MacWilliam lIochtar (Mayo). Minor
looking forms Boughla and Buhilly are used in one branches became MacDavie, MacGibbon, MacHugo,
area of Co. Offaly. It is not, however, numerous in that MacRedmond and MacSeoinin. Of these the name Mac
part of Ireland now, though it was in mediaeval times; Seoinin is extant in Counties Mayo and Galway as
and in 1659 it appears in Petty’s census as an Irish Jennings, and MacGibbon as Gibbons. As late as 1518,
principal name in the barony of Ballycowan as Bohelly. when the City of the Tribes was still hostile to its
A family of Buckley or Buhilly resident at Lemanaghan, Gaelic neighbours and the order was made that “neither
Co. Offaly, claimed to be descendants of the cowherd O nor Mac should strut or swagger through the streets
of St. Manahan and hereditary bearers of his shrine, the of Galway”, a more specific instruction was issued for-
custodians of which were the O’Mooneys (q.v.p. 129 bidding the citizens to admit into their houses “Burkes,
infra). As Bouhilly it was numerous at the same date MacWilliams, Kelly or any other sept’’. The original form
in Iffa and Offa, ie. the south western corner of Co. of the name was often used even as late as the sixteenth
Tipperary. The variant spellings of Bohelly and Bucaile century: two de Burgos were bishops of Clonfert be-
both occur in the returns of Irish Jacobites outlawed tween 1508 and 1580.
after the defeat of James II. After the Battle of Kinsale at which Lord Burke of
William Bulkely (1768-1793), who was guillotined Castleconnell distinguished himself (on the English
for his prominent part in the royalist counter-revolution, side), the leading Burkes displayed more loyalty to their
was born at Clonmel and apparently his real name was king than to their country, though when the two loyal-
Buckley. The famous family of Bulkely in France was, ties coincided during the reign of James II, they were to
however, according to O’Callaghan, of English origin. be found among the leading men of the Confederate
To-day the name Buckley is chiefly found in Counties Catholics and many of the name were attainted and
Cork and Kerry: eighty per cent of the large number of deprived of their estates, much of which, however, was
births recorded for the name (it has a place in the recovered by them after the Restoration. The Earl of
hundred commonest Irish surnames) are in Munster. Clanrickarde, whose peerage dated from 1543, comm-
The American botanist, Samuel Buckley (1809- anded one of the infantry regiments in James II’s army.
1883), was possibly of Irish origin, though he was a Of the many Burkes who took service with continental
Wesleyan. The last Governor-General of the Irish Free powers after the defeat of that King, none was more
State was Donal O Buachalla. distinguished than Toby Bourke (c. 1674-c. 1734),
whose connexion was with Spain. Raymond Bourke
(1773-1847), a peer of France descended from the Mayo
BURKE, Bourke, de Burgh __Burke is much the most Burkes, accompanied Wolfe Tone to Ireland in the 1798
numerous of the Hiberno-Norman surnames. It is esti- expedition and later became a famous Napoleonic
mated that there are some 19,000 people of the name in commander. Several other Bourkes or Burkes distin-
Ireland to-day: with its variant Bourke it comes four- guished themselves in the army of France.
teenth in the list of commonest names. Sir John Davis Later in the eighteenth century the outstanding
said in 1606: “‘There are more able men of the surname Burkes were the famous statesman Edmund Burke (1729-
of Bourke than of any name whatsoever in Europe”. It 1797), whose only son, Richard Burke (1758-1794),
came to Ireland at the Anglo-Norman invasion in the was agent of the Catholic Committee, and Dr. Thomas
person of William de Burgo (called William the Conqueror Burke (1705-1776), Dominican Bishop of Ossory,
by Irish annalists and wrongly described as William author of Hibernica Dominicana. Another Dominican of
Fitzadelm de Burgo), who succeeded Strongbow as note was Rev. Thomas Nicholas Burke (1830-1883),
Chief Governor. In 1179 vast estates in Connacht were whose fame as a preacher, especially during his visit to
granted to the de Burgos, or Burkes, but beyond spor- America, was phenomenal — Pope Pius IX called him
adic ravaging, they did not, properly speaking, possess “the prince of preachers’. His contemporary, also
the territory until the next generation when it was re- Galway born, Canon Ulick Bourke, P.P. (1829-1887),
granted to Sir Richard de Burgo, or Burke, by Henry III. was a pioneer of the Irish language revival. The death of
Having regard to the large number of Burkes, or Bourkes, Richard Southwell Burke, sixth Earl of Mayo (1822-
now living — the figure 19,000, given above, must be 1872), caused a sensation as he was assassinated during
multiplied several times to include emigrants of Irish his term of office as Governor General of India. Another
stock to America and elsewhere — it is hardly possible sensation relating to a Burke of humbler origin was the
that they all stem from the one ancestor (the name, trial and execution of the notorious William Burke
it may be remarked, is not found in England except in (1792-1829); his activities in smothering the victims
families of Irish background); nevertheless, even if whose bodies he sold for dissection have added a verb —
several different Burkes came to Ireland in the wake of to burke — to the English language. Galway born Robert
Strongbow, it is the one great family, mentioned above, O’Hara Burke (1820-1861), also made headlines in his
which has been so prominent in Irish history. day when under conditions of almost incredible hard-
The Burkes became more completely hibernicized ship he succeeded in crossing the Australian desert on

49
foot: he died of starvation on the return journey. Many Professor Edmund Curtis in his History of Medieval
other Burkes, Bourkes, and de Burghs might also be Ireland, shows that the MacRichard Butlers were
mentioned. No account of the name, however brief, actually the ancestors of the later Earls of Ormond,
would be adequate which omitted Sir Bernard Burke and that at least two branches of the Butlers were
(1814-1892), Ulster King of Arms, and his father, John patrons of Gaelic-Irish learning and great collectors of
Burke (1787-1848), a Co. Tipperary man, celebrated for Irish manuscripts.
their work on genealogy, peerages and family history. To the list of distinguished persons of the name that
Arms illustrated on Plate IT. of Sir Theobald, commonly called Sir Toby Butler,
should be added. He was attorney-general in the reign of
James II and the framer of the Treaty of Limerick on
BUTLER _ Butler is a name to be found in every walk the Irish side; he made a memorable speech in 1703
of life in Ireland>The name is true of England. In the against the Anti-Popery Act. Arms illustrated on Plate I.
absence of a reliable pedigree, or at least a well estab-
lished tradition, the origin of individual Butlers in
Ireland to-day cannot be suggested with confidence. The (O)BYRNE O’Byrne is in Irish O Broin ie. descen-
history of the Ormond Butlers, however, is very well dant of Bran (earlier form Broen), King of Leinster, who
authenticated — indeed for more than seven centuries died in 1052. With the O’Tooles the O’Byrnes were
their history is the history of Anglo-Irish relations — driven from their original territory in the modern Co.
from 1171 when Theobald Fitzwalter accompanied Kildare at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion and
Henry II to Ireland, till our own time when the ancestral settled in the wilder country of south Wicklow about the
castle of Kilkenny was abandoned as the seat of the year 1200. There were two main branches of the
family and the voluminous Ormond manuscript coll- O’Byrnes of which the senior soon sank into obscurity,
ection was taken over by the National Library of Ireland, but the junior line, which occupied the country between
where it forms an invaluable source for Irish as well as Rathdrum and Shillelagh, became a sept of great im-
for Butler family history. portance and, like their neighbours the O’Tooles in
The surname Butler, as far as Ireland is concerned, north Wicklow, were particularly noteworthy for their
dates from about the year 1220: it arose from the fact persistent and largely successful resistance to English
that in 1177 the Theobald Fitzwalter, mentioned above, aggression. They continued regularly to inaugurate chiefs
was created Chief Butler of Ireland. The seventh in of the sept up to the end of the sixteenth century. The
descent from him was created Earl of Ormond in 1328. seat of their chiefs was at Ballinacor and their territory
In 1391 the head-quarters of the Ormonds was removed was called Crioch Branach, the sept itself being known
from Gowran to Kilkenny Castle. as Ui Broin or Branaigh. Many of these were renowned
For centuries a rivalry existed between the Butlers in the military history of Ireland, the most famous
and the Geraldines (see Fitzgerald, below), and it may being Feagh or Fiacha MacHugh (or son of Aodh)
be said that up to the death of the Great Duke of O’Byrne (1544-1597) who, though he was prominent
Ormond in 1688, the effective government of the in rebellion and was killed in battle, is perhaps best
country (or, at least, as much of it as for the time being remembered for his part in the escape of Hugh Roe
acknowledged allegiance to the King of England) was in O’Donnell from his prison in Dublin Castle in 1591.
the hands of one or the other of these great Norman His son Phelim O’Byrne was the victim of one of the
houses. The Butlers have generally been regarded as many unscrupulously trumped-up charges which dis-
more consistently loyal to the sovereign than their rivals, graced English seventeenth century administration
but as Standish O’Grady in his edition of Pacata Hibernia in Ireland: the Viceroy Falkland was in turn disgraced,
points out, being weaker than the Geraldines they were but notwithstanding that the O’Byrnes lost the greater
forced to lean on the State, and on the only occasion in part of their estates in consequence of his action.
which they were wronged they were just as ready to The celebrated “Leabhar Branach” or “Book of the
rebel as any other sept. In this connexion it may be O’Byrnes” is a collection of Gaelic poetry by some
mentioned that a branch of the Butlers for a while in thirty-five different authors, dealing for the most part
the fifteenth century took MacRichard as their surname with the exploits and personalities of the O’Byrnes in
and had an important chief somewhat in the Gaelic the sixteenth century: it was made about 1662. In the
fashion: eventually, however, they reverted to the name next century O’Byrnes were prominent in the 1798
Butler. Among the numerous Catholic Butlers who were insurrection, notably the brothers Garret O’Byrne
loyal Jacobites perhaps the most noteworthy were the (1774-1830) and William Byrne (1775-1799), the latter
Abbé James Butler of Nantes, who was chaplain to of whom was hanged; and Miles Byrne (1780-1862),
Prince Charles Edward (the “Young Pretender”) in the who subsequently distinguished himself in France and
1745 expedition; and Pierce Butler (1652-1740), third was awarded the Legion of Honour. Other O’Byrnes
Viscount Galmoy, who fought with Sarsfield in all his have been notable in France: one branch, which was
Irish and French campaigns. admitted to the ranks of the French nobility in 1770,
A branch of the Butler family has long been estab- was a leading family of Bordeaux before the Revolu-
lished in Co. Clare: a very full account of them is to tion and Garret Byrne, mentioned above, was among the
be found in The Butlers of Co. Clare by Sir Henry distinguished exiles to that country; while in America,
Butler Blackall. Irish-born Most Rev. Dr. Andrew Byrne (1802-1862),

50
first bishop of Little Rock, is remembered as a pioneer
Catholic in Indian territory. In recent times one of the
best known and most popular figures in the life of the
Irish capital was Alderman Alfred Byrne (1882-1956),
who was ten times Lord Mayor of Dublin.
The Byrnes, who in recent generations have increas-
ingly resumed the discarded prefix O, are very numerous
in Ireland to-day, the name being in the seventh place
in the list of Commonest Names. The great majority of
these were born in Dublin, in Co. Wicklow and adjacent
counties. Arms illustrated on Plate III.

MacCABE The MacCabes came from the western (O)CAHILL In early medieval times the most impor-
isles of Scotland about the year 1350 as gallowglasses tant sept of O’Cahill was that located in Co. Galway near
to the O’Reillys and the O’Rourkes, the principal septs the Clare border, the head of which was Chief of Kinelea
of Breffny. They became themselves a recognized (Aughty), but by the middle of the thirteenth century
Breffny sept, their chief being “Constable of the two their former position as the leading family in Kilmac-
Breffnys”. Modern statistics show that they are still duagh had been taken by the O’Shaughnessys. The name
much more numerous in the Breffny area than anywhere is uncommon there now, but is found in Co. Clare where
else. As landed proprietors they were as much associated a branch of the sept was also established. There were
with Co. Monaghan as with Co. Cavan; however the prin- quite distinct septs of O’Cahill: one of these was located
cipal families of MacCabe lost their estates in the Catholic near Lough Leane in Kerry and another in Co. Tipperary
débacle after the battle of Aughrim in 1691. between Thurles and Templemore. There are no less
William Putnam McCabe (1776-1821) was one of the than three townlands called Ballycahill in Co. Tipperary
most romantic figures among the United Irishmen. which perpetuate the original habitat of that sept. Two
Earlier in the eighteenth century Cathaoir MacCabe other Ballycahills, one in Co. Galway, between Portumna
(d. 1740), himself a Cavan bard, is best remembered as and Killimor, the other in Co. Clare near Ballyvaughan,
the life long friend of Turlogh O’Carolan (1670-1738), also indicate the location of those septs. To-day the
whose death is commemorated in a fine elegy in Irish great majority of Cahills are to be found in the three
(Carolan had previously written an elegy on MacCabe Munster counties of Tipperary, Cork and Kerry.
having been hoaxed by him into believing he was dead). In Irish the name is O Cathail, ie. descendant of
In more recent times Edward Cardinal MacCabe (1816- Cathal, a Christian name which, Dr. M. A. O’Brien in-
1885) and Bernard MacCabe (1801-1891), the author, forms me, is derived from the Old Irish catu-ualos mean-
may be mentioned. Outside Ireland the best known man ing powerful in battle. Cahill is one of those surnames
of the name was Charles Caldwell MacCabe (1836-1906), seldom if ever found in modern times with its proper
grandson of a Co. Tryone man, and American Protestant prefix O. O’Cahill is one of the earliest surnames on
bishop, known as “chaplain MacCabe” of the Civil War. record: Flann O’Cahill was martyred in 938.
Arms illustrated on Plate ITI. The most notable man of the name was that ver-
satile priest Father Daniel William Cahill (1796-1864),
schoolmaster, newspaper editor and prolific lecturer
in the U.S.A. and elsewhere on behalf of Catholic
(Mac)CAFFREY, (MacCafferky) |The MacCaffreys are institutions. Arms illustrated on Plate III.
a branch of the MacGuires of Fermanagh. The townland
of Ballymacaffrey near Fivemiletown on the Tyrone
border marks their homeland. The great majority of (O)CALLAGHAN, (Kelaghan) The name of O’Call-
persons of the name to-day belong to families located in aghan, in Irish O Ceallachdin, was taken from Ceallachan
Fermanagh and Tyrone: a little further south in Cavan (Callaghan), King of Munster (d. 952), the eponymous
and north Meath there are a considerable number of ancestor of the sept. Dispossessed of their original
Caffreys, i.e. the same surname but with the prefix Mac territory in the barony of Kinelea, Co. Cork, after the
dropped. In Irish it is Mac Gafraidh (son of Godfrey). Anglo-Norman invasion, they acquired a large area of
At one time this was anglicized MacGoffrey by some north Co. Cork near Mallow and retained it until again
families which migrated from Fermanagh to Ros- dispossessed under the Cromwellian régime. The leading
common; and that of course is phonetically more correct family of the sept was transplanted then to Co. Clare,
than MacCaffrey. The best known of the name was Rev. where the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills bears their name
James MacCaffrey (d. 1875), the ecclesiastical historian, and where they are represented by the family of O’Call-
who was born in Co. Tyrone. aghan (now O’Callaghan-Westropp) of Lismehane. The
The Mayo name MacCafferky called MacCafferty, has humbler members of the sept, as was usually the case,
occasionally been corrupted to MacCaffrey. This is were not transplanted; and to-day Co. Cork is the area
MacEachmharcaigh in Irish, formed from the words each in which O’Callaghans are chiefly to be found. Although
a steed and marcach a rider. they are mainly concentrated in that area the total

onl
number of O’Callaghans and Callaghans in Ireland to-day The cognate name Mac Annaidh is called Canny in
is about 13,000, which places the name among the forty English and as such is well known in Co. Clare and
most numerous in the country. It may here be ob- Limerick. Arms illustrated on Plate III.
served that Callaghan is one of those names in which the
resumption of the prefix O, dropped during the period
of Gaelic submergence, has been most widely resumed:
fifty years ago Callaghans without the O outnumbered O’CANNON, (MacCannon) Cannon is a common
those who used the prefix by five to one, while to-day English surname derived from the ecclesiastical word
O’Callaghans are much more numerous than Callaghans. canon. It is also the anglicized form of the name of two
In addition to King Callaghan mentioned above there quite distinct Irish septs. Though identical in English
have been a number of distinguished Irishmen of the these two are different in Irish. One is O Canain: this is
name, among thém Father Richard Callaghan (1738- a Hy Many (Ui Maine) sept of the same stock as the
1807), the Jesuit educationalist, two historians in the O’Maddens and belongs to southern Co. Galway though
persons of Edmund O’Callaghan (1797-1883), and John nearly extinct there now. The other is O Cananndin
Cornelius O’Callaghan (1805-1883), and Sir Francis abbreviated to O Canann, an old Tirconnell sept, whose
O’Callaghan (1839-1909), the engineer. The name is chiefs the annalists call Kings of Cinel Conaill: it was
also one of distinction in the records of the Irish Brigades subjugated by the powerful O’Donnells in the thirteenth
in France. It is a curious fact that the Abbé John O’Call- century and sank into obscurity. Descendants of minor
aghan (1605-1654), who was a very prominent Jansenist families of the sept, however, remained in their ancestral
in France, gives the name of his father, a gentleman of territory: in the seventeenth century they were
Macroom, Co. Cork, as MacCallaghan. The records of the numerous in Co. Donegal; priests called Cannon appear
O’Callaghans in Spain are very extensive in the archives from time to time in the records of the diocese of
of that country. O’Callaghan is one of the few families Raphoe; and to-day they are still more numerous in Co.
of which a modern Chief of the Name is certified by the Donegal than anywhere else in Ireland.
Genealogical Office. The present holder of that desig- The name MacCannon is found in Dublin at the
nation is a citizen of Spain. present time and in the records of the city at least as far
The name O’Callaghan is sometimes found in Oriel back as 1744; in the 1659 census it is recorded as
(Armagh, Louth and Monaghan). This is an entirely numerous in Meath and in 1687 one of the name was
different sept. O Ceileachdin in Irish, properly anglicized Sheriff of Co. Monaghan.
O’Kelaghan or Kealahan; this name has become O’Call- A further point in connexion with the name in Ireland
aghan in some families through a not uncommon process is that several families called Cannon are the descendants
of attraction, but the form Kelaghan is still in use in Co. of French Protestant refugees. Joseph Gurney Cannon
Westmeath. Arms illustrated on Plate ITI. (1836-1926), Speaker of Congress (U.S.A.), for example,
was the grandson of an Irishman of Huguenot stock,
as also was Charles James Cannon (1800-1860), well-
MacCANN, (Canny) In Irish Mac Anna (son of known in New York in his day as an author. Another
Annadh) it has become, by the attraction of the C of writer of some distinction was the Franciscan friar Rev.
Mac, Mac Canna in Irish and MacCann in English (Fr Francis Cannon (d. 1850), a native of Co. Donegal.
John Ryan rejected this, the usually accepted derivation The site of the ancient castle of the O’Cannons was
of this name and argued that it is derived from cana, near Letterkenny which is said on good authority to
wolf-hound). The MacCanns were lords of Clanbrassil, denote the hillside of the O’Cannons, Kenny being used
a district of Co. Armagh on the southern shore of in that district as a synonym of Cannon.
Lough Neagh — a territory originally occupied by the It should be added that Cannon is not used as an
O’Graveys. One of these, Amhlaibh Mac Canna, who died abbreviated form of the well-know Connacht name
in 1155, is described by the Four Masters as “‘pillar of Concannon.
chivalry and vigour of Cinel Eoghain’’; the last to be
mentioned in their Annals was killed in 1260, after
which they do not appear prominently in the history of CAREY, O’Keary, (Carr) The O’Kearys, in Irish 0
the country. Donnell MacCanna was, however, still Ciardha, who in later times always used the anglicized
styled Chief of Clanbrassil as late as 1598 and the name form Carey, belonged to the southern Ui Neill and were
is still numerous in the vicinity of Lough Neagh, though lords of Carbury (Co. Kildare) until dispersed by the
uncommon elsewhere. The most noteworthy of the invasion of the Anglo-Normans. Carey, however, has also
name, in modern times, is Michael Joseph MacCann been used as the anglicized form of several other Gaelic
(1824-1883), author of the poem ‘‘O’Donnell Abu”. patronymics. Besides the now almost extinct surname
Patrick MacCanna, a native of Armagh, was the hero of MacFhiachra formerly both of Tyrone and Galway,
an unusual incident at the height of the Terror in the Carey is found as a synonym of Kerin i.e. O Céinin in
French Revolution — he not only defended the Irish Mayo and O Ciardin in Co. Cork. It is also used as the
College from the mob but won them from hostility to English form of Mac Giolla Céire which is sometimes
friendship toward Irishmen by his well chosen words — further corrupted to Carr in Co. Galway. Carr, however,
this MacCanna was a member of Wolfe Tone’s expedition when not of English origin, more often represents
to Ireland, and became a leading merchant in Boulogne. O Carra (Co. Galway) and Mac Giolla Chathair (Co.

52
Donegal). The name Carey, arising from these different though it may be mentioned that, curiously enough,
origins, is now numerous and widespread: it is found more the head of it has substantiated a claim to be descended
in the Munster counties of Cork, Kerry and Tipperary than from the O’Carrolls of Ely O’Carroll. That sept retained
elsewhere. The three brothers John Carey (1756-1826), its Gaelic way of life and its distinct independence until
classical scholar and inventor of the shipwreck rocket, the end of the sixteenth century, and its activities are
William Carey (1759-1839), and Matthew Carey (1760- frequently recorded throughout the Annals. They
1839), authors of note, were all born in Dublin, as was derive their name O Cearbhaill from Cearbhal, lord of
James Carey (1845-1883), the ‘Invincible’? who in- Ely, who was one of the leaders of the victorious army
formed on his comrades after the Phoenix Park murders at Clontarf (1014), and thus descend from King Oilioll
and was subsequently shot in reprisal. Olum. Before the advent of the powerful Norman
Butlers they possessed a very extensive territory in Co.
Tipperary, but they were later restricted to the district
O’CAROLAN, Carleton Two distinct septs whose around Birr, Co. Offaly.
surname is not identical in Irish are called O’Carolan Carroll has a high position in the list of most numer-
in English. As recognized septs these both disappear ous surnames in Ireland, taking twenty-second place
from history by the end of the thirteenth century, with an estimated population at the present time of
though individuals of the names continued to dwell approximately 16,000, the majority of whom belong
in their ancient territory long after that. O Caireallain to the four counties stretching from Cork to Kilkenny.
was chief of Clan Diarmada, whence comes the name Many noteworthy O’Carrolls figure in the “Annals of
of the parish of Clondermot in Co. Derry. O Caireallain the Four Masters”. Maolsuthain O’Carroll (d. 1031),
assumed the anglicized form of Carleton and Carlin as confessor of Brian Boru and contributor to the “Book
well as Carolan. The family of William Carleton (1794- of Armagh”, was of the Kerry sept; Margaret O’Carroll
1869), the novelist, is an example of this. The sept of (d. 1451), famous for hospitality, encouragement of
O Cearbhalldin was also of Ulster, being located chiefly learning, and as builder of churches, roads and bridges,
in Cavan and Monaghan, whence they crossed into the belonged to the Ely O’Carroll sept, as did Charles
north Leinster county of Meath. There was born Carroll (1737-1832), who is remembered as an Irish
Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), the celebrated bard. signatory of the American Declaration of Independence.
The mediaeval ecclesiastical records of the dioceses of It is with America rather than with the home country,
Raphoe and Derry contain the names of many priests that notable Carrolls have been associated during the
called O’Carolan, three of whom were bishops of Derry past two centuries: the Dictionary ofAmerican Biography
in the thirteenth century. Hugh O’Carolan, Bishop of includes four others closely related to the Carrollton
Clogher from 1535 to 1568, was one of the most dis- family, for so their place in Maryland was called (not
tinguished Catholic prelates in that stormy period. to be confused with Carrollton, a town in Georgia
U.S.A.), the most distinguished of them being Most Rev.
John Carroll (1735-1815), the first Catholic bishop in
U.S.A., and the first Archbishop of Baltimore. Rev.
(O)CARROLL, MacCARROLL, MacCarvill Prior to Anthony Carroll, S.J. (1722-1794) who was robbed and
the Gaelic resurgence, at the end of the last century, murdered in a London street, was a cousin of the Arch-
under the influence of the Gaelic League, and later of bishop. Three members of the Ely O’Carroll sept dis-
the Rising of 1916, a minor result of which was the tinguished themselves in the armies of James II and of
resumption of the prefixes O and Mac so widely dis- France. The best known of these was Brigadier Daniel
carded two or three centuries earlier, the simple form O’Carroll (d. 1712).
Carroll was almost universally used. As MacCarroll, an As we have seen there is a distinct sept of MacCarroll:
entirely distinct surname (a note on which appears at the Irish Mac Cearbhaill is now more usually anglicized
the end of the section) is also often shorn of its prefix as MacCarvill in Ulster where its medieval territory is
Mac, confusion may well arise in the case of the name indicated by the place name Ballymaccarroll. One of
Carroll. However, undoubtedly, the great majority of these, Donslevy MacCarroll (d. 1357), is described by
people called Carroll are, in fact, O’Carrolls. the Four Masters as “a noble master of music and
Before the Anglo-Norman invasion, there were six melody, the best of his time”; and another, Mulrory
distinct septs of O’Carroll, the two most important MacCarroll (d. 1328), was called Chief Ministrel of
of which were O’Carroll of Ely O’Carroll (Tipperary Ireland and Scotland: indeed the family was noted for
and Offaly) and O’Carroll of Oriel (Monagan and Louth). its musicians. James MacCarroll (1814-1892), who
The others disappeared, except as individuals, before the emigrated to U.S.A. at the age of 17, was a well-known
end cf the thirteenth century and need not be con- American poet, dramatist and inventor. A Bishop of
sidered here — O’Carroll of Oriel lost his status of chief Cork and three Archbishops of Cashel, in the thirteenth
and his sept disintegrated as a result of the Anglo- and fourteenth centuries, were MacCarrolls: it appears
Norman invasion (they cease to appear in the Annals that its members sometimes used the prefix Mac instead
after 1193), but the clansmen themselves were not dis- of O during that period: Fr Aubrey Gwynn, Proceedings
persed, and a fair number have remained in their terri- of the Royal Historical Society (Vol. X), referring to the
tory to this day. The very large and well-known tobacco four notable archbishops of Cashel named MacCarroll
firm, Carrolls of Dundalk, have their factory in this area, says that the evidence he has found suggests that they

53
did not belong to the sept of O’Carroll of Ely, as has South Munster (Desmond) by Eoghan. The families
been thought hitherto, but to a distinet sept of which descended from this Eoghan were known, before
MacCarroll, located in some parts of the territory covered the introduction of surnames, as the Eoghanacht, and
by the present counties of Carlow, Kilkenny or the the surnames MacCarthy (in Irish Mac Carthaigh) is
eastern part of Co. Tipperary. John O’Donovan, in his derived from Carthach, lord of the Eoghannacht, who,
notes to O’Heerin’s Topographical Poem makes it clear the Four Masters tell us, met his death in a house delib-
that there was a distinct O’Carroll sept whose chief was erately set on fire by one of the Lonergans in 1045.
lord of a territory extending from Kilkenny city north- The number of references to the MacCarthys in the
wards to the boundary of the present county of Leix. Annals, especially the ‘‘Annals of Innisfallen”, is very
The name Lewis Carroll, famous as the author of great. This Carthach was the son of Saorbreathach, a
Alice in Wonderland, is a nom de plume and has no Gaelic name which is anglicized as Justin, and in the
connexion with O*€arroll or MacCarroll. latter form has been in continuous use among various
Arms illustrated on Plate II. branches of MacCarthys for centuries. Another christian
name similarly associated with them is Finghin, anglice
Fineen, but for some centuries past, for some obscure
MacCARTAN, (Carton) The Irish surname MacArtain reason, Florence (colloquially Flurry) has been used as
became, in English, MacCartan, or sometimes Carton: the English form.
this is an example of an error often found with Mac From the thirteenth century, when Fineen MacCarthy
names beginning with a vowel where the letter C of Mac decisively defeated the Geraldines in 1261, down to the
was carried forward to form the initial of the name present day, Fineen or Florence MacCarthys and Justin
proper (cf., MacCann, MacCoy etc.). The name is derived MacCarthys have been very prominent among the many
from the common christian name Art, of which Artan distinguished men of the name in Irish military, political
is a diminutive. The earlier anglicized form was more and cultural history. Fineen (Florence) MacCarthy
correctly MacArtan. The MacArtans, or MacCartans, (1572-1640), Chief of the MacCarthy Reagh branch of
were a northern sept, tributary to the O’Neills and they the sept, after a term of service in the army of Queen
were chiefs of Kinelarty, a territory in Co. Down, Elizabeth, spent much of his time a prisoner in the
generally known as MacArtan’s Country. They appear Tower of London where, being a man of great erudition,
frequently in the Annals as such up to the end of the he wrote a history of ancient Ireland. Rev. Dr. Florence
fifteenth century: for a short time, about 1350, the MacCarthy (1761-1810), V.G. of Cork, and Denis
chief of Kinelarty was also lord of Iveagh, otherwise Florence MacCarthy (1817-1882), poet, were others of
known as MacGennis’s country — normally they were note. Justin MacCarthy (d. 1694), created Earl of
subordinate to the MacGennises. Carew mentions the Mountcashell by James II, commander of a regiment
MacArtans as still powerful in 1599. in that King’s army in Ireland and, subsequently, of the
Counties Down and Armagh are the main places Irish Brigade in France; Justin Count MacCarthy (1744-
where MacCartans are found to-day. Cartons, how- 1812), famous book-collector in France where he was
ever, belong chiefly to Dublin and Wexford; but most enobled by Louis XVI; Justin MacCarthy (1830-1912),
of these are not, in fact, MacCartans, whose families novelist, historian and politician, and his son, Justin
dropped the Mac — the well known Carton family of Huntley MacCarthy (1861-1936), also a writer of note,
Dublin for instance, is of Huguenot origin. A branch are a few of the many men christened Justin. Cormac
of the sept migrated from Co. Down to Co. Cork in the (or Charles) is another christian name common among
sixteenth century, but there the name became absorbed MacCarthys, especially in the Muskerry branch. One,
in MacCurtin: Father Conor Curtin, an eighteenth who died in 1640, was created Viscount Muskerry; his
century Gaelic poet of Co. Cork, is believed to have been father, also Cormac MacCarthy (d. 1616) served under
in fact a MacCartan not a MacCurtin. Carew at Kinsale; another Cormac MacCarthy (d. 1536),
Arms illustrated on Plate LIT. known as lord of Muskerry, grandfather of the last
named, a soldier of note, was in his day favourable to
the English interest. In modern times a Charles Mac-
MacCARTHY No other Irish Mac name approaches Carthy (1873-1921), was noteworthy as an American
MacCarthy in numerical strength. The abbreviated form political scientist: he was the son of a Fenian emigrant.
Carthy is fairly common, but MacCarthy is a name When we remember, moreover, that in 1172 the Mac-
which has very generally retained the prefix. It is among Carthy Mor of the day did homage to Henry II, and
the dozen commonest names in Ireland as a whole, due another MacCarthy Mor accepted the earldom of Glencar
to the very large numbers of MacCarthys in Co. Cork from Queen Elizabeth, it would appear that the leading
which accounts for some sixty per cent of them. Charles men of the various branches of the sept have little claim
O’Conor describes the sept as “the most eminent by far to be regarded as Irish heroes, though in this connexion
of the noble families of the south”. it must not be forgotten that the modern conception
The name from the earliest times has been associated of nationality and nationalism was non-existent until
with south Munster or Desmond. The third century the end of the seventeenth century. On the other hand
King of Munster, Oilioll Olum, had two sons Eoghan and Viscount Muskerry was a member of the Supreme
Cormac Cas. At his death North Munster (Thomond) Council of Confederate Catholics in 1646, and Mac-
was inherited by the latter (whence the Dalcassians), and Carthy Reagh with two others of the name was also

54
in the Commons of that body; Muskerry, indeed, was as well as John Keegan Casey, are included in
expressly exempted from pardon by the Cromwellian O’Donoghue’s Poets of Ireland.
authority in 1652. Lady Eleanor MacCarthy, too, has In addition to the O’Caseys dealt with above there
an honoured place in Irish history for her protection was also a sept of MacCasey, located at Oriel: few sur-
of Garrett Fitzgerald after the murder of his five uncles vivors of this are to be found to-day, but in the mediaeval
by Henry VIII in 1537. period it was numerous in Co. Monaghan and three
Passing reference has been made above to different bishops named MacCasey occupied the see of Clogher
branches of the MacCarthy sept. MacCarthy Mor was in the fourteenth century.
located at Kerry and the direct line was thought to be Arms illustrated on Plate III.
extinct.(On the death of the last of the senior line in
1773 the MacCarthy Mor estates passed to the family
of his maternal grandfather, Herbert de Kilcow. Their (O)CASSIDY The O’Cassidys belong to Fermanagh;
beautiful Muckross estate, near Killarney, is now the this, and the borders of adjacent counties, is their prin-
property of the nation, through the Bourne-Vincent cipal homeland to-day and it is there their sept origin-
Trust. The style MacCarthy Mor, used in France by a ated. It provided hereditary physicians to the great
cousin, has long disappeared. Search for nearly 120 Maguire sept and numerous O’Cassidys are recorded as
years for the descendants of an earlier MacCarthy ollavs and physicians to the Maguires between 1300 and
Mor has in 1957, at last been successful and one junior 1600 A.D. The name first appears in the field of liter-
branch has been traced to Montreal). MacCarthy Reagh ature in the person of Giolla Moduda O’Cassidy (d.
was of Carbery in West Cork; while the Muskerry branch 1143), whose Gaelic poetry is still preserved. One of the
were in the barony of Muskerry in that county: the O’Cassidys, Rory, Archdeacon of Clogher, is said to have
famous Blarney Castle was the chief’s principal residence. assisted Cathal Maguire in the compilation of the fif-
There were also minor branches known as Glas etc. teenth century “Annals of Ulster”. Equally deserving of
The name Carty is not as a rule an abbreviation of literary renown is Thomas Cassidy (fl. 1740), expelled
MacCarthy, but is more often the appellation of the Augustinian friar and subsequently soldier of fortune
small and scattered sept of O’Carty. and itinerant, whose racy autobiography has been
Arms illustrated on Plate III. likened to the work of Rabelais. He and others of the
sept were sometimes called MacCassidy as well as
O’Cassidy.
(O)CASEY, (MacCasey) There were originally at least After the plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth
six distinct and unrelated septs of O Cathasaigh: the century the O’Cassidys, like nearly all the leading Gaelic
most important of these in early times were respectively septs of that province, sank into obscurity. We find
lords of the Suaithni (whose territory comprised the them only in such records as the presentments relating
modern barony of Balrothery West, Co. Dublin) and to priests under the Penal Code, chiefly in counties
erenaghs of Devenish, Co. Fermanagh; both these, Fermanagh and Monaghan. Many, of course, emigrated:
however, have long been dispersed though the name is the grandson of one of these was William Cassidy (1815-
not uncommon in the former of these places. It is 1873), Catholic politician in the United States and
chiefly found now in the south-west of Munster, and lifelong enemy of Great Britain.
also, in smaller numbers, in north Connacht. These two Arms illustrated on Plate IV.
areas correspond with the locations of four of the septs
mentioned above: one of these was Dalcassian and was
seated at Liscannon near Bruff in Co. Limerick, and (Mac)CLANCY, Glanchy Clancy is a Mac name: the
another near Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, while the third initial C of Clancy is in fact the last letter of the prefix
and fourth were in Tirawley, Co. Mayo, where they were Mac. In Irish it is Mac Fhlannchaidh, (son of Flannchadh,
erenaghs of Kilarduff, and in Co. Roscommon where flann meaning reddish). The aspirated F is silent. In
they were erenaghs of Clondara in the barony of recent years some Clancys have resumed the prefix and
Athlone. become once more MacClancy. The alternative form
The interesting archaeological remains called “‘Casey’s Glanchy was often used in the seventeenth century and
Lios” at Ballygunnermore indicate the residence of is still occasionally found.
Caseys near Waterford. The so-called census of 1659 There are two septs of the name. The more impor-
indicates that the name was then quite numerous in that tant is that of Thomond: they are a branch of the
county, but mainly in the south-western corner of it; Macnamaras of Co. Clare and were hereditary brehons
from the same source we learn that the O’Caseys or, as to the O’Briens. They became established in north Clare,
they were then usually called, the O’Cahassys were, at some distance from the main Macnamara country. The
that time, principally found in Co. Limerick and adjacent place name Cahermacclancy locates the area. They are
areas. The best known people of the name are Admiral still more numerous in Co. Clare and in the adjoining
Joseph Gregory O’Casey (1787-1862), of a Co. Limerick counties of Galway and Tipperary than elsewhere. The
family, Minister of Marine in the Government of France, only other county in which they are found in con-
John Keegan Casey (1846-1870), poet and Fenian, and siderable numbers to-day in Leitrim; and this is, as might
Sean O’Casey (b. 1884), Dublin labourer and famous be expected, since the second MacClancy sept belongs
playwright. Five minor poets of the nineteenth century, to that locality, the head of the family having been

55
Chief of Dartry or Rosclogher. Up to the time of the to Co. Kilkenny, is still to be found in considerable
final collapse of the Gaelic order the MacClancys were numbers if not actually in Co. Kilkenny, in the adjacent
very influential in Co. Clare. Boetius Clancy (Boetius counties of Tipperary and Waterford. Clery and Cleary
was a common christian name in that family) represented are also found as variants of Clerkin (O Cleirchin) a sept
Clare in the Parliament of 1585. One of the last of the located in the barony of Coshma, Co. Limerick.
hereditary brehons is said to have saved Murrough Clarke, with an estimated population of over 14,000
O’Brien (the then O’Brien chief) from the fury of his persons comes as high as thirty-second in the list of the
formerly devoted clansmen when he returned to Clare hundred commonest surnames in Ireland (this of course
after accepting a peerage from Henry VIII in 1543. includes all persons of the name whether their origin be
Boetius Glancy (sic) was one of the “nobility of the Irish or English). Clery (including Cleary, O’Clery and
diocese of Killaloe’ who sent a memorial to Cardinal O’Cleary) musters some 5,000 persons.
Veralto, the Protector of Ireland, in 1624. After the The O’Clerys of the seventeenth century who left
second siege of Limerick, in the defence of which their mark on the literary history of Ireland are too
city several Clancy’s took part, many of them took numerous to mention individually. The most famous
service abroad as Wild Geese and distinguished them- were Michael, his brother Conary and their cousin
selves in the Irish Brigades. One settled at Nantes in Cucoigchriche (sons of Lughaigh O’Clery the chieftain
France where he founded bursarships for the education and historian), who with Fearfasa O’Mulconry compiled
of priests. One who did not leave Limerick, though he the “Annals of the Four Masters” which was finished in
married a Protestant lady of an influential family, re- 1636. A modern historian of the name was Arthur
mained a staunch Catholic and his wife became one — Patrick O’Clery (1841-1915), a Limerick man. Of the
a rare event for a Protestant in the height of the Penal many distinguished Irish Clarkes we may mention Rev.
Laws period. John Clarke, S.J. (1662-1723), born at Kilkenny, the
Peadar Clancy was one of the three prisoners (Dick missionary to Irish and Scots soldiers in the Low
McKee and Conor Clune were the others) who were Countries; Dr. Joseph Clarke (1758-1834), the Derryman
murdered by British Auxiliaries in Dublin Castle, after who did so much for the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin; and
“Bloody Sunday” in November, 1920. in our own time Thomas Clarke (1857-1916), first
Arms illustrated on Plate IV. signatory to the republican proclamation in 1916 who
was executed after the Easter Week Rising. Two sisters,
Julie Cleary and Desirée Cleary (1781-1860), daughters
(O)CLERY, Clarke, (MacCleary, Clerkin) Clery, often of an Irish merchant in Marseilles, became respectively
spelt Cleary, is one of the Gaelic Irish surnames which Queens of Spain and Sweden under Napoleon.
has kept the prefix O to some extent in modern times. There is another Gaelic surname which has become
O’Clery is O Cleirigh in Irish probably derived from the Clery in English in some places, though more usually
word cléireach meaning a clerk or cleric. The name MacCleary or MacAlary. This is MacGiolla Arraith, a
itself means descendant of Cleireach, who was of the line branch of the O’Haras, who went with them to Co.
of the famous Guaire the Hospitable, King of Connacht. Antrim and became established there.
Cleireach was born about the year 820 A.D. some two For O’Clery pedigrees see The Tribes and Customs of
centuries before hereditary names began to be generally Hy Fiachrach, Appendix C.
used. That of O’Clery, however, was one of the earliest Arms illustrated on Plate IV.
recorded surnames: it dates from the middle of the tenth
century. The O’Clerys were the chief family in that part
of the present Co. Galway which is covered by the (O)COFFEY, Cowhig In Irish this name is O Cobh-
diocese of Kilmacduagh, but their influence gradually thaigh, pronounced O’Coffey asin English: it is probably
declined and by the middle of the thirteenth century derived from the word cobhthach, meaning victorious.
they had been driven out of their original territory and Coffey is one of those surnames which have not resumed
settled elsewhere. By far the most important of these the prefix O, dropped during the period of Gaelic sub-
branches was that which domiciled in Counties Donegal mergence. Several distinct septs were prominent in
and Derry: many of its members distinguished themselves mediaeval times, of which two are still well represented
as poets and antiquarians there. Since the Plantation of in their original homeland. These are O’Coffey of Cor-
Ulster in the seventeenth century, and the consequent calaoidhe in south-west Co. Cork, where local pro-
anglicization of what was formerly the most Irish of the nunciation often makes the name Cowhig or Cowhey,
Four Provinces, the common English surname Clarke as in the place name Dunocowhey, called afted them.
has been very widely substituted for O’Clery there, and This sept is of the same stock as the O’Driscolls. A
also indeed elsewhere in Ireland. Without a reliable pedi- second minor sept was a branch of the O’Maddens of Ui
gree or at least a strong family tradition it is therefore Maine, whose descendants are found to-day in Co. Ros-
impossible to say whether an Irish Clarke is an O’Clery common. A third, once of considerable importance but
in disguise or the descendant of an English settler; but it now scattered, belonged to Co. Westmeath where they
is probable that most of our Clarkes are in fact O’Clerys. were famous as a bardic family. The most distinguished
The branch which settled in Co. Cavan has almost dis- of these was Dermot O’Coffey (fl. 1580), the Gaelic
appeared (at least as Clery, though Clarke is fairly poet. Six other poets of this family are represented in
common to-day in Co. Cavan), but the third, which went Gaelic literature. In more recent times the Leinster

56
Coffeys are represented by Charles Coffey (1700-1745), beginning of the nineteenth century. Another notable
dramatist and actor, the first to introduce Irish airs in missionary prelate was Most Rev. Joseph Colgan (1824-
a play. George Coffey (1857-1916), the archaeologist, 1911), Archbishop of Madras. He came from Westmeath,
though his family has long associations with Dublin, not far from the ancient seat of the chiefs of his sept,
was descended from the Munster sept. The placename which was Kilcolgan in Offaly. This sept was of the same
Rathcoffey occurs both in Co. Kildare and Co. Leix. stock as the O’Dempseys and the O’Dunnes of Leix and
Arms illustrated on Plate IV. Offaly.
The name is not common in Ireland to-day: it is
found chiefly in Offaly and also to some extent in
(Mac)COGHLAN, O’COUGHLAN, (Cohalan) There northern Ulster. Arms illustrated on Plate IV.
are two quite distinct septs of Coughlan, one being
MacCoughlan (MacCochlain) of Offaly and the other
O’Coughlan (O Cochldin) of Co. Cork — who were O’COLMAN, Coleman, (Clifford) Though families
not the same, it should be observed, as O Cathaldin called Coleman are known to have settled in Ireland as
(anglice Cohalan and Culhane) also of that county. early as the thirteenth century, having come from
Down to the eighteenth century the former were far the England, where the name is numerous, Coleman in
more important of the two, but since then they have Ireland almost always denotes a Gaelic origin. The sept
dwindled and become dispersed. MacCoughlan country of O Colmdin a branch of the Ui Fiachrach, was located
comprised the modern barony of Garrycastle, Co. Offaly, in the barony of Tireragh, Co. Sligo, and representatives
where they had many strong castles in the Banagher- of it are still living in north Connacht. Colemans, how-
Clonmacnois area: no less than ten of these are men- ever, are more numerous in Co. Cork. These are of a sept
tioned in the sixteenth century by the Four Masters. called O Clumhdin in Irish which, like the foregoing,
The head of the sept, which was by origin Dalcassian, originated in Co. Sligo. The branch of it which migrated
was known as Chief of Delvin MacCoughlan (to be to Munster became numerically strong. Indeed they are
distinguished from Delvin or Delvin Mor in Co. West- even more numerous than would appear from statistics
meath). Sir John MacCoughlan, so styled, died in 1590. at first sight, becauseOClimhdin has also been anglicized
They are prominent in the Annals from the twelfth Clifford and there are many Cliffords in Kerry and Cork.
century; and even after the destruction of the Gaelic Clifford, like Coleman, is a well known indigenous
order the family remained influential in their native surname in England, but only a small proportion of
territory for nearly two centuries. A MacCoughlan rep- Irish Cliffords are of English origin.
resented Banagher in the Irish Parliament of 1689 and
another held the same seat in 1790. In 1665 two Mac-
Coughlans possessed 3,400 acres in Co. Offaly. In 1828 O’CONCANNON’ The name Concannon is rarely
they were still found as landlords at Cloghan, near found outside the territory in which it originated. All the
Banagher; but fifty years later they were no longer there. 21 births registered for the name in the last available
The Coughlans of Co. Cork belonged to the baronies statistical return took place in Co. Galway or in con-
of Carbery and Ballymore where, as they are to-day, tiguous areas of adjacent counties. O’Concannon, in Irish
they were numerous at the time of Petty’s census. Even O Concheanainn, is a sept of the Hy Many (Ui Maine),
then the prefix O had in their case already been almost descended from Cuceannan who was killed in 991 (Fr.
entirely lost. Arms illustrated on Plate IV. John Ryan, however, says they are a branch of the Ui
Briuin). From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries
their chiefs are described in the Annals as lords of Ui
MacCOLGAN In early mediaeval times the prefix O Diarmada (i.e. Kilkerrin, Co. Galway), and a century
was found with Colgan as well as Mac. O’Dugan, who later the “Composition Book of Connacht” (1585)
died in 1372, mentions O’Colgan as lord of a territory in records the Chief of the Name as still resident in their
the modern barony of Tirkeeran, Co. Derry. This was old seat at Kultullagh in the parish of Kilkerrin or Cor-
the homeland of one of the two distinct septs of Colgan. camoe. An interesting fourteenth century monumental
Later, when somewhat reduced in influence, they were slab to one Maurice O’Concannon can be seen in Knock-
erenaghs of Donaghmore in Inishowen. In the course of moy Abbey, Co. Galway. It will be observed from the
time these O’Colgans became MacColgans, influenced no number of births registered in one year, indicated above,
doubt by the fact that the more important sept, located that the sept has dwindled to comparatively small pro-
in Offaly was MacColgan. There is a reference to these portions in modern times. The head of the family in
in the Four Masters as early as 1212. Rev. John Colgan 1848 still retained some of the ancestral property in
(d. 1658), Franciscan friar, professor of theology at the parish of Kilkerrin, Co. Galway, but this estate
Louvain and author of Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae etc., does not appear in the list of landowners of 500 acres
was of the Tirkeeran (Derry) O’Colgan sept, but his and over in 1878. Arms illustrated on Plate IV.
relative a hundred years later, who was Bishop of Derry
and suffered severely in the penal times, was known as
John MacColgan (d. 1765). MacColgan, as we know CONDON The north-eastern division of Co. Cork,
from tombstones and other records, was the usual form close to the adjoining counties of Limerick and Tipp-
of the name in Counties Derry and Donegal up to the erary, is called the barony of Condons. This was named

57
after the family of Condon which was in possession of accounts for less than 20 per cent of the total. The
much of that area, their principal stronghold being the great majority of the O’Connells came from south-
Castle of Cloghleagh near Kilworth, which however west Munster. This is as might be expected for the
actually lies outside the boundary of the said barony. O’Connells are by origin a Kerry sept.
They may indeed be described as a sept rather than as a Traditionally the genealogy is traced back to the
family. They are not, it is true, of native Gaelic stock, Eremonian Aengus Tuirmeach who was said to have
having come to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman been the High King of Ireland about 180 B.C. Coming
invasion, but they always counted themselves as a sept, to historical times we find an O’Connell chief of
and as late as 1605, we find David Condon, in a letter to Magunihy in East Kerry. The name is spelt O Conghail
the Secretary of State, describing himself as “Chief of in O’Heerin’s continuation of the ““Topographical Poem”.
his Sept”. Nevertheless, though often fighting side by In the eleventh century pressure by the powerful O’Don-
side with the Mc€arthys and other native septs, they did oghues pushed them towards the Atlantic coast, and
not become thoroughly gaelicized like many of the they became hereditary castellans of Ballycarbery under
Norman families, but were proud of their English the MacCarthy Mor chiefs. Nearby is the romantically
descent, and this claim stood them in good stead at least situated Derrynane, home of Daniel O’Connell, now
up to the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1641, preserved for the nation by private subscription, though
however, they were as Irish as any. No less than 21 not officially a national monument. The disasters of
Condons were attainted at that time and several more the seventeenth century submerged them for a time —
suffered for their adhesion to James II in 1690. It was it was under the Cromwellian settlement that the head
during this period that the Gaelic poet David Condon of the sept was transplanted to Co. Clare, where a
lived. Historical and religious causes and intermarriage branch has remained since as a Catholic landed family.
with Gaelic Irish families have, of course, now made the The barony of Magunihy, in which Killarney is situated,
Condons completely Irish. One of them was a well- is still the homeland of the leading family of O’Connell
known Fenian, Edward O’Meagher Condon (1835-1915), to-day, the present representative of which is Sir Morgan
an emigrant who had become an American citizen — a O’Connell, Bart.
fact which saved him from the gallows, as he was con- Unless we cite the Capuchin Father Robert O’Connell
demned to death in 1867 for his part in the Manchester (c. 1621-1678), the first O'Connell to become a figure of
raid. He was from Co. Cork. That county and south national importance was Daniel Count O’Connell (1743-
Tipperary are, as might be expected, the homeland of 1833), “the last colonel of the Irish Brigade”, as his
the great majority of Condons to-day. biographer, Mrs. M. J. O’Connell, calls him. His kinsman
There was formerly an Ulster family called O Con- and contemporary, Baron Moritz (or Murty) O’Connell
dubhain whose name was anglicized Condon, but this (1738-1830), was another Kerry exile who, as well as
is now Very rare if not extinct. being chamberlainto three emperors, served with military
Arms illustrated on Plate IV. distinction on the continent. The famous Daniel
O’Connell (1775-1847), “the Liberator”, needs no des-
cription. His uncle, Maurice O’Connell (1727-1825),
O’CONNELL, (Gunning) Though in early mediaeval squire, patriarch, autocrat and smuggler, was a cele-
times there were undoubtedly several distinct and un- brated character known as “Hunting Cap”, but Daniel’s
related septs of O’Connell, those of Ulster and Connacht three sons, though also public men, were not of the
are seldom heard of even as late as the fourteenth same calibre as their father. An earlier member of this
century. O’Dugan (d. 1372) in the ““Topographic Poems” family, who should not be forgotten, was the Friar John
mentions O Conaill as a family of Oirghiall and another, O’Connell who about the year 1700 composed the
again, as of Ui Maine. The name does not appear in the historical poem “Tuireadh na hEireann”. One O’Connell
Four Masters after 1117 when the death of Cathasach O from Co. Clare merits a place in the national roll of
Conaill, “noble Bishop of Connacht”, is recorded. honour, Peter O’Connell (1775-1826) — described by
Another of the name, Bishop of Thomond (Killaloe) Prof. T. F. O’Rahilly as “the best Irish scholar in the
is mentioned in the “Annals of Innisfallen” under date Ireland of a century ago”.
927 A.D.; but if this be a true surname it is one of the The remarkably thorough genealogical researches of
earliest examples. The ‘‘Annals of Connacht” have no Mr. Basil O’Connell, much of which has been printed,
reference to the name. will be found of great value to anyone desiring detailed
These septs can, in fact, be regarded as extinct and we information about the O’Connells of Kerry and allied
may confine our attention to the one sept of O’Connell families during the past three centuries.
which has not only become numerous but has also, It should be observed that Castle O’Connell, the town
during the past two centuries, produced many out- near Limerick, is a misnomer since it takes its name not
standing Irishmen. from the O’Connells but from the Dalcassian family of
As regards numerical strength O’Connell and Connell, O Connaing (now anglicized Gunning).
taken together, are listed by Matheson as among the Arms illustrated on Plate IV.
25 commonest surnames in Ireland: sixty years ago
Connells outnumbered O’Connells by two to one; since
then the resumption of the prefix has been so wide- (O)CONNELLAN, Conlan, Conlon Conlon, Conlan
spread in this case that Connell without the O to-day and Connellan are all synonyms (readers outside Ireland

58
who might tend to stress the second syllable — ell — of late as 1591 Tirlogh O Connola is recorded in the Fiants
Connellan may need to be told that in fact it is barely relating to Co. Monaghan as Chief of the Name and late
audible, Connellan and Conlan being pronounced almost vice-marshal to MacMahon. The Munster Connollys were
alike). Several different Irish surnames have been so established in West Cork where they were subject to the
anglicized. The principal septs so called in English are paramount O’Donovans of that area. At the present time
O Conall4in of Roscommon and Galway and O Coin- the name is most numerous in each of the aforesaid
ghiollain of Co. Sligo: their present day representatives places, viz. Counties Galway, Monaghan and Cork, while
are chiefly found in north Connacht — in Counties it is still found in and around County Meath.
Mayo and Sligo. The name is also fairly numerous in Fr. P. O’Gallachair, who is an authority on Clogher
Co. Meath and the midlands, where however they are history and families, has commented on the fact that I
also called Quinlan — O Coindealbhdin in Irish: they did not mention the O’Connolly sept of Devenish in
descend from an important sept seated near Trim which the Ist ed. the omission was due to my belief that
traces back to Laoghaire, King of Ireland in the time of they were now extinct and that the Connollys of the
St. Patrick, but was dispossessed at the Anglo-Irish in- diocese of Clogher are all of the Farney stock. The
vasion. In Munster O Coindealbhdin, usually anglicized reader specially interested in the Connollys of Co. Mon-
Quinlevan, is sometimes called Conlon. (For Quinlan aghan and adjoining areas is recommended to read Fr.
and Quinlevan see below). O’Gallachair’s notes on the subject in the Clogher
In the seventeenth century the name was very numer- Record (II. i. pp. 172-189, 1957).
ous and widespread. In Petty’s census (1659) it appears, The foremost Munster Connolly was William
under seven different spellings, as one of the commoner Conolly (c. 1660-1729), “squire”, Speaker of the House
names in Counties Roscommon, Sligo, Longford, West- of Commons and reputedly the richest man in Ireland,
meath, Offaly, Kildare and Louth. whose seat was Castletown, Co. Kildare; his relative
The spelling Connellan is infrequent in modern times, Thomas Conolly (1738-1803), was another politician
compared with Conlan and Conlon, only about ten per of note. Most Rev. John Connolly (1750-1825),
cent. using that form; but so far as distinguished men notable Dominican Archbishop of New York, was
of the name are concerned Connellans are outstanding. also of a Meath family. James Connolly (1868-1916),
“The Book of the O’Connellans”, a mediaeval work in labour leader, signatory of the Irish Declaration of Inde-
Irish, deals with Tirconnell genealogies. Abraham pendence, wounded in the Rising and executed while
O’Connellan was Archbishop of Armagh from 1247 to still unable to stand, is usually stated to have been born
1260 and Thomas O’Connellan, Bishop of Achonry at Clones, Co. Monaghan in 1870. It has however
from 1492 to 1508. Thomas O’Connellan (c. 1620- recently been discovered that he was born in Edinburgh
1685), was a composer of Irish airs and noted harper, of Irish parents on June 5, 1868. Another who left his
as was his brother Laurence, who was well known in mark on the course of Irish history, though in a different
Scotland as a wandering harper after 1700. Owen Conn- sense, was Owen O’Connolly, a Monaghan man, whose
ellan (1800-1869), another north Connacht man, was an betrayal of the plans for the 1641 Rising did irreparable
eminent Gaelic scholar; and Joseph Connellan, National- harm. A number of exiles have kept the name in the
alist Six-County M.P. was one of the active pioneers of forefront both in America and France: William Connolly
Sinn Fein and the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ulster. one of the noblesse of Bordeaux at the time of the
The well known war-cry “Conlan abu” was not conn- French Revolution while in the United States, besides
ected with any of these septs: it was used by the the archbishop referred to above, Henry Connolly
O’Mores of Leix. (1800-1866) was a famous pioneer; Pierce Francis
Connolly (b. 1841) was a sculptor of note; his mother,
Mrs. Cornelia Connelly (1809-1879), was foundress of
(O)CONNOLLY Owing to the lack of precision fre- the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (she and her
quently found in the anglicization of Gaelic surnames husband, Pierce Connolly, were converts, the latter be-
due to the fact that their English forms were often coming a priest but later apostasizing: his subsequent
determined by the phonetic attempts of lawyers and conduct shed no lustre on the name).
others in the seventeenth century who were unfamiliar The arms illustrated in Plate V belong to the family
with the Irish language, the name Connolly has been of Co. Kildare and must not be regarded as traditional
much confused with Conneely and Killealy (q.v.). The sept arms. Arms illustrated on Plate V.
people now called Connolly mostly derive their descent
from three Gaelic septs. These were O Conghalaigh or
O Conghaile of Connacht and of Monaghan, and O O’CONNOR O’Connor or O’Conor, is perhaps the
Coingheallaigh of Munster, for which Mac Coingheallaigh most illustrious of all Irish surnames, though this view
was previously an alias; the other Connacht sept was of would, no doubt, be disputed by the O’Neills, the
the Ui Maine and the same stock as the O’Maddens. O’Briens, the O’Donnells and one or two other great
That associated with Co. Monaghan was in early times and famous septs. It is borne by six distinct septs located
the most important, being one of the “four tribes of in different parts of the country of whom four survive
Tara” and a branch of the southern Ui Néill, but it was in considerable numbers. The most important are the
forced out of its original territory by the Anglo-Norman O’Connors of Connacht — the main branches of this
invasion and driven northwards to Co. Monaghan. As sept being O’Conor Don, O’Conor Roe and O’Conor

59
Sligo. These are descended from Conchobhar, King of the name in Ireland to-day — it comes ninth in the list
Connacht (d. 971), and the last two High-Kings of of commonest surnames and the vast majority of these
Ireland were of this line, viz., Turlough O’Connor (1088- are from Kerry or from the adjoining counties of Cork
1156) and Roderick O’Connor (1116-1198), both of and Limerick.
whom were progressive monarchs. Their direct descend- The O’Connors of Corcomroe, a barony in north
ant, as certified by the Genealogical Office, Dublin Clare on the shores of the Atlantic, are still extant. The
Castle, is the present O’Conor Don: Denis O’Conor, eponymous ancestor in this case was Conchobhar, lord
and it is interesting to note that this important and aris- of Corcomroe (d. 1002).
tocratic family consistently maintained its position not- The fourth of the surviving septs was O’Connor of
withstanding the fact that they remained inflexibly Offaly. O’Connor Faly, as the chief was called, was of
Catholic. Evidence of this is abundant in all the six- royal descent, his ancestor being Cathaoir Mor, King
teenth, seventeerith and eighteenth century manuscripts. of Ireland in the second century. The eponymous
In dealing with the landed proprietors of Connacht, Conchobhar in this case was much later than Cathaoir
among the most distinguished members of the O’Conor and belongs to historical times as he died in 979. This
Don stock four O’Conors of Belnagare are outstanding sept was constantly engaged in war with the invader
in the field of culture: Charles O’Conor (1710-1791), until the middle of the sixteenth century when they
antiquary and collector of Irish manuscripts; his two were vanquished and dispossed of most of their estates.
grandsons, Rev. Charles O’Conor, D.D., P.P. (1764- They were still in Offaly in 1689, as Col. John O’Connor
1828), librarian at Stowe and author, inter alia, of was member for Philipstown in King James II’s Parlia-
Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres, and Mathew ment and they were represented by the family of
O’Conor (1773-1844), author of History of the Irish O’Connor-Morris of the same county until quite recently.
Catholics etc; and Charles Owen O’Conor, O’Conor Don It should be added that there was also a powerful
(1838-1906), President of the Royal Irish Academy and sept of O’Connor in Keenaght (Derry), which in the
of the Society for Preserving the Irish Language and twelfth century was overpowered by the O’Kanes. They
author of The O’Conors of Connacht. In the military are mentioned here because, though as a sept they were
sphere Cabrach O’Conor (1584-1655) and Hugh eliminated, families of O’Connor are still found in that
O’Conor (d. 1669), respectively son and grandson of part of Ulster and it may be assumed that they are
O’Conor Don, took a prominent part in the 1641-1652 descended from the once famous O’Connors of Glen-
wars. Three of this sept were outstanding in the Irish given who were of royal blood, their ancestor being
Brigade. More recently, one of the Roe branch, General Cian, son of Oilioll Olum, King of Munster in the third
Sir Luke O’Connor (1832-1915), who had enlisted as a century.
private soldier in the British army, won the V.C. and a The history of the O’Connors, particularly, those
commission for his remarkable bravery at the battle of of Connacht, forms the subject of a number of books
Alma. which can be consulted for detailed information con-
O’Connor Kerry, as the chief of the Munster cerning these important septs.
O’Connors was called, derives his name from a different Arms illustrated on Plate V.
Conchobhar. He was lord of an extensive area in north
Kerry, but after the invasion of 1170 Anglo-Norman
pressure pushed the O’Connors northwards towards the O’CONRY, CONROY, O’Mulconry, (King) Though
Shannon estuary. However, they still retained a con- the surnames Conry and Conroy are, properly speaking,
siderable territory, in fact the greater part of the modern quite distinct, they are dealt with together here because
barony of Iraghticonor, which is an attempt at a in modern times they have become almost inter-
phonetic spelling of Oireacht ui Chonchobhair, i.e. changeable. To illustrate this we may refer to the list of
O’Connor’s district of government: their chief strong- synonyms issued by the Registrar-General of Births,
hold in Iraghticonor. was Carrigafoyle Castle. From this Deaths and Marriages in the year 1901. At that com-
sept came a number of distinguished officers of the paratively recent date births in families usually called
Irish Brigade in France, the best known of whom was Conroy were also registered as Conary, Conrahy, Conree,
Arthur O’Connor (1763-1852), United Irishman and Cunree, Cory, King and also Munconry and Conry; the
later a general in Napoleon’s army; his brother Roger synonyms for Conry were Connery, Mulconry and
O’Connor (1761-1834), an erratic character who was Conroy. All that can be done to elucidate the resultant
also a member of the United Irishmen, and the latter’s confusion is to give a brief account of the background
son, Fergus O’Connor (1794-1855), the chartist. Some of the several Gaelic surnames which have assumed
of this family changed their name to Conner. The three the various anglicized forms given above.
most notable Irish-American O’Connors were of this The most important of these is O Maolconaire, i.e.
sept: the brothers Michael O’Connor (1810-1872), and descendant of the follower of Conaire, from which
James O’Connor (1823-1890), both Catholic bishops O’Mulconry and its abbreviation, Conry, naturally
in U.S.A., and Patrick Edward O’Connor (1820-1871), derive, though, as we have seen, Conroy is also used by
pioneer, Indian fighter and soldier in the Civil War on modern descendants of this sept. However, it should be
the Confederate side. The O’Connor sept of Kerry is at stated that in the homeland of the O Maolconaire sept,
the present day much the most numerous of them all. whose patrimony was the parish of Clooncraff in the
It is estimated that there are almost 30,000 persons of neighbourhood of Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, they

60
are usually called Conry not Conroy. The O’Mulconrys in Co. Westmeath up to the end of the sixteenth century.
were hereditary poets and chroniclers to the Kings of Statistics of the modern distribution of population
Connacht, and many such are recorded in the “Annals indicate that Conrys are found in considerable numbers
of Connacht”, the “Annals of the Four Masters” etc., in Leix and Offaly, as well as in Connacht. This might
the most notable of whom were Fearfasa O’Mulconry, well be expected because, in addition to the septs
who was himself one of the Four Masters (whose work referred to above, there was also a not unimportant
was completed 1636), and Maurice O’Mulconry whose sept called O Conratha, alias Mac Conratha, of the same
copy of the “Book of Fenagh”, made in 1517, is an stock as the MacCoughlans of Offaly. Their arms are
exceptionally beautiful manuscript. Most Rev. Florence quite different from those of O’Mulconry as can be
Conry (1561-1629), Archbishop of Tuam, was also of seen by reference to Plate V.
this sept. His name is so spelt in the Franciscan records, Arms illustrated on Plate V.
but in some other contemporary documents he appears
as Conroy, and also as O’Maolconaire. This most dis-
tinguished Franciscan was associated with the founda- (Mac)CONSIDINE _ The prefix Mac is never used with
tion of the Irish College at Louvain, and wrote many this name nowadays, but MacConsidine is found in old
important works including a theological treatise in Irish. documents in English. In Irish it is Mac Consaidin, an
He was chaplain in the Spanish Armada and to Hugh example of a Gaelic surname formed from a foreign
O’Donnell at his death. Charles O’Mulconry (son of John christian name: it denotes son of Constantine. As a
O’Mulconry, who fought in the Cromwellian war and lost surname Considine is of comparatively late introduction.
his estate in Co. Roscommon) was an ardent Jacobite The Considines, like their kinsmen the MacLysaghts,
and was killed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. were a branch of the O’Briens, being descended from
Another John O’Mulconry, the famous Gaelic poet Domhnall Mor O’Brien, King of Munster, who died in
and chronicler, whose family had settled at Ardkyle in 1194. They are thus of illustrious Dalcassian origin but
Co. Clare, was of this sept. He presided over a school of they are seldom heard of in Irish history or literature,
poets at Ardkyle from about 1440 to 1470. Hardiman’s though they appear frequently in local histories of Co.
inclusion of the Mulconrys among the Dalcassian septs Clare as people of substance. In 1627 we find one
is an error. Cornelius MacConsidine among the distinguished Irish
Other Gaelic surnames which are anglicized Conry and exiles in Brussels.
Conroy in Connacht are O Conraoi of Ui Maine or There was a Norman family of de Constentine, one
Hy Many, i.e. the territory known as O’Kelly’s Country of whom founded the Priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary
in east Galway and south Roscommon, and Mac Conraoi at Tristernagh (Westmeath) in the early thirteenth
of Moycullen, called by the Four Masters Lord of Delvin century. They had no connexion with the Considines
of the Two Lakes (viz. Lough Corrib and Lough Lurgan of Thomond, a branch of the O’Briens.
— an old name for the Bay of Galway). The “Books of Arms illustrated on Plate V.
Survey and Distribution”, and other seventeenth century
records, show that MacConrys or MacConroys were
there at that period. Padraic O’Conaire (1883-1928), one (Mac)CONWAY, (O)CONWAY, (Conboy, Convey)
of the best known of all the modern writers in Irish, Conway, in spite of its English or Welsh appearance, is a
was a Galway man — his statue is to be seen in Eyre true Gaelic surname. It looks more Irish as MacConaway,
Square in Galway City. He spelt his name O Conaire, the form used in some parts of Donegal and north
though this form is usually found in Munster and Connacht. Conway is the anglicized form of several
anglicized Connery, and is quite distinct from the different Irish surnames and the resultant confusion is
Galway sept just mentioned. O’Connery is included in very difficult to elucidate, particularly as the prefixes
Smith’s History of County Waterford among the prin- O and Mac have been used in some places indifferently
cipal inhabitants of the county at the end of the six- with this name.
teenth century. MacConway was the usual form in Co. Donegal in
A further explanation is the use of the surname the seventeenth century and is extant there to-day.
King as a,synonym for MacConraoi, and even for O However, I have discovered no sept of MacConway
Conraoi and also for Mac Fhearadhaigh. This arose belonging to Donegal. There was one in the adjacent
from the similarity in sound of these Mac names and County of Sligo, where the name Conway is still found:
Mac an Righ: the latter means son of the king, and so they were located in the parish of Easky; but these are
became King in English by a process of mistranslation O’Conway not MacConway being O Conbhuidhe in Irish
very common in the late seventeenth and eighteenth which is alternatively anglicized Conboy. Nearby in Co.
centuries. In fact nearly all the MacConroys of Moy- Mayo we have the sept of O Connmhachdin, of the same
cullen use the name King, and in the nineteenth cen- stock as the O’Haras, whose name, first anglicized as
tury they called their ancestral seat of Ballymaconry O’Conoughan etc. and later Kanavaghan, has now been
Kingstown. King, of course, is a common English name, corrupted to Conway and sometimes Convey. Mayo
and it is also the anglicized form of the Gaelic surname accounts for about twenty-five per cent of all the
O Cionga or O Cingeadh (first anglicized O’Kinga), a Conway births registered in Ireland.
family which in mediaeval times were seated on the MacConway, in Irish Mac Conmheadha or Mac Conn-
Island of Inismor in Lough Ree, and were influential mhaigh, belongs properly to Thomond, where the Mac-

61
Conways were a sept of importance up to the end of the (O)CORCORAN, (Mac)CORCORAN The Irish fore-
fourteenth century: they were among the septs which name Corcoran is derived from the Gaelic word corcair,
rallied to O’Brien’s standard in 1317. In 1360 the death now used to denote purple but formerly meaning ruddy.
of Gillananaev O Connmhaigh (The Four Masters use the The sept called MacCorcoran was of some importance
prefix O not Mac), described as chief professor of music in the Ely O’Carroll country: they were still people of
in Thomond is recorded. substance in Offaly and Tipperary at the end of the
As regards the derivations of these surnames it has sixteenth century and the name is fairly numerous in
been suggested to me by Dr. M. A. O’Brien, Director of Counties Tipperary and Cork to-day. The O’Corcorans
the School of Celtic, Dublin Institute for Advanced belonged to Fermanagh and produced a number of
Studies, that Connmhaigh comes from old Irish ecclesiastics from the eleventh to the fifteenth century
condmach meaning head-smashing. Conbhuidhe is prob- whose field of activity was around Lough Erne. One of
ably from cu buidhe, yellow hound. these was Bishop of Clogher in 1373. The name is rare
The Conways in King James’s Irish Army were of there now: probably there was a westward migration as
Welsh extraction: their family is credited with the pre- it is found in Counties Mayo and Sligo. From the latter
fix Mac in error. came Brigadier General Michael Corcoran (1827-1863),
Two O’Conways were Bishops of Kilmacduagh in the who recruited an Irish Legion in the United States in
early fifteenth century; and Father Richard Conway 1861. Edmund O’Corcoran, “the hero of Limerick”
(1586-1623), was one of the intrepid Jesuits who did so (i.e. the siege of 1691), was the subject of one of
much to promote the counter-reformation in Ireland. O’Carolan’s well-known poems.
One of the Conways of Connacht, Roderick William
Conway (1782-1853), was a prominent advocate of
Catholic Emancipation but fell out with Daniel MacCORMACK, (O’Cormacan) MacCormack or Mac-
O’Connell. Thomas Conway (1735-1800), second Count Cormick is a very common name in Ireland and is dis-
Conway, was one of the many distinguished Irish exiles tributed widely throughout the four provinces. There
who rose to high military rank — he became a Major- was a minor sept of the name in Co. Longford, but for
General, Governor of all the French possessions in India the most part the name appears to have come into
and also a general in the American War of Independence. existence independently in many places at a compar-
This family, of which several were distinguished soldiers, atively late date, individuals whose fathers’ christian
was of Cloghane and Glenbehy, Co. Kerry. It should not name happened to be Cormac describing themselves as
be confused with the Anglo-Irish family of Conway MacCormaic which thereafter was continued as a sur-
(Barons Conway), who unlike so many of the ‘“‘ascend- name by subsequent generations. MacTeige and Mac-
ancy”, were notable for the fact that they were land- Shane are other examples of this tendency. In the six-
lords who were of the improving type and not absentees, teenth century — in 1576, 1598 and again in 1600 —
particularly in the latter half of the seventeenth and MacCormacks are recorded as leading gentry in Co. Cork
early eighteenth centuries. and one, of Muskerry, was influential enough to raise
a large force to assist Desmond in the Elizabethan wars.
The Four Masters record the deaths of several prominent
(O)COONEY The sept of O’Cooney — O Cuana in MacCormacks of Fermanagh; the last of these died in
Irish — was formerly of considerable importance. Origin- 1431. Possibly the MacCormacs of Co. Armagh were
ating in Ulster (Tyrone), they migrated westwards to descendants of these: two of them were very prominent
north Connacht at an early date. In 1248, the most in the medical profession: Henry MacCormac (1800-
distinguished member of the sept died, viz. Diarmid e) 1886), and his son Sir William MacCormac (1836-1901);
Cuana: he is described as “the great priest of Elphin” while a third medical man, Robert MacCormack (1800-
both by the Four Masters and in the “Annals of Loch 1890), best known as an Arctic navigator, was of Tyrone
Cé”. The diocese of Elphin lies in the counties of Ros- parentage. The name is universally recognized as Irish on
common, Sligo and Galway. Three centuries later they account of the fame of John Count MacCormack (1885-
were still in that area, as evidenced by the Elizabethan 1945), the tenor.
Fiants. They gradually spread southwards, for in the MacCormack has also been adopted in place of the
census of 1659 they were numerous in Co. Clare. The surnames O’Cormack and O’Cormacan, borne by small
place Ballycooney is in the southern part of Co. Galway. septs located in Counties Roscommon, Galway, Clare,
To-day, as in the sixteenth century, they are chiefly Cork, Down and Derry. Thus even when MacCormack
found in north Connacht. is a substitute for those names it is very widely scattered.
In modern times the Cooneys have not been prom- Three of the name O’Cormacan were Bishops of Killaloe
inent. The most noteworthy person of the name was in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Mary Cooney, an Irish poetess who had a reputation
in America as well as in Ireland in the 1880’s.
Cooney is used in Co. Cork as a variant of the north (O)CORRIGAN, Carrigan This name is O Corragdin
Munster name O Cuanachdin, normally anglicized in Irish. The sept belongs primarily to Fermanagh being
_ Counihan. of the same stock as the Maguires. Corrigans — the pre-
fix O is seldom used — are still in that part of Ulster,
but the name to-day is very scattered, being found in

62
most counties, except in Munster. This was already sound accounts for its occasional use as a synonym of
the case in the sixteenth century when it appears in the latter. It should be added that Cuskley is found
localities as far apart as Offaly, Roscommon, Meath and today in Co. Offaly, as it was in 1601 in the earlier angli-
Monaghan. In the 1659 census Corrigan and O’Corrigan cized form of Mac-gilkuskley.
are among the more numerous Irish names in Offaly, Another name which may be confused with these is
Longford and Fermanagh. The majority of the references Casserley i.e. Mac Casarlaigh, which has long association
to it in the Four Masters are to abbots and other eccles- with Co. Roscommon and now (without the prefix Mac)
iastics in Co. Fermanagh. The place called Ballycorrigan is found there and in the adjoining county of Galway.
is near Nenagh in Co. Tipperary, indicating that a leading This confusion is the more likely because in Co.
family of Corrigan was seated there not later than the Roscommon some families so called spell the name
middle of the seventeenth century. The Most Rev. without the R, viz. Casseley. Cumumhan Mac Casarlaigh
Michael Augustine Corrigan (1839-1902), Archbishop of is mentioned by the Four Masters as one of the
New York, came from a Meath family, while Sir Connacht chiefs slain at the battle of Athenry in 1249
Dominic John Corrigan (1802-1880), the eminent and another of the name was a canon of Tuam in 1462.
physician, was a Dublin man. Carrigan is a variant of The Costelloes were one of the many great Irish
Corrigan. Arms illustrated on Plate VI. families which, in the ruin of the seventeenth century
destruction of the Gaelic order, produced famous
rapparees. Dudley (or Dubhaltach) Costello was an
(Mac)COSTELLO(E), Nangle, COSTLEY CUSHELY officer in the army of the Confederate Catholics in 1642,
CASSERLEY The Costelloes were originally Nangles, and later became a colonel in the Spanish service. Re-
or de Angulos, as that great Norman family was called turning to Ireland after the Restoration and disappointed
when, soon after the invasion, the Anglo-Normans by his failure to recover the family estates, he devoted
occupied Connacht. The first reference to them in the rest of his life to wreaking vengeance on the new
the Four Masters is in the year 1193 when they were Cromwellian proprietors. His chief lieutenant in this
called the sons of Oistealb, who was a son of the famous private war was, appropriately enough, named Nangle:
Gilbert de Nangle, whence was formed the surname Mac both of them were killed in action with the British
Oisdealbh, later Mac Oisdealbhaigh, anglice MacCostello. soldiery. Arthur Dudley Costello (1803-1865) and his
Curtis calls their eponymous ancestor Gocelin (or sister, Louise Stuart Costello (1799-1870), English born
Jocelin) and gives the Irish form as Mac Goisdelbh. It is of Irish stock, were both novelists and travel writers of
the first recorded instance of a Norman family assuming note; while William Costello (1800-1867), a surveyor,
a Mac name. Thenceforward they became thoroughly wrote much on medical subjects. The Taoiseach (Prime
Irish. There are many traditional tales of the feuds be- Minister) of the Republic of Ireland from 1948 to 1951,
tween the MacCostelloes and MacDermots: none more and again 1954-1957 was John A. Costello (b. 1891).
poignant than the tragic love story of Una, daughter Arms illustrated on Plate VI.
of Charles MacDermot (the last inaugurated chieftain
of that name), and the son of the head of the MacCostello
family, who lie in adjoining graves beside the ruins of the (Mac)COTTER MacCotter is one of the quite
church in Trinity Island. Their lands were in Co. Mayo numerous class of surnames with the initial C which
and the barony of Costello, in the east of that county, should properly begin with a vowel, the C being trans-
was named from the MacCostelloes who possessed it up ferred by attraction from the prefix Mac. In Irish this is
to the end for the sixteenth century. In 1565 their chief Mac Oitir which in the same way is found also as Mac
seat was near Ballaghadereen, which is now included in Coitir. The latter is unquestionably a corruption; the sur-
Co. Roscommon. The name Costello (the Mac has been name is formed from the popular Norse personal name
entirely dropped) is found to-day in Counties Mayo and Oitir. It does not follow that the Cotters (who in
Galway — in south Galway and Clare it is usually spelt modern times do not use the prefix Mac) are of Norse
Costelloe. The erroneous form O’Costello instead of descent since several families of undisputed Gaelic Irish
MacCostello probably arose through the practice in the origin have surnames derived from Norse personal names
spoken Irish language of shortening the Mac with names as, for example, McAuliffe, McManus, McRannall.
beginning with C: thus ’ac Costello was turned into Probably the first mention of it in Irish records is in
O’Costello. the Four Masters under date 1142 when the son of Mac
Dr. Reeves, writing in 1850, noted the adoption of Oitir assumed “the chieftainship and government of
the name Costelloe for the Donegal surname then known Dublin”. The Mac Oitir referred to was one of the Gaels
as Cushely and previously O’Cassaly. Muntercassely (Ur of the Hebrides. Whether there is any connexion between
Chasalaigh) are recorded in the 1609 inquisition on him and the Mac Oitir (Cotter) family, which was well es-
Armagh church lands as a sept located in the Glenaul tablished in Co. Cork at least as early as 1300, is still an
area. Casly is the spelling used in the lists of Jacobite open question. The sixteenth century Fiants have many
outlaws. Cushley and Costello are recorded by Matheson references to MacCotters, all these being in Co. Cork.
(1901) as synonymous in the parish of Magherafelt, Co. By the seventeenth century they had become Cotter.
Derry. Cushelly, Cushley, Cuskley (Mac Giolla Choiscle William and Thomas Cotter were Gaelic poets of that
is a north Ulster surname. Costley is more often a century whose songs have survived till our own day.
variant of this than of Costello, but the similarity of Sir James Cotter was in command of King James II’s

63
troops in Co. Clare. His son. James Cotter (1689-1720), of Dublin. The first three names given above are variant
ended his life somewhat unjustly on the gallows. His son, anglicized forms of the Irish O Cadhain, a minor sept
another Sir James Cotter (1714-1770), having forsaken originating near Partry, Co. Mayo. Coen (and especially
the religion and politics of his forebears, was created the form Cohen) appears Jewish, but when met in
a baronet and among his posterity were a number of Ireland it is almost always a true Irish name; it may,
Protestant clergymen in Co. Cork, including Rev. George however, often be an anglicized form of O Comhdhdain
Sackville Cotter (1754-1831), who was translator of (also of north Connacht) and not of O Cadhain. There is
classical works of some merit. The name is still almost another synonym of Coyne which is found around
peculiar to Co. Cork. There are no less than eight place Castlebar, viz. Barnacle, a surname which was adopted
names in that county which incorporate the surname, because the Irish word cadhan means wild goose.
e.g. Ballymacotters and ScartMcCotters near Cloyne. Kilcoyne is definitely found in the birth registrations as
= Arms illustrated on Plate VI. an alias of Coyne, or perhaps it would be more accurate
to say that Coyne is an alias of Kilcoyne. Kilcoyne,
however, as a rule is not the same name in Irish as Coyne
MacCOY, (MacCooey) MacCoy is a fairly common and Kyne, but comes from Mac Giolla Chaoine, i.e. son
name in Ireland: it is chiefly to be found in Ulster on of a follower of St. Caoin. Hardiman states that. the
both sides of the border (Armagh-Monaghan area) with a Quins, one of the assimilated families of Galway City,
sprinkling in Cork and Limerick. It is a variant of are in fact Coynes whose name was altered to Quin. The
MacKay, in Irish MacAodha (i.e. son of Hugh). The 15 births recorded for Kilcoyne as above were all in
MacKays and MacCoysare not by origin Irish in the usual Counties Mayo and Sligo. The Coens were nearly all in
sense of the word, since they came to Ireland as gallow- Galway and Roscommon. The name is more closely
glasses in the wake of the MacDonnells, their home associated with literary than with political or other
territory being the southern isles of Scotland (Islay etc.) activities; apart from the distinguished Jesuit, Father
— though the Gaelic settlers in Alba came, no doubt, Coyne of our own day, Joseph Sterling Coyne (1803-
originally from Ireland. Like the MacDonnells some of 1868), was a very well known playwright and satirist
the MacCoys went south, hence the families in Munster and was one of the founders of the English Punch;
mentioned above. The name has not been very note- Rev. Joseph Coyne, P.P. (1839-1891), was also an
worthy in the political and cultural history of Ireland, author of repute and contributor to the Nation, as was
but in this connexion Rev. Edward MacCoy (1839-1872), John Coen (b. circa 1820).
Gaelic writer, may be cited. Sir Frederick MacCoy
(1823-1899), the Dublin-born naturist, is best known for
his work in that field in Australia. Several MacCoys have CREAGH _ This name presents one of the few examples
been prominent in America, but these do not appear to of a cognomen superseding an original surname. The
have had any connexion with Ireland. Less distinguished, Creaghs are a branch of the O’Neills of Co. Clare, the
if equally prominent, were the MacCoys of the gang so tradition being that in a battle with the Norsemen at
called. The origin of the expression “the rale MacCoy”’ Limerick they carried green branches with them. The
is in dispute: some authorities state that it is a corruption Irish word craobhach is the adjective formed from the
of the Portugese word Macao (i.e. heroin from Macao); noun craobh, a branch: Craobhach is the Irish form of
others connect it with an individual viz. the boxer “Kid” the surname. This tradition is, of course, the raison
MacCoy, who was somewhat of a. dandy. The Ulster d’étre of the laurel branches in the Creagh coat of arms
Gaelic poet Art MacCoy (c. 1715-1774), was also and crest.
known as MacCooey in English, his name in Irish being The Creaghs were reckoned among the leading gentry
Mac Cobhthaigh. of Co. Clare. The main branch for generations gave its
sons to the British Army. General Sir O’Moore Creagh
(1848-1923), was the most celebrated of this line of
COYNE, Kilcoyne, Kyne, Coen The remarkable ex- soldiers. A number of Clare Creaghs were officers in
tent to which this name and its synonyms appertain the Irish Brigades on the continent including the
to the province of Connacht, and particularly to the ancestor who, unlike most Wild Geese, returned to
counties of Galway and Mayo, is illustrated by the Ireland and retained the family estate by conforming to
following birth statistics: the established church. Very few, however, became
Protestants and some of the most distinguished of Irish
Form of Total births In In In In Catholic bishops and archbishops have been Creaghs.
Name_ registered in Connacht Leinster Munster Ulster Those who remained steadfast Catholics were to be
one year found chiefly in the nearby city of Limerick and figure
Coyne 54 39 13 1 1 prominently in its records. Several Creaghs were trans-
Kyne Ze 27 0 0 0 planted from Co. Limerick as papists by Cromwell.
Coen 27 21 1 2 3 Thence came at least six of the distinguished bishops
Kilcoyne 15 15 0 0 0 and archbishops called Creagh in the roll of the Irish
hierarchy. General James Creagh (1701-c. 1790), many
The majority of the 14 born in Leinster were probably times severely wounded when serving in the Irish Brigade,
of Connacht families settled in the metropolitan area was born in Co. Cork.

64
 At the trial of Dr. Pierce Creagh, Archbishop of (Co. Roscommon). Their eponymous ancestor was one
Dublin, under the penal code in 1705, the floor of the Cruadhlaoch (cruadh — hard, laoch — hero): hence the
courthouse collasped, the only two participants not Irish form of the surname O Cruadhlaoich. The branch
buried in the ruins being the prisoner and the judge, who referred to above settied in the territory near Dunman-
“cried out that Heaven itself acquitted him”. Other way (Co. Cork) and in due course became a distinct sept
prelates, even before the notorious Penal Code came with a recognized chief residing at Kilshallow. Many of
fully into force, were not so fortunate. Most Rev. the sept were employed as professional soldiers, like the
Richard Creagh (1525-1585), Archbishop of Armagh, MacSheehys and MacSweenys. The O’Crowleys usually
died in the Tower of London after 18 years imprison- fought for the MacCarthys. By the middle of the seven-
ment there, having twice escaped and twice been teenth century the extensive estates of the O’Crowleys
recaptured. had nearly all been forfeited. A large proportion of them
In addition to the Creaghs of Counties Clare and fell into the hands of Richard Boyle, first Earl of Cork.
Limerick, there is a branch of the same name in Co. So much are they now identified with Co. Cork that
Cork which was established there before the sixteenth seventy-five per cent of Crowley and O’Crowley births
century. Christopher Creagh was Mayor of Cork in 1541. are registered in Co. Cork and most of the remaining
All these branches use the same arms. Unlike the twenty-five per cent in other Munster counties: only
majority of old Gaelic surnames.that of Creagh is not three per cent are Connacht registrations. The claim
widely dispersed among all classes of the population. that the Munster O’Crowleys are really Mac Roghallaigh
Arms illustrated on Plate VI. seems to have little foundation; and in this connexion
it is interesting to note that arms, long officially re-
corded, are the same for O’Crowley of Connacht and
O’CREAN, Crehan, (Cregan) According to MacFirbis, O’Crowley of Munster.
O’Crean and O’Cregan are synonymous, Crehan again Two persons of the name may be mentioned as
being a variant of Crean. In Irish Crean and Crehan are distinguished Irishmen: Nicholas Joseph Crowley (1819-
O Croidhedin (spelt O Craidhen by the Four Masters) 1857), portrait-painter; and Peter O’Neill Crowley
and Creegan or Cregan is O Croidheagain. These families (1832-1867), mortally wounded in the Fenian outbreak.
formed,a minor sept of the Cineal Eoghan belonging to Arms illustrated on Plate VI.
Donegal, with a branch in the neighbouring county of
Sligo. They are twice mentioned by the Four Masters
as wealthy merchants, which is somewhat unusual in O’CULLANE, COLLINS’ Collins is of course a
the Annals: in 1506 as of Co. Donegal; in 1572 as of common English surname: of 29 Collins biographies
Sligo. The Clongowes manuscript “The State of Ireland in the Dictionary of National Biography 27 are of
in 1598” gives them a higher status: the then head of Englishmen. Nevertheless in Ireland Collins may be
the family was John O’Crean of Ballynegare, and in regarded as a genuinely indigenous Irish name: in fact
another place in the manuscript O’Crean of Annagh is it is one of our most numerous surnames, being number
stated to have been one of the leading families of Co. 30 in the relevant statistical list with an estimated
Sligo in the sixteenth century. According to the “Annals Collins population of 14,000 persons. The great majority
of Loch Cé” the Bishop of Elphin in 1582 was an O’Crean, of these come from Counties Cork and Limerick. This is
but he was “removed” in 1584. Father Daniel O’Crean as might be expected because the sept of O’Coiledin
(d. c. 1616) of Holy Cross, Sligo, was Provincial of the (possibly derived from the word coiledn, a whelp or
Dominican order in a period of intensive persecution. young dog) originated in North Desmond which ex-
The form Crehan is usual in Co. Galway; in Co. Mayo tended into the modern Co. Limerick, where they
these are called Crean, Grehan and even Graham. were lords of the baronies of Connello, until in the
Creegan alone of these variants can be said to belong thirteenth century they were driven southwards by the
now to Co. Sligo. Crean is mostly found to-day in south- Geraldines and settled in West Cork near the country
west Munster, but families of the name in Kerry and possessed by their kinsmen the O’Donovans. The well
Cork are in most cases Creen, recte Curreen, i.e. O Corr- known Gaelic poem, translated as “Lament over Tim-
aidhin. A further complication inregard to the name noleague Abbey” has immortalized Sean O Coiledin,
Crean arises from the fact that O Corrdin, normally or John Collins (1754-1817), one of this sept. It should
Curran in English, has become Crean in some places. be observed that in the very territory to which they
The arms illustrated in Plate VI are those of O’Crean migrated was a sept called O’Cuilledin also subsequently
of Donegal and Sligo and do not belong to the Creans anglicized Collins: these were of the Corca Laoidhe.
of Munster. Arms illustrated on Plate VI. The most famous of all Irish Collinses was from
West Cork — Michael Collins (1890-1922), who com-
bined in the highest degree the qualities of soldier and
(O)CROWLEY The history of this sept presents an administrator, till the promise of a brilliant career was
example of a junior branch which emigrated to a distant tragically cut short by his death in the Civil War which
province prospering and multiplying in its new territory followed the establishment of the Irish Free State.
while the main stem dwindled and almost disappeared Another who lost his life for Ireland was Father Dominic
from its original homeland. The sept of O’Crowley Collins, S.J. (1553-1602), who was hanged in Dublin
began as an off-shoot of the MacDermots of Moylurg Castle. Father Collins, O.P., led the Confederate Catholic

65
army to a successful attack on Bunratty Castle in 1647. confused with MacQuillan. In the 1659 census the
Jerome Collins (d. 1850), the arctic explorer, was a name in various spellings was then numerous in Donegal
Co. Cork man. David Collins (1756-1810), who was born and south-east Leinster.
in Offaly, was one of the founders of the city of Sydney. Two famous Catholic bishops of the name should be
A Co. Wicklow family of Collins produced three distin- mentioned. Patrick O’Cullen, Bishop of Clogher from
guished men: William Collins (1740-1812), author, his 1517-1542, composer of the famous “Hymn to St.
son, William Collins (1788-1847), painter and Royal MacCartin”; and Paul Cullen (1803-1878), Cardinal and
Academician, and grandson William Wilkie Collins Archbishop of Dublin. The Gaelic poet John O’Cullane
(1824-1889), the well known novelist. In America belonged to a different sept, whose name is usually
Edward Knight Collins (1802-1878) was a pioneer Collins in modern speech though occasionaly anglicized
ship-owner who early adopted steam in place of sail; Cullen (see entries for O’Collins and O’Cullinan).
his ancestor emigrated from Ireland in 1635. Descendants of Irish exiles named O’Cullen now fill
A very well known name in Australia is Tom Collins, important positions in the Argentine Republic and in
which in fact was the nom-de-plume of Joseph Furphy Tenerife. Arms illustrated on Plate VI.
(1843-1912). He was well known under his own name
also, so much so that “furphy” became a word in
current Australian speech, signifying a rumour without (O)CULLINAN, Quillinane Cullinan is the most
foundation. (Joe Furphy was not himself a disseminator anglicized spelling of the name O Cuileanndin in Co.
of rumours, but the water-carts his firm manufactured, Clare and Cullinane in Co. Cork and east Munster. The
which were in use all over the country and were called prefix O is seldom found with Cullinan or Cullinane
furphies, were frequently the meeting-place of gossips.) nowadays. One important sept so called originated in
His father was a tenant farmer at Tanderagee, Co. Tirconaill (Donegal), but there the name has been
Armagh, who emigrated in 1840. The surname Furphy is changed to Cullen. Up to the end of the seventeenth
very rare. It occurs occasionally in the modern birth century they were still using the form O’Cullinan. They
registers for Co. Armagh and also in the Co. Armagh were closely associated with the O’Donnells and their
Hearth Money-Rolls of 1664-5. Professor M. A. O’Brien seat was at Mullinashee. One of their sixteenth century
has suggested to me that the name is probably O chiefs was remarkable on account of the careers of his
Foirbhte, derived from the adjective foirbhthe, meaning sons, of whom one was a bishop and six were abbots.
complete or perfect. Dr. John Cullinan (1585-1653), was Bishop of Raphoe
Arms illustrated on Plate VI. and suffered much persecution as such: he was a prom-
inent supporter of Rinnuccini at the Confederation of
Kilkenny. His brother Glaisne O’Cullinan (1558-1584),
(O)CULLEN _ Several quite distinct septs or families Cistercian Abbot of Boyle, was martyred. The
of Cullen existed formerly but only one has survived to O’Cullinanes of Co. Cork are a branch of the Corca
any extent and this one is very numerous to-day: Cullen Laidhe and their territory was in the barony of Barryroe.
in fact has eighty-fourth place in the list of the hundred The Civil Survey and the 1659 census indicate that the
commonest surnames in Ireland, with an estimated name was very numerous in Co. Cork in the seventeenth
population of nearly 8,000 persons. The great majority century not only in Barryroe but also in the surrounding
of these are found in the south-eastern counties — baronies: two from Kinalea were among the Irish who
Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford. It is there the sept sailed for Spain after the Battle of Kinsale. At that time,
originated. They possessed Glencullen, Co. Wicklow, as to-day, branches of the sept were well established
a place name which is said to be derived from the Irish in Co. Clare and in Co. Waterford; in the latter the
word cuileann a holly tree, not, from the possession of it spelling of the name was then Quillinane, a form still
by Cullens, as does the barony of Kilcullen on the Wicklow occasionally met with in Munster.
border of Co. Kildare. As a power in that land they were Cormac Mac Cuilleanndin, King and Bishop of Cashel,
overshadowed by the O’Byrnes and the O’Tooles about who was slain in battle 908 A.D., is famous as the
the year 1300, but they continued to dwell there un- compiler of the genealogical tract called the “Psalter of
interruptedly up to the present day. That they retained Cashel’? and as the first language lexicographer. He
a position of some importance is evidenced by the fact cannot, however, properly be called a Cullinane because
that Cullen of Cullenstown is listed among the leading he lived before the era of surnames: his father’s christian
gentry of Co. Wexford in the Clongowes manuscript name was Cuileanndn.
(1598). Cullen is the normal anglicized form of this Arms illustrated on Plate VI.
name but there are many variants in the spelling of it,
such as Quillen and Cullion, recorded here and there,
though seldom in its original habitat. The usual modern CUMMINS, Comyn, Commons Notwithstanding its
form of the name in Irish is O Cuilinn. Several other very English appearance Cummins is a Gaelic Irish
minor Gaelic sept names have become Cullen by surname quite distinct from the English Cummings and
attraction, notably O Cuileamhain, recte Culloon or Cumming, though sometimes the original O Coimin
Culhoun, of south Leinster, to which, according to takes those forms as its anglicized synonyms. Indeed the
O’Curry, Cardinal Cullen belonged; and Mac Cuilin number of variants in English is considerable —
(MacCullen) of Leitrim whose name is sometimes Commons, Comyns, Kimmons, Commane and even

66
MacSkimmins are recorded by the Registrar-General as families, having dropped the O or Mac, gradually
being used as interchangeable with Cummins. O Coimin assumed an English or Scottish name approximating to
is first found in Connacht: the family were erenaghs of theirs in sound. Thus Cunnigan became Cunningham.
the church of St. Cuimin Fada, and the parish of Kil- There is hardly another name in Ireland which
cummin on the western side of the Bay of Killala is appears in the Registrar-General’s records, voters’ lists
named after them. The form Commons is now the and so forth in so many different guises. Side by side
most usual in Co. Mayo. It is a name about which with the standard form Cunningham, we find Coonaghan,
much confusion is inevitable. It appears as O Comain Counihan, Cunnighan, Kinningham, Kinighan, Kinagam,
in Munster, whence come the majority of present day Kinnegan and MacCunnigan in Ulster, while Conaghan
Cumminses (also called Commane) now found in and Kinaghan are two of the many variants elsewhere.
Counties Tipperary and Cork. There they are some- Counihan and Coonaghan, however, are properly the
times called Hurley, through a mistranslation, camdn anglicized forms of the north Munster name O
being the Gaelic word for a hurley-stick. In some parts Cuanachain.
of Ulster the form in Irish is Mac Coimin, which is of The true Irish Cunninghams trace their descent from
long standing, for a deed relating to land in Co. Armagh, two sources in Connacht, the Gaelic forms given above
dated 1264, contains the name of Patrick MacCumyn. denoting son (mac) or descendant (0) of Connagan,
To add to the complexity the name Comyn is that ofa which is a diminutive of the personal name Conn. One
prominent Norman-Irish family long established in this branch stems from Fiachra, brother of the famous
country: John Comyn, an Anglo-Norman, was Arch- Niall of the Nine Hostages and father of the last pagan
bishop of Dublin from 1182-1213. King ot Ireland, and was located in Co. Sligo; the other is
In one form or another the name appears in the roll a sept of the Ui Maine (often called Hy Many), a wide-
of distinguished Irishmen from a very early date. In the spread group of septs centred in Counties Galway and
sixth century, long before the introduction of surnames, Roscommon of which O’Kelly was the most important.
St. Common, pupil of St. Finian, went from Ulster as As is not unusual in the case of smaller families
missionary to Connacht and founded Roscommon and which, notwithstanding the destruction of the Gaelic
other monasteries in that province. Cormac O Cuimin, order after 1603, refused to accept English rule, no arms
or Comon (1703-1786), was one of the many blind are on record at the Office of Arms in Dublin Castle for
bards and shanachies of the eighteenth century. Another O’Cunnigan or MacCunnigan. The well-known Cunning-
famous poet of that era was Michael Comyn (1688- hams arms are those of a Scottish family, several branches
1760), of Kilcorcoran, Co. Clare. His son Michael of which settled in Ireland in the seventeenth century
Comyn (b. 1704), emigrated to France where he was and became influential in the north. There is a tradition
accepted as one of the nobility of France (descendants that these Cunninghams were originally Irish settlers
of Wild Geese of the name were also enrolled among the in Scotland: be that as it may they were in Scotland as
nobility of Spain) and his grandson, John Francis early as the eleventh century, since their arms and their
Comyn (1742-1793), was guillotined as an aristocrat motto “over fork over” are based on an incident which
during the French Revolution, while David Comyn occurred about the year 1050 when the Cunninghams’
(1853-1907), another Clareman, was particularly active ancestor saved the life of Malcolm Canmore, afterwards
in the movements which led up to the formation of the King of Scotland, by covering him with hay and thus
Gaelic League. Some families of Comyn came to north concealing him from MacBeth’s pursuing forces.
Clare as papists transplanted under the Cromwellian The most distinguished Irishman of the name was
régime from east of the Shannon, but the Inquisitions probably Timothy Cunningham (d. 1761), the anti-
of earlier in the seventeenth century prove that families quarian, member and benefactor of the Royal Irish
of the name were already well established in the county Academy. Mention may also be made of Henry first
before that period. William Cumming (1769-1852), Marquess Conyngham (1766-1832), who was an Irish
famous as a portrait-painter, was an Irishman who lived representative peer and a man of influence in England
and worked in Ireland. in the reign of George IV, and also of John Cunningham
(1729-1773), the Irish actor and poet.
Some of the Cunninghams in Ulster acquired their
O’CUNIGAN, MacCunigan, Cunningham, (Dongan, surname in quite a different way from those dealt
Counihan) The surname Cunningham or Conyngham with above. There was a minor sept of MacDonegan in
is among the 75 most numerous in Ireland, the estimated Co. Down, one of whom, John Dongan or MacDonnegan,
number of persons so called in 1954 being 8,550. They was Bishop of Down from 1395 to 1412, while earlier
are distributed over all four provinces, the majority in the fourteenth century Florence MacDonnagan was
being found in the Ulster counties of Down and Antrim Bishop of Dromore. In this area the name was first
and in the Connacht counties of Galway and Ros- corrupted to MacConegan and later some of these
common. In the former the families in question are for MacConegans changed this to Cunningham in imitation
the most part of Scottish origin; in the latter they are of the Scottish settlers. Others, however, retained the
native Irish. The original Irish-Gaelic forms O Connagdin more correct modernized form Dunnigan, and Dunnigans
and Mac Cuinneagdin were first written as O’Cunnigan are still to be found in Co. Down. This name is not to be
and MacCunnigan. Under the anglicizing influence of confused with Donegan or Dongan — O Donnagain in
three centuries of British occupation many old Gaelic Irish — an important sept of Muskerry, Co. Cork, whose

67
territory was around Rathluirc. Thomas Donegan (1634- Turlogh both appear among the principal Irish names
1715), last Earl of Limerick (of the first creation), in Co. Limerick, but possibly these were not true sur-
Governor of New York from 1683 to 1691, was the names (see Chapter II above). The connexion of Curley
most distinguished man of this name. with Roscommon is emphasized by the place names
Ballymacurley and Curley’s Island both in that county.
The sept was not particularly prominent in early or
(Mac)CUNNEEN, (O)CUNNEEN, Kenyon, (Kinnane) mediaeval times nor do people of the name find a place
The fact that Cunneen is never found nowadays with a in the roll of distinguished Irish writers or politicians.
prefix hides the fact that it represents actually two quite
distinct surnames. MacCoinin is that of a literary family
of Erris, Co. Mayo. It is anglicized Kenning and Kenyon,
as well as Cunneen, and also by pseudo-translation as (O)CURRAN | The surname Curran is numerous and
Rabbitt. Cunneen, and Rabbitt too, are the forms used widespread in Ireland, equally in all the four provinces
in English for the Offaly family of O Coinin. A variant to-day. Referring to the distribution of this name in
of this is O Cuinin which in turn is used as a variant of the seventeenth century it is of interest to note that it
O Cuinedin, quite a different name in Irish: this is now is one of the most numerous in the Co. Tipperary Hearth
indistinguishable from O Cuinnedin, a surname well- Money Rolls of 1665-7 with 73 householders. The
known in north Tipperary in its anglicized form Kinnane census of 1659 reveals that it was then chiefly found
or Kinane. Here again there is also a Mac form viz. in Co. Waterford and thence northwards towards
Mac Cuineain anglice Cunnane. As this is almost ex- Kildare, and also in Kerry and in Leitrim. King’s analysis
clusively found in north Connacht it is probably of the 1901 census for Co. Kerry indicates that there
basically the same name as MacCunneen of Co. Mayo were then 142 families of Curran or Currane in that
referred to at the beginning of this note. county. Curran is the usual form, but Currane is more
As the prefixes Mac and O have in the case of this usual in Kerry. Kirrane and Curreen are other modern
name been entirely dropped there is little except family synonyms. There was a sept of the Ui Maine called O
tradition to indicate to which of these quite distinct Currdin of the same stock as the O’Maddens, one of
septs a Cunneen of today belongs. They both derive whom Simon O’Currin, O.P. (d. 1302), was Bishop of
from coinin (rabbit) — I do not accept the suggestion Kilfenora. James O’Corren was Bishop of Killaloe
that is is from cano, wolf cub. There are two O Coinin from 1526 to 1546. Of the south Leinster sept was
septs — of Thomond and Offaly both called Rabbit Andrew O’Curran, O.S.B., who, after an interesting
and Cunneen. That of Thomond is recorded as taking case of dispensation by the Pope, was appointed Prior
part in the battle of Loghrasha in 1317. Mac Coinin of Glascarrig in 1411. The Leitrim Currans were a bardic
was the sub-chief to O Caithnid (O’Caheny or Canny) family. There are few names as numerous as Curran
in the barony of Erris, Co. Mayo. There are four refer- about the background of which so little is recorded.
ences to them in The Tribes and Customs of Hy Fiachra. Reference is made to this name in the article on Crean
Kinnane, in Irish O Cuinnedin, is a Thomond name (q. v.)
mainly found in north Tipperary with occasional The oustanding historical personage of the name,
variants Quinane and Guinnane. The latter also occurs John Philpot Curran (1750-1817), orator and patriot,
in west Clare, where, however, it can be a mis-spelling needs no description. He was born in Co. Cork. His
of Goonane, but is normally a variant spelling of daughter Sarah Curran (1781-1808), a romantic and
Ginnane, the usual form in Clare. Woulfe derives tragic figure, was engaged to be married to Robert
O Cuinnedin and O Cuinedin from the forenames Conn Emmet.
and Conan.
Father John Kenyon (1812-1869) of Templederry,
Co. Tipperary, was a leading figure in the Young Ireland (O)CURRY, (Corry) The Irish name Curry or O’Curry
movement of 1848. has no connexion with the Scottish Currie. In Irish O
Comhriadhe, it sometimes takes the form Corry or
Corra, especially in the northern counties, where in the
(Mac) CURLEY, Kerley, Turley, Terry Curley is the few early records in which the name is found the prefix
usual modern form of this surname. Disregarding the Mac is usually substituted for O. There was a little
Dublin metropolitan area, in which names from all known sept of O’Curry in Co. Cork, now often Corry.
the provinces are of course found, it is almost entirely The most important of the several distinct septs of
confined to Connacht and particularly the counties of O’Curry was that of Thomond from which sprang
Galway and Roscommon. Though it has an English Eugene O’Curry (1796-1862), one of Ireland’s
sound Curley is a genuine Gaelic Irish name, the initial greatest pioneer scholars. The O’Currys were a leading
C being the last letter of its prefix Mac: in Irish it is sept in Co. Clare in the fourteenth century.
Mac Thoirdealbhaigh and so a variant of Turley — the In addition to the main Thomond sept of O Comh-
meaning is simply son of Turlough, hence the use raidhe another of the same name was located in Co.
in some places of Terence and Terry as alternative Westmeath, where they were Chiefs of Moygoish. Father
anglicized forms. Terry is a surname found in Munster Paul Walsh has pointed out that Curristown (now
to-day. In the census of 1659 MacTerlagh and Mac- Belmont) was outside the true O’Curry country. Dr.

68
John Curry (c. 1710-1780) of Dublin, was notable as when their continued and uncompromising support
an eminent physician, as a historian and as the organizer of the Catholic cause brought about their ruin as a
of the first Catholic Committee during the Penal Code leading family. They were then in possession of ex-
period. Families of the name belonging to south-west tensive estates not only in Meath and Kildare but also
Cork are probably representatives of the minor Corca in Clare and Roscommon, practically all of which were
Laoidhe sept of O’Curry. Currie is Scottish; a branch lost in the 1691 attainders and the forfeitures of 1701.
of the clan MacDonald. During the period of Catholic resurgence under James II
the name appears frequently not only, as might be
expected, in King James’s Army list, but also in the par-
(Mac)CURTIN Curtin, more usually nowadays with-
liamentary and municipal rolls. In preceding centuries
out the prefix Mac, is probably popularly regarded as a
Cusacks are prominent in all spheres of activity: for
Co. Cork surname, and it is undoubtedly more common
example, Nicholas Cusack was Bishop of Kildare from
there than in any other county, though found also in
1280 to 1300; Thomas Cusack was Mayor of Dublin
Limerick and Clare. The MacCurtins are, in fact, an
in 1409; and Sir Thomas Cusack (1490-1571) was Lord
ancient Thomond sept, whose territory was near
Chancellor. The last named, though in no sense an
Ennistymon in the barony of Corcomroe, Co. Clare.
Englishman, was prominent in his efforts on behalf
There they were hereditary ollaves to the O’Briens of
of the English interest both in the legal and military
Thomond. Nor was this in any sense a nominal position,
spheres. On the other hand Nicholas Cusack was be-
for from generation to generation the Clare MacCurtins
headed for his part in the resistence to Elizabethan
distinguished themselves as poets and Gaelic scholars.
aggression, and Patrick Cusack was a leader of the Con-
Four of them were recorded as such in the fourteenth
federate Catholics in the Cromwellian war. After the
and fifteenth centuries by the Four Masters. The best
disasters of the seventeenth century Cusacks continued
known in more modern times were Hugh Buidhe Mac-
abroad to distinguish themselves as soldiers: the most
Curtin (1680-1755), styled “Chief of the Sept’, who
famous of these was General Chevalier Richard Edmond
was a lexicographer as well as a poet, his cousin, Andrew
de Cusack (1687-1770), who had a brilliant military
MacCurtin (c. 1690-1749), and Hugh Og MacCurtin
career under Louis XIV and Louis XV. These and other
(c. 1680-1755). In the present century the name is
prominent individuals were Meath or Kildare men,
honoured in the person of Thomas MacCurtin (1885-
as was Dr. James William Cusack (1788-1861) the
1920) the patriotic Lord Mayor of Cork who was a
famous Dublin surgeon.
victim of the “‘Black and Tan” terror in that city. John
Although the Cusacks are not closely associated with
Joseph Curtin (1885-1945), a very notable Prime
Connacht in modern times, a branch of the Killeen (Co.
Minister of Australia, was the son of a Co. Cork man.
Meath) family established itself in Co. Mayo at an early
He was a cousin of William O’Brien M.P. and related to
date. Mac Firbis, spelling the name simply Ciosog,
the Nagles of Kinconway, Co. Cork.
mentions them as one of the four Norman tribes which
Abroad the Clare MacCurtins have also made the
wrested the territory of Tirawley from the Ui Fiachrach
name illustrious. In America Andrew Gregg Curtin
chiefs, and the Four Masters record a sanguinary battle
(1815-1894), notable Governor of Pennsylvania, was a
there between the Cusacks and the Barrets in 1281;
son of a Clare emigrant; and Jeremiah Curtin (c. 1840-
three centuries later the “Composition Book of Conn-
1906), an outstanding linguist, was also of Irish ancestry.
acht” mentions them as landowners in the barony of
In France, in the Revolution period, a Jeremiah Curtin
Tirawley (Co. Mayo). It is somewhat strange, therefore,
was an Irish signatory of the address to the National
to find the name now more numerous in Munster than
Convention, and Major General Benjamin MacCurtin
elsewhere — though it is nowhere very common. Michael
was a leader of the Vendean insurgents on the Royalist
Cusack (1860-1907), co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic
and Catholic side in 1793.
Association, was born in Co. Clare. The best known
Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
connected with that province was Margaret Anne Cusack
(1832-1899), or Sister Mary Francis Clare, a convert
CUSACK Cusack is one of those Norman names who after being famous for her good works — she was
introduced into Ireland following the invasion of 1172 popularly known as “the Nun of Kenmare” — reverted
which have become completely Irish. The name itself to her former faith and spent the rest of her life
is derived from a place in Guienne, in France, and was attacking Catholicism. One of the best known actors on
first anglicized as de Cussac etc. and rendered de Ciomh- stage and screen of the present day is Cyril Cusack
sdg in Irish. In the fourteenth century Thomond deeds (b. 1910), formerly of the Abbey Theatre.
in the Irish language, printed by Hardiman in the R.1.A. Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
Transactions for 1826, the name is given as Maclosog
and Mac Isog: which suggest that, in Clare at any rate,
the Cusacks became hibernicized in fact as well as DALTON Though this name is not Irish in origin it
in name. is on record in Dublin and Co. Meath as early as the
The first Cusacks, Geoffrey and André de Cusack, beginning of the thirteenth century, the family having
who came with King John in 1211, obtained lands in been established in Ireland following the Anglo-Norman
Meath and other counties of the Pale where they held invasion. Its Norman origin is more apparent in the
a prominent position down to the seventeenth century, alternative spelling, still sometimes used, viz. D’Alton

69
i.e. of Alton, a place in England. According to family The Tribes of Ireland. The Cavan O’Dalys were similarly
tradition the first Dalton to come to Ireland was one attached to the O’Reillys of Breffny. The Dalys, who
Walter, who had fled to England from France, having became Barons Dunsandle in Co. Galway, achieved
incurred the wrath of the French king by secretly great wealth and power in the eighteenth and nineteenth
marrying his daughter. The early settlers became power- centuries.
ful, having acquired lands in Teffia, Co. Meath, under Not only did the name become widespread, but the
Henry II. There and in Co. Westmeath (part of which descendants of these scattered sub-septs increased and
subsequently became known as Dalton’s Country) multiplied so that the name is now one of the
they erected castles and founded religious houses. In the commonest in Ireland, holding as it does twenty-fourth
fourteenth century they spread into Counties Tipperary place in the statistical list, with an estimated population
and Cork, but it was not until the middle of the seven- of nearly 16,000 persons in Ireland at the present day.
teenth century that a branch of the family went to In addition to the mediaeval poets already referred
Clare, with which county they were afterwards closely to, two modern O’Dalys have upheld the family
identified. The head of the family was known as Lord tradition, viz., Robert Daly (1783-1872), Protestant
of Rathconrath (Co. Westmeath); but as territorial Bishop of Cashel, and John O’Daly (1800-1878), both of
magnates they were broken by the Cromwellian and whom were early contributors to the Gaelic revival. The
Williamite devastations, having in the course of time Catholic Church, besides several mediaeval bishops of
completely identified themselves with the native Irish. western dioceses, has Rev. Dominic O’Daly (1595-1665),
The humbler families of the name, however, remained a Kerryman who had a most distinguished career in
in Westmeath and their descendants are there to-day. Portugal, both as ecclesiastic and statesman. Many of the
A number of Irish Daltons distinguished themselves name were attainted under the Cromwellian and
as Wild Geese in foreign service, particularly in that Williamite régimes for their support of the Irish and
of Austria. Another Irish Dalton to become famous Stuart cause. One Richard Daly (1750-1813) was a
(or notorious) outside Ireland was Robert Dalton, leading figure in the eighteenth century Dublin theatre
whose short life terminated in 1892 when the band as actor and manager. Daly’s, opened in Dublin in 1791,
of desperate outlaws he led in Oklahoma and Cali- was the most celebrated of the club-houses which were
fornia was finally rounded up. At home the best a feature of eighteenth century social life. The building
known of the name in modern times have been John is now the office of an insurance company.
Dalton (1792-1867), the historian, and the recent Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal D’ Alton.
Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
DARCY, O’Dorcey, MacDarcy This name is often
spelt D’Arcy. This is historically correct in the case of
(O)DALY O’Daly may be said to be the greatest those families of the name which descend from Sir John
name in our Gaelic literature. Other septs may have D’Arcy who was Chief Justice of Ireland in the four-
produced one or two more famous individuals, but the teenth century, e.g., the Darcys of Hyde Park, Co. West-
O’Dalys have a continuous record of literary achieve- meath, whose chief seat was Platten, Co. Meath; and it
ment from the twelfth to the seventeenth century and, is reasonable to assume that the Darcys of the east
indeed, even to the nineteenth. Hardiman speaks of no midlands of Ireland are of that stock. It may be men-
less than thirty O’Dalys distinguished as writers between tioned here that though Norman in origin,the name
1139 and 1680. The first of these famous poets was being originally D’Arci, from Arci a place in Normandy,
Curonnacht O Dalaigh (such is the Irish form of O’Daly), these Darcys did not come to Ireland as early as the
who flourished in the early twelfth century. He presided Anglo-Norman invasion. There is no justification for the
over a bardic school in Co. Meath, not far from the terri- Darcys of Munsterand Connacht (with a few exceptions)
tory traditionally belonging to the parent sept of using the form D’Arcy, because they were of native
O’Daly, who were located in the barony of Maghera- Irish stock and their name is a corruption of the Gaelic
dernon, Co. Westmeath. They were of the southern O Dorchaidhe, which was first anglicized as O’Dorcey.
Ui Neill. Thence they spread to other parts of the There were minor septs so called: one in Co. Mayo was
country, always continuing the literary tradition and located around Partry near Lough Mask; the other in
forming sub-septs in each of the places they settled in east Galway was a branch of the Ui Maine. In the
pursuit of their calling. One was the first of a line of “Annals of Loch Cé” the name MacDarcy appears as
poets in north Clare on the shore of Galway Bay. The that of a Co. Leitrim chieftain in the years 1384 and
most famous of these-was Donogh Mor O’Daly (d. 1244), 1403. O’Donovan in his notes to the Four Masters
who was born at Finvarra, Co. Clare: he has been called under the date 1310 places the MacDarcy sept in the
“The Irish Ovid’. In the same way the O’Dalys became parish of Oughteragh, Co. Leitrim.
associated with Co. Cork and Co. Cavan. Diarmuid Og The most distinguished of the name was the lawyer,
O’Daly was made the official poet of the MacCarthys Patrick Darcy (1598-1668), a prominent member of
of West Cork, thus acquiring for his family lands and the Supreme Council of the Confederation of Kilkenny,
privileges in the barony of Carbery. One of these, and Patrick Count Darcy (1725-1779), Chevalier and
Angus O’Daly (d. 1617), was somewhat of a renegade, Maréchal-de-camp in the service of France, who was a
being the author of the anti-Irish propagandist satire mathematician of note as well as a famous soldier.

70
Oliver Darcy was Bishop of Dromore from 1670 to
1674, having previously held the see of Ardagh.
It has been proved by O’Donovan that the Darcys
who became one of the Tribes of Galway were of true
Irish stock, being descended from the O’Dorceys of
Partry, Co. Mayo. Arms illustrated on Plate VII.

(O)DARGAN, Dorgan The Gaelic name O Deargain,

the root of which is the adjective dearg (red), has taken
the anglicized form Dargan in Leinster, and Dorgan in
Munster. The latter is almost confined to Co. Cork
(where there is a placename, Ballydorgan) while respect-
able families of Durgan have long been resident in the nunciation of the name in English is approximately
midland counties. As a Gaelic sept they were of little O’Day and in some places it is anglicized as Day, but
importance so that they seldom figure in the Annals, the persons so called are not numerous in Ireland and some
“Book of Rights”, the Fiants, the ‘Topographical may be of English extraction since Day is a common
Poems”, “An Leabhar Muimhneach” or any of the usual name in England. A variant in Irish, found in Counties
sources of genealogical information. Tipperary and Waterford, is O Diaghaidh anglicized as
There were two prominent nineteenth century men Dee or O’Dee. Some O’Deas call themselves O’Dee — no
of the name: William Dargan (1799-1867), the chief doubt this pronunciation arose during the period when
builder of Irish railways and promoter of the Dublin things Irish were unfashionable, O’Dee sounding more
International Industrial Exhibition of 1853; and refined.
Edmund Strother Dargan (1809-1879), the Irish- No outstanding O’Dea appears in the political,
American judge, a remarkable character of whom many military or literary history of Ireland but several are
amusing anecdotes are told. mentioned by the Four Masters and one Cornelius
O’Dea (d. 1434), was Archdeacon of Killaloe and
later Bishop of Limerick. Another notable bishop of the
(O)DAVOREN Formerly a flourishing Thomond name was most Rev. Thomas O’Dea (d. 1932) who as
sept, the O’Davorens have now dwindled to small Bishop of Galway administered also the Clare see of
numbers but are still found in Clare and the adjoining Kilfenora. Father Joseph Peter O’Dea (1743-1812), son
county of Tipperary. They are described as formerly a of an Irish exile, was a noteworthy priest in the diocese
learned brehon family seated at Lisdoonvarna, where of Nantes, where many Irish families settled in the
they had a literary and legal school, among the pupils eighteenth century. The well-known comedian of our
of which was Duald MacFirbis, the most distinguished own day, Jimmy O’Dea, was a Dubliner of Clare
of that celebrated family of Irish antiquaries. The Four ancestry. Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
Masters record the death in 1364 of Gillananaev O
Duibhdabhoireann — so the name was originally spelt —
chief brehon of Corcomroe: it was first anglicized (O)DELANY, Delane, (Dillane) Delany is a surname
phonetically as O’Duvdavoren and later shortened to never seen to-day with the prefix O which properly
O’Davoren. The “Wars of Torlough” mention Coradh belongs to it. It is O Dubhshlainte in Irish, Delany being
mic Dabhoirenn, i.e. Davoren’s weir near Corofin, in a phonetic rendering of this — the A of Delany was
1317. The O’Davorens had a mortuary chapel in the now formerly pronounced broad. An earlier anglicized form
vanished church of Noughaval in north Co. Clare. was O’Dulany e.g. Felix O’Dulany, Bishop of Ossory
Dubh (black) an da Bhoireann (of the two Burrens) is from 1178 to 1202, who built St. Canice’s Cathedral in
the suggested derivation of the name. Kilkenny. Dubh means black and Sidine is topographical
Arms illustrated on Plate VII. — Slaney in English. If it refers to the river Slaney it
suggests that this sept originally possessed a wider
territory than that usually assigned to it, namely
O’DEA O'Dea is a name associated alike in the past Coilluachtarach (now Upperwoods) at the foot of
and present almost exclusively with the County Clare Slieve Bloom near the source of the rivers Nore and
and the areas such as Limerick City and North Tipperary Barrow in Co. Leix. At the present time the name is
which immediately adjoin it. It is not a common name chiefly associated with Counties Leix and Kilkenny
elsewhere and even in County Clare is not numerous and in 1659, when Petty’s census was made, it appears
outside the part of the county where it originated. This as a principal Irish name in four baronies.of Queen’s
is indicated by the place names Tully O’Dea and Dysart County (now Leix) and in five of Co. Kilkenny. It is
O’Dea, the site of a famous battle in 1318. The head of sometimes abbreviated to Delane in Co. Mayo, and this
the sept was chief of a considerable territory comprising was the form used by Dennis Delane (d. 1750), the cele-
much of the barony of Inchiquin. In Irish the name is brated Dublin and London actor. Dillane, however,
O Dedghaidh. This is pronounced O D(y)aw, hence the is not a synonym of Delany, but the anglicized form of
occasional variant Daw in English. The normal pro- O’Duilleain, a Co. Limerick surname, sometimes

71
disguised as Dillon. Dean Patrick Delany (1684-1768), patronage of the bards was almost a thing of the past.
the friend of Dean Swift, was a Leix man. His wife, the O’Carolan was buried in the MacDermot family vault
famous Mary Delany (1700-1788), was also prominent at Kilronan. The name is numerous — it is included in
in the Swift circle. Michael Ronald (“Ronny’”’) Delany, the hundred commonest in Ireland. It is the second
champion athlete who brought honours to Ireland in the most common in its home county (Roscommon) and
1956 Olympic Games, is a Dubliner. is also found frequently in Counties Donegal and
Tyrone. It is seldom used without the prefix Mac, except
in Co. Leitrim where the simple form Dermott is not
(O)DEMPSEY The O’Dempseys are of the same stock uncommon. Its derivation is simple — Mac Diarmada
as the O’Connors of Offaly and were a powerful sept in (son of Diarmuid or Dermot). Three of the name may be
the territory lying on the borders of Leix and Offaly mentioned as outstanding: two of these were of the
known as Clanmalier. Hence the title Viscount chiefly family of Moylurg — Brian MacDermot (d. 1592),
Clanmalier bestowed by James I of England on Terence learned owner of the famous manuscript “The Annals
O’Dempsey, the family being then and in the reign of of Loch Cé” and Hugh MacDermot (1834-1904), leading
Elizabeth I consistently pro-English. An example of their barrister and politician; and a third, Martin MacDermott
activity in this respect will be found in the section on (1823-1905), Young Irelander and poet of The Nation.
O’Lalor (see entry below). However, they took the Irish The name MacDermot is also to be found among the
side later on in the seventeenth century: Edmund prominent members of exiled Irish families on the
O’Dempsey, Bishop of Leighlin, Lewis O’Dempsey, continent, both as ecclesiastics and as soldiers.
Viscount Clanmalier, and Barnabas O’Dempsey were In some parts of Connacht the name has been corr-
prominent members of the Confederation of Kilkenny upted to Kermode, due to the aspiration of the initial
and with Lysaght O’Dempsey, were exempted from D of Mac Diarmada in spoken Irish.
pardon by the Cromwellian victors in 1652: their Arms illustrated on Plate VII.
loyalty to the Catholic King James II resulted in the loss
of their estates. In earlier times, too, they were dis-
tinguished in the defence of their country and (O)DEVINE, Davin, (Devane) The name Devine is
O’Dempsey, Chief of Offaly, was one of the few Irish chiefly found to-day in the counties of Tyrone and
leaders who could boast of having defeated Strongbow Fermanagh. Up to the fifteenth century the chief of
in a military engagement, which he did in 1172, Strong- this sept was Lord of Tirkennedy in Co. Fermanagh.
bow’s son-in-law, de Quenci being killed in the battle. Though the etymology of the name has been ques-
Dermot O’Dempsey (d. 1193), Chief of the Name, tioned we may accept the view of so eminent a scholar
founded the Cistercian Abbey at Monasterevan. St. as O’Donovan that it is in Irish O Daimhin. This is also
Evin, it may be mentioned, who established the church anglicized as Davin, which is not a common name but
at Monasterevan, a place which bears his name, was the it is to be found in and around Co. Tipperary. The
patron saint of the O’Dempseys. The Dempseys, too, Davins of the midlands are probably a branch of the
were notable among the priests of the penal times, one O’Devines of Fermanagh and so ultimately an offshoot
of them John Dempsey, a relative of Viscount Clan- of the Maguires. The Four Masters mention one
malier, being Bishop of Kildare. O’Devine as coarb of Derry in 1066 as well as several
Arms illustrated on Plate VII. who were chiefs of Tirkennedy at various dates up to
1427.
In modern times the best known man of the name
MacDERMOT, Kermode The MacDermots are one of was Professor Edward Thomas Devine (1867-1948),
the few septs whose head is recognized by the Irish of Columbia University, famous as an organizer of
Genealogical Office as an authentic chieftain, that is to American charities.
say he is entitled in popular parlance to be called The Another Irish surname which is anglicized in some
MacDermot; and in this case this is enhanced by the places is O Dubhdin, normally anglicized Dwane or
further title of Prince of Coolavin, though of course as Devane in Munster and Duane in Connacht.
titles are not recognized under the Irish Constitution
the designation is only used by courtesy. The family
descends from Tadhg O’Connor, who was King of (O)DEVLIN There was once a not unimportant sept
Connacht before the Norman invasion. The MacDermots of O Doibhilin, anglice O’Devlin, in what is now the
divided into three distinct septs, or, if we disregard the barony of Corran, Co. Sligo. As late as 1316 one of
branch which early accepted English domination, into these, Gillananaev O’Devlin, who was standard bearer
two septs. The more important, having precedence, is to O’Connor, was slain in battle. Their descendants,
that of Coolavin, Co. Sligo, formerly of Moylurg, whose however, have either died out or have been dispersed.
territory embraced much, of Co. Roscommon; the The principal sept of the name belongs to Co. Tyrone.
other, further north in Co. Roscommon, owned Their chiefs were lords of the territory known as
Kilronan and was called MacDermot Roe (i.e. Red). Munterdevlin on the Tyrone shore of Lough Neagh.
Madam MacDermot (1659-1739), of Alderford, wife of Eighty per cent of present day Devlins (the prefix O
MacDermot Roe, was noted for her patronage of is seldom if ever used in modern times) are from Ulster,
O’Carolan the harper at the time when aristocratic most of whom hail from Tyrone or an adjacent county.

72
In the Elizabethan Fiants they are called Doibhin, but (O)DINNEEN, DINAN, (Downing) In our own day
the name is scarcely found in any form in the census the great majority of Dineens, who rarely if ever have
of 1659, since the Co. Tyrone is missing from that the prefix O in English, belong to Co. Cork families, es-
document. An O’Devlin who died in 1211 was Bishop pecially to the south-western part anciently known as
of Kells. A prominent rebel in the Portadown area in Corca Laoidhe. It was there the sept originated. It pro-
1641 was Patrick O’Develin; Francis O’Devlin (d. 1735), vided a succession of hereditary poets and historians
a’ Franciscan friar of Prague, born in Co. Tyrone, was a to the MacCarthys and occasionally, also, to the O’Sulli-
writer of some note; and James Devlin (d. 1825), wasa vans. Even after the destruction of the Gaelic order
veteran of the American War of Independence. The best the literary tradition of the O’Dinneens was continued,
known of the name in Irish history, however, was Tadhg O’Dinneen, poet to the Earl of Clancarty, being a
associated with Wicklow and Tyrone — Anne Devlin prominent member of the seventeenth century school
(1778-1851), the faithful servant of Robert Emmet, of poetry at Blarney. The best known man of the name,
who though imprisoned and tortured would not give Father Patrick Dinneen (1860-1934), compiler of the
information against him. Joe Devlin (1872-1934), the standard Irish-English dictionary, followed the literary
Belfast Nationalist M.P., one of the best known figures tradition of his forbears.
in Ireland during the first twenty years of the present The list of synonyms used by emigrants which was
century, and another Joseph Devlin (b. 1869), who compiled by the Cunard Company shows that Dinan,
wrote voluminously over the nom de plume of Dinane and also Denning were equated with Dinneen,
“Northern Gael’’, were both unmistakable Ulstermen. and Matheson’s Synonymes corroborates this in the case
Mr. T. O Raifeartaigh informs me that the O’Devlins of Dinan. Dinan, also spelt Dynan, is certainly a Munster
of Co. Sligo are still extant, and even numerous in name now and primarily of Co. Cork, and it appears
counties Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan, but the name there as such in the ‘“‘census” of 1659. Woulfe, however,
has been widely changed to Dolan. differentiates Dinneen and Dynan, giving O Daghndin as
the original Irish form of the latter.
In Irish the name is O Duinnin, which in Co. Kerry
DILLON '_ Although not native Gaelic in origin the has a variant O Duinin, anglicized Downing (see below
name Dillon may now be regarded as hundred per cent under O’Downey). Arms illustrated on Plate VIII.
Irish: when met outside Ireland it will almost always be
found to belong to a person of Irish origin or with Irish
connexions. The Dillons came to Ireland at the time of (O)DOHERTY, (MacDevitt) Doherty is an example
the Anglo-Norman invasion and during the well nigh of a surname in which the resumption of its prefix O
eight centuries which have elapsed since that event during the recent century has been very marked.
Dillon has been an important name in Irish history and Comparing the statistics of 1890 with 1955 we find that
in modern politics. The family never lost the power in the former year in Ireland out of 465 births registered
and influence it acquired at the end of the twelfth only eight i.e. less than two per cent were O’Doherty:
century. The large tract of country covering most of at the present time the proportion is approximately
the modern county of Westmeath, which was their fifty per cent. ie. those calling themselves Doherty
main territory, became known as Dillon’s Country. and O’Doherty are about equal. Alternative spellings
A branch settled in Co. Mayo. Many Dillons held high such as Dogherty and Dougherty are rarely met with
government office up the fall of the Stuarts. Their chief nowadays. In Munster Doherty is often not O Dochar-
renown thereafter was won as Colonel-Proprietors of taigh but O Dubhartaigh: this is more correctly anglicized
Dillon’s Regiment, famous in French military annals. Doorty in west Clare. In Oriel Dorritty is an occasional
The Dillons were created Counts in 1711 and their synonym. Many Irish surnames in their anglicized forms
descendants still live in France. Several holders of the present problems in regard to their origin. Doherty,
sixteenth century earldom of Roscommon have been however, is simple and straightforward. In Irish O
noteworthy, the best known being Wentworth Dillon Dochartaigh, which is said to be derived from the word
(1633-1685) the fourth earl, a voluminous and at one dochartach meaning obstructive, this large and powerful
time much esteemed poet. The present Lord Dillon is sept is of the same stock as the O’Donnells. Originating
nineteenth Viscount of Costello-Gallen in Co. Sligo. in the barony of Raphoe, Co. Donegal, the O’Doherty
Prominent Dillons of later times are too numerous to chiefs extended their territory till they became Lords
mention individually, but reference should be made to of Inishowen in the fourteenth century, but they were
three generations of a Co. Roscommon Dillon family greatly reduced as a result of the ill-timed rebellion of
who have played an important part in Irish politics: Sir Cahir O’Dougherty in 1608. The great majority of
John Blake Dillon (1816-1866), Young Irelander; his the present day bearers of the name live, or at least were
son John Dillon (1851-1927), M.P.; and his grandson born, in Donegal or the areas adjacent to that county.
James Dillon, Minister in the Government of the Re- Their numbers give them the fifteenth place in the list of
public of Ireland and a Leader of the Opposition. the commonest names in Ireland.
Arms illustrated on Plate VIII. From David O’Doherty, a chief of Cinel Conaill,
who was killed in 1208, descend the MacDevitts (in Irish
Mac Daibhid, son od David), who are numerous in Inish-
owen.

73
 Notable people of the name have been very numerous though their chief was still officially styled Rex Hiberni-
in every walk of Irish life. Sir Cahir O’Dougherty (1687- corum Ultoniae in 1273. After that they migrated to
1608), has already been mentioned; we may also cite in Tirconnaill (Donegal) where they became hereditary
politics John Dougherty (1783-1850), M.P., notorious as physicians to the O’Donnells; and one branch went to
the Crown prosecutor in the Doneraile Conspiracy case Scotland where their descendants are now known as
and subsequently Lord Chief Justice, and Kevin Izod Dunlop and Dunlief. Cormac MacDonlevy, one of these
O’Doherty (1823-1905), Young Irelander; in art William hereditary physicians, was a man of note in the fifteenth
James O’Doherty (1835-1868), the sculptor; and in litera- century on account of his translations of Gaulterus and
ture Thomas Dogherty (d. 1805), legal writer, and Mary other medical works into Irish. In the eighteenth century
Anne O’Doherty (1826-1910), the wife of Kevin Izod Rev. Andrew Donlevy, D.D., LL.D. (1694-c. 1761), who
O’Doherty. Arms illustrated on Plate VIII. was Superior of the Irish College in Paris from 1728 to
1746, compiled a catechism in Irish and English and also
collaborated with Walter Harris, the historian, who is
(O)DOLAN, Doolan The name Dolan is fairly best known for his work on the Ware manuscripts. Dr.
common to-day in Ulster — in the Catholic areas of Donlevy was born in Co. Sligo, in which county, not far
Counties Cavan and Fermanagh — and in the Counties of from Tirconnaill, the name Dunleavy is principally
Roscommon and Galway in Connacht. The latter is the found at the present time. Father Christopher Dunlevy,
place of origin of this sept which is a branch of the Ui O.F.M. was martyred in 1644.
Maine (Hy Many). In the census of 1659 the name Arms illustrated on Plate VIII.
appears principally in Counties Roscommon and
Fermanagh (the portion dealing with Co. Galway is
missing). The generally accepted form in Irish today is MacDONNELL McDonnells are to be found widely
O Dubhldin (mod. O Dilain) as given by Woulfe and distributed at the present day all over Ireland and,
others. I have little doubt that in the first edition of without including the cognate surname McDonald in
this work I was wrong to accept that as its supposed the count, the McDonnells in Ireland number nearly
derivation. In fact O’Doelan, later Dolan derives ten thousand persons. These have three distinct origins.
from O Dobhailen, the name of a family on record The most numerous are descendants of a Scottish clan
since the twelfth century in the baronies of Clom- from Argyle whose chief was known as Lord of the
macowen, Co. Galway, and Athlone, Co. Roscommon, Isles. They came to Ireland in the thirteenth century as a
in the heart of the Ui Maine country and quite military body and having established themselves as
distinct from O Doibhilin (Devlin). There has been gallowglasses to the most powerful chiefs in the north of
a movement north-eastwards so that now the name Ireland, they gradually acquired territory of their own
Dolan is numerous in counties Leitrim, Fermanagh and both as grants for military service and by marriage, and
Cavan as well as in counties Galway and Roscommon, by the middle of the fifteenth century were firmly
but see Devlin (supra) for the name Dolan in those established in the Glens of Antrim, having largely dis-
counties. These are also anglicized as Doolan and some- placed the MacQuillans. Randal MacSorley MacDonnell,
times as Dowling. A very well known Irish-American the head of this family, was created Earl of Antrim in
was Thomas Dolan (1834-1914), the capitalist; in 1620. The christian name Randal is of frequent occur-
Ireland the best known man of the name was Michael rence on their pedigree. Curtis says that the Burkes
J. Dolan (d. 1953), an outstanding actor in the Abbey brought the McDonnells to Mayo in 1399; by 1500 there
Theatre. were six McDonnell septs in Leinster. Some MacDonnells
of Ulster are, however, a distinct Gaelic Irish sept,
belonging to Co. Fermanagh, but these would appear to
MacDONLEVY, Dunleavy, Leavy Dunleavy, to give be almost extinct now. Another quite distinct sept of
its most usual modern form, may be regarded as a Mac MacDonnells are those of Thomond, who were, before
surname — Mac Duinnshléibhe in Irish — though in some the Gaelic way of life was disrupted by English invasion,
early manuscripts, e.g., the “Topographical Poems” of bards to the O’Briens. MacDonnells are still found there
O’Dugan and O’Heerin, the prefix O is used. In the in Co. Clare. These descend from Domhnall, son of King
“Annals of Loch Cé” the O prefix appears in the six- Murtagh Mor O’Brien. The name in Irish is Mac
teenth century, but all those mentioned before that are Domhnaill meaning son of Domhnall (anglice Donal).
Mac. In modern times it has many synonyms: besides In the seventeenth century the anglicized form Mac-
spelling variants such as Donlevy, there is McAleevy (due Daniell was more usual than MacDonnell.
to the aspiration of the D), Leevy (by abbreviation) and Mr. O Raifeartaigh reminds me that the Antrim
MacNulty, or in Irish, Mac an Ultaigh, ie., son of the surname MacDonnell is a pitfall for the unwary. Up to
Ulidian (Ultach). Under date 1395 the Four Masters our own time the local Irish pronunciation of the name
call the then Chief Physician of Tir Conaill Paul Ultach; was in accordance with the spelling "Ac Dhomhnaill,
and again for 1586 they record the death of Owen with the aspirated D silent, and so was sometimes anglic-
Ultach (i.e. MacDonlevy) who excelled as a medical ized McConnell and even O’Connell. Hence a
doctor. The MacDonlevys were originally a royal family MacConnell, from, say, Ballymena, is quite likely to be
of Ulidia (Down and South Antrim) but never recovered a descendant of the lords of the Isles rather than of a less
from their disastrous defeat by John de Courcy in 1177, famous sept.

74
 There have been many distinguished bearers of the O Donnell, bishop, “the apostle of Newfoundland”,
name. In war the most famous were Sorley Boy Mac- Father Hugh O’Donnell (1739-1814), first P.P. of
Donnell (1505-1590), a lifelong foe of the English and Belfast, and Cardinal Patrick O’Donnell (1856-1927), at
often successful in his engagement with them, Alastar one time descended from our Tirconaill O’Donnells.
“Colkitto” MacDonnell, intrepid foe of the Cromwellians Arms illustrated on Plate VIII.
killed in action in 1647, and Francis MacDonnell (1656-
1702), of the Wild Geese in Austria; in politics Eneas
MacDonnell (1783-1858), of the Catholic Association O’DONNELLAN, Donlon The O’Donnellans were a
and Sir Anthony (later Lord) MacDonnell (1844-1915), sept of the Ui Maine. They belong, therefore, by origin
the devolutionist; in literature Eneas (q.v. supra), Sean to the south-eastern part of Co. Galway where the place
Cldrach MacDonnell (1691-1754), who was ack- name Ballydonnellan perpetuates their connexion with
nowledged by his contemporaries as the supreme poet the district between Ballinasloe and Loughrea. They
of Munster, and John de Courcy MacDonnell (1859- claim descent from Domhalldn, lord of Clan Breasail.
1915), notable in Celtic Studies. Alexander MacDonnell The original castle of Ballydonnellan is reputed to have
(1798-1835), was world chess champion in 1833. been built by them in 936 A.D.; it was certainly rebuilt
Arms illustrated on Plate VIII. by them in 1412 after being destroyed by fire. They
are chiefly known as ollavs or poets, many of whom are
mentioned in the “Annals of the Four Masters’, the
O’DONNELL The O’Donnells have always been both ‘Annals of Connacht” etc. The best known of them was
numerous and eminent in Irish life. They are of course Brian Mac Owen O’Donnellan (fl. c. 1610), poet to
chiefly associated with Tirconnaill (Donegal) the habitat MacWilliam of Clanricard, whom Hyde describes as one
of the largest and best known O’Donnell sept; but, as the of the last of the classic poets. His contemporary, Rt.
present distribution of persons of the name implies, Rev. Nehemiah Donnellan (d. 1609), Protestant Arch-
there were quite distinct O’Donnell septs in other parts bishop of Tuam, also a Co. Galway man, translated a
of the country, two of which require special mention, great part of the New Testament into Irish. He was the
viz. that of Corcabaskin in West Clare, and another, a direct descendant of Chiefs of the Name, of Bally-
branch of the Ui Maine (Hy Many) in Co. Galway. donnellan, and ancestor of the Donelans of Sylanmore,
All of these descend from some ancestor Domhnall Tuam. The majority of the Donelans of this line reverted
(anglice Donal) and are O Domhnaill in Irish. The Donal to the Catholic faith. The name is quite common to-day
particularized in the case of the great Tirconnaill sept, in Co. Galway and also in the adjacent counties of Clare
who died in 901, was himself descended from the and Mayo.
famous Niall of the Nine Hostages. Their predominance It is also spelt Donlan and Donlon. In Irish it is O
only dates from the thirteenth century: prior to that Domhnallain, indicating descent from the Domhnallan
they were located in a comparatively restricted area mentioned above.
around Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal. With a total of nearly Arms illustrated on Plate VIII.
13,000 the O’Donnells are among the fifty most
common names in Ireland. They have produced many
illustrious figures in Irish history, as soldiers, churchmen, O’DONNELLY According to the latest available
authors and politicians. The most famous was Hugh Roe statistics there are not far short of ten thousand persons
O’Donnell (Red Hugh) (1571-1602), Chief of the Name, of the name Donnelly in Ireland to-day, which places this
whose escape from captivity in Dublin Castle makes an name among the sixty-five most numerous in the
adventure story beloved of young and old. After several country. Practically all these may be regarded as
brilliant victories over the English army he participated belonging to the Ulster Donnelly sept — O Donnghaile
in the disaster at Kinsale and, retiring to Spain, was of Cinel Eoghan. This is of the same stock as the
poisoned, it is said, by one Blake, an English agent. O’Neills, the eponymous ancestor of the sept being
Hugh Balderg O’Donnell (d. 1704), Daniel O’Donnell Donnghaile O’Neill, seventeenth in descent from Niall
(1666-1735), Calvagh O’Donnell (d. 1566) and Manus the Great, ancestor of the royal house of O’Neill. Their
O Donnell (d. 1654), were other soldiers of note in territory lay first in Co. Donegal and later further
Ireland and on the continent. Rory O’Donnell, first eastwards, centered around the place called Bally-
Earl of Tyrconnell, (1575-1608), of the “Flight of the donnelly, Co. Tyrone, which was named from them.
Earls” and Sir Niall Garv O’Donnell (1569-1626), whose The place name Ballydonnelly also occurs twice in that
activities in Ireland caused him to spend 27 years in- part of Co. Antrim which adjoins Co. Tyrone. This area
carcerated in the Tower of London, were close relatives is still the part of Ireland in which they are most
of Red Hugh, as was the adventurous Mary Stuart numerous. Their chief was hereditary marshal of
O’Donnell (1608-1649). O’Neill’s military forces and they were noted soldiers
The Annals are full of the exploits of O’Donnell in early times, one of the most famous of them, Donnell
chiefs and military leaders in the north-west of Ireland, O’Donnelly, being killed at the battle of Kinsale (1603).
while in more recent times notable O’Donnells have Another, Patrick Modardha O’Donnelly, out in 1641,
been Frank Hugh O’Donnell, M.P. (1848-1916), John captured the castle of Ballydonnelly from Lord
Francis O’Donnell (1837-1874), of the Nation and at Caulfield. It was subsequently renamed Castle Caulfield.
least three remarkable ecclesiastics, viz. Dr. James Louis Another sept called in English O’Donnelly, but in Irish

ibs)
O Donnghalaigh, belonged to Lower Ormond in Co. (1878-1916), was not only a poet of distinction but also
Tipperary, but as there appear to be few survivors of a leader of the Rising of Easter 1916 and a signatory of
it to-day it can be dismissed with a bare mention. the Declaration of Independence, being one of those
In modern times prominent Donnellys are connected who was a victim of the long drawn out executions which
with the U.S.A. rather than Ireland the country of their followed that event. In the military sphere Andrew
origin, e.g. Charles Francis Donnelly (1836-1909), the MacDonagh (b. 1738), who accompanied Wolfe Tone
Catholic lawyer; Ignatius Donnelly (1831-1901), in the Bantry Bay expedition in 1796, was of a Sligo
politician and reformer; and the last named’s sister family which was able to boast that forty of its members
Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly (1838-1917), author of many served France in the Irish Brigade.
Catholic devotional works. The Ulster surname Donaghy, common in Tyrone and
Arms illustrated on Plate VIII. Derry, is a variant of MacDonagh.
Arms illustrated on Plate IX.

MacDONOGH, (Donaghy) Like so many well known

Irish surnames, especially where like MacDonagh (Irish (O)DONOGHUE, Donohoe, Dunphy Donoghue or
Mac Donnchadha, i.e. son of Donnchadh, or Donagh) Donohoe, more properly O’Donoghue, is one of the
they are formed from a common christian or personal most important as well as the most numerous names in
name, MacDonagh is one which came into being inde- Ireland. In Irish O Donnchadha, it denotes descendant of
pendently in two widely separated parts of the country. Donnchadh, anglice Donogh, a personal name. Several
We usually find the modern descendants of their original distinct septs of the name existed in early times. Of
ancestors in considerable numbers in the territory of these the principal are O'Donoghue of Desmond,
their origin (or, where dispossessed by invasion, in the O’Donoghue of Ui Maine (Hy Many) and O’ Donoghue
territory of their subsequent settlement). MacDonagh, of Co. Cavan. The modern representatives of the two
however, would appear at first sight to be an exception latter usually spell the name Donohoe, and are still
to that general rule. That MacDonagh sept whose chiefs found plentifully in Counties Galway and Cavan, while
in Co. Cork held the strong castle of Kanturk and were the first-named are mostly in Counties Kerry and Cork,
known as Lords of Duhallow, was a branch of the Mac- i.e. in the Desmond country. They are of the same
Carthys. The name MacDonagh is now rare there but stock as the O’Mahonys, descended from Domhnall
there is reason to believe that these MacDonaghs in son of the King of Munster who took part in the battle
many cases assumed the surname MacCarthy. Taking the of Clontarf in 1014. They were originally in West Cork,
last year for which statistics are available we find that of but having been driven into Kerry by the MacCarthys,
174 MacDonagh births registered in the period only they became very powerful in that county, and a district
eleven were in Munster and nine in Ulster, while as many called Onaght O’Donoghue perpetuates their occupation.
as 141 were in Connacht. As Leinster includes Dublin The sept split into two branches, the head of one being
the 13 recorded for that province may well be children styled O’Donoghue Mor, with his seat on Lough Leine
of Connacht residents in the capital. It is clear from this at Ross Castle (still one of the tourist attractions near
that the other MacDonagh sept has survived vigorously Killarney); the other was O’Donoghue of the Glen.
in the province of its origin. These MacDonaghs were a O’Donoghue Mor estates were confiscated during the
branch of the great MacDermot clan, whose chiefs long Elizabethan wars, but O’Donoghue of the Glen held on
held sway in Counties Sligo and Roscommon: the at Glenflesk and the present head of the family is
MacDonagh chiefs were lords of Corran or Tireril in Co. one of the few Chiefs of the Name recognized officially
Sligo. Mr. J. C. MacDonagh, who collected much useful in Ireland as eligible to use that designation, i.e. to be
information regarding the Connacht septs of Mac- called in popular parlance ““The O’Donoghue’’. Geoffrey
Donagh, considered that while the MacDonaghs of O’Donoghue of the Glen, one of the leading Gaelic poets
Thomond are undoubtedly a branch of the main Co. and scholars of the seventeenth century, if not himself
Sligo sept, those of Co. Galway are of different stock, Chief of the Name was most probably son of the
viz. an offshoot of the O’Flahertys of Connemara. In chieftain Geoffrey O'Donoghue (d. 1678). Another
this note the name has been spelled MacDonagh through- minor O’Donoghue sept belonged to Ossory but these
out, but in fact only 100 of the 174 births referred to are now called Dunphy. A hundred years ago the
above were so entered, the other 74 being given as Mac- peasantry there were still O’Donoghue, and Dunphy was
Donogh, MacDonough etc. Though lack of uniformity in “genteel”. Dunphy, however, is recorded in the census
the spelling of names has little significance prior to the of 1659 as one of the principal Irish names in the barony
introduction of compulsory registration in 1864, it is of Iverk, Co. Kilkenny.
noticeable that three individuals who may be cited as Like all the great Irish families O’Donoghues distin-
noteworthy Irishmen of the name each used a different guished themselves in the armies of continental powers
spelling. John MacDonogh (1779-1850), the Irish-born in the eighteenth century. In Spain the name became
American philanthropist, is best remembered for his O’Donoju — Juan O’Donoju (1751-1821) was the last
efforts on behalf of slaves; Thomas MacDonough Spanish ruler of Mexico. Donnchadh O Donnchadha
(1783-1825) another Irish-American, was a naval officer founded Jerpoint Abbey at the end of the twelfth
who greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Platts- century. Several O’Donoghues distinguished them-
burg; while in our own times Thomas MacDonagh selves in the nineteenth century in politics and literature.

76
John O’Donoghue (1812-1893) was the author of A the Ely O’Carroll country where they acquired a footing
Historical Memoir of the O’Briens and other works; on the western slopes of Slieve Bloom. They soon firmly
Patrick Donahoe (1811-1901) was founder and first established themselves there, so much so that the head
editor of the Boston Pilot, while David James of the family became the inaugurator of O’Carroll,
O’Donoghue (1866-1917), author of The Poets of King of Ely. The census of 1659 shows them to be very
Ireland etc., was a well-known librarian and research numerous in Leix and Offaly in the seventeenth century.
worker, Arms illustrated on Plate IX. Offaly, too is the main homeland of present day
O’Dooleys, or rather Dooleys, for they seldom if ever
use the prefix O in English.
(O)DONOVAN _ There are few families about which The sept has produced no outstanding personality
we have more information than the O’Donovans, for not in Ireland. The name is familiar to many people outside
only have the Genealogical Office a verified pedigree of Ireland on account of the humorous character Mr. Dooley
the eldest branch from Gaelic times, when they held (Irish-American saloon-keeper in Chicago), created by
a semi-royal position, to the present day, but also the Finlay Peter Dunn, whose Mr. Dooley books were
notes of Dr. John O’Donovan, one of Ireland’s most published between 1898 and 1919.
distinguished antiquarians and a member of a junior In “Linea Antiqua” O Dubhalla appears as one of the
branch of the same sept, are available to us. Their place minor septs of Muskerry, Co. Cork, but this seems to
of origin is Co. Limerick, but shortly after the Norman be non-existent now.
invasion they were forced to migrate to south-west Co.
Cork and it is with that area that they have since been
chiefly associated. There lives the present officially (O)DORAN, Dorrian The O’Dorans have been justly
recognized “Chief of the Name” and there are found described as “‘the great brehon family of Leinster’, but
the greatest number of persons of the name. In fact, they are probably better known as traditional anti-
according to the latest available returns of the Registrar quarians who kept in their possession from generation
General of Births, of 211 births registered in that year, to generation one of the three manuscript copies of the
194 were in Munster and of these 175 were in Co. Cork. “Tripartite Life of St. Patrick”. Originally one of the
From this we may estimate that there are nearly 9,000 Seven Septs of Leix (O’Devoy, O’Doran, McEvoy,
persons of the name in Ireland at the present day. An O’Dowling, O’Kelly, O’Lalor, O’Moore), whose leading
increasing number of these prefix the O to the name: members were transplanted to Kerry in 1609, they are
sixty years ago less than two per cent did so. Dr. John still found in considerable numbers in Leinster, but
O’Donovan, mentioned above, came from Co. Kilkenny rather in Co. Wexford than in their original territory.
where a branch of the sept was also established and In 1540 they were seated at Chappell, Co. Wexford,
spread into Co. Wexford. As a power in the land the now a well farmed area but then almost a wilderness,
O’Donovans were ruined by their adhesion to the with the Blackstairs Mountain in the background.
Catholic cause in the time of James II. Following his At that time the English accused them of “succouring
defeat many of them took service in the Irish Brigades rebellious plunderers in their judicial (brehon) capacity”
in the continental armies. O’Donovan’s Infantry was one A generation later, however, they were actually con-
of the foremost regiments of King James’s army in sulted by the Lord Deputy on a question of government
Ireland.» administration; and in 1608 they are listed as among the
In modern Irish the name is O Donnabhdin and is principal gentlemen of Co. Wexford. The place-name
formed from two Gaelic words donn (brown) and Doransland emphasizes their association with that
dubhan (a derivative of dubh — black). county.
In addition to Dr. John O’Donovan (1809-1861), They were formerly called O’Deoran in English, the
referred to above, his son Edmund (1844-1883), whose Irish form of the name being O Deordin, itself a con-
adventures as journalist and soldier in foreign armies traction of the earlier O Deoradhdin, which is possibly
were noteworthy, may be mentioned. The most famous derived from deoradh, an exile.
of the name in Irish history was Jeremiah O’Donovan Dorans are also fairly numerous to-day in counties
{1831-1915), called Rossa, the Fenian who went to Armagh and Down, in which counties a sept of the
America after being released from prison. His funeral name was early established. A variant of the name
to Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin, was one of the largest found in that area is Dorrian, e.g. Most Rev. Patrick
ever witnessed and was the occasion of a famous and Dorrian (1814-1885), for many years Bishop of Down
inspiring address by Padraig Pearse. and Connor. A century earlier the see was held by
Arms illustrated on Plate IX. Edward O’Doran. From Oriel, too, came Dr. John
Doran (1807-1878), the poet and historian; while from
the main sept in Leix came Maurice Doran, the Bishop
O’DOOLEY The modern form of this name in Irish of Leighlin who in 1523 was murdered by his arch-
is O Dubhlaoich. The Four Masters write it O Dughlaich, deacon, one of the Kavanaghs. Also of the main sept
describing their chiefs in the eleventh and twelfth cen- was Charles Guilfoyle Doran (1835-1909), Fenian and
turies as Lords of Fertullagh, which is in the south- book collector, whose voluminous writings, as well as
eastern end of Co. Westmeath. They were driven thence long residence, closely identified him with Cork.
by the O’Melaghlins and the Tyrrells and migrated to Arms illustrated on Plate IX.

a
(O)DOWD, Dowda, Doody, (Duddy) This is one of Limerick. All the others were natives of Leix or one of
the O names with which the prefix has been widely the adjoining counties. Among these we may mention
retained, O'Dowd being more usual than Dowd. Other Vincent Dowling (1787-1844), colonial judge and author
modern variants are O’Dowda and Dowds, with Doody, of legal treatises, and Vincent George Dowling (1785-
another synonym, found around Killarney. All are 1852), founder, and editor for nearly thirty years, of
O Dubhda (pronounced O’Dooda) in Irish, the root Bell’s Life and also of Fistiana, publications which were
word being dubh black. The sept traces its descent from carried on in turn by his son Frank Lewis Dowling
Fiachra, brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages, through (1821-1867); Richard Dowling (1846-1898), novelist
Daithi, the last pagan King of Ireland. For centuries they and editor of the Dublin humorous journals Zozimus
were the leading sept of the northern Ui Fiachrach. and /reland’s Eye, was also a Leix man, as was Dr.
Their territory at its widest embraced the baronies of Jeremiah Dowling (1830-1906), author of The Claddagh
Erris and Tirawley-in Mayo and Tireragh in Sligo. They Boatman; and, to go back some three centuries, there
were considerably reduced by the Anglo-Norman was Thady Dowling (1544-1628), annalist and Irish
incursion into Connacht in the thirteenth century but language grammarian. Arms illustrated on Plate IX.
were still powerful and in 1354 Sen-Bhrian O’Dowd
succeeded in driving all the Anglo-Norman settlers out
of Tireragh for a time. The name has been well rep- (O)DOWNEY, (MacEldowney), DOHENY,
resented in its original homeland throughout the MULDOWNEY The O’Downeys were of some im-
centuries up to the present day. portance in early mediaeval times, when there were two
A quite distinct minor sept of O Dubhda was located distinct septs of O Duinadhaigh. That of Sil Anmchadha,
in Co. Derry. Survivors of this in Ulster to-day are of the same stock as the O’Maddens, several of whom
usually called Duddy. are described in the “Annals of Innisfallen”, “Four
Several O’Dowds were bishops of the see of Killala. Masters” etc., as lords of Sil Anmchadha, became sub-
Father John O’Duada, who was tortured and hanged in merged as early as the twelfth century: their descend-
1579 was one of the many Irish Franciscan martyrs. ants, are still found in quite considerable numbers in
Many of the name appear in the ranks of the Con- that county (i.e. Co. Galway). Though the prefix O is
federate Catholics and, later in the seventeenth century, now quite obsolete in English in the case of Downey, in
in King James’s army. The head ofthe sept at that time, the Irish language O Dunadhaigh is sometimes Mac
who was killed at the battle of the Boyne, is said to have Diinadhaigh in Co. Galway. This, of course, would be
been seven feet tall, and it is noteworthy that great anglicized as MacDowney. MacDowney, however, which
height is a feature of this family. In more recent times is actually to be found in Ulster, though a rare name
the best known is Rev. Patrick Dowd (1813-1891), even there, is the anglicized form of quite a different
the Irish priest who did so much for the Catholic comm- surname. viz. Mac Giolla Domhnaigh, usually rendered
unity of Montreal. MacEldowney in English and sometimes simply Downey.
For much pedigree information on O’Dowds see The Families named Downey in Ulster are presumably of this
Tribes and Customs of Hy Fiachrach, App. A, K and N. origin. MacEldowney is essentially a Co. Derry name,
Arms illustrated on Plate IX. seldom found elsewhere.
In addition to the principal sept of O’Downey dealt
with above the name Downey is also used as an abbrevi-
(O)DOWLING ~The Dowlings are one of the “Seven ation of Muldowney. It so occurs in south Down in nine-
Septs of Leix”, the leading members of which were teenth century returns, as do Dawney, Gildowney, and
transplanted to Tarbert on the border of north Kerry Macgilldowney. The last two, of course, are properly
and west Limerick in 1609. This transplantation did not synonyms of MacEldowney, not.of O’Muldowney.
affect the rank and file of the sept who multiplied in O Maoldhomhnaigh is the Gaelic form of Molony.
their original territory: this lay along the western bank The same name, but with the D unaspirated (i.e. O
of the River Barrow, anciently called Fearann ua Maoldomhnaigh) is anglicized Muldowney. This is
n-Dunlaing i.e. O’Dowling’s country. Thence they spread presumably of the same origin as Molony. O’Molony and
eastwards through Counties Carlow and Kilkenny O’Muldowney were formerly used synonymously:
(where they are most numerous to-day) and even as far for example Mulcahy O’Molony, Bishop of Kilmacduagh
as Co. Wicklow — there are no less than four townlands from 1570 to 1610, was also referred to as Muldowney;
called Ballydowling in the Rathdrum area of Co. and in the “census” of 1659 Mullowny and Muldowney
Wicklow. The transplantation to Kerry had little per- are returned as one name in the barony of Fassadinin,
manent effect as regards numbers; nevertheless, two or Co. Kilkenny, where families so called were then fairly
three of the many Dowlings of distinction, nearly all of numerous. They have been associated with Kilkenny
whom were connected with literary activities in some continuously since then.
form, were Kerrymen: viz. Bartholomew Dowling In the south of Ireland Dawney and Downey are
(1823-1863), author of The Brigade of Fontenoy and his often found as synonyms of Doheny (the Gaelic form of
brother William Dowling, a poet identified with America which, according to Woulfe, is O Dubhchonna), a name
_rather than with his own country; Most Rev. Austin familiar to students of nineteenth century history in the
Dowling (1868-1930), Archbishop of St. Paul’s, U.S.A., person of Michael Doheny (1805-1863) the Young
was of a family which emigrated from Co. Kerry or Co. Irelander. This sept was one of the Corca Laoidhe and

78
has always been associated with Cork and neighbouring teenth century that men of the name were particularly
counties. prominent, none more so that the famous “J.K.L.” —
As well as the Galway sept there was a more James Doyle (1786-1834), Bishop of Kildare and
important sept of O Dinadhaigh which was located in Leighlin, that champion of the Catholic cause. Another
Luachair of which their chiefs were lords: they are outstanding churchman was Father William Doyle,
mentioned as such by O’Heerin who died in 1420. S.J. (1873-1917); while the best known outside Ireland
Luachair is the old name of a district lying on the was undoubtedly Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930),
borders of three modern counties, viz. Cork, Kerry, and the creator of Sherlock Holmes. His grandfather was
Limerick; and, appropriately enough, it is in these Dublin born John Doyle (1797-1868), the famous
counties that families of Downey are mostly found “H.B.” of Punch, who resigned his lucrative position on
to-day. Some of this sept have anglicized their name as the staff of that well known weekly because of its anti-
Dowling, a well-known name in Co. Kerry. Catholic bias and it is worthy of note that five closely
In modern times few Downeys have been note- related Doyles of this branch are included in the
worthy. The best known was Most Rev. Richard Dictionary of National Biography, a distinction equalled
Downey (1881-1953), Archbishop of Liverpool. by very few other families.
MacDubhghaill (dubh, black; gall, foreigner) is the
Irish form of the name of the Scottish family of
DOYLE, (MacDowell) Doyle, never found as O’Doyle MacDugall which came from the Hebrides as gallow-
in modern times, stands high in the list of Irish surnames glasses and settled in Co. Roscommon where Lismac-
arranged in order of numerical strength, holding twelfth donnell locates them. It is now mainly found in north
place with approximately 21,000 souls out of a pop- Ulster, largely due to more recent emigration.
ulation of something less than 4 millions. Though now Peter and Allen Dowell were tituladoes in the parish
widely distributed it was always most closely associated of Shankill, barony of Roscommon, in the census of
with the counties of south-east Leinster (Wicklow, 1659. Lismacdowell is in the adjoining parish. Col. Luke
Wexford and Carlow) in which it is chiefly found to-day, Dowell was one of the Co. Roscommon Jacobites.
as it is in the records of the fifteenth, sixteenth and His son Denis, outlawed under William III, was wrongly
seventeenth centuries. returned as Donnell. Patrick MacDowell (1799-1870),
The statement that the name is derived from the Irish a sculptor of note, was born in Belfast. Benjamin
word doilbh (meaning dark, gloomy, melancholy) may McDowell (1821-1885) of Trinity College, Dublin, was
be discounted; it is generally accepted that the correct a famous ‘“‘character” who might be regarded as the
derivation is dhubh-ghall, i.e. dark foreigner, and the prototype of the “absent-minded professor”.
name in Irish is always written O Dubhghaill. As Dubh- Arms illustrated on Plate IX.
ghaill it appears in the “‘Annals of the Four Masters”
at various dates between 978 and 1013. The family is
not included in the great Gaelic genealogies, which (O)DRISCOLL Few if any families have been so
supports the traditional belief that the eponymous continuously and exclusively associated with the terri-
ancestor is in this case a descendant of one of the tory of their origin as the Driscolls or O’Driscolls. They
Norsemen who settled in pre-Norman times; and in fact belong to Co. Cork. At first they were concentrated
that Doyles are and were always more numerous in in south Kerry but pressure by the O’Sullivans drove
areas adjacent to the sea coast, where Norse settlements them eastwards and they settled then around Baltimore
existed, tends to confirm this view. Dubhghall, it may in south-west Cork. There they remained, though
be mentioned, is the word used in early times to denote pressure by the O’Mahonys and O’Donovans further
a Norseman or Scandinavian. One authority, however, reduced the extent of their territory. In 1460 the chief
Rev. John Francis Shearman, asserts that the eponymous of the sept founded the Franciscan monastery there.
ancestor of the east Leinster Doyles was Dubhgilla, Their eponymous ancestor was Eidersceoil, the surname
son of Bruadar, King of Idrone (Co. Carlow) in 851. being O hEidersceoil, later corrupted to O Drisceoil.
There is reason to believe that at the time surnames Eidersceoil, who was born about 910 A.D., was
came into being in Ireland, that is to say for the most descended from Lughaidh Laidhe the principal progenitor
part the eleventh and twelfth centuries, more than one of the Corca Laoidhe clan. This clan or group name was
quite distinct family acquired that of O Dubhghaill or applied to that part of Co. Cork embraced by the
Doyle. It should be added that there is no reliable diocese of Ross. The many septs comprised in it can be
evidence for the claim which is sometimes made that seen by reference to the Munster map showing the
some Doyles are an offshoot of the great Decies sept locations of the families. The territorial importance of
of O’Phelan. the O’Driscolls waned in the seventeenth century, but
Doyle in Ulster is sometimes found as a synonym of many of their leading men were prominent in the army
MacDowell — Mac Dughghaill in Irish — a family which of James II in Ireland. Cornelius O’Driscoll, the son of
came to Ireland as Gallowglasses from the Hebrides: the one of these, when a colonel in the Irish Brigade, greatly
name there is MacDugall. The principal settlement of distinguished himself at the battle of Ondara in 1707.
this family was in Co. Roscommon. Notwithstanding successive confiscations members of
The first bridge built over the Liffey in Dublin was the sept continued to live in their homeland and it is
constructed by a Doyle. It was, however, in the nine- remarkable that, according to the most recent statistics

79
available, 120 out of 121 Driscoll births recorded for diocese of Waterford, viz. Father Eugene (or Owen)
the year were in Munster and nearly all of these in Co. O’Duffy (c. 1527-1615), a famous preacher who always
Cork. used the Irish language in his sermons: he was the author
In the Miscellany of the Celtic Society (1839) John of the well-known satire on the apostate bishop Miler
O’Donovan gives extensive notes and extracts from Magrath.
documents relating to the sept of O’Driscoll, including In other spheres O’Duffys have distinguished them-
Gaelic poems on the family. These fill 125 pages of the selves in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among
book. these we may mention Edward Duffy (1840-1868), the
O’Driscoll is a notable example of the resumption leading Fenian in Connacht, who died in an English
of the prefixes O and Mac to surnames from which they prison; Monaghan born James Duffy (1809-1871), the
had been dropped during the two centuries of Gaelic founder of the well-known Dublin publishing firm; and
depression. Current directories etc. reveal the fact that three members of the Gavan Duffy family (which, by
the O’Driscolls recorded outnumber the Driscolls by 10 the way, is not a hyphenated name) -- Sir Charles Gavan
to 1 and in the Jrish Catholic Directory there are no Duffy (1816-1903), also of a Co. Monaghan family,
priests without the prefix while eleven O’Driscolls founder of the Young Ireland party and The Nation
are inserted. A similar comparison for sixty years ago newspaper, subsequently Prime Minister of Victoria,
shows ten times as many Driscolls as O’Driscolls. Australia; his son John Gavan Duffy (1844-1917), also
Arms illustrated on Plate IX. a member of the Victoria government, though born in
Dublin; and of the third generation a very prominent
figure in modern Irish politics, George Gavan Duffy
(O)DUFFY, Duhig, Dowey The name Duffy or (1882-1951), one of the signatories of the Anglo-
O’Duffy is widepread in Ireland: it is among the fifty Irish Treaty of 1922 and later President of the High
commonest surnames; standing first in the list for Co. Court of Justice of Ireland.
Monaghan, it is also very numerous in north Connacht. The variant Duhig occurs in Munster. Sir James Duhig,
It is found in Munster to some extent but there it often the late Archbishop of Brisbane, was born at Limerick in
takes the form Duhig, while in parts of Donegal it has 1871. He held that position for 46 years. His predecessor,
become Doohey and Dowey. These variants arose from the first Archbishop, Robert Dunne (1830-1917),
local pronunciations of the Irish O Dubhthaigh, a a native of Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, held it for 30
surname in which the root word is dubh (black). years. The first bishop was James Quinn, appointed in
There were several distinct septs of O’Duffy. One 1859. He was so successful in promoting Irish emigration
belongs to the parish of Lower Templecrone in the to Australia that his critics sarcastically suggested
diocese of Raphoe, Co. Donegal, the patron saint of changing the name of Queensland to Quinnsland.
which is the seventh century Dubhthach, or Duffy. The Mayo surname O Doithe, formerly anglicized
His kinsmen the O’Duffys were erenaghs and coarbs O’Diff, presents an example of the absorption of un-
there for eight hundred years. The Connacht sept, common names by common ones: the O’Diffs have now
the centre of whose territory was Lissonuffy or Lissy- become generally Duffys and so are hardly distinguish-
duffy near Strokestown, named after them, was re- able from the O’Duffys of the adjoining county of
markable for the number of distinguished ecclesiastics Roscommon.
it produced, particularly in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. Among the many abbots and bishops whose
names are recorded in the Annals and in the Rental of (O)DUGGAN, (O)Dugan Duggan, in Irish O Dubh-
Cong Abbey, compiled by Tadhg O’Duffy in 1501, the again, is in some places given in English speech approx-
most noteworthy were Cele (also called Cadhla and imately the Irish pronunciation viz. Doogan. The prefix
Catholicus) O’Duffy, Archbishop of Tuam, who was O, dropped in the seventeenth century, has not been
King Roderick O’Connor’s ambassador to Henry II in resumed. Apart from Dublin the name is now almost
1175, and Muiredagh O’Duffy (1075-1150), also Arch- entirely confined to Munster, especially the Counties
bishop of Tuam. This family was much occupied with Cork, Tipperary and Waterford; in the seventeenth
ecclesiastical art and was responsible for making the century it was very numerous in Co. Tipperary. This is
famous Cross of Cong. They are traditionally believed as might be expected, because the principal sept of
to have originally been located in east Leinster, of the O’Dugan originated in the area around the modern town
same stock as the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles. The same of Fermoy, where in pre-Norman times its chief was lord
origin is claimed for the O’Duffys of Monaghan. There, of the territory later known as Roche’s Country: this
too, they were remarkable for their contribution to the borders on the Co. Tipperary. One other sept of
Church; but in this case not for mediaeval dignitaries, O’Dugan was notable: that belonging to the Ui Maine,
but for the extraordinary number of parish clergy though not of the same stock as the O’Kellys, which
of the name: for example, in the lists of priests and has left its mark not only in some distinguished descend-
sureties compiled: for Co. Monaghan in accordance ants, but also in the place name Ballyduggan near
with the Penal Laws in the eighteenth century Duffy Loughrea. To that sept belonged John O’Dugan (d.
is by far the most numerous name. One other priest 1372), co-author of the celebrated “Topographical
must be mentioned, though he has no apparent con- Poems”. He was one of the hereditary historians and
nexion with these, since he was vicar of Tubrid in the poets to the O’Kellys. A later Gaelic poet Maurice

80
O’Dugan is remembered for the words he put to the staunch resistance to English aggression and many
air “An Chuil Fhionn”. Of the Hy Many sept, too, are recorded in this connexion in mediaeval and early
was Most Rev. Patrick Duggan (1813-1896), Bishop of modern times. Coming down to 1798, Michael Dwyer
Clonfert, who was tried for his part in the Galway (1771-1825) defied the English Government forces for
election of 1872, and acquitted. Peter Paul Duggan five years: his end, after being sentenced to transporta-
(d. 1861), was a historian who attained some fame tion following his voluntary surrender in 1803, was to
in America as an artist and it is probable that Augustine become a policeman in Australia. In our own day,
Joseph Hickey Duganne (1823-1884), American poet Most Rev. Edward O’Dwyer (1842-1917), the Bishop
and story writer, was of Irish origin. of Limerick, endeared himself to the people of Ireland
Arms illustrated on Plate IX. by his manly stand on behalf of Sinn Féin and the men
of 1916. In America Joseph O’Dwyer (1841-1898)
was noted as a pioneer physician, particularly in regard
(O)DUNN, Dunn In Irish O Duinn or O Doinn to the treatment of diphteria. William O’Dwyer (b.
(doinn is the genitive case of the adjective donn — 1890) also had a remarkable career: starting as an
brown) it is more often written Dunne than Dunn in emigrant labourer from Co. Mayo he became Mayor
English. The form O’Doyne, common in the seventeenth of New York and one of the most notable of United
century, is now almost obsolete.-In fact of 364 births States ambassadors. A very full account of this sept
registered for them in a given year, 313 had the final is given in The O’Dwyers of Kilnamanagh by Sir Michael
E and only 51 were Dunn. From this it can be estimated O’Dwyer. Interesting information on this sept will also be
that the total number of people so called in Ireland found in Glankeen of Borrisoleigh, by Rev. M. Kenny,
to-day is approximately 15,000, giving them twenty- S.J. In Chapter II] he deals with Edmond O’Dwyer
seventh place in the list of commonest surnames in (Eamonn a’ Chnuic). Arms illustrated on Plate X.
Ireland. This sept originated in Co. Leix (Queen’s
County) and formed one of the principal families of
Leinster, their chief being lords of Iregan in that county. (Mac)EGAN, Keegan, Hegan In Irish Egan is Mac-
The sept is one of those specially mentioned in the mid- Aodhagain (from the christian name Aodh, anglice
sixteenth century official orders as hostile and dangerous Hugh), and the surname is really MacEgan, though the
to the English interest. It is in that part of the country prefix Mac is rarely used in modern times except by the
that Dunnes are, appropriately, now to be found in family which claims to be head of the sept. The Mac-
greatest numbers, though they have spread far and wide. Egans were hereditary lawyers: beginning as a brehon
Nearly all those who spell the name Dunn came from family among the Ui Maine (Hy Many) septs, they
Ulster. This is a name to which the practice during the eventually dispersed. They settled chiefly in Ormond,
present century of resuming the discarded prefixes Mac i.e. the wide territory comprising all or part of the
and O does not apply — the form O’Dunn or O’Dunne counties of Tipperary, Kilkenny and Offaly, where
is seldom if ever seen to-day. At least one of the name they continued to follow their traditional calling and
is to be found in the gallery of famous Irishmen, viz., acted as brehons to the chiefs. The most important
Gillananaomh O Duinn (1102-1160), the historian of these was MacEgan, chief brehon to O’Connor Faly.
and poet. One was killed at the battle of Aughrim in An early example of the form Hegan is to be seen
1691. Another very active Jacobite was James O’Dunne in the signature (Owen Hegaine) of Owen Mac Egan in
(c. 1700-1758), Bishop of Ossory, most of whose life a letter he wrote in 1602, which is quoted in Pacata
was spent in France, in the service of which country Hibernia. For pedigree and notes on MacEgan see
several of his relatives distinguished themselves as Tribes and Customs of Hy Many, Appendix E.
diplomatists and soldiers. In modern times Charles Dunn Owen Mac Egan (1570-1603), bishop-designate of
(1799-1872), was a notable judge in the U.S.A.; and Col. Ross, was a prominent supporter of Tyrone in the
Humphrey O’Dunne was famous for his bravery in the Elizabethan wars and was killed in battle; other illus-
attack on Savannah in 1774. The Irish-American author trious churchmen were Most Rev. Boetius Egan (1734-
Finlay Peter Dunn, has been noticed in the article on 1798), Archbishop of Tuam, who, however, was
Dooley (q.v.). Sir Patrick Dun (1642-1713), five times opposed to the Rising of 98: Most Rev. Cornelius Egan
President of the Royal College of Physicians, Ireland, (1780-1856), Bishop of Kerry, and Most Rev. Michael
and Irish M.P., whose memory is perpetuated in Sir Egan (1761-1814), Bishop of Philadelphia. Two Pierce
Patrick Dun’s Hospital, Dublin, was of a Scottish family. Egans (1772-1849 and 1814-1880), were popular
Arms illustrated on Plate X. novelists in their day. John Egan (1750-1810), patriot
member of Parliament, was notorious also for his pro-
pensity to duelling. In our own day “the MacEgan”’, as
(O)DWYER The O’Dwyers (in Irish O Duibhir, he styled himself, was an artist noted for his striking
descendant of Duibhir) were an important sept in portraits of contemporary Irish national leaders.
Co. Tipperary, though not comparable in power or When the prefixes Mac and O fell into disuse during
extent of territory with the neighbouring great septs. the period of Gaelic submergence, in some places the
Their lands were Kilnamanagh, the mountainous area C was retained and became K, resulting in Keegan, and
lying between the town of Thurles and the county this, in turn, gave rise to the corrupt Gaelic form O
Limerick. The O’Dwyers were always noted for their Caogain now often used in Connacht as the Gaelic

81
equivalent of Keegan. The Keegans are found to-day 1650’s. In one or two cases the form MacCrowe was
chiefly in two areas: in Leinster — in Counties Dublin used. It is preserved in the motto “Skeagh mac en
and Wicklow — and in Connacht — in Counties Ros- chroe” attached to the coat of arms of the Clare Crowes
common and Leitrim, i.e. in places fairly remote from (see Plate X). It is interesting to note that there is a
the homeland of the MacEgan sept where the form Egan place-name near Mount Callan in Co. Clare called Skagh-
is always used. The poet John Keegan (1809-1849), vicencrowe which means the thorn bush of MacEncroe.
was born in Co. Leix. Arms illustrated on Plate X. Some branches of the Crowe sept used a thorn bush
as the main charge in their arms. The old form was still
used in Co. Tipperary in the last century, e.g. by the
(Mac)ELROY, (Mac)Gilroy, Kilroy This name is family of Rev. John McEnroe (1795-1868), who, as well
Mac Giolla Rua in Irish, ie. son of the red (haired) as being the founder of the Freeman’s Journal of
youth. The sept originated in Co. Fermanagh where the Sydney, is noteworthy for his edition of Donlevy’s
place name Ballymackilroy is found: their territory Catechism. Dermot MacEncroe (fl. 1730), author of
was on the east side of Lough Emme. There is another many beautiful poems in Latin, was of a French family
Ballymackilroy in Tyrone and a Ballymacilroy in Co. which had emigrated from Co. Clare and used de la
Antrim. In the seventeenth century census (1659) the Croix as a French form of MacEncroe. The best known
name is recorded as very numerous in Co. Fermanagh Irish Crowe was O’Beirne Crowe of Cong, Co. Galway,
and also in Co. Leitrim — the latter as MacGilleroy. who, though according to tradition he was stupid
It is still numerous in the same areas, but in Connacht and ill-educated as a boy, became one of the first pro-
the modern spelling is often Kilroy or Gilroy without fessors in the Queen’s College (now University College)
the Mac. The form Kilroy is occasionally used as an Galway, and was in the first rank of Gaelic scholars.
anglicized form of the name Mac Giolla Riabhaigh, Eyre Evans Crowe (1799-1868), the historian and
which has many synonyms in English — MacAreavy, novelist, was an Irishman, and his son, Sir Joseph Archer
Gallery, Gray etc. In the town of Roscommon and its Crowe (1825-1896) — who was, however, reared in
vicinity Kilroy takes the form Kilroe, which is a truer England — was also a man of note as a diplomat, art
anglicization of Mac Giolla Ruaidh (ruadh, red). critic and war correspondent.
The MacElroys were of some importance in Gaelic Arms illustrated on Plate X.
Ireland, particularly in the fifteenth century, as their
frequent mention in the “Annals of the Four Masters”’,
“Loch Cé” etc., testifies. For notable persons of the MacENIRY, (Mac)HENRY, O’Henry, Fitzhenry There
name in modern times we must turn to America. Rev. are some five thousand persons in Ireland to-day bearing
John MacElroy, S.J. (1782-1877), a native of Co. the surname Henry — without O or Mac. The majority
Fermanagh, where he was educated at a hedge school of these are Ulstermen formerly called O’Henery, the
and was associated with the United Irishmen in 1798, Irish form being O hInneirghe. The head of this sept was
was famous in the U.S.A. as a missionary priest and chief of Cullentra in Co. Tyrone whose territory at one
church builder. Dr. Robert MacElroy (b. 1872), was a time extended to the valley of Glenconkeine in Co.
distinguished professor of history at Princeton and also Derry.
at Oxford University. Norman Thomas Gilroy, Arch- Fitzhenry, sometimes abbreviated to Henry, is the
bishop of Sydney, created a cardinal in 1946, the first name of a Norman family chiefly associated with Co.
native born Australian to be so honoured, came of a Wexford but having a branch in Connacht. The latter,
family which emigrated from Ireland. Birth registration becoming hibernicized like so many Norman families in
statistics 1864-1890 indicate that the name was mainly Connacht, were in the sixteenth century records regarded
associated with north Connacht. as an Irish sept: they were tributary to the O’Flahertys
of Moycullen and Ballynahinch and were called Mac
Einri in Irish, which in due course was made MacHenry
MacENCHRQE, Crowe The very English-looking in English.
name Crowe disguises the genuinely Irish surname MacHenry is also occasionally to be found as a
MacEnchroe, which in its original form is Mac Con- synonym of MacEnery, in Irish Mac Inneirghe: one of
chradha. Woulfe states that the form MacEnchroe the anglicized variants of this is Kiniry which, pro-
is still in use; but all the members of this sept who nounced to rhyme with the English word enquiry,
live in its original territory, viz. Thomond, are certainly is phonetically nearer to the principal form than Mac-
called simply Crowe. The sept was subordinate to that Enery. The sept in question was one of the Ui Cairbre
of O’Dea and was located in the western part of the group, of the same stock as the O’Donovans: they were
present barony of Inchiquin. The great majority of located in the barony of Upper Connelloe, Co. Limerick,
Crowes either hail from Clare and Tipperary or are of at Corcomohid, now Castletown MacEnery. This name
families which migrated to Dublin and other large is still quite well known in Co. Limerick.
urban centres from that area. The name is fairly numer- Three James MacHenrys are noteworthy: one (1753-
ous in Belfast but most of these are presumably of 1816) became an American citizen and was private
British planted stock, Crowe being quite a common secretary to George Washington; another (1785-1845)
name in England. The old form MacEnchroe was that was a poet and a novelist; the third (1816-1891), son of
usually used in the transplantation certificates of the the foregoing, was a leading American financier. James

82
 Henry (1798-1876), a product of Trinity College,
Dublin, was famous for his Virgilian researches. Mrs.
Fitzhenry was a celebrated Irish actress towards the end
of the eighteenth century. Augustine Henry (1857-
-1930), the Irish botanist, will be remembered by the
names of the many species of trees and shrubs he dis-
covered, chiefly in Asia, which bear the epithet
Henryana.
I am indebted to Mr. T. O Raifteartaigh for the in-
formation that the Ulster Henrys have other potential
origins besides the one I have suggested here: they can
be O hAiniarriadh, an Oriel sept, or Mac Enri, a Siol
Eoghain family of the Bannside.
Arms illustrated on Plate X. little later, at Feltrim, Co. Dublin. A branch of this
family was also found in Kerry and another in Cork city
where Christopher Fagan took refuge in 1497 — he had
MacEVOY, (MacElwee, MacGilloway, MacVeagh) been a supporter of Perkin Warbeck’s claim to the
The MacEvoys were one of the “Seven Septs of Leix”’, throne and Cork was solidly behind that pretender.
the leading. members of which were transplanted to From the Kerry branch were descended the Fagans who
Co. Kerry in 1609. The lesser clansmen remained in distinguished themselves in the service of France in the
their own territory and Leix is one of the areas in which eighteenth century and were ennobled in that country.
the name is found fairly commonly to-day. This sept The name is not really numerous in Ireland — it is
was called Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe which is pronounced estimated that about two thousand of the population are
Mac-ee-vwee, whence the approximately phonetic so called: almost all these are natives of Leinster, fifty
anglicization MacEvoy. (Buidhe — yellow — was always per cent of whom are Dubliners. There is also, it is true,
written “boy” in early attempts to put Irish names into a Gaelic Irish family of O Faodhagain, anglicized Fagan,
English form). Formerly chiefs of the present barony which belongs to Co. Louth: it may be a corrupt form
of Moygish in Co. Westmeath, this sept in early times of the well known name O’Hagan but Fr. John Ryan
settled in Leix and became lords of the territory now thinks not. One of these, Edmund O’Fagan, was an
comprising the parishes of Mountrath and Raheen in officer in the Ultonia regiment of the Spanish army in
that county. The MacEvoys, called Muintir Fhiodh- 1778.
bhuidhe, appear there in a map of Leix dated 1563. While the fact that Fagan is in most cases of Norman
Another quite distinct Irish sept, in Gaelic Mac Giolla origin is accepted. Fr. John Ryan disagrees with the
Buidhe, normally anglicized MacElwee and MacGilloway statement, made by Fr. Woulfe and here that O Faogh-
(names now well known in Counties Donegal and again is a variant of O hAodhagén (O’Hagan) and
Derry), is shortened in the spoken language to Mac other scholars concur. They say it is a distinct sept
a’bhuidhe, hence the form MacAvoy or MacEvoy in of eastern Airghialla (Oriel). There Fagan, Fegan, Feighan
English. Conn Mac Giolla Bhuidhe, Abbot of Mungret and Feehan are numerous and much confused; probably
in 1100, was one of these. The name MacEvoy is rare these all derive from O’Faodhagain.
in Connacht now but fairly common in Armagh and The two best known Fagans in the past were Robert
Louth. There it is a synonym of MacVeagh, i.e. Mac an Fagan (1745-1816), born in Cork, who was a diplomat
bheatha, an Oriel sept. Considering their importance in and portrait painter; and James Fleming Fagan (1828-
the past it is remarkable that so few MacEvoys appear as 1893), American planter, soldier and public official,
distinguished individuals in any sphere of Irish history. of Irish descent. Arms illustrated on Plate X.
Longford born Francis MacEvoy (1751-1804), was a
distinguished President of the Royal College of Surgeons
of Ireland. Arms illustrated on Plate X.
(O)FAHY Fahy (also spelt Fahey) is almost ex-
clusively a Co. Galway name, though of course it is also
FAGAN In spite of its very Irish appearance (gan is to be found in the areas bordering that county, such as
one of the most common terminations of Irish north Tipperary and in Dublin. A sept of the Ui Maine,
surnames) Fagan must be regarded (subject to a reser- the centre of their patrimony, which they held as pro-
vation to be mentioned later) as a family name of prietors up to the time of the Cromwellian upheaval
Norman. origin. At the same time it must be pointed out and where most of them still dwell, is Loughrea: their
that it is not an English name. It is derived from the territory was known as Pobal Mhuintir ui Fhathaigh,
Latin word paganus. For many centuries it has been i.e. the country inhabited by the Fahys. There is a place
associated with Counties Dublin and Meath. As early as the modern name of which is Fahysvillage. Fahy is O
the year 1200 one William Fagan was the owner of Fathaigh in Irish. In some places this is anglicized
extensive house property in the city of Dublin and Vahey instead of Fahey, and occasionally Fay which,
fifty years later we find the family firmly established however, is a distinct surname except in some rare
in the neighbouring counties with a seat, acquired a instances in Co. Galway (See Part Four, below). The

83
name Green has been used as a synonym for Fahy, a Another form of the same surname, written Falloon,
good example of the not uncommon absurd mis- is found in Co. Armagh.
translation of Irish names into English — the Irish word Arms illustrated on Plate X.
faithche, pronounced Fahy, means a green or a lawn.
The obvious derivation from fathach, a giant, genitive
fathaigh, is not acceptable, the name being, it is stated, (O)FARRELL, (O)Ferrall Farrell, with and without
derived from fothadh, a foundation. Francis Fahy was the prefix O, is a well known name in many parts of the
prominent in the Young Ireland movement of 1848. country and it stands thirty-fifth in the statistical
Another Francis Fahy (b. 1854) is noteworthy as the returns showing the hundred commonest names in
author of “The Ould Plaid Shawl’’ and other popular Ireland. It is estimated that there are over thirteen
songs. Father Anthony Fahy (1805-1871) was a thousand of the name in Ireland; the great majority of
famous Irish priest-in Argentina. The Fahy Institute in these were born in Leinster, mainly in Co. Longford
that country was founded to commemorate him. A and the surrounding areas. This is as might be expected
universally respected ceann-comhairle (speaker) of Dail for the great O Fearghaill (O’Farrell or O’Ferrall) sept
Eireann was yet another Francis Fahy (1880-1945), was of Annaly in Co. Longford. The chief of the sept,
a veteran of the 1916-1921 War of Independence. known as Lord of Annaly, resided at Longphuirt Ui
Arms illustrated on Plate X. Fhearghaill (ie. O’Farrell’s fortress), hence the name
of the town and county. So important were they that
references to them in the ‘Annals of the Four Masters”
occupy more than seven columns of the index to that
(O)FALLON, Falloon The name Fallon or, as it is monumental work. There were two branches of the
also written O’Fallon, has been closely associated with sept, the chiefs of which were distinguished as O’Farrell
the counties of Galway and Roscommon. The head of Boy (buidhe, i.e. yellow) and O’Farrell Bane (ban, i.e.
this sept of the Ui Maine was chief of a territory com- white or fair).
prising the present parishes of Camma and Dysart in There were a number of distinguished churchmen
the barony of Athlone, Co. Roscommon. As late as of the name, of whom the Capuchin Father Richard
1585 the chief was resident in Dysart parish, where the O'Farrell (c. 1615-1663), of Annaly, was perhaps the ~
ruins of his castle are still to be seen and there are people most notable. Notwithstanding the misfortunes which
of the name dwelling near. Not far away another branch befell the great Gaelic families through the conquests
of the family until quite recently owned estates in the and confiscations of the sixteenth and seventeenth
Ballinasloe area and lived on them. These claim to be centuries the O’Farrells of Annaly were not entirely
the direct descendants of the “Chiefs of O’Fallon’s submerged and many of them took a worthy part in
Country”. The name of their place affords an example Irish resistance to English aggression. Three sons of
of the extent to which slavish anglicization of place Ceadagh O’Ferrall of Annaly, who was killed at the
names as well as surnames went during the period of Battle of the Boyne in 1691, greatly distinguished
Gaelic submergence: they changed the old name Runna- themselves as officers of the Irish Brigade in the ser-
vota into Rummimead. In pre-Norman times there was vice of France. The family settled in Picardy. Later on
a sept of O’Fallon in Meath, but this was dispersed at in the political field Richard More O’Ferrall (1797-
the invasion. The name in the Annals and early records 1880) was a prominent supporter of Daniel O’Connell.
appears in Irish always as O Fallamhain, and I can Sir Thomas Farrell (1827-1900) was a noted sculptor,
find no justification for Dalton’s statement that many of whose statues adorn the city of Dublin. The
O’Fallon is a corruption of O Faolain and that they compiler of one of the best known Irish genealogical
came from the Decies, i.e. the O’Phelan country. Many manuscripts, “Linea Antiqua” (1709) now in the
references to O’Fallons, chiefs of Clann Udach (the terri- Genealogical Office, Dublin, was Roger O’Ferrall.
tory referred to above) appear in the Annals (“Four Arms illustrated on Plate XI.
Masters’, “Loch Cé” etc.). The sept produced at least
two mediaeval bishops (of Elphin and Derry). There was
a remarkable family of the name in America: the father (O)FARRELLY, Farley O’Farrelly — O Faircheallaigh
James O’Fallon (1749-1794), was born in Ireland, in Irish — is the name of a Breffny sept associated in
took part as an officer in the American War of Inde- both early and modern times principally with Counties
pendence and continued his antagonism to the end Cavan and Meath. Their leading family were erenaghs of
as an active member, if not the founder, of the Anti- Drumlane, Co. Cavan, and were also coarbs of St.
British Society. He anticipated by a century and a Mogue until the suppression of the monasteries in the
half the modern practice of resuming the prefixes sixteenth century. The Gaelic poet Feardorcha
O and Mac to Gaelic surnames from which they had O’Farrelly (d. 1746) was born in Co. Cavan.
been dropped through English influence. His elder ' The O’Farrelly sept seated at Knockainy, Co.
son, Col. John O’Fallon (1791-1865), was well known Limerick, mentioned as such by O’Heerin in his four-
as a philanthropist; the other, Benjamin O’Fallon (1793- teenth century “Topographical Poem’ and still
1842), was a more romantic figure, best known for his numerous in Co. Limerick when the 1659 census was
success in establishing friendly relations with the compiled are no longer to be found there: even a
Indians, he was called the ‘‘Father of the Tribes”. century ago O’Donovan commented on the fact that

84
they had disappeared. Rev. Edward Maginn (1802-1849), Co-adjutor Bishop
In parts of Ulster Farley is used as a synonym of of Derry, was notable for his vigorous support of the
Farrelly, which leads to confusion since Farley is a Young Ireland Movement. The Rev. Francis James
common English name. Cardinal Farley (1842-1918), Finn, S.J. (1859-1928), was the author of many popular
Archbishop of New York, who was born in Co. Armagh, books for boys.
is an example of the use of this synonym.

(O)FINNEGAN'- There are two distinct septs of

(O)FEENEY Apart from the quite definite fact that Finnegan or Finegan whose name is O Fionnagdin
it is essentially a Connacht name it is difficult to be in Irish, which means the descendants of Fionnagan,
precise in dealing with the surname Feeney. The reason an old Irish personal name derived from the word
for this is that in Connacht there are two different septs fionn, i.e. fairheaded. One of these septs was located on
— O Fiannaidhe in Sligo and Mayo and O Fidhne in the border of Cos. Galway and Roscommon where there
Galway and Roscommon; both of these anglicized their are two places called Ballyfinnegan — one in the barony
name as Feeney so that, as all these counties are close of Ballymoe and the second nearby in the barony of
together, it is hardly possible to determine to which sept Castlereagh. The other is a Breffny sept. The present
present day Feeneys belong — the great majority of day bearers of the name — it is seldom found with its
these hail from the four counties mentioned above. proper prefix O — hail chiefly from the localities of
There are two places named Ballyfeeney, both in Co. their origin; the majority belong to Cavan and adjacent
Roscommon. The name was more numerous formerly counties, with a fair proportion to south Connacht. An
than at present and it appears very frequently in the entry in the “Annals of Loch Cé” telling of the
Elizabethan Fiants and in the census of 1659. Then destruction by the O’Byrnes in 1405 of a place called
as now the name was not unknown in Co. Derry — the Newcastle O’Finnegan, as well as a reference in one of
poet Patrick Feeney (d. 1900) was born there. the Elizabethan Fiants, suggests that in mediaeval times
Finnegans were also located in Co. Wicklow. Finnegans
have not been prominent in the cultural or political
(O)FINN, Maginn The name Finn — it seldom has the history of Ireland. The name is, of course, familiar
prefix O in modern times — is chiefly found in Co. Cork on account of the novel Finnegans Wake by James
to-day; and this was equally true in the seventeenth Joyce: the title of his novel is that of an old Dublin
century, as Petty’s census shows. This is curious because ballad from which Joyce took it.
it is usually a fact that names are still most numerous Arms illustrated on Plate XI.
in the part of Ireland in which they originated. The
mediaeval sources on which we chiefly depend for our
information on this subject make no mention of a FITZGERALD, (Barron) The Fitzgeralds of Ireland,
Munster sept of O’Finn, though the Annals record the who are now very numerous, are said to be all descended
deaths of several Munster bishops called O’Finn be- from the famous Maurice, son of Gerald, who accom-
tween 1020 and 1331. There were three authenticated panied Strongbow in the Anglo-Norman invasion.
O’Finn septs. One of these was of Co. Sligo, where Gerald was constable of Pembroke in Wales and was
O’Finns were chiefs of Calry on the shore of Lough Gill. married to Nesta, Princess of Wales. Fitzgerald simply
The Co. Sligo place name Coolavin, now inseparably means son of Gerald — Fitz (French — fils) becoming
associated with the MacDermots, is in Irish Cuil O Mac in Irish, hence the use of Mac Gearailt as the Gaelic
bhFinn, i.e. the refuge place of the O’Finns. The leading form of the name. There are some thirteen thousand
family of another sept of O’Finn were erenaghs of Fitzgeralds in Ireland, principally in Munster, in all
Kilcolgan, Co. Galway. The descendants of these are still classes of life. Two of the most influential noble families
to be found in Connacht. The third sept, that of Feara in Ireland are Fitzgeralds. The Dukes of Leinster of
Rois in South Oriel, fades out of the records about the Maynooth, Co. Kildare, known in history by their
time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, though the name earlier titles of Earls of Kildare, are still extant. The
survives — probably Rev. John O’Finn, who was vicar of Munster branch, headed by the Earls of Desmond,
Granard in 1369, was one of them. The form MacFinn were destroyed as a great family by the devastating
is used by the Four Masters for an erenagh of wars of the sixteenth century in which they played
Clonmacnois in 1020 and it appears several times in the a conspicuous and leading part. Nevertheless, two
mediaeval diocesan registers of Meath. This name has branches of it have remained without intermission
survived, usually in the form MacFhinn or Mag Fhinn, members of the Irish aristocracy, and are known re-
anglice Maginn in Ulster, where it is quite common spectively as the Knights of Glin and the Knights of
to-day. O’Finn is spelt the same way in both Irish and Kerry. These titles are unique. Three brothers, sons of
English. It is presumably derived from the word fionn John Fitzgerald, were in the year 1333 created
(fair). hereditary Knights of Desmond, by virtue of his royal
In modern history the best known man of the name seigniory as a Count Palatine, and their direct descend-
is Edmund Finn (1767-1810), outlawed member of the ants still bear these designations; those of the third
United Irishmen, who served with distinction in the brother became Fitzgibbons and the head of that family
French army and was killed in action at Azava. Most was the White Knight.

85
 So many Fitzgeralds have filled the pages of Irish duellists.
history that it is impossible here to do more than refer The ape in the crest and supporters of the Kildare
briefly to the most distinguished of them. Every one of arms is commemorative of an incident which occurred in
the sixteen Earls of Desmond who held the title between the thirteenth century. Thomas, infant son of Maurice
1329 and 1601 finds a place in Webb’s Compendium of Fitzgerald, is said to have been snatched from his cradle
Irish Biography, and similarly all the twenty Earls of by a tame ape which, having carried the child to the
Kildare from 1316 to 1766 (when they became Dukes verge of the battlements at the top of the castle and
of Leinster) are mentioned in that work. They and their terrified the family by the danger involved, safely re-
families were known historically as the Geraldines. turned him to his cradle. This traditional story is also
It is believed that they are of the same stock as the noble related in a slightly different form of the first Earl of
Italian family called the Gherardini. While there are few Kildare, but as the said Thomas was nicknamed Tomas
of these thirty-six.men of whom it cannot be said that an Apa, or Thomas Simiacus, it may be ascribed to the
they made history, two are especially memorable: Desmonds, if not also to the kinsmen the Kildares. The
Garrett Fitzgerald, the eight Earl of Kildare (d. 1513), war cry of the Kildares was “Crom abu”, and of the
called the Great Earl, had a remarkable life in Ireland Desmonds “‘Shanid abu’”’.
as soldier, Lord Deputy, supporter of Lambert Simnel, Finally two other branches of the Fitzgeralds should
political prisoner etc. His adroitness in dealing with be briefly mentioned. Those settled in the present parish
successive English sovereigns, with whom he was often of Mayo (Co. Mayo) were called collectively the Clan-
in conflict, is typified by one incident. When called morris and so ascribed in the Annals as late as 1446. In
upon by Henry VII to account for his action in burning 1450 their chief is called MacMorris of the Bryes. Some
the Cathedral at Cashel he frankly replied that he would of the Fitzgeralds in Co. Waterford, whose ancestor
not have done so had he not been told that the Arch- was baron of Burnchurch, Co. Kilkenny, assumed the
bishop was inside. It was on this occasion that Henry, surname Barron. That name is well known to-day in
on being told that all Ireland could not govern this man, that part of Ireland. Arms illustrated on Plate XI.
replied “‘then let this man govern all Ireland’’. Garrett’s
grandson, Thomas Fitzgerald (1513-1537), tenth Earl,
known as “Silken Thomas” on account of the uniform FITZGIBBON, Gibbons In treating of the surname
of his gallowglasses, renounced his allegiance to the King Gibbons in Ireland it must first be mentioned that this is a
of England but, after the resultant campaign, was very common indigenous name in England and in the
captured and, to the amazement and consternation course of the several plantations of English settlers in
of the people of Ireland, was, together with his five this country from 1600 onwards, as well as a result of
uncles, executed at Tyburn, London, The wife of the business infiltration, it is inevitable that at least a small
twelfth Earl, herself a Fitzgerald by birth, called “the proportion of our Gibbonses must be of English stock.
Old Countess’’, is the subject of much popular tradition: Having said that we may dismiss this element in the
the romantic stories about her and the belief that she population and consider Irish families bearing the
lived to the age of 130 years have been discounted by name. Strictly speaking, there are no native Irish families
historical research — she was 100 years old when she of Gibbons, if by Irish we mean Gaelic Irish. Our
died in 1604. Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798), Gibbonses are Norman in origin but are now as
the famous rebel, was son of the first Duke of Leinster completely Irish as any of Gaelic stock. Their origin is
(i.e. twentieth Earl of Kildare). Another Edward Fitz- twofold, each quite distinct, having nothing in common
gerald was prominent in Wexford in the "98 Rising. beyond the fact that their descent was Norman Irish not
Since 1411, when the fifth Earl of Desmond settled Gaelic Irish. The Gibbons families of the present day
at Rouen, having abandoned his Irish territory on are to be found concentrated in the very parts of the
account of the unpopularity occasioned by his marriage country in which they originated. The most numerous
to a beautiful peasant girl, the Fitzgeralds of Ireland are those of Co. Mayo: the ancestors of these were first
have had connexion with France. In the eighteenth known as MacGibbon Burke, being a branch of the great
century they were particularly prominent in the Irish Norman Irish sept (for sept it was to all intents and pur-
Brigade and the Regiment of Fitzgerald won special poses) of Burke in Co. Mayo. They are called Mac
renown in the War of Spanish Succession. The well- Giobdin in Irish just as if they were of Gaelic origin.
known French family of Giraldin is descended from an Ballymacgibbon in Co. Mayo takes its name from
Irish emigrant called Fitzgerald. them. The others are also associated with a particular
In literature the best known of the name is Edward county, in this case Co. Limerick. There, however,
Fitzgerald (1809-1883), author of the Rubaiyat of Omar though also Mac Giobuin in Irish, they are usually
Khayyam, but his connexion with Ireland is somewhat Fitzgibbon in English, the Fitz being frequently dropped
remote. Pierce Fitzgerald (1700-1791), the Gaelic poet, and a final S substituted for it in speech but seldom in
however, never forsook his ancient home at Ballymacoda writing. The head of this family in Co. Limerick was
which he retained for his family, as his poems poignantly known as The White Knight being one of the three here-
tell us, by forsaking the religion of his forefathers. ditary knights of Desmond, unique among British and
In addition to the spheres of politics and war, Fitz- Irish titles — the other two being the Knight of Kerry
geralds have distinguished themselves as scientists, and the Knight of Glin who are Fitzgeralds. Their
surgeons, lawyers, colonial statesmen and even as territory prior to the upheaval of the seventeenth

86
century was the south-eastern corner of Co. Limerick was instrumental in saving the “Book of the O’Byrnes’”’,
near Co. Cork. One of the Fitzgibbons (MacGibbon) was which he transcribed, from destruction. In modern
chief of Clangibbon in Co. Cork. ; times, apart from the Earls of Upper Ossory, several
John Gibbons (d. 1808), a Mayo landowner, took Fitzpatricks were prominent in politics, two in the
part in the 1798 Rising, was captured, outlawed and English interest and another Patrick Vincent Fitzpatrick
escaped to France. His son John was hanged at Westport (17%2-1865) was one of Daniel O’Connell’s most trusted
in 1798, and another son, Edmund (d. 1809), of the colleagues. Also worthy of mention are William John
Irish Legion, died of wounds. In 1691 Thomas Gibbons, Fitzpatrick (1830-1895), the biographer, and Thomas
of Mayo, was also a notable outlaw. From the same Fitzpatrick (1832-1900), an eminent physician.
stock came Cardinal James Gibbons (1834-1921), Arch- Much information on the Fitzpatricks will be found
bishop of Baltimore, whose life work was in America. in Corrigan’s History of the Diocese of Ossory, Vol. I.
The best known of the Fitzgibbons was John Fitz- Arms illustrated on Plate XI.
gibbon (1749-1802), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, whose
pro-English activity at the time of the Union made him
hated in his own day and his memory reviled since. O’FLAHERTY, (Laverty) |The O’Flahertys possessed
Two Gerald Fitzgibbons, father and son (1793-1882 and the territory on the east side of Lough Corrib until the
1837-1909), were outstanding members of the Irish Bar, thirteenth century when, under pressure from the Anglo-
while Edward Fitzgibbon (1803-1857) wrote several Norman penetration into Connacht, they moved west-
standard works on subjects connected with fishing. wards to the other side of the lake and became estab-
Arms illustrated on Plate XI. lished there. The head of the sept was known as Lord of
Moycullen and as Lord of Iar-Connacht, which, at its
largest, extended from Killary Harbour to the Bay of
FITZPATRICK, Kilpatrick This is the only surname Galway and included the Aran Islands. The chieftaincy
with the prefix Fitz which is of native Irish origin, the was continued until the beginning of the eighteenth
others being Norman. The Fitzpatricks are Macgilpatricks century. The celebrated historian, Roderick or Rory
— Mac Giolla Phadraig in Irish, meaning son of the O’Flaherty (1629-1718). author of Ogygia, was the last
servant or devotee of St. Patrick. In sixteenth and even recognized Chief of the Name. There is a great deal of
seventeenth century records they are usually called information about the O’Flahertys throughout
MacGilpatrick or MacKilpatrick; and in some places Hardiman’s edition (1846) of Roderic O’Flaherty’s book
they are still so called, other variants being Mcllpatrick, Tar-Connaught, particularly pages 309-437 thereof.
Kilpatrick, etc.: the latter is common in Ulster, where, The christian name Rory is associated with the family
however, it is usually of Scottish origin. Their epony- throughout the centuries. Other christian names much in
mous ancestor was Giolla Padraig, a warlike chief in favour with them were Brian, Donnell, Hugh and
Ossory who lived in the second half of the tenth Murrough. Birth statistics show that the Flahertys and
century. Branches of the sept are now found in many O’Flahertys are still much more numerous in their
parts of the country: nearly ten thousand persons of original habitat (Co. Galway) than elsewhere. The name
the name are estimated to be in Ireland to-day, widely in Irish is O Flaithbheartaigh. The same surname is
distributed, Leix (alias Queen’s Co.) having the greatest found in Ulster, but there the initial F is aspirated thus
number. By far the most important was, and still is, altering the pronunciation and producing the form
the family whose head was for centuries during the O’Laverty, and O’Laherty which approximates phone-
Gaelic period known as Lord of Upper Ossory, at one tically to the aspirated Irish form which is O Laith-
time almost a royal ruler over counties Leix and Kil- bheartaigh (in modernized spelling O Laifeartaigh).
kenny. Their power was much reduced by the rise of Both O’Lafferty and O’Laherty occur in the Elizabethan
the Ormond Butlers, but they were by no means dis- Fiants relating to Co. Donegal. The Chief of this sept
possessed of all their patrimony. They were one of the was Lord of Aileach (modern Elagh, Co. Donegal). He is
first of the great Irish septs to submit to Henry VIII also described by the Four Masters as Tanist of Tyrone.
and one Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick was knighted in 1568. The sept may be regarded as distinct from that of
They lost considerably through their loyalty to James II. Iar-Connacht. The latter is now, and always was, the
Nevertheless the head of the family received a peerage more important and more numerous of the two. Both
in 1714 and in 1878 his descendants are recorded as have produced eminent writers — Roderick O’Flaherty
possessing no less than twenty-two thousand acres of has already been mentioned. Monsignor James O’Laverty
the best land in Ossory. (1828-1906) was another historian of note. At the
One branch of the Fitzpatricks of Ossory assumed present time there is Liam O’Flaherty whose works,
the suraame Mac Séartha, or Shera in English, taken both in English and Irish are considered to be of great
from an ancestor whose christian name that was. Many. merit. Arms illustrated on Plate X1.
variants of the name, in addition to those given above,
are recorded in the modern birth registers, not only
more or less obvious abbreviations like Fitz, Fitch and (O)FLANAGAN _ This surname is practically the same
Patrick, but even Parrican, Parogan and Patchy! in both its Irish and anglicized forms, being in the
Brian Fitzpatrick (1585-1652), Vicar Apostolic former O Flannagain, which is probably derived from
of Ossory, who was murdered by Cromwellian soldiers, the adjective flann meaning reddish or ruddy. It belongs

87
to Connacht both by origin and location (i.e. present but the adhesion of the family to the cause of James II
distribution of population). Flanagan, with of course caused their ruin. Now they are scattered throughout
O’Flanagan, for this is one of those names with which each of the four provinces. Several of the name have
the prefix is frequently retained, is numbered among the been distinguished Churchmen, including Nicholas
hundred commonest surnames in Ireland and has the Fleming, Archbishop of Armagh from 1404 to 1416,
sixty-ninth place on that list. The greatest number of the compiler of the valuable document known as
these are found in Co. Roscommon and in the counties ““Fleming’s Register”; Meath-born Rev. Richard Fleming,
of the western seaboard — Mayo, Galway and Clare, S.J. (1542-1590), professor of philosophy in Paris and
They sprang from one Flanagan, who was of the same other French universities, who has been described as by
stock as the royal O’Connors and his line held the far the most prominent Irish theologian in the Europe
hereditary post of steward to the Kings of Connacht. of his time; Rev. Patrick Fleming (1599-1631), Fran-
These, who were seated between Mantua and Elphin, ciscan friar, author of the Life of St. Columban, and
represent the main O’Flanagan sept. There were also most Rev. Thomas Fleming (1593-1666), the Arch-
minor septs of the same name in other parts of the bishop of Dublin who excommunicated Ormond. Rev.
country which were still represented in the seventeenth James Fleming (1830-1903), the popular researcher
century; of Toorah in north-west Fermanagh and again and writer, was, however, a Protestant. Christopher
of the barony of Ballybrit in Offaly. Some descendants Fleming (1800-1880) was a surgeon of note. John
of these are still to be found in both these areas. Fleming (1815-1895), was one of the most prominent
Donough O’Flanagan (d. 1308), Bishop of Elphin, scholars in the early days of the Gaelic revival. In the
was famous abroad as well as at home for his hospitality Irish language Fleming is written Pléamonn.
and devotion. Other notable Irishmen of the name were Arms illustrated on Plate XI.
Roderick Flanagan (1828-1861), founder of the Sydney
Chronicle; Thomas Flanagan (1814-1865), author of
the History of the Church in England; and James (O)FLYNN, O’Lynn The surname O’Flynn is derived
Roderick Flanagan (1814-1900), voluminous author on from the Gaelic personal name Flann; the adjective
Irish subjects. Theophilus O’Flanagan (1760-1818), was flann denotes a dull red colour and means ruddy when
a leading figure in the early Gaelic revival movement. applied to persons. O Floinn is the form of the surname
Arms illustrated on Plate XI. in Irish. It is one of those which arose independently in
several parts of the country and, as might be expected,
is widely distributed. It ranks forty-first in the list of
(O)FLANNERY The name O’Flannery — or rather most numerous surnames in Ireland with an estimated
Flannery for the prefix O has been almost entirely total of thirteen thousand persons. These are found
discarded — is identified with two different areas. One chiefly in two main areas — Cork and Waterford in
sept of O Flannabhra was of the Ui Fiachrach, located the south, and on the borders of Connacht and Ulster
at Killala, Co. Mayo; the other, of the Ui Fidhgheinte, in the adjacent counties of Roscommon, Leitrim and
was one of the principal families of the barony of Cavan. Two of the O’Flynn septs originated in Co.
Connelloe, Co. Limerick. It is approximately in these Cork. Of these O’Flynn of Ardagh Castle (between
districts that the Flannerys of the present day are to be Skibbereen and Baltimore) was a branch of the Corca
found, though they may be said now to belong to North Laoidhe; and the O’Flynns of Muskerry were lords of
Tipperary rather than to Co. Limerick. Muskerrylinn (Muscraidhe Ui Fhloinn), i.e. the country
John O’Flannery was Bishop of Derry from 1401- between Ballyvourney and Blarney. They were pushed
1415; Thomas Flannery (1840-1916), also of the north thence by the MacCarthys and moved to a more easterly
Connacht sept, was a pioneer in the Gaelic revival location. The most important of the Connacht septs
movement. The Rev. (Dean) William Flannery (1830- of the name was O’Flynn of Kiltullagh and Kilkeevin
1902), known as a Canadian poet and author, was born in Co. Roscommon. In the same county O’Flynns were
in Co. Tipperary and also died there. erenaghs of the Church of St. Dachonna near Boyle.
The head of the family had the peculiar privilege of
mounting the same steed as the royal O’Connor. Further
FLEMING _ Fleming, as the word implies, denotes an west at Errew on the shore of Lough Conn was another
inhabitant of Flanders, and this surname originated erenagh family of O’Flynn. Another sept of O Floinn was
about the year 1200 when many Flemings emigrated to at one time famous in Ulster. They possessed a territory
Britain, settling chiefly on the Scottish border and in in southern Armagh between Lough Neagh and the sea
Wales. Since then it has been chiefly associated with and were the senior branch of Clanna Rury of Ulidia,
Scotland. Nevertheless it is fairly numerous in Ireland. tracing their descent back to Colla Uais, King of Ireland
The ancestors of our Irish Flemings did not, however, in the fourth century. The F of O Floinn was aspirated
come to Ireland from Scotland at the time of the Plan- in modern Ulster Irish, with the result that the name
tation of Ulster: they were in Ireland some four cen- became O Loinn and the anglicized form O’Lynn in the
turies before that, as they came in the wake of the north.
Normans and then acquired considerable estates in Co. Numerous though they are and were, few O’Flynns
Meath and elsewhere. Christopher Fleming, Lord Slane, have found a place in the pages of Irish history. Fiacha
still held the Castle of Slane in the seventeenth century, O’Flynn (also called MacFlynn), Archbishop of Tuam,

88
was the emissary of the Irish Church to England in 1255. various times’ as settlers. The Irish Foleys are very
Among the Irish in France, however, they have been numerous and this name is among the sixty most
prominent both as ecclesiastics and as officers of the Irish common in Ireland with an estimated population of
Brigade. In modern times Rev. Jeremiah O’Flynn (1788- about ten thousand souls. Most of these are found in
1831) was a Franciscan friar whose interesting and the original habitat of the sept, viz. Co. Waterford,
stormy career relates chiefly to the early church in and they have spread across the southern part of the
Australia and later in the U.S.A. Edmund James Flynn country to Counties Cork and Kerry. The name is
(b. 1847) was Premier of Quebec and William James presumably derived from the Irish word foghladha,
Flynn (1867-1928) was a famous American detective. meaning a plunderer, and is written O Foghladha, being
Of the O’Lynns the most noteworthy was Father anglicized more phonetically than the usual Foley as
Donough O’Lynn, O.P., who was martyred in 1608 Fowloo in some places in Co. Waterford, and sometimes
at the age of 90. “Father O’Flynn’’, of the ever popular grotesquely as Fowler. The name is never seen with its
song, was a fictitious character. The northern form of © prefix O nowadays. The surname MacSharry has been
the name is also popularized in a well known Irish song, anglicized Foley in some parts of Ulster in the mistaken
“Brian O’Lynn.” John Flynn (1880-1951) Presbyterian belief that it is derived from the word searrach — a fool.
missionary (with an Irish Catholic background) is re- John Henry Foley (1818-1874), sculptor, many of
garded by the Australians of all creeds as one of the whose statues adorn the streets and squares of Dublin,
finest men their country has produced. He founded the attained international fame in this sphere; his brother
Flying Doctor Service and was known as “Flynn of the Edward Foley (1814-1874) was also a talented sculptor.
Inland.” Arms illustrated on Plate XI. Rev. Daniel Foley (1815-1874), of Dublin University,
compiled and published an Irish Dictionary. Samuel
Foley (1655-1695) was another prominent Protestant
(O)FOGARTY The sept O’Fogarty was of sufficient ecclesiastic. The Catholic Church has an eminent bearer
importance to give its name to a large territory, viz. of the name in Maoliosa O’Foley, Archbishop of Cashel,
Eliogarty, i.e. the southern part of Eile or Ely, the who died in 1131. In modern times Alan James Foley
northern being Ely O’Carroll. Eliogarty is now the name (1835-1897) made a name as a singer under the pseu-
of the barony of Co. Tipperary in which the town of donym of Signor Foli.
Thurles is situated. Eliogarty is a phonetic rendering
of the Irish Eile ui Fhogartaigh, the nominative case of
the surname being O Fogartaigh. Though located outside FORDE, MacKinnawe, (Foran) It is impossible for
the area associated with the Dalcassian septs the any Irishman called Forde or Ford to know the origin
O’Fogartys are counted as of Dalcassian origin. Woulfe of his people unless there can be a firm family tradition
states that the name is derived from the word fogartach to aid him or alternatively he knows that they have long
meaning exiled: the modern Irish word fogartha does been located in a certain part of the country. The reason
not mean outlawed, but such facile derivations must be for this is that at least three Irish septs with entirely
accepted with reserve. The “Annals of Ulster’, under different surnames in Irish became known in English
date 1072, describe the chief of the sept as O’Fogarty, as Forde or Ford; there is also the not inconsiderable
King of Ely. In modern times the name is seldom found number of English planters and traders called Ford
in English with its prefix O. The majority of Fogartys who from time to time settled in Ireland. The most
come from County Tipperary but their ancient seat, notable of these came from Devonshire and became
Castle Fogarty, is no longer in their hands. The most landowners in Co. Meath in the fourteenth century.
remarkable of these were Malachy O’Fogarty (fl. 1700), Of the Gaelic septs the two which belonged to Connacht
born at Castle Fogarty, of the University of Paris, and are the most important. One is Macgiollarnath, which
Archbishop Fogarty (1858-1955), who was for 51 years is a corruption of Mac Giolla na Naomh (son of the
Bishop of Killaloe: he is best known for his fearless devotee of the saints) and became Ford through a
championship of the Irish cause during the “Black and mistranslation of the corrupted form. They were located
Tan” scourge in the War of Independence. in southern Connemara. The earlier anglicized form of
The well known surname Gogarty is of cognate this name is MacAneave. The other Connacht sept is
origin: it is Mag Fhogartaigh in Irish. Mac Consndmha, (possibly meaning son of swimming
Arms illustrated on Plate XII. hound) which, when not absurdly anglicized Forde,
is MacKinnawe in English. In the “Composition Book
of Connacht” (1585) it appears as MacEnawe and in the
(O)FOLEY, (MacSharry) Foley is an old Irish sur- census of 1659 as MacEnaw. The form Forde was then
name about which some confusion has arisen because unknown in this connexion. The MacKinnawes were
there is an important family of Worcestershire called chiefs of Muintir Kenny, possessing a territory between
Foley, which is usually regarded as English, though Lough Allen and the river Arigna. One of this sept,
Bardsley thinks it was originally Irish. For example Cornelius MacConsnamha (d. 1355), was Bishop of
it is the arms of this English family which are often Kilmore. A third Gaelic sept to be noticed is that of
erroneously ascribed to Gaelic Foleys. In this article O Fuarthdin or O Fuardin, properly anglicized Foran
these English Foleys can be disregarded, though it is but commonly made Forde in Co. Cork where this
not unlikely that a few of them came to Ireland at sept originated.

89
 No doubt the best known of all Fords is Henry Ford, of Galway (equivalent to mayor) in 1444. A branch of
of motor car fame, a man of Irish stock. Patrick Forde this branch moved into Co. Roscommon, circa 1620,
(1835-1913), founder of The Irish World and a force in and became the Frenches of French Park, and from this
American journalism, was born in Co. Galway. Others family came Field Marshal Sir John French (1852-
of some note were Francis Forde (lost at sea 1760), a 1925). Two of these Galway Frenches were members
fine soldier, and Samuel Forde (1805-1828), whose of the Supreme Council of the Confederate Catholics
career aS a very promising painter was cut short by his at Kilkenny (1642-1649). Another Galway born French
early death. of that century was Rev. Peter French, O.P. (d. 1693),
who for thirty years worked as a missionary among the
Indians in Mexico. Most Rev. Nicholas French (1604-
FOX In this note we may disregard English settlers 1678), Bishop of Ferns and author of The United
of the name Fox, one family of whom became extensive Deserter, was a Wexford man. In our own day Percy
landowners in Co. Limerick and are perpetuated there French (1854-1922), was well-known as the author
in the place name Mountfox, near Kilmallock. The Irish of many popular comic Irish songs.
Foxes got their name as a sobriquet: Tadhg O Cathar- The name de Freyne is of the same origin as French.
naigh (anglice O’Caherny — mod. Carney or Kearney), There is an Irish peerage of the de Freyne extant to-day,
Chief of Teffia, Co. Meath (d. 1084) was called as well as one of ffrench.
Sionnach, i.e. The Fox, and in due course this branch Arms illustrated on Plate XII.
acquired the name Fox as a distinct surname. (For
Kearney see below.) A report of the Registrar-General
gives a list of alternative forms of surnames used by (O)FRIEL O’Friel is a Donegal name. In Irish it is
persons registering births, deaths, marriages. Few are O Firghil (from Feargal); it is pronounced, and often
so lengthy as that of Fox, the synonyms for which are written, O Frighil, ie. in English phonetics O’Freel.
MacAshinah (Co. Tyrone), MacShanaghy (Co. Louth) The sept has a distinguished origin, being descended
— from the Irish Mac a’tSionnaigh, son of the fox, from Eoghan, brother of St. Columcille (Fr. John
Shanahy (Co. Westmeath), Shinagh (Co. Mayo), Shunny Ryan, S.J. has pointed out that the chief point of
(Co. Louth), Shinnock (Co. Kilkenny), Shonogh (Co. interest about the O’Friels is that they are nearest
Galway) and others, with O Sionnaigh in Irish in general in blood to St. Colmcille, for they alone are in the
use. It will be seen that these synonyms cover a wide direct line from his brother), and the leading family
stretch of country in three provinces. The name, as Fox, were hereditary coarbs of Kilmacrenan, Co. Donegal.
is found in every county, though nowhere in very large The Chief of the Name possessed the hereditary right
numbers: it is most numerous in Dublin, Longford, of inaugurating O'Donnell as lord of Tirconnell. Not
Tyrone and Leitrim. The head of the sept has for cen- being a powerful or numerous sept they do not appear
turies since the English language was first introduced very frequently in the national records; wherever they
into Ireland been known as “The Fox” and this desig- do they are of Tirconnell (Donegal). The records of the
nation, still used to-day, is admitted as authentic by Diocese of Raphoe have many references to distinguished
the Irish Genealogical Office — it cannot be called a ecclesiastics of the name, both as O’Friel and Friel,
title for titles are not recognised under the Irish Con- including one Bishop Florence or Feargal O’Friel (d.
stitution. 1299). Awley O’Friel was one of the many clergy from
Among interesting bearers of the name we may Raphoe and Derry who went to Iona — he was elected
mention Sir Patrick Fox of Moyvore, Co. Westmeath, Abbot of Iona in 1203.
who was State Interpreter (of Irish) in 1568, and Char- Statistics relating to the modern distribution of the
lotte Milligan Fox (1864-1916), a collector of folk population indicate that the name is seldom met with
songs and founder of the Irish Folk Song Society. outside Co. Donegal and contiguous areas.
Arms illustrated on Plate XII. Arms illustrated on Plate XII.

FRENCH, de Freyne The use of the initial ff in GAFFNEY, (Caulfield, O’Growney, Keveney,
spelling this name has become established with several MacCarron, Carew) Gaffney is one of those quite
families, but actually it arose through ignorance of the numerous Irish surnames about which much confusion
fact that in sixteenth and seventeenth century calligraphy arises. Not only is it used as the anglicized form of four
capital F was written ff. Originally Norman, the name distinct Gaelic names, but Gaffney itself has for some
was de Freynes, from Latin fraxinus — an ash tree. The obscure reason become Caulfield in many places. It
ancestor of the family now under consideration went never appears to-day with either Mac or O as prefix: of
from France to England with William the Conqueror the four patronymics referred to above two are O names
in the person of Theophilus de French. One line of his and two are Mac. The principal sept in question was
descendants settled in Co. Wexford about 1300. A O Gamhna of Ossory, but there Caulfield is the normal
century later a branch of the Wexford Frenches migrated modern form. In the same area Gaffney is sometimes
to Galway (in 1425), where his family prospered and found as the anglicized form of O Caibheanaigh, recte
multiplied, soon becoming accepted as one of the Keveney in English. Then we have Mac Conghamhna,
“Tribes of Galway” — Walter French being Sovereign a sept of the Ui Fiachra Aidhne in South Galway: there

90
again Caulfield is found as an equivalent as well as
Gaffney. Finally Mac Carrghamhna, sometimes Mac-
Caron in English, is usually made Gaffney in Cavan and
Roscommon, where the name Gaffney is most common-
ly found to-day. Mac Ceardin, however, the name of
a small Tirconnaill sept, is the most usual original
of MacCarron.
To add to the confusion Mac Carrghamhna has been
corrupted to O Gramhna, whence O’Growney in English,
a name very familiar to all Gaelic Leaguers through the
Irish language primers of Father Eugene O’Growney
(1863-1899). This corrupt form of the name Mac
Carrghamhna i.e. MacCarron is of long standing, as six of O’Donnell’s military forces from the fourteenth to
families called O’Growney appear in the Co. Tipperary the sixteenth centuries. The principal branch of the sept
Hearth Money Rolls of 1665-67. The name O’Growney were seated at Ballybeit and Ballynaglack.
was in general use in English in the mid-seventeenth Gallagher, usually without its prefix O, is one of the
century. It is one of the few names given with the pre- commonest names in Ireland being fourteenth in the
fix O in the Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls, in which statistical list compiled from birth registrations. Most of
six householders so called appear. Richard Caulfield these were recorded in the north-western counties of
(1823-1887) did much antiquarian and_ historical Ulster and Connacht, the majority being from Co.
research for Co. Cork. Donegal, the original homeland of the sept.
The name MacCarron is now almost exclusively The national records show them to have been even
associated with Ulster, especially Counties Donegal more intimately connected with ecclesiastical than with
and Derry, and in the “‘census” of 1659 it is confined military activities. No less than six O’Gallaghers were
to that province. Statistics of two centuries later give a bishops of Raphoe in the fifteenth and sixteenth
similar picture: for example in 1865 there were 48 centuries and one in the eighteenth. One of these,
births registered for MacCarron (including some minor Laurence O’Gallagher, who held the see from 1466-
spelling variants) and 5 for Carron, all these being 1477, was anything but a saintly prelate, while on the
in Ulster; there was one Carroon — in Co. Westmeath. other hand Most Rev. Redmond O’Gallagher (1521-
Other years for which figures are available corroborate 1601), Bishop of Derry, the prelate who befriended
this. In earlier records, however, from 1100 to 1600 it the survivors of the Spanish Armada and was forced
appears frequently as that of a sept in what is now to disguise himself as a shepherd in order to escape
the barony of Kilkenny West (Co. Westmeath). The the prevailing religious persecution, was eventually
Four Masters call the head of the sept Chief of Maol captured and became one of our Irish Catholic martyrs.
an, tSinna, i.e. Chief of the Shannon, their territory A later Bishop of Raphoe, and afterwards of Ossory,
lying on the Westmeath side of the river. In 1578 Most Rev. James O’Gallagher (1681-1751), was famous
Hobbert MacCarron of Killenefaghna, Co. Westmeath, for his sermons (usually preached in Irish), which, when
was as “chief serjeant of his nation” confirmed in published, ran to twenty editions. In America Father
the possession of the lands in that county (including Hugh Gallagher (1815-1882), had a most colourful
Kilmacaron) which of old belonged to the “chief of the career as a “frontier priest”. William Davis Gallagher
nation of MacCaron”’. (1808-1894), American poet, was the son of an Irish
Carron, without the prefix Mac, is a different name: refugee who took part in Robert Emmet’s Rebellion.
it is of Norman origin, formerly de Carron but later Arms illustrated on Plate XII.
altered to Carew. The best known was Sir George Carew,
Elizabethan President of Munster, and implacable enemy
of the Irish. The name, however, was not confined to the (O)GALVIN The O’Galvins are a sept of Thomond
landlord class: it was numerous among the ordinary and are mentioned among the Co. Clare septs which
householders of Co. Tipperary in 1666 as shown by the took part in the Battle of Loughraska, otherwise called
Hearth Money Rolls and is still found there. John the Battle of Corcomroe Abbey, in 1317. They do not
Edward Carew (1785-1868), sculptor, was born at appear prominently in any branch of Irish public life
Waterford. since that time, but representatives of the sept have
remained continuously in their original homeland
and are still found in Co. Clare and, in greater numbers
(O)GALLAGHER'-_ The name of this sept, O Gall- to-day, in Co. Kerry. A branch located in Co.
chobhair in Irish, signifies descendant of Gallchobhar Roscommon was strong enough to be included among
or Gallagher, who was himself descended from the King the more numerous names in the barony of Athlone
of Ireland who reigned from 642-654. The O’Gallaghers in the 1659 census. The name is O Gealbhain in Irish,
claim to be the senior and most loyal family of the possibly a compound of geal (bright) and ban (white).
Cineal Connaill. Their territory extended over a wide The prefix O is not used with this name in modern times
area in the modern baronies of Raphoe and Tirhugh, but O’Galvin and O’Gallivane are old forms of it in
Co. Donegal, and their chiefs were notable as marshals English.

91
 The most famous comedian in England at the end of is one of those names which in the anglicized form
the last century was Dan Leno. His real name was takes its initial letter from the end of the prefix — in
George Galvin (1860-1904): he was born in London of this case Mag (a variant of Mac often used with names
Irish parents. Arms illustrated on Plate XII. beginning with a vowel or fh). In Irish MacGarry in Mag
Fhearadhaigh. Garrihy, another form used in English, is
phonetically nearer the original Irish than the commoner
Garry. The sept, which was never very widespread or
(Mac)GANNON- The name of the old Erris (Co.
influential, is said to be of the same stock as the Mac-
Mayo) family of Mag Fhionndin is usually anglicized
Hughs of East Connacht. It certainly belongs to that
Gannon, without the Mac: in the spoken language in
province and to-day, apart from immigrants to Dublin
Irish it is often called O Geandin but the equivalent and Belfast, it is mostly to be found in Counties Ros-
O’Gannon is not used in English. Gannons are still more
common and Leitrim. The “Composition Book of
numerous in their original homeland in Co. Mayo than
Connacht” mentions the Chief of the Name in 1585
elsewhere. Father Michael Gannon, who took part in
as of Moygarry, Co. Sligo.
the 1798 insurrection, was earlier prominent on the side
This surname also presents an example of anglicization
of the aristocracy in the period of the French
by erroneous translation, for Hare, and even O’Hare,
Revolution. The American comedy actress Mary Gannon
is used as a Synonym.
(1829-1868), is said to have been of Irish parentage.
Hare and O’Hare are sometimes also used for O’Hehir.
Nicholas John Gannon (1829-1875), the poet, was
This important family, though by origin it belongs to
born in Co. Kildare. the Ui Fidhgheinte group, has for so many centuries
been established in Co. Clare in the heart of Thomond
that it is usually counted as Dalcassian. Its main strong-
O’GARA, (Geary) The sept of O’Gara, O Gadhra hold to-day is Co. Clare.
in Irish, is closely associated with that of O’Hara. They O’Hare is one of the few surnames which resisted
have a common descent down to the tenth century, the general tendency in the eighteenth century to
Gadhra, the eponymous ancestor of the O’Garas, being discard the O and, even before the propaganda of the
nephew of Eadhra (a quo the O’Haras). From this on Gaelic League and the resurgence of 1916-1921 resulted
they established separate chieftainries, O’Gara taking the in widespread resumption of the prefixes Mac and O,
territory to the south of the barony now known as the O’Hares outnumbered the Hares and Haires by three
Leyney, Co. Sligo, the O’Haras being to the north of to one. The great majority of these were descendants of
them. The association remained close and the chiefs the Oriel sept of O hir (sometimes called O hEir) —
of the two septs frequently alternated as rulers of who were akin to the O’Hanlons and seated in the
Luighne. By the thirteenth century the O’Garas had barony of Oriel (Co. Armagh) where, with the adjacent
possessed themselves of the eastern part of the barony counties of Antrim, Down and Louth, they are still
of Costello, Co. Mayo. However the Jordans drove them chiefly found.
out in the next century, pushing them not westwards O’Hare and Hare are stated by Woulfe to be used
but eastwards and between 1450 and 1550 they appear as synonyms of O’Hehir (O hAichir). Such an equa-
as lords of Coolavin. tion, if it ever occurs, is in fact very rare, any Hares
They have left their mark on the country historically, belonging to counties west of the Shannon being
geographically and culturally. Their castle was Moygara properly MacGarrys, whose name was mistranslated
on the shore of the lake still called Lough Gara. Two from its supposed derivation from the Irish word girr-
Archbishops of Tuam were O’Garas. Fergal O’Gara Shiadh, a hare. Haier, however, found in west Clare, is
(fl. 1630), was the patron of the Four Masters; Friar probably a synonym of O’Hehir.
O’Gara, O.S.A. (fl. 1670), an exile in Belgium, left a The name Hare is indigenous in England and quite
notable collection of Irish poems; Col. Oliver O’Gara common there, but very few Irish Hares are of that
commanded the regiment of infantry known by his origin. Arms illustrated on Plate XII.
name in the Irish Brigade in the service of France. Count
Charles O’Gara was a millionaire Irishman in Brussels
at the time of the French Revolution. (O)GARVEY, (Mac)GARVEY, (Garvin) Garvey is
The name has become rather scarce in Ireland in one of those surnames which in Irish have both the
modern times. Most of the survivors of the sept belong Gaelic prefixes, Mac and O. Mac Gairbhith belongs to
still to North Connacht. A branch of it migrated to Co. Donegal where it is numerous: it is Mac Garvey in
West Munster in the fifteenth century: there the name English, the prefix being retained. The O, on the other
O Gadhra became differently anglicized and, disguised hand, has been almost entirely discarded. The principal
under the synonym Geary, is still quite common in sept of O Gairbhith, now Garvey, is of the same stock
Counties Limerick and Kerry. Another Co. Limerick as the O’Hanlons, their ancient territory being in the
form is Guiry. Arms illustrated on Plate XII. barony of Oneilland East, Co. Armagh, until largely
dispossessed by the MacCanns. Nearby in the Mac-
Guinness country another sept of O’Garvey dwelt, and
MacGARRY, Garrihy, (O’Hehir, Hare) MacGarry, as might be expected the name Garvey is not uncommon
found also not infrequently as Garry without the Mac, to-day in Co. Down. Most Rev. Anthony O’Garvey was

92
Bishop of Dromore from 1759 to 1780. However it is father and son made history by their fearless journalism
in Co. Mayo Garveys are chiefly found in modern times; in their paper The Dublin Evening Post. Two others
but these are really Garvins (in Irish O Gairbhin), that (Catholics) the brothers Thomas D’Arcy MacGee (1825-
name having been corrupted to Garvey in Connacht. 1868), and James E. MacGee (1830-1880) were
That sept was of the Southern Ui Neill: they migrated associated with the Young Ireland movement and wrote
from their original homeland in Co. Meath to Connacht many patriotic works: both went to America and the
after the Anglo-Norman invasion and settled near former was shot by one of the Fenians whose activities
Crossmolina. he had denounced. Three prominent American citizens
The most prominent family of Garvey in Co. Mayo whose names illustrate various spellings thereof, viz.
is that of Murrisk Abbey. John Garvey (1527-1595), William John McGee (1853-1912), geologist, Charles
who was one of the more notable Protestant Arch- McClung McGhee (1828-1907), financier, and
bishops of Armagh, though born in Co. Kilkenny, was Christopher Lyman Magee (1848-1901), politician and
eldest son of John O’Garvey of Murrisk: he took out philanthropist, were all of Irish extraction.
letters of denization in 1561 and espoused the English
cause, as did his brother James who possessed the
Murrisk property.
Garvey, as well as Garvan, is a well known name in MacGENIS, Guinness, Magennis The modern spelling
Counties Cork and Kerry. The ancient sept of O Gar- of this name is usually MacGuinness or MacGenis but in
bhain of Munster was of the same stock as the the historical records in English they are called as a rule
O’Moriartys. No doubt the Munster Garveys are properly Magennis, a form still to be found in some places to-day.
Garvan just as the Connacht Garveys are Garvin. In Irish the name is MagAonghusa, i.e. son of Angus.
Other notable Garveys of Irish parentage were the They are descended from Saran, chief of Dal Araidhe
artists Edmund Garvey, R.A. (1740-1813), and Michael in St. Patrick’s time and thence to Eochaidh Cobha of
Angelo Garvey (1820-1877). Iveagh. From the twentieth century the Magennises were
Callaghan Garvan (1644-1735) was physician to the the principal territorial lords of Iveagh, Co. Down.
“Old Pretender” and to Queen Mary of Modena. The Like the chiefs of many of the great Irish septs Magennis
best known of the Garvins was probably James Louis took advantage of the English policy of “surrender and
Garvin (1868-1947), editor of the Observer newspaper. regrant’’ early in the seventeenth century; earlier they
Arms illustrated on Plate XII. were often at loggerheads with the ecclesiastical authori-
ties and they showed a tendency to accept the tenets of
the Reformation: conforming bishops include two
MacGEE MacGee is an Ulster name which is more Magennises — one of the diocese of Down, the other of
usually written Magee (cf. MacGuire — Maguire; Mac- Dromore. However, by 1598 the Magennis chief of the
Guinness — Magennis, etc.). In Irish it is Mag Aodha, time, whose father was officially regarded as “the
i.e. son of Aodh or Hugh, the Mac, as is often the case civillest of all the Irish in these parts”, had joined
when the prefix is followed by a vowel, becoming Mag. Tyrone (who was his brother-in-law) and thus “returned
It has been stated that our Ulster MacGees are of Scottish to the rudeness of the country”. A generation later
extraction, having come to Ireland during the Plan- their loyalty to Ireland and the ancient faith was un-
tation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century. There doubted. The Franciscan Bishop of Down and Connor,
certainly is a numerous Scottish family so called, who Hugo Magennis (d. 1640), was closely related to
are akin to the MacDonnells and claim descent from Viscount Iveagh and many of the Gaelic nobility of
Colla Uais and so an Irish origin. There are Gaelic Irish Ulster. They were consistently on the Irish side during
MacGees also. They belong to the country on the the resistance to English aggression in that century and
borders of Counties Donegal and Tyrone. The name is after the disasters following the battle of the Boyne
more usually associated with Co. Antrim because the they were finally dispossessed of their wide patrimony
large isthmus on the east of Lough Larne is called Island in Co. Down, much of which had been planted with
Magee and this territory was at one time in the English (not Scottish) settlers after the Cromwellian
possession of the Magees. In early mediaeval times a war. Many of them took service as Wild Geese. The best
MacGee was chief of a sept in Co. Westmeath but these known of these was Brian Magennis, second Viscount
were dispersed after the Anglo-Norman invasion. The Iveagh, who was colonel of Iveagh’s Regiment in the
early history of the MacGees is thus rather obscure, but Austrian Imperial Army and was killed in action in
people of the name were prominent in various phases 1703. His brother Roger Magennis, third Viscount
of Irish life in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. (d. 1709) served both France and Spain with distinction.
Most of these were northern Protestants, among whom The present Lord Iveagh (of the second creation), head
were Most Rev. William Magee (1766-1831), Archbishop of the largest brewery concern in the world — Guinness
of Dublin and mathematician, his grandson William of Dublin — though not a direct descendant of the lords
Connor Magee (1821-1891), strong opponent of Glad- of Iveagh mentioned above, belongs to a cognate family
stone’s Irish policy, rector of Enniskillen, Dean of Cork of Co. Down. This family spent very large sums on
and finally Archbishop of York. Martha Magee (c. 1755- improvement of housing and social conditions in the city
1846), was the founder of Magee University College at of Dublin as well as on the upkeep of St. Patrick’s
Derry; two John Magees (1750-1809 and 1780-1814), Cathedral and its surroundings.

93
 General John R. MacGuinness (b. 1840), the American were sculptors of note in London between 1760 and
soldier, was born in Dublin. 1820 were Irishmen called Geoghegan at home.
Arms illustrated on Plate XIII. Arms illustrated on Plate XIII.

(Mac)GEOGHEGAN Geoghegan, usually nowadays

without the prefix Mac, is a name which no non-Irish (Mac)GERAGHTY, Gerty Geraghty is a Mac name,
person will attempt to pronounce at sight; it has many being Mag Oireachtaigh in Irish. Mac usually becomes
synonyms, and one of these, Gehegan, is a phonetic Mag before a vowel so the initial G of Geraghty is really
approximation of the longer and common form. In the last letter of the prefix Mac or Mag. There are no
Irish it is Mag Eochagain, from Eochaidh, i.e. the now less than seventeen different synonyms of Geraghty in
almost obsolete, but once common, christian name English, including MacGerity, Gearty and even Jerety.
Oghy. It will be- observed that the initial “G‘ of The surname arose in rather an unusual way. At first
Geoghegan comes from the prefix Mag, a variant of Mac it was O Roduibh; at the end of the twelfth century
— the anglicized form Mageoghegan was formerly one of these was Oireachtach O Roduibh and it is
much used. from this Oireachtach their present surname is taken.
The sept of the MacGeoghegans is of the southern They were a Hy Many sept in Co. Roscommon and
Ui Neill and of the stock of the famous sixth century Co. Galway in O’Kelly’s country. Its head was one of
King Niall of the Nine Hostages; it was located in the the “four royal chiefs” under O’Conor, being on the
present barony of Moycashel, Co. Westmeath, with the same line of descent as O’Conor himself. They are
chiefs’ seat near Kilbeggan. {hese were of considerable prominent in Connacht records up to the year 1300
importance up to the time of Cromwell when they and there were several mediaeval bishops of the name.
suffered severely through war and confiscation. Fifteen The Chief of the Name, called MacGiriaght in the
MacGeoghegans, chiefs of Cinel Fiachrach or Kinalea, “Composition Book of Connacht”, was seated in the
sometimes called lords thereof, are mentioned in the barony of Athlone in 1585. The analysis of the present
‘Annals of the Four Masters’’ between 1291 and 1450, population distribution indicates that Geraghtys are
besides many others of the name, the last of these being (disregarding the metropolitan district in which names
Richard MacGeoghegan, who, after fighting with great from all provinces are numerous) mainly found in Co.
gallantry, was killed at the siege of Dunboy in 1602. The Galway. Except for Father Bryan Geraghty, Dean of
military tradition was long maintained. Five of the sons Elphin in 1744, I have not found any outstanding
of Charles MacGeoghegan of Sinan, Co. Westmeath, person of the name in modern Irish historical records.
were killed during the Jacobite War in Ireland; and in the In the Argentine Monsignor Richard Joseph Gearty
eighteenth century MacGeoghegans appear as soldiers on (c. 1864-1938), an Irishman, was an outstanding priest.
the continent, mostly in the service of France. Arms illustrated on Plate XIII.
The MacGeoghegan estates in Co. Westmeath were
very extensive and were held by a number of different
branches of the chiefly family. The most important of (Mac)GILFOYLE, Powell Guilfoyle is Mac Giolla
these properties was at Castletown, now called Phoil in Irish, i.e. son of the follower or devotee of St.
Castletown-Geoghegan. By the end of the seventeenth Paul. It is sometimes disguised under the form Powell,
century the bulk of these vast estates had been con- an English surname adopted in its stead during the
fiscated or their owners, who ranked among the leading period of Gaelic depression. The prefix Mac, which
gentry of the county, outlawed. There have been many properly belongs to it, is very seldom used with this
other distinguished MacGeoghegans — notably Ross, name in modern times. The Guilfoyles were once a
alias Roch, MacGeoghegan (1580-1644), the much sept of some importance, their chiefs being seated in
persecuted Dominican, “saintly and enterprising” Bishop the vicinity of Shinrone, Co. Offaly, which lies in the
of Kildare; Conal MacGeoghegan, Chief of the Sept, Ely O’Carroll territory. Nichol and Owen MacGilfoil
translator of the “Annals of Clonmacnois” into English are the two first signatures on an indenture dated 1576
in 1627; another well-known historian, the Abbé James wherein Sir William O’Karrell (O’Carroll) agrees to the
MacGeoghegan (1702-1764); and Anthony Geoghegan incorporation of the territory of Ely O’Carroll which,
(1810-1889), poet; there were also three lesser poets it is of interest to note, was originally in Munster, in
of the name. St. Hugh of Rahue between Tullamore the King’s County (now Offaly). Some Guilfoyles are
and Tyrrell’s Pass in Co. Westmeath) was of the family still found there and the name is also well known in
which became MacGeoghegan when surnames were East Clare. The spelling Guilfoyle has now quite super-
adopted. The saint’s crozier was in the possession of seded the older Gilfoyle.
the MacGeoghegan family for many centuries — it Arms illustrated on Plate XIII.
passed from them to the Nagles of Jamestown House,
Co. Westmeath, a family now extinct.
A branch of the MacGeoghegan sept settled in Bun- MacGILLYCUDDY, (Archdeacon, Cody) This name
owen, Co. Galway, and the name is found in that county is well known to everyone who has made a visit to
as well as in their original territory. In the West it has Killarney or even studied a map with the idea of doing
been often shortened to Geoghan and even Gegan. so, because the picturesque MacGillycuddy’s Reeks are
The brothers Lawrence and Sebastian Gahagan, who the highest mountains in Ireland and are named from the

94
Kerry sept who dwelt at their western base. This is one known in America, viz. Father William Gleeson, called
of the few septs whose present-day representative is the “founder of the Church in California”; Edward
officially recognized as Chief of the Name — MacGilly- Blakeney Gleeson, the Rochester millionaire; Frederick
cuddy of the Reeks. Nevertheless, the surname Mac- Grant Gleeson (1848-1903), the composer; and Mgr.
Gillycuddy is not old: in fact it only dates from the Joseph M. Gleason (1869-1942), educator and historian.
sixteenth century. Previous to that they were O’Sullivans,
a branch of O’Sullivan Mor, which at that comparatively
late date became established as a sept distinct from the (Mac)GORMAN, (O)GORMAN-~ This name is of
parent stem. At first the name MacGillycuddy was only particular interest philologically because although it
used by the chief’s family, the others still calling them- is (with rare exceptions) really a Mac name it is almost
selves O’Sullivan; for a while they were often described always found to-day — when not plain Gorman — as
as O’Sullivan alias MacGillycuddy, but eventually the O’Gorman. This can be accounted for by the fact that
latter was adopted by the whole branch. By the end in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when
of the sixteenth century MacGillycuddys are recorded, the native Irish were in complete subjection, the Gaelic
e.g. in the Lambeth Library maps, as principal prop- prefixes Mac and O were universally allowed to fall into
rietors in the baronies of Dunkerron and Magunihy. disuse, particularly in the case of some names like
The name is by no means numerous and is not Gorman; then, when the spirit of the nation revived,
found outside Kerry, except of course in the case of these prefixes were gradually restored, but so completely
Kerry families which have migrated to Dublin and had the form MacGorman fallen into oblivion that its
elsewhere in recent times. Col. Denis MacGillycuddy rightful bearers when resuming a prefix assumed the
was in command of a regiment in the, Irish Brigade of wrong one and became O’Gorman, with the result that
the French Army in the seventeenth century. MacGormans are hardly to be found at all in Ireland
A curious example of the way in which Irish sur- to-day except in Co. Monaghan. O’Gormans are found
names have often become confused is presented in the chiefly in Co. Clare, while plain Gorman is more usual
case of that remarkable Jesuit Richard Archdekin (1618- in Co. Tipperary. The Irish form is Mac Gormain (de-
1693), author of a book on miracles, published in 1667 rived from gorm, blue). Originally this sept inhabited the
in the Irish and English languages. He was better known barony of Slievemargy in Co. Leix near the town of
as Richard MacGillacuddy. The Norman family of Arch- Carlow, of which their chief was lord, but they were
deacon of Co. Kilkenny (to which he belonged), early driven out at the Norman invasion and settled in
adopted the Gaelic patronymic Mac Oda, later anglicized Ibrickan, West Clare, and in Co. Monaghan. In the
Cody. Thus the variant MacCuddy became in this case former they attained considerable influence and the
Macgillacuddy by an erroneous extension. Like so many head of the sept became hereditary marshal to O’Brien
Irish families who were ruined by the defeat of James II of Thomond. The MacGormans of Ibrickan were noted
several of the name Archdeacon settled in France. especially in the fifteenth century for their wealth,
Nicholas Archdeacon, Bishop of Kilfenora from 1800 hospitality and for their patronage of the Gaelic poets.
to 1824, spent much of his life in France, but he was There are ten townlands called Gormanstown lying
born in Ireland. Arms illustrated on Plate XIII. in Counties Kildare, Meath, Westmeath, Wicklow,
Limerick and Tipperary and two called Gormanston
in Counties Dublin and Meath. Gormanston in the
O’GLISSANE, Gleeson _ In spite of its English appear- parish Stamullen, Co. Meath, appears as Villa Mac-
ance in its anglicized form the name Gleeson, never gorman in a cartulary of Llanthony of c. 1200.
found with the prefix O in English, is that of a genuine Probably the man chiefly responsible for the sub-
Gaelic Irish family. In modern Irish it is O Gliasdin, stitution of O for Mac in the name was the celebrated
earlier O Glasdin and originally O Glesdin. They belong gigantic Chevalier Thomas O’Gorman (1725-1808),
to the Aradh and their original habitat was Mac Ui exile vineyeard owner in France, who, after being ruined
Bhriain Aradh’s country, that is the country in Co. by the French Revolution, became a constructor of Irish
Tipperary between Nenagh and Lough Derg; but it pedigrees. Several O’Gormans were prominently
should be emphasized that the Gleesons are not Dal- associated with Irish politics, notably Nicholas Purcell
cassians; they are of the same stock as the O’Donegans, O’Gorman (1778-1857), secretary of the Catholic
of the barony of Ara, Co. Tipperary, who were origin- Association, and Richard O’Gorman (1820-1895), the
ally of Muskerry, Co. Cork. In the census of 1659 the Young Irelander. The original name has a place in the
name is very numerous in north Munster (Counties roll of distinguished Irishmen, in the early days before
Tipperary, Clare and Limerick) being then given many the prefix was dropped, in the person of Finn Mac-
spellings, e.g. Glisane, Glison, Glyssane, O’Gleasane, Gorman who was bishop of Kildare 1148-1160 and is
O’Glassane etc. They are still fairly numerous in their famous as the compiler of “The Book of Leinster’’.
home county but are not found much outside Munster. Arms illustrated on Plate XIII.
Prior to 1641 the O’Glissanes were very extensive
landowners in Co. Tipperary but as such they disappear
in the Cromwellian settlement. (O)GORMLEY, (Grehan, Grimes) Like many of the
Persons of the name have not been prominent in Irish similar independent septs of north-west Ulster the
history or literature, but four Irish Gleesons are well O’Gormleys sank into obscurity after the Plantation of

95
Ulster about the year 1609. In the fourteenth century was one of the earlier Catholic martyrs in Ireland. Two
they were driven by the O’Donnells from their original Magaurans were Bishops of Ardagh — 1445-1460 and
territory, known as Cinel Moen (their tribe name), which 1815-1829. Hugh Magauran (alias MacGovern) was one
was in the modern barony of Raphoe, Co. Donegal; but of the Gaelic poets belonging to the O’Naghtens’ circle
their survival in their new country on the other side of in the eighteenth century. In modern times few Mac-
the Foyle, between Derry and Strabane, whence they Governs have attained fame. The best known is probably
continued to fight the O’Donnells, is evidenced by the John McGovern (1850-1917), the American novelist.
frequent mention of their chiefs in the “‘Annals of the The MacGoverns of Argentina, an important family
Four Masters” up to the end of the sixteenth century. in that country, are of Irish origin.
Reeves states that their chiefs were usually styled Arms illustrated on Plate XIII.
taoiseach (or capitanus), not tighearna, indicating that
the sept was one of minor importance. In the “Four
Masters” and in the “Topographical Poems” of O’Dugan MacGOWAN, O’GOWAN, Smith, (MacGuane) The
and O’Heerin, the name is spelt O Gairmleadhaigh; the Irish surname MacGowan (not to be confused with the
“Annals of Loch Cé” write it O Gormshuil and O Gorm- Scottish MacGoun) is more often than not hidden under
shuiligh: the editor (William Hennessy) writing in 1871 the synonym Smith. In Irish it is Mac an Ghabhain, i.e.
states that the latter was then anglicized O’Gormooly, son of the smith, and its translation to Smith
but Gormley is universal to-day. O'Donovan says that (commonest of all surnames in England) was very wide-
the O’Gormalys of Lough Key, Co. Roscommon (O spread, particularly in Co. Cavan where the MacGowan
Garmghaile) are quite distinct from the O’Gormleys sept originated. It is included by the chroniclers as one
of Co. Tyrone (O Gairmleadhaigh). In seventeenth of the principal septs of Breffny. On the borders of
century records they are found both as O’Gormley and Breffny, in Co. Leitrim, and to the north west in
MacGormley, located chiefly in counties Armagh and Counties Donegal and Sligo, the true form in English,
Derry, but also in Roscommon and Westmeath. In MacGowan, is still used in preference to Smith. There
modern times some families of Gormley in Counties was, too, in east Ulster a distinct sept of O’Gowan,
Cavan and Longford have changed their name to a name which was also anglicized Smith. A very prom-
Gorman, the others in Co. Tyrone, nearer to their inent member of this family, long resident in Co. Cavan,
homeland, have become Grimes. Grimes, however, is has recently, with the full approval of the Irish Geneal-
also used as the anglicized form of several other Gaelic ogical Office, resumed the name O’Gowan. They came
surnames particularly O Gréachain in Munster, which is originally from a place called Ballygowan in Co. Down.
Grehan and even Graham elsewhere. Gormleys to-day O’Gowan is very rarely met with in modern times.
are chiefly found in Co. Tyrone and surrounding areas. It is, however, to be found in the census of 1659 as one
Arms illustrated on Plate XIII. of the principal Irish names in the counties of Monaghan
and Fermanagh.
Though Mageown is one of the recorded synonyms of
MacGOVERN, Magauran The MacGoverns are better MacGowan it should be observed that it is also a
known in history as Magauran. Both forms are phonetic surname in its own right — MacEoin or Mag Eoghain
approximations of the Irish Mag Shamhradhain, since in Irish and cognate with MacKeown. It is also found
MH is pronounced V in some places and W in others. in the abbreviated form Geon.
The G of Govern thus comes from the last letter of Two MacGowans of Irish ancestry have distinguished
the prefix Mag, which is used before vowels and aspirates themselves abroad: in the U.S.A. Samuel MacGowan
instead of the usual Mac. The eponymous ancestor was (1819-1897), a Presbyterian, jurist and Confederate
Samhradhan, who lived circa 1100 at the time surnames soldier; and in New Zealand, James MacGowan (1841-
came into being. This man was descended from Eochadh 1912), statesman; Faelan Mac an Ghabhan was one of
(fl. eighth century) whence the territory of the the scribes of the Book of Ui Maine (1394). Among the
MacGoverns or Magaurans was called Teallach Eochaidh many alternative forms of the name recorded in the
— now Tullyhaw — in north-west Cavan. There is a statistical returns of the Registrar-General, the most
village called Ballymagauran in that area. The leading usual, apart from Smith, are Mageown and Magown.
families of the sept were allied by marriage to the Further confusion arises from the fact that the Gaelic
Maguires, O’Rourkes and other powerful families of surname MacDhubhdin, a family of Raphoe, Co.
that part of Ireland and are frequently mentioned in Donegal, and also of Co. Clare, where the anglicized
the Annals during the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. form is MacGuane, has become MacGowan in Co. Mayo;
Ballymagauran in Tullyhaw was burned by Maguire in while Mac Gamhna (normally Gaffney — see above)
1481 for an allegedly dishonourable act by the Magauran is also rendered MacGowan in some places.
of the day. “The Book of the Magaurans” is one of the
famous old Gaelic manuscripts. Though the form
Magauran is still-used to some extent, MacGovern is (O)GRADY The O’Grady sept originated in Co. Clare
much more numerous nowadays. It is chiefly found in and may be classed as Dalcassian, though the seat and
its original habitat, north Cavan, and the adjacent territory of the Chief of the Name has for several
counties of Leitrim and Fermanagh. Edmund Magauran, centuries been at Killballyowen, Co. Limerick. The
who was Archbishop of Armagh from 1588 to 1595, present holder of that dignity (i.e. in popular parlance

96
“The O’Grady’’) is one of the very few the authenticity Clare where the family supplied ollamhs in poetry or
of whose claim to chieftainship is officially recognized in hereditary poets to the O’Briens of Thomond. MacGraths
Ireland. The name in Irish is O Gradaigh or more shortly are still found in Co. Clare, but the present day descend-
O Grdda, so that the anglicized form approximates ants of the Thomond MacGraths are mostly in Co.
closely to the original. A peculiarity about it is that its Tipperary and Co. Waterford. They were established
leading family in Co. Clare, who favoured the English there in the sixteenth century, for in Geoffrey Keating’s
invaders in the time of Henry VIII, gradually changed boyhood the bardic school at Cahir was under their
their name from O’Grady to Brady, being described in hereditary guidance; and in Waterford City the ruins of
legal documents of the sixteenth century as “O’Grady Magrath’s Castle are still to be seen. The Fermanagh
alias Brady’’ or vice versa. Thus the Bradys around MacGraths are now more numerous in the adjacent
Tuamgraney in East Clare are really O’Gradys, though county of Tyrone. They are found, however, in every
Brady is itself a common name in Ireland (especially county and in all they are estimated to number ten
in north Leinster and south Ulster) having no affinity thousand persons, thus constituting one of the hundred
with O’Grady at all. The ancestor of the present chief, commonest names in Ireland, being placed fifty-fifth
though known at the time of his migration to Co. in the list.
Limerick as John O’Grady alias Brady, dropped the The most remarkable and notorious man of the name
latter and his descendants have ever since used the was Miler McGrath (1523-1622). Born in Co. Fermanagh
ancient and correct form of their name. If we examine he was first a Franciscan friar: later, having become
the distribution of the name in modern times we find a Protestant, he rose to be Archbishop of Cashel though
that, combining the separate returns for O’Grady and still holding the Catholic bishopric of Down; in 1604 he
Grady (which are of course the same name), the total held four bishoprics and seventy livings and was twice
is not inconsiderable amounting to some four thousand married. Another Franciscan, Miler MacGrath, was
all told. The majority of these hail from Co. Clare as martyred for the faith in 1650. A brilliant if unstable
might be expected. This is followed by Mayo which is character was Andrew MacGrath (d. 1790), described by
of interest because it has been stated, on what authority Douglas Hyde as “a very melodious poet but frailest
I cannot say, that there was a distinct O’Grady sept and wildest of the bards”. He was of Thomond ancestry
originating in Mayo — more probably it was an offshoot and is known as An Mangaire Sigach. John MacRory
of the Dalcassian stock. MacGrath, eleventh century “chief historian of Dail
Many of the Gradys of Mayo and Roscommon are Cais” and John McCraith or MacGrath (son of the Clare
Greadys — Mag Riada in Irish, corrupted in the spoken poet Rory MacGrath) author (c. 1369) of “Caithreim
language to O Griada. In Co. Tipperary Grady is often Toirdhealbhaigh” (The Wars of Turlough) are the most
Gready in disguise, the Irish form there being O Greada. distinguished of that time. Later, between 1391 and
This, no doubt, is the original of the names Gredy 1463, four of the Clare sept were Bishops of Killaloe.
and Graddy which were regarded as numerous in the Two at least of the name were men of note in America:
barony of Middlethird (Co. Tipperary) in 1659. There the Rev. James MacGrath (1835-1898), who became
is a constant tendency for uncommon names to be Provincial of the Oblates in that country; and Andrew
assimilated to better known ones of a similar sound: Condon Magrath (1813-1893), judge, Governor of
thus Gready tends to become Grady, as does Graddy Carolina and prominent Confederate in the Civil War,
in Kerry. the son of John Magrath who took part in the 1798
John O’Grady was Archbishop of Tuam from 1364 Rising and, though captured, escaped to America.
to 1372. In modern times several members of the Co. Joseph McGrath, veteran of the 1916-21 War of Inde-
Limerick O’Gradys have distinguished themselves in the pendence, was well known as a leading racehorse owner
service of Britain, one Standish O’Grady (1768-1840) and as the organizer of the world-famous Irish Hospitals
being created Viscount Guillamore. The forename Sweepstakes. Arms illustrated on Plate XIV.
Standish with O’Grady is perpetuated by Standish
Hayes O’Grady (1832-1915), who has been called
“the last of the grand old scholars of Ireland’. O’GRIFFY, Griffin, (Griffith) 0 Griobhta (pro-
Arms illustrated on Plate XIII. nounced O Greefa) is one of the many Gaelic surnames
which have assumed in their anglicized forms those of
British families of somewhat similar sound: in this case
MacGRATH _ Like several other names beginning the earlier O’Griffy has been almost entirely superseded
with McG, MacGrath is often written Magrath (cf. by Griffin. Here some confusion arises because a Welsh
MacGee — Magee; MacGennis — Magennis, etc.). In family of Griffin did actually settle in Ireland soon after
Irish it is Mac Craith, the earlier form of which is Mac the Anglo-Norman invasion. There is no doubt, however,
Raith or Mag Raith. Other synonyms still in use, espec- that the great majority of Irish Griffins are really
ially in Ulster, are MacGraw, Magraw, MacGra etc. while O’Griffys of Gaelic stock and not descendants of the
the same Gaelic surname is found in Scotland as Welsh settlers. They are very numerous and the name,
MacCrea, MacRae and Rae. There are two main septs of with an estimated population to-day of over eight
MacGrath in Ireland. One was located at Termon Mac- thousand persons, stands seventy-fifth in the list of
Grath on the borders of Donegal and Fermanagh, its commonest Irish surnames. These are chiefly found in
head being coarb of St. Daveog; the other in County Munster — Counties Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork.

97
There was a minor sept of O’Griffy situated south of use the spelling Maguire hail from Co. Fermanagh;
the Kenmare river, whose existence is recorded as late the MacGuires are mostly Connacht men (Mayo and
as the sixteenth century, their location being indicated Roscommon). This usage is in common with other
by the placename Ballygriffin: little is known of them cases where the Mac has become absorbed (e.g. MacGee
and they appear to have been absorbed by their — Magee) the distinct prefix being retained in the
powerful neighbours the O’Sullivans. It is possible that western counties. Counting the two forms together the
some of the Kerry and Cork Griffins are descended name occupies thirty-ninth place in the list of most
from that sept; but Griffin is predominantly a Thomond numerous surnames in Ireland: it holds first place in
name. The head of the O’Greefa, or O’Grifee, sept (so Co. Fermanagh and is high in the adjoining county of
it was first spelt in English) was chief under the O’Deas Cavan. A hundred years ago O’Donovan found the direct
of a territory in the south-eastern part of the barony of descendants of the great Hugh Maguire, mentioned
Inchiquin, Co. Clare, their seat being the castle of Bally- above, working as sailors in cross-channel coal ships.
griffy, in the parish of Dysart, near Ennis. Gerald Griffin Arms illustrated on Plate XIV.
(1803-1840), best known as the author of that great
Irish novel The Collegians, was of this leading O’Griffy
family. Also in the literary sphere the Gaelic poet
Muiris O Griofa, or Maurice Griffin (d. c. 1778) may be HACKETT _ The surname Hackett is of Norman origin,
mentioned (Mr. Basil O’Connell’s genealogical researches Haket being a common Norman personal name. The
have led him to believe that Maurice Griffin was of a Hacketts came to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-
Co. Monaghan family which migrated to Co. Kerry in Norman invasion at the end of the twelfth century, and
the eighteenth century). The name is occasionally people of that name were soon after settled in several
anglicized Griffith, but most Griffiths in Ireland are of places in the area covered by the modern counties of
Welsh origin. That name has been made illustrious in Kilkenny, Carlow and Kildare. Hacketstown, in Co.
Irish affairs by several outstanding men, particularly by Carlow, is called after them. The Fiants of Henry VIII
Sir John Griffith (1784-1878), the geologist and civil and Edward VI indicate that there were in the sixteenth
engineer, and by Arthur Griffith (1872-1922), founder century Hacketstowns, alias Ballyhackett, also in
with Edward Martyn of Sinn Féin, and president of Dail Counties Dublin and Kildare. A branch of this family
Eireann. Arms illustrated on Plate XIV. moved into Connacht where they in due course became
hibernicized and, like other Norman families in that
province, formed a distinct if small sept which was
MacGUIRE, Maguire These are spelling variants of known as MacHackett, their seat being Castle Hackett,
the Irish Maguidhir. Uidhir is the genitive case of odhar six miles south-east of Tuam; but there is little trace
meaning dun-coloured; mag is a form of mac used before of the name Hackett in Connacht to-day. It is still strong,
vowels. This is one of those names definitely associated however, in and around Counties Tipperary and
with one county. The Maguires belong to Co. Fermanagh. Kilkenny, as it has been through the centuries. Hacketts
The name first appears in the Annals in the year 956, and Hakets appear in the lists of sheriffs of Counties
but the pre-dominance of the sept in Co. Fermanagh Tipperary, Cross Tipperary and Waterford and as
dates only from the fourteenth century; for the next members of parliament for Fethard in 1560, 1585 and
three centuries their chief was one of the most important 1613. Peter Hackett was Archbishop of Cashel from
in Ulster. They were not entirely dispossessed by the 1385 to 1407 and David Hacket Bishop of Ossory from
Plantation of Ulster, but they suffered very severely by 1460 to 1479; and Rev. John Baptist Hacket, O.P.
the Cromwellian and Williamite confiscations. Maguire, (d. 1676), who was the intimate friend of Pope Clement
Baron of Enniskillen, had a regiment of infantry in X and a man of great influence in Rome, also came
James II’s army in Ireland. After the final defeat the from that part of Ireland. Another Dominican, almost
Maguires are found prominently among the Wild Geese contemporary with him and also from Co. Tipperary,
in the service of France and Austria. Later Barons of was Father Padraigin Hackett (c. 1600-1654), author of
Enniskillen were accepted as nobility at the Court of one of the best known poems in the Irish language
France until the title became extinct about 1795. Of “Muscail do mhisneach, a Bhanba’’.
the many prominent soldiers of the name in Ireland In the last century Thomas Hacket (1805-1876),
the most noteworthy was Hugh Maguire who comm- secretary of the Astronomical Society, and, in our own
anded the cavalry at the battle of the Yellow Ford day, Rev. William P. Hackett, S.J. (1877-1949), and his
in 1598; There have been many other distinguished brother Francis Hackett, the author, were Co: Kilkenny
Maguires in Irish history, including the famous Bishop men of note. Arms illustrated on Plate XIV.
of Leighlin, Nicholas Maguire (1460-1512), and two
fifteenth century bishops of Clogher, Cathal MacManus
Maguire (1439-1498), historian, Conor Maguire (1616-
1645), executed.for his part in the 1641 Rising, the O’HAGAN, Aiken This is one of the Gaelic names
controversialist Father Tom Maguire (1792-1847), and which was less affected than most by the widespread
Thomas Maguire (1831-1889), the first Catholic to be dropping of the prefix O during the centuries of Gaelic
elcted to a fellowship at Trinity College, Dublin. depression and submergence, for the form O’Hagan is
At the present day the great majority of those who much commoner than plain Hagan. In Irish it is O

98
hAodhagain, descendant of Aodhagan (diminutive of
Aodh or Hugh). There are many variants of the name in
English such as Hegan, Aiken etc. In this connexion I
may mention a curiously inelegant synonym recorded
by the Registrar-General as being used by an O’Hagan
family, viz. Hogg! The O’Hagans are essentially Ulster
people — but Catholic and Gaelic Ulster. The sept was
located in Co. Tyrone with the seat of its chief at Tulla-
hogue, where he exercised the hereditary right of in-
augurating O’Neill as King or overlord of Ulster.
O’Hagans were also connected with other parts of
Ulster: as territorial magnates in mediaeval times with
Monaghan and Armagh; and after the general disposs-
ession of the old Irish families in Ulster as rapparees — two counties makes it a matter of doubt to which sept
two Antrim O’Hagans were hanged as such at Carrick- dwellers on their border belong, except in cases where a
fergus in 1722. Two places in Ulster are called Ballyagan, pedigree or family tradition exists. The Co. Galway sept,
one in Co. Derry, the other in Co. Antrim. whose slogan was “Clann Fearghaile abu”, were Chiefs
Of individual members of the sept perhaps the best of Clann Fearghaile, an extensive territory near Lough
remembered is Turlough O’Hagan, Chief of the Name, Corrib: they were the original proprietors of the lands
who journeyed to Co. Wicklow to bring back Hugh on the western boundary of Galway City. They retained
O’Donnell and the two O’Neills to Ulster after the their leading position in Iar-Connacht to the end of the
latter’s dramatic escape from prison in Dublin Castle in sixteenth century for they appear as such in the “Com-
1590. Three O’Hagans from Co. Tyrone and two from position Book of Connacht” (1585). The Clare sept is
Co. Derry were with O’Neill at the battle of Kinsale and of the same stock as the MacNamaras of Thomond; they
several of these were attainted in 1612. Ivor O’Hagan, the were located in Ogonnelloe on the shore of Lough Derg
tutor of St. Malachy (c. 1100) belonged to the Armagh and spread southwards into Co. Limerick. Though
O’Hagans. In the last century three people of the name originally of less importance than their Galway name-
were outstanding in Ireland. John O’Hagan (1822-1890), sakes, they have, however, produced all the notable
patriotic poet and judge; Thomas O’Hagan (1812-1885), men of the name. Sylvester O’Halloran (1728-1807),
the first Catholic Lord Chancellor of Ireland since the surgeon and eye-specialist, historian, antiquary and Irish
time of James II; and Mary O’Hagan (1823-1876), language enthusiast, and his brother Rev. Joseph Ignatius
foundress and abbess of the Convent of Poor Clares. O’Halloran, S.J., (1718-1800), Professor of Philosophy
All these were Ulster born. at Bordeaux were born and bred in Limerick; as was
While it is not incorrect to give O hAodhhagain as Sir Joseph O’Halloran (1763-1843), who, though he
an Irish form of O’Hagan, Mr. T. O Raifeartaigh tells served for fifty years with distinction in the British
me that the usual form in Ulster is now O hAgdin in army, retained his association with Limerick till his
Irish, which was originally O hOgain. death. He had eight sons in the same service, two of whom
Arms illustrated on Plate XIV. Thomas and William, subsequently became prominent
in Australia. According to family tradition Sylvester
O’Halloran and the rest of that distinguished Limerick
MacHALE Few names are more exclusively associ- family were of the Co. Galway not of the Thomond
ate with one Irish county than MacHale of Mayo. Those sept. Another of that name, Laurence Hynes O’Halloran
of the Gaelic sept Mac Céile were erenaghs of Killala. (1766-1831), after an adventurous life as poet, sailor,
The surrrame MacHale was also adopted by a Welsh teacher and wanderer, was transported to Australia
family which settled in the barony of Tirawley, Co. and ended as the headmaster of a school in Sydney.
Mayo, in the thirteenth century: it derives from the Arms illustrated on Plate XIV.
forename Howell. Being located in the same county
the descendants of these cannot now be distinguished
from their namesakes of Gaelic origin: in any case (O)HANLON O/’Hanlon is a name which is always
centuries of Connacht inter-marriages have made the one associated with Co. Armagh. The sept was located in the
just as Irish in blood as the other. Outstanding person- baronies of Oneilland and Orior. For centuries their
ality of the name was that uncompromising protagonist chiefs were known as lords of Orior. Ulster, of course,
of Irish-Ireland, John MacHale (1791-1881), who was was the last of the four provinces to feel the calamitous
for forty-seven years Archbishop of Tuam. effects of English invasions, but the O’Hanlons were not
without experience of war against the invader: in 1493,
for example the celebrated Poynings led an expedition
O’HALLORAN = O’Halloran, in Irish O hAllmhurain, against the most important chiefs of east Ulster — Mac-
is the name of two distinct septs. These were located in Gennis and O’Hanlon. In 1537 Sir Oghie O’Hanlon,
adjoining counties, Clare and Galway, where their then Chief of the Sept, fell in with their policy of
present day descendants are numerous, though seldom “surrender and regrant’’. On several occasions, indeed,
found in Leinster or Ulster. The propinquity of these their chiefs adopted a policy of conciliation, and this

99
saved them from complete ruin at the time of the form of the Gaelic O hAnndin. This name is chiefly
Planatation of Ulster, but later in the seventeenth associated with Co. Limerick. Another Gaelic surname,
century they suffered the normal fate of the Gaelic O hAinchin, that of a family of Siol Anmchadha be-
Catholic aristocracy. By 1675 we find the most note- longing to south east Galway, nominally anglicized
worthy O’Hanlon of his time, not in the proud position Hanneen, has, by attraction, become Hannon in most
of a chief, but as a rapparee: Redmond O’Hanlon cases, though Hanneens are also found in western
(d. 1681), called “Count” by courtesy (though actually counties. It is of interest to note that older people in
when in French service he received no such title), was, Clare and Galway call this name Hanheen thus keeping
perhaps, the most celebrated of the many picturesque close to the Irish pronounciation O hAinchin. Further
tories, or highwaymen, to be found in the pages of Irish there is O hAnnachdin which is called Hannon rather
history. Best known of the name, in modern times, was than Hanahan in Co. Limerick. The name Hannon to-day
the Rev. John Canon O’Hanlon (1821-1905), author of is principally found in Co. Limerick and in Counties
Lives of the Irish Saints (nine vols.), Irish American Galway and Roscommon.
History and many other works. Patrick Hannan (1842-1925), who was born in
It should be mentioned that O’Hanlons are now Co. Clare, discovered the Kalgoorlie goldfield in Western
numerous in Co. Cork, but southern branches of the Australia which contains “the richest square mile of
Ulster sept appear to have been established there only in gold in the world’’. The supply of water to this goldfield,
comparatively recent times. which entailed an engineering undertaking of great
Arms illustrated on Plate XIV. magnitude, was conceived and carried out by Charles
Yelverton O’Connor (1843-1902), who also built Free-
mantle Harbour. He was born in Co. Meath.
(O)HANLY, Henly The surname Hanley or Hanly is Arms illustrated on Plate XIV.
the anglicized form of the Irish O hAinle, which is
possibly derived from the Gaelic word dluinn, beautiful
(we may also note that in modern Irish ainle means a (O)HANRAHAN, Hourihane The O’Hanrahans are a
swallow). It is found to-day principally in, indeed it is Dalcassian sept: for the most part they are still found in
almost confined to, two areas, viz. in Connacht to their original habitat — Counties Clare and Limerick.
Counties Roscommon and Galway, where it is usually Their name in Irish is O hAnrachdin. This is stated to
spelt Hanly, and in Munster to Co. Cork and adjacent be a variant of O hAnradhdin which has been anglicized
districts where the spelling is Hanley. The ancient sept O’Hourihane in Co. Cork, where a sept of the name
of O’Hanly originated on the banks of the Shannon in were erenaghs of Ross. (See also O hArrachdin, sub
Co. Roscommon where the place-name Doohyhanly O’Horan, below.).
perpetuates their connexion with that district. These
O’Hanlys were tributaries of the royal house of O’Conor.
Their establishment in Co. Cork was comparatively late: (O)HANRAGHTY, Enright, (Hanvey) O’Hanraghty is
the name is almost entirely confined to Co. Roscommon an earlier, and now obsolete form of O hAnrachtaigh —
in the census of 1659 and in earlier records. A family the modern anglicized form being Hanratty. The name is
closely allied to the O’Hanlys of Connacht are the rarely found outside its original habitat. The sept, a
Hallys of Co. Clare whose name has a similar derivation. comparatively small one descended from Ionrachtach,
Since the end of the seventeenth century Henley, a scion of the great Maguires, was of Oriel, and the latest
Henly, Hendley, Henely have been used in Munster, available statistics show that apart from the city of
especially in Co. Cork, as variant forms of Hanley. Dublin, in which, of course, there are migrant families
For Hellenny in Co. Mayo see under Fennelly. from all parts of Ireland, nearly all the births registered
Donal O’Hanley was Bishop of Dublin from 1085- for the name took place in the Counties Louth, Armagh
1096 and Samuel O’Hanley the same from 1096-1111. and Monaghan. The chiefs of the O’Hanraghtys, of
when the bishopric became an archbishopric. whom several are mentioned by the Four Masters
Arms illustrated on Plate XIV. between 1019 and 1161, under the style of Lords of
Ui Meith, held a considerable territory in the northern
part of the modern Co. Louth. The “Annals of Loch
(O)HANNON, (Hanneen) Although there are many Cé”? mention Aodh O’Hanratty as “King of Ui Meith”
substantial families of Hannon in Munster and Connacht, in 1107, and under the same date Donal O’Hanfey is also
the Annals and other sources of information regarding so described. O’Hanfy, or O’Hanify or Hanvey, is
the septs of mediaeval Ireland seldom mention the name however, quite a distinct name — O hAinbhith in Irish.
O’Hannon. The death of Maelisa O’Hannen (0 hAndin), Their territory was in the same part of the country. The
prior of Roscommon, in 1266 is one of the few such. pressure of the Anglo-Norman invasion pushed the
According to the census of 1659 the name was then O’Hanraghtys westwards into Co. Monaghan, and in the
numerous in the barony of Athlone, Co. Roscommon; twelfth century they settled near the modern town of
while Haneens were found in considerable numbers in Castleblaney. Father Patrick Hanratty, a Franciscan
the barony of Bunratty, Co. Clare. The prefix O, of note in the first half of the seventeenth century,
dropped in the submergence of Gaelic Ireland, has not was a native of Co. Louth. The Four Masters use the
been resumed. Strictly speaking Hannon is the anglicized form O hlonrachtaigh, while O’Dugan in the “Topo-

100
graphical Poem’’, spells it O hInnrechtaigh, of which whereby good old Gaelic Irish surnames were trans-
the Gaelic version, given above, is a modern variant. mogrified into common English ones having more or
A branch of the family settled in France: one of these less the same sound. In this case, so far as the majority
was among the aristocratic prisoners in the French of Harringtons are concerned, the anglicized form was
Revolution. only remotely similar to the original phonetically.
The Mac form of the name Mac Ionnrachtaigh, now Formerly Harrington was O’Hungerdell in English which
anglicized Enright, appears as MacKenraght and Mac- was an approximate pronounciation of the Gaelic
Enraghty in old records: it belongs, almost exclusively, original O hlongardail, but the form O’Hungerdell,
to West Munster, the great majority of Enrights to-day which is found in documents about the time when
coming from Co. Limerick. English came to be used for legal business, is now quite
Arms illustrated on Plate XV. obsolete. As late as 1659 Ungerdell or Hungerdell was
the form of this name in common use in Co. Cork. It
appears thus in the “census” of that date among the
O’HARA~ The O’Haras are an important sept of principal Irish names in the barony of Kinalmeaky,
distinguished origin. They are descended from Eaghra in County Cork. The Harringtons of this sept are
(pronounced Ara), who was chief of Leyny in Co. Sligo, numerous in south-west Cork and Kerry — almost
a scion of the family of Olioll Ollum, King of Munster. ninety per cent of the births registered for Harrington
In Irish the name is O hEaghra, of which the anglicized were from that area fifty years ago and a comparison
form O’Hara is a phonetic rendering. About 1350 this with voters’ lists and directories of to-day shows that
sept formed two divisions, the chiefs of which were this is still substantially the case. There are two other
called respectively O’Hara Boy (ie. buide, tawny) Gaelic surnames which are sometimes also anglicized
and O’Hara Reagh (i.e. riabhach, grizzled). In the “Com- as Harrington. One is O hOireachtaigh, properly angli-
position Book of Connacht” (1585) O’Hara Boy is cized as Heraghty, which belongs to Counties Galway
seated at Collooney and O’Hara Reagh at Ballyharry: and Mayo. The third is O hArrachtain, anglice Harr-
the latter is a contemporary English attempt at writing aughton. This is recorded as a synonym or alias of
Baile ui Eaghra or Ballyhara. A branch migrated to the Harrington in the Tralee-Dingle area of Kerry, which
Route, Co. Antrim. As might be expected, therefore, suggests that the Harringtons of that part are not of
the O’Haras of to-day are chiefly found in Counties the main family of O hlongardail but migrants from the
Sligo and Leitrim. The famous manuscript known as Hy Many country to which the minor sept of O hArrach-
“The Book of O’Hara”’ is still in existence: it contains tain belonged. However, Harrington may be regarded
a very full record of chiefs of the name. Boswell in his as essentially a West Cork name. There, at Castletown-
Tour to the Hebrides with Dr. Johnson (Sep. 28, 1773) bere, was born Timothy Harrington (1851-1910), who
tells an interesting anecdote which illustrates the respect was probably the best known Irishman of that name:
in which the O’Haras and other ancient Gaelic families he was secretary of the Land League, M.P. and Lord
were held by the native Irish in the eighteenth century. Mayor of Dublin. Harrington is to-day a very prominent
A century later they were very extensive landlords: in name in the industrial life of Cork City. Sir Henry
Co. Sligo the O’Haras of Cooper’s Hill and Annaghmore Harrington, a leading figure in Elizabethan Ireland,
possessed more than 21,000 acres, and this family was an Englishman.
is still of importance in that county.
Among many distinguished O’Haras the most notable,
in addition to three bishops of Achonry, were Kane O’HART Hart is a native English name, numerous in
O’Hara (1712-1782), author of the popular burlesque that country; but in Ireland the Harts (usually spelt
Midas, a Sligo man; James O’Hara (1752-1819), Harte in Connacht) are nearly all of the sept O’Hart.
American revolutionary, son of John O’Hara, an Some families have always retained, others have recently
Irishman; Theodore O’Hara (1820-1867), whose father resumed, the prefix O. In Irish the name is O hAirt,
Kean O’Hara escaped from Ireland after participating i.e. descendant of Art, who was son of King Conn of
with Lord Edward Fitzgerald in the 1798 insurrection; the Hundred Battles. The O’Harts were of the southern
Most Rev. William O’Hara (1816-1899), first bishop of Ui Neill and were one of the Four Tribes of Tara: in
Scranton. The Sligo O’Haras who took the side of early times their chiefs were lords of Teffia (Co. Meath),
England were rewarded with a title (Baron Tyrawley) but after the Anglo-Norman invasion they were pushed
in the year 1706. One of the founders of Pittsburg, westwards and settled in the territory now known as
U.S.A., was an O’Hara. Maureen O’Hara, nee Fitzgerald, the barony of Carbury, Co. Sligo. O’Hart is included
the Irish actress, has made the name well known all over among the sixteenth century Sligo chiefs in the “Com-
four continents. Arms illustrated on Plate XV. position Book of Connacht’. Sligo, with the adjacent
counties of Leitrim and Roscommon, is their principal
home to-day, though the name is also found in con-
HARRINGTON, O’Harraughton __Harrington itself is a siderable numbers in Co. Cork. The O’Harts of
well-known English name, common in England, but very Newtown, Ardtarmon, and other extensive estates in
few indeed of our Irish Harringtons are of English stock. Co. Sligo, were, until the seventeenth century, one of
This name is an example of that slavish tendency, much the leading families in north Connacht, but like other
in evidence during the centuries of Gaelic submergence, Catholic proprietors, were reduced to straightened

101
circumstances by the two great confiscations of land septs of O hAodha, including, as well as those mentioned
in that century. above, others located around Ardstraw (Co. Tyrone),
The best known man of the name was John O’Hart Ballyshannon (Co. Donegal), Farney (Co. Monaghan),
(1824-1870), author of Jrish Pedigrees: the Original Navan (Co. Meath), Gorey (Co. Wexford), Ballintobber
Stem of the Irish Nation, a laboriously compiled and and Templemurray (Co. Mayo), Dromard (Co. Sligo),
voluminous, but not always reliable, work. Therein and one of the Ui Maine.
will be found much information regarding the O’Harts Arms illustrated on Plate XV.
of Co. Sligo. Arms illustrated on Plate XV.

(O)HEALY Hely, (Kerrisk) | Though a genuine Gaelic

(O)HARTIGAN _ The O’Hartagans, or O’Hartigans, are name, Healy is very rarely found nowadays with its
a Dalcassian sept-located in Thomond and still well proper prefix O; there is no entry in current directories
known around Limerick, though nowhere very under O’Healy, O’Hely or O’Haly, forms which were
numerous. The name is O hArtagain in Irish, probably quite usual up to the end of the seventeenth century.
derived from the well-known christain name Art. Dun- Healy, however, is one of the commonest names in
laing O’Hartigan was one of the heroes of Clontarf. The Ireland having forty-seventh place in the list of the
best known of all the sept was born in Ulster far from hundred commonest surnames, with a total number
the home of his ancestors, viz. Cineth O’Hartagan, the of persons so called of nearly thirteen thousand. One
Gaelic poet who died in 975. sept, in Irish O hElidhe, derived from éilidhe (claimant),
Father Matthew O’Hartigan, S.J. of Limerick, who possessed a territory at the foot of the Curlew
did so much to spread the Society in Ireland, was an Mountains on the western shore of Lough Arrow, i.e. the
emissary of the Catholic Confederation to France in corner of County Sligo lying between Counties Mayo
16043. He is also noteworthy for his efforts on behalf of and Roscommon. The first of the frequent references
the Irish exiles in the West Indies. Another Father to the family by the Four Masters is to Dermot O’Healy
Hartegan was an Irish-Australian poet at the beginning who died in 1309 — he is described as “a princely
of the present century. Arms illustrated on Plate XV. farmer, the best of his time”. A greater number, however,
belong to the Munster sept. In Munster it is O hEalaigh-
the, possibly from the word ealadhach (ingenious).
O’HEA, Hayes, Hughes O’Hea is one of the anglicized This name was formerly correctly rendered as O’Healihy
forms of the very common Gaelic surname O hAodha, in English. and so it appears in the seventeenth century
which has at least a dozen different and distinct origins records. e.g. those reciting the transfer of their estates
in Ireland and is usually anglicized Hayes, except in to the Earl of Clancarty after the Restoration. Though
Ulster where it has become Hughes. O hAodha simply dispossessed, the O’Healihys remained on the lands
means descendant of Aodh, anglice Hugh. The sept so and it was one of those who, having become a Protestant,
named, which is located in Corca Laoidhe — i.e. the was created Earl of Donoughmore. This title was taken
south-western part of Co. Cork — is the only one which from the place Donoughmore in the barony of Muskerry,
is called O’Hea in English and this form is invariable in Co. Cork, which was the centre of the territory possessed
that area. Murrough O’Hea was Bishop of Cork in 1205, by the sept. The influential family of Hely d’Oissel of
and Maurice O’Hea was Bishop of Ross in 1559. In Co. Normandy, ranked among the nobility of France, is
Cork only is the name found in directories to-day (apart descended from Peter O’Hely, a Jacobite exile.
from a few migrants to Dublin). John Fergus O’Hea Several places in Ireland perpetuate the name Healy:
(1850-1912), artist and cartoonist, was a Cork man, Ballyhety in Co. Sligo was the seat of the O’Healys of
and Captain William O’Hea, an officer in Nicholas Lough Arrow, mentioned above. It is curious that
Browne’s infantry in King James the Second’s army, four such place names (three Ballyhealys and one
was of Aghamilly Castle in Pobble O’Hea, a district Healysland) are to be found in Wexford, a county not
retained by the sept under the overlordship of the specially associated with the septs of O’Healy, either
Barrys. This name, by the way, was also known as Heas traditionally or by reason of present population dis-
which is identical in pronounciation with Hayes. tribution. No less than five of the Donoughmore Helys
Hayes is a very common name in England. The name (who assumed the additional name of Hutchinson) were
Hay (i.e. Norman de la Haye) is on record in Co. considered worthy of a place in the Dictionary of
Wexford since 1182. It has now become Hayes in most National Biography, several of whom, notably John
places. Irish Hayses are almost invariably scions of one Hely-Hutchinson (1724-1794), Provost of. Trinity
of the O hAodha septs. The most considerable of these College, were advocates of Catholic Emancipation.
was the Dalcassian sept of Thomond, now chiefly Four other Healys have a lasting place in Irish history;
associated with Counties Limerick and Tipperary, Patrick O’Healy, Franciscan, last Bishop of Mayo before
whence came Catherine Hayes (1825-1861), singer, and it was united to Tuam, who in 1579 was tortured and
the two painters Edward Hayes (1797-1864) and martyred; John Healy (1841-1918), Archbishop of
Michael Angelo Hayes (1820-1887). In the seventeenth Tuam, author of Jnsula Sanctorum, etc.; the famous
century the form O’Hea, not Hayes, was used in Co. humorist, Father Hames Healy (1824-1894); and
Clare as is evidenced by the number of O’Heas in Petty’s Timothy Healy (1855-1931), universally known as Tim
census of 1659. Woulfe gives no less than twelve distinct Healy, the irrepressible Irish Nationalist M.P., who

102
finally became a most successful first Governor-General the annals of the Irish Brigades and among those who
of the Irish Free State. James Healy (1830-1900), has distinguished themselves particularly in this field was
been described as the first black American bishop. Lt.-Col. Hegarty of Lally’s Regiment, who for his service
Actually he was only one quarter black, his father, was rewarded in 1747 by Louis XV of France, while
Michael Healy, being an Irish immigrant and his mother Peter O’Hegarty was made Governor of the Isle of
a mulatto slave. Bourbon. Another Irish Hegarty in eighteenth century
In the Tralee and Killarney areas of Co. Kerry Healy France, Daniel O’Hegarty, shipbuilder of Dunkirk, a
is usually a synonym of Kerrisk or Kerrish, in Irish Mac Catholic, strange as this seems to us now, founded the
Fhiarais i.e. son of Ferris, the first to be so called being first Freemason lodge in that country in 1721.
the son of one Pierce O’Healy. Woulfe thinks the epony- According to Dr. Richard Hayes the main object of these
mous ancestor was Ferris O’Helie. In Co. Clare Mac lodges, which were largely composed of Jacobite exiles,
Fhiarais is anglicized Kierse. was the restoration of the house of Stuart. In recent
times the name has been less distinguished, though
several Hegartys were prominent in the struggle for Irish
(O)HEFFERNAN _ The sept of Heffernan originally Independence 1916-1921: of these P. S. O’Hegarty
inhabited a territory near Corofin, Co. Clare, called (1879-1955), who was an author of repute, is the best
Muintirferndin after them. Very early, however, they known. The place name Hegarty’s Rock at Killygarvan
established themselves in eastern Co. Limerick on near Lough Swilly commemorates the barbarous and
the Tipperary border and were chiefs there of Owneybeg, treacherous murder of Father James Hegarty there in
whence they were in due course displaced by the Ryans. LUSs Arms illustrated on Plate XV.
The principal families of the name did not migrate very
far since Carew tells us that they were among the most
important in the barony of Clanwilliam in 1600. The (O)HENNESSY, Henchy Hennessy is a name from
rank and file remained undisturbed and it is in Counties which the prefix O has been entirely dropped in modern
Tipperary and Limerick they are most numerous to-day. times, though O’Hennessy was still widely used in the
The old manuscripts, such as the “Book of Rights’, seventeenth century. In Irish it is O hAonghusa, i.e.
describe the O’Heffernans as one of the “four tribes descendant of Aonghus or Angus. The principal sept of
of Owney”, the others being MacKeogh, O Loingsigh this name was located near the town of Kilbeggan and
(Lynch) and O’Calahan. The two most distinguished the hill of Croghan, their territory being chiefly in the
members of the sept were Aeneas O’Heffernan, Bishop northern part of Co. Offaly, where they shared with
of Emly, 1543-1553 and William Dall O’Heffernan O’Holohan the lordship of Clan Cholgain; a branch
(1715-1802), Gaelic poet. The prefix O, discarded of this was located nearer to Dublin, the head of it
during the period of Gaelic submergence, has not been being chief of Gailenga Beg on the north side of the
resumed in modern times except in very few cases. River Liffey on the borders of Counties Meath and
Hiffernan is an alternative spelling of the name. The Dublin. The latter was displaced by the Anglo-Norman
notable so called was Dr. Paul Hiffernan (1719-1777), invasion. The Offaly O’Hennessys spread into Tipperary
the dramatist. Arms illustrated on Plate XV. and Clare — in the latter county they are now called
Henchy, formerly Hensey. Dr. Florence Hensey (b.
1715), whose trial in London as a secret agent of France
(O)HEGARTY Hegarty, sometimes O’Hegarty but in 1758 was a cause celébre, was one of these. Another
seldom Haggerty in Ireland (a form of the name found distinct sept of O’Hennessy was of Corca Laoidhe,
among Irish-Americans), is in Irish O hEigceartaigh located near Ross Bay in South-west Cork. At the
(éigceartach means unjust). Though now associated present day the name is principally associated with
principally with Co. Cork, the Hegartys of Munster Counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. There are
are in fact a branch of the main O’Hegarty sept of the places called Ballyhennessy in Co. Clare, Co. Cork and
Cinel Eoghan which was located on the borders of the Co. Kerry (near the Limerick border).
present counties of Donegal and Derry. In the four- To most people the name Hennessy suggests brandy
teenth century the barony of Loughinsholin (Co. Derry) rather than Ireland. The French Hennessys, famous for
was their principal habitat; in the seventeenth they were their cognac, are of Irish stock. Richard Hennessy (b.
more numerous in Tirkeeran (Co. Derry) and Inishowen 1720), of Ballymacroy, Co. Cork (Mallow area), joined
(Co. Donegal) in the north, and in the baronies of his Wild Geese relatives in France and became an officer
Barrymore and Carbery West in Co. Cork. As is usually in Dillon’s Regiment: he fought at Fontenoy in 1742
the case the present representatives of the sept are to be and later settled in Cognac. His son James was a member
found in their traditional homeland and are to-day most of the French Chamber of Deputies and became a
numerous in Counties Cork, Donegal and Derry. The peer of France, though an Irishman and never natural-
Ulster sept were subfeudatory to O’Neill: Maolmuire ized. He married a Martell, another name intimately
O’Hegarty fell at Kinsale in O’Neill’s army. The 1691 associated with cognac or brandy.
attainders of O’Hegartys relate to those of Ulster. The Other Hennessys worthy of mention are Nicholas
records of persecuted priests in the seventeenth century O’Hennessy, the Cistercian Bishop of Waterford and
also indicate the Ulster character of the sept up till Lismore from 1480 to 1482, Henry Hennessy (1826-
modern times. The name appears very frequently in 1901), scientist, Professor of Engineering in Newman’s

103
Catholic University (Dublin), and Sir John Pope William Hickey (1749-1830), whose autobiography
Hennessy (1834-1891), first Catholic Conservative Irish is a classic, was the son of a Cashel man.
M.P. at Westminster, both Corkmen; and the Kerryman Arms illustrated on Plate X VI.
William Hennessy (1828-1889), Gaelic scholar; while
Irish-Americans of note were Most Rev. John Hennessy
(1825-1900), Archbishop of Dubuque, and William John O’HIGGIN, (O)HIGGINS Despite the very English
Hennessy, painter, son of John Hennessy, the Young appearance of the surname Higgins, as it is usually
Irelander. Arms illustrated on Plate XV. anglicized, it is in fact a purely native Irish Gaelic name
which should normally have been O’Higgins in English,
the Irish form being O hUigin, pronounced O’Higgeen.
O’HEYNE, Hynes The rather commonplace surname The name, according to modern scholarship, is derived
Hines or Hynes is*a-modern form in English of the very from the old Gaelic word wiging, akin to the Norse
distinguished name O’Heyne, in Irish O hEidhin. Viking, not from the word wige. Originating as a branch
Descended from Guaire the Hospitable, King of Conn- of the O’Neills of the midlands of Ireland (not the
acht. From the seventh century to the destruction of the Ulster O’Neills) this sept spread westwards as far as Co.
Gaelic order nearly a thousand years later the head of Sligo where they held large estates. They were still
the O’Heynes was chief of a territory in south Galway, extensive landowners in 1878 having estates in nearly
barony of Kiltartan. This family shared with their all the western counties. The really remarkable fact
kinsmen the O’Shaughnessys the Lordship of Aidhne, about them is the number of distinguished poets they
which comprised the country stretching from Gort to produced during three centuries, beginning with Tadhg
Oranmore. Mulroy O’Heyne, who was father-in-law of Mor O hUigin who died in 1315 to Tadhg Dall (d. 1617).
Brian Boru, was styled Lord of Aidhne. O’Heyne and Another Tadhg, called Og, flourished in the first half of
O’Kelly commanded the forces of Connacht at the the fifteenth century. The sixteenth century saw five
Battle of Clontarf in 1014. The abbey of Kilmacduagh more poets of the name, one of whom, Maolmuire
is called O’Heyne’s Abbey. When the Anglo-Normans (d. 1591), was also Archbishop of Tuam. A poem by one
occupied considerable portions of Co. Galway in the of these, Pilib Bocht O Huigin, was the first to be
thirteenth century the O’Heynes and the O’Shaughnessys printed in the Irish language. With the destruction of
were left in possession of large tracts of their ancient the Gaelic order in the seventeenth century the
patrimony, and as late as 1878 the head of the family O’Higginses lost their pre-eminence in the literary
was in possession of 4,169 acres, near Ballinasloe, where sphere, but not their prominence in the world of affairs.
his residence then was. In 1608 the O’Heynes are re- John Higgins (1676-1729), of Limerick, was a famous
corded as owning 8,640 acres in the northern part of physician in Spain.
Aidhne around Kinvarra. As might be expected the name Don Ambrosio O’Higgins (1721-1801), of Ballina,
is still found most plentifully in Counties Galway and Viceroy, of Peru, was created Baron de Ballenary by the
Clare. Since the middle of the seventeenth century the King of Spain in 1788 and Marquis de Osorno in 1792.
O’Heynes have been chiefly notable as missionary He usually styled himself O’Higgins of Ballinar (not
priests. The most remarkable was Father John O’Heyne, Ballina), though the prefix O appears to have been re-
O.P. (d. 1715), historian of the Dominican Order. sumed by him officially only in 1788. He founded, amomg
Arms illustrated on Plate XV. other towns in Peru, San Ambrosio de Ballenar. It has been
frequently stated that he was born near Summerhill,
Co. Meath, in which vicinity there is a townland called
Ballina; but Vicuna McKenna and other writers, including
(O)HICKEY Hickey, also spelt Hickie, is the anglicized the author of the article in the Dictionary of National
form of the Irish O hIcidhe (pronounced O Hickee), Biography, give no authority for this. Statements in this
iceadh, from which it is derived, meaning a physician D.N.B. article cannot be accepted without verification. It
or healer. The Hickeys are closely identified with Co. says, for example, that O’Higgins sent money to Father
Clare and north Tipperary, being Dalcassian in origin Kellett, P.P. of Summerhill, for his impoverished relatives.
and hereditary physicians to the ruling O’Briens of There was, in fact, never a parish priest of Summerhill of
Thomond. In course of time they have spread to ad- that name; there was a Protestant rector of Agher (which
joining counties and at present are as numerous in includes Summerhill) named John Kellett, but he was
Limerick as in Clare and Tipperary. not appointed till 1808, seven years after the death of
Of distinguished Irish Hickeys, the Franciscan Pro- Ambrosio O’Higgins. Perhaps the remittance was actually
fessor Anthony Hickey (d. 1641), of St. Isidores, Rome made by his son Bernardo. At any rate the statement,
and Louvain, John Hickey (1756-1795), sculptor, his which presumably has some foundations, bears out the
brother Thomas Hickey (1760-1822), portrait painter, belief that this O’Higgins family had a connexion with
Thomas O’Hickey (fl. 1820), one of the best of the Summerhill. Presumably also the tradition that he was
traditional Irish scribes, and William Hickey (c. 1787- employed as a page or postillion by the Countess of
1875), who was a pioneer in the field of agricultural Bective has some factual basis, though that lady was not
education, as well as Father Michael Patrick O’Hickey so called till long after Ambrosio had gone to Spain. The
(1861-1916), champion of essential Irish in the National Summerhill estate belonged to Sir Hercules Langford,
University of Ireland, may be specially mentioned. whose daughter and heiress married Sir John Rowley in

104
1671. In 1754 Jane Rowley (Langford) married Sir commonly known as the “Sham Squire”, and another
Thomas Taylour, M.P., of Kells, who was created Baron Francis Higgins (1669-1728), a notorious and somewhat
Headfort in 1760 and Earl of Bective in 1766. This disreputable Protestant preacher.
explains the anomaly in the tradition that O’Higgins was At the present time the name is chiefly found in
in the employment of Lady Bective of Summerhill. Connacht (more than fifty per cent are in that province,
I think we may accept the suggestion that his especially Counties Mayo and Roscommon). It is
emigration to Spain was due to a relative of his being a estimated that there are some eight thousand persons of
prominent ecclesiastic there (confessor to King Carlos the name in Ireland to-day, very few of these using the
III) and that for a time he studied for the priesthood in prefix O. Arms illustrated on Plate X VI.
that country. Thence certainly he went to South
America at the age of 41.
The most recent and most scholarly of his biog- (O)HOGAN "The Hogans are a Dalcassian family, their
raphers, Riccardo Donoso, in a work published by the eponymous ancestor being Ogan who was descended
University of Chile in 1941, says (p. 46) that in 1761 from an uncle of Brian Boru, the most celebrated of all
Don Ambrosio obtained a certificate of nationality in the Kings of Ireland. The Dalcassian territory extended
which he was stated to be a Roman Catholic, resident in well beyond the boundaries of Co. Clare which was the
Cadiz, son of Don Carlos O’Higgins and Margaret heart of Thomond, their country. The Hogans occupied
O’Higgins of Ballenary, in the diocese of Elphin, Ireland. the extreme north-eastern part of it and their chief
None of his biographers appears to have been aware of lived at Ardcrony, near Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. The
the existence of further and more conclusive evidence name is numerous in Ireland, being among the hundred
that Don Ambrosio was in fact born in Ballinary, Co. commonest surnames. The great majority of the eight
Sligo, of a family of standing long established there. In thousand or so persons so called (which is the estimate
the Genealogical Office, Dublin Castle, which as the of the present Hogan population) belong to their original
Office of Arms was established in 1552, there is an native habitat, being found to-day in Counties Tipp-
original contemporary sworn affidavit (not made by an erary, Clare and Limerick. Fr. John Ryan states that the
O’Higgins) to that effect (G.O. MS 87, fo. 169): this and O Hogans of north Tipperary were of the Muscraighe
another (G.O. MS. 165, fo. 396 et seq.) corroborating it and distinct from the Dalcassian Hogans of Co. Clare.
are prosaic documents free from the pretentious and There are also a number in Co. Cork, whose origin is
verbose language which characterizes some of the eight- stated by O’Donovan to be different from the Dalcassian
eenth century claims to “nobility”’. Hogans. One of the minor Corca Laoidhe septs was
Mehagan in his book O'Higgins of Chile, published in O’Hogan. In Irish the name is O hOgain but the prefix
1913, states that Ambrosio’s father migrated from Co. O is only occasionally met with in the modern form in
Sligo to Co. Meath, where he became a tenant farmer, English. In the seventeenth century the name was often
thus accounting for this family’s connexion with the two written Ogan. There is a placename Ballyhogan in the
areas. Though not necessarily relevant it is perhaps of parish of Dysart, Co. Clare.
interest to mention that Sir Hercules Langford of The most famous Hogan is probably John Hogan
Summerhill, Co. Meath, acquired much land in north (1800-1858), an Irish sculptor of international repute;
Connacht in the seventeenth century as the Mayo Book but to Irishmen the romantic figure of “Galloping
of Survey & Distribution testifies. His name does not Hogan” (the date of whose birth and death I cannot
appear, however, in the S. & D. Books for Sligo and trace), the hero of Sarsfield’s exploit at Ballyneety
Roscommon. Ballinary is on the Roscommon border of (1690), makes the most appeal. Maurice O’Hogan was
Co. Sligo. a notable Bishop: he held the see of Kildare from 1281
There is no doubt that a branch of the O’Higgins to 1298. Rev. Edmund Hogan, S.J. (1831-1917), did
family of Connacht was established at Kilbeg, Co. West- much work as an editor of manuscripts and produced his
meath, at least as early as 1550, as we know from a best known book Onomasticon Gaedelicum at the age
Funeral Entry of 1638. Their connexion with the mid- of seventy-two. The first Minister of Agriculture in the
land counties in the sixteenth century is corroborated by Irish Free State Patrick Hogan (1891-1936), was one of
the Fiants; and in the next century Petty’s “census” of three brothers who distinguished themselves in various
1659 lists the name Higgin as numerous both in King’s national activities in our own time.
and Queen’s Counties (Offaly and Leix). Ambrosio’s Arms illustrated on Plate X VI.
son Bernardo O’Higgins (1780-1846) is known as the
Liberator of Chile, in which country a province is called
O’Higgins in memory of these men. O’HOLOHAN, Holland, Holian, (Mulholland, Hyland)
Fovi of the name were martyred for the faith during O’Holohan — O hUallachdin in Irish — is the name of
the Cromwellian regime. William Higgins (1763-1825) at least two septs originally located in Offaly and in
was a chemist of international fame. In our own time Thomond. In the course of time they spread south-
one family of the name has produced three Irish cabinet wards in both cases, but in the census of 1659 the
ministers including Kevin O’Higgins (1892-1927), whose great majority of the name were living in Co. Kilkenny:
brilliant career was cut short by assassination. As a slight at the present time it is chiefly found in that county
set off against this galaxy of distinguished men we may with the spelling Holohan, and in the western part of
mention the notorious Francis Higgins (1746-1802), Munster with the spelling Houlihan. No less than seven-

105
teen variant spellings of the name are recorded by the familiar formerly to readers of The Nation on account of
Registrar-General, including Oolahan and Whoolehan. its regular contributor M. J. O’Horahan. This family,
In Offaly the O’Holohans shared the leadership of the quite distinct from the Thomond one, belonged to Co.
Clan Colgan with the O’Hennessys. It was one of these, Cork and were erenaghs of Ross. The Horans now tound
Dermot O’Holohan, who constructed the curragh in not inconsiderable numbers in Co. Cork are of this
bridge across the Shannon above Portumna which stock. The distinguished Admiral Horan of the British
enabled O’Sullivan Beare to cross into Connacht on Navy is the son of a Co. Limerick man, presumably of
his epic march from Kinsale in 1602. The southward Thomond lineage. The name has not been prominent
movement both from Offaly and Clare brought them to in Irish cultural or political history.
Co. Cork where many families of Houlihan adopted the Arms illustrated on Plate X VI.
name Holland as the English form of their surname.
This was also done to some extent in their original
Thomond homeland: John Holland (1841-1914), the
noted American inventor, was a native of Co. Clare.
The name Holland may also be an abbreviation of (O)HOSEY, Hussey It is very usual for Gaelic names
Mulholland (once O Maolchalann, devotee of St. Callan) to be given common English surnames of somewhat
a sept located in the northern part of Co. Limerick: the similar sound as their anglicized equivalent; Hussey is
Ulster Mulhollands, however, never abbreviated their one of the few examples of a Norman name being so
name to Holland. adopted. It is not very common in Ireland to-day: the
Finally it may be mentioned that Holland is found in counties with which it is mostly associated are Kerry and
Ulster as the anglicized form of O hAolain, which in Roscommon. The Kerry Husseys are a branch of the
Leinster is Hyland and in Munster Heelan. Norman family of Houssaye in France, first called de
In mediaeval times the most notable man of the name Hosé and de Hosey here and later Hussey. The first of
was Donal O’Hoolahan, Archbishop of Cashel from 1171 these to settle in Ireland came with Strongbow and
to 1182. acquired through Hugh de Lacy extensive lands near
A curious anglicization of O hUallachdin is mentioned Dublin, including Galtrim in Co. Meath whence comes
in the article on Nolan (q.v.). the Palatine title of Baron of Galtrim: Sir Hugh Hussey,
Mr. P. J. Kennedy told me that he knew families Kt., was summoned to the Irish Parliament of 1294,
called Holland in the vicinity of Loughrea and Craugh- as such and his heirs for many generations were so
well who were formerly Holian. Whether this is an styled, but it was not recognized as a peerage by the
anglicized from of O hAoldin (usually Hyland) or a English crown. In 1878 large estates were owned by
distinct Gaelic surname, O hOiledin, I do not know. Not Husseys in Co. Meath and Co. Kerry, but the only line
far away, in the Aughrim and Ballinasloe area, there are, of this family which has survived in any considerable
he says, Hollands who are traditionally descendants of numbers is that which migrated to Dingle about 1550.
disbanded Williamite soldiers settled in the Trench The Husseys of Connacht are presumably of the sept
estate. Tradition ascribes a similar origin to the Cookes O hEodhusa, hereditary bards to the MacGuires of
and Howards of that district. Both these names in that Fermanagh. The last of these was Eochaidh O’Hussey
part of the country, however, have a more distinguished (1569-1612). Another distinguished Gaelic writer was
origin as we have noted elsewhere. Bonaventura O’Hussey, O.F.M. (d. 1614), born at
Arms illustrated on Plate X VI. Clogher and died at Louvain where he was an original
member of the Franciscan College. The name O
hEodhusa presents an example of the absurdity of the
anglicized equivalents sometimes adopted during the
period of Gaelic submergence: even the Norman name
Hussey was not English enough for some families who
(O)HORAN, Haren The true sept of O’Horan (O became Oswell, and their descendants are still in Ulster
hOdhrain in Irish) originated in Co. Galway whence under that guise.
they spread into Co. Mayo and are now fairly numerous In the eighteenth century Philip Hussey (1713-1783),
in those Connacht counties. Another Gaelic surname, who was bor in Cork and died in Dublin, was a
O hArrachdin, which is a corruption of O Hannradhain foremost portrait painter, and Most Rev. Thomas
(anglice Hanrahan) is commonly anglicized Horan, Hussey (1741-1803) was bishop of Waterford and
though in Thomond (Co. Clare), where this minor Lismore.
Dalcassian sept originated, it is usually pronounced, and The town of Dingle (Daingean Ui Chuis) is said to be
sometimes written, more phonetically Harhan. Other named from a family of Hussey. Rev. J. O’Connell
anglicized forms recorded in Co. Clare are Haren and (Archivium Hibernicum xxi, pp. 5 and 20) shows that
Haran. Even when written Horan it is pronounced with the name occurs in the Annates of Kerry as Hosse and
an internal aspirate which is more accurately represented Hussye in 1473-5, and this appears to be the first re-
by the form Haughran, found in the birth registers of corded mention of it in Kerry. He says that de la Cousa
Co. Offaly as a synonym of Horan and often changed to was gaelicized as O Cuis, sometimes becoming O’Cushe
Horan. Yet another variant in this case peculiar to Co. in English speech which was modified Hosse and Hussey.
Cork, is O’Hourahan or O’Horahan, a rare name but one According to An Seabhac, Husae is the normal Gaelic

106
form of Hussey in Coraquiny (the barony in which Connacht sept which is of the same stock as the
Dingle lies) and he thought it unlikely that O Cuis could O’Flahertys: they were chiefs of the territory known as
ever have been a synonymous form of Husae. It the barony of Clare in Co. Galway. In 1585, the date
has been suggested to me, as a possibility, by the place- of the “Composition Book of Connacht”’, the MacHughs
names section of The Ordnance Survey that a surname O were not only there but in the barony of Athlone,
Cuis, now obsolete, may once have been found there and Co. Roscommon, also. Nearly a century later the records
that, after the coming of the Norman Husseys to that of the Cromweillian settlement show that they were
area, O Cis may have been anglicized as Hussey and landowners in Co. Galway. To-day they are found all
both names subsequently through confusion gaelicized around that area and even beyond it — as far north as
Husae. There would thus appear to be no evidence Leitrim and Fermanagh. Malachy MacHugh, Archbishop
available at present to determine from whom (or of Tuam (1313-1348), was of this branch of the sept. He
possibly from what) the town of Daingean Ui Chuis is called Molassie MacHugh in the “Annals of Clonmac-
got its name. nois”, and in the “Annals of Loch Cé” we find an
interesting entry indicating that he only became Bishop
of Elphin in opposition to the nominee of the diocesan
O’HOUNEEN, MacGlashan, Greene Although Green chapter.
is one of the commonest indigenous surnames in MacHugo, a name not uncommon in Co. Galway, is
England and no doubt many of our Irish Greenes are of not a variant of MacHugh, but one of the many
English extraction, nevertheless the majority of those gaelicized branches of the Burkes.
who hail from Connacht and west Munster are native Arms illustrated on Plate X VI.
Irish in origin. There the name is almost always spelt
with a final E. In Co. Clare where the name is well
known, it is a synonym, by translation of the word (O)HURLEY, O’Murhila, Murrily, (O’Herlihy) The
uaithne (green), for O hUaithnin, formerly anglicized well known surname Hurley is used as the anglicized
phonetically as Huneen and Houneen: this is a genuine form of two distinct Gaelic patronymics. The Thomond
Dalcassian family. A similar metamorphosis has occurred sept of O hUirthile descends from one Uirthile or Urley
in Co. Cork, where however Hooney was commoner as (an obsolete christian name) who was of the race of
an alternative than Hooneen. Then again, there are Blod, son of Cas, the progenitor of the Dalcassians.
Gaelic Greenes in Ulster to be found in every county O’Hurley was one of the principal chiefs of Thomond
from Derry to Armagh and into Louth. These are usually in 1309, but after that they are mainly met with in
Mac Glasdin (alternatively MacGlashan) from the word Co. Limerick, in the Kilmallock area, and in north
glas which denotes a greyish green colour. O Fathaigh, Tipperary where there is a place-name Rathurley in the
normally Fahy, has sometimes been anglicized as Green parish of Kilruane. Kilmallock was represented in the
by mistranslation, faithche meaning a green or lawn. parliaments of 1585 and 1689 by an O’Hurley of Knock-
In some parts of Ulster the Irish forms O Griana and long Castle, and Sir Maurice O’Hurley of the same family
Mac Griana are found. These would not appear to be of was prominent in the activities of the Confederate
any antiquity, but the latter was in existence two cen- Catholics in 1646. Two were Bishops of Emly in the
turies ago, the name Nial Magreena appearing in a list of stormy seventeenth century, and one of the most
parishioners of Stranorlar in 1751. The forms MacGrina famous prelates of the first persecution era was Dermot
and Magrina appear in a list of the followers of Rory O’Hurley (1519-1584), Archbishop of Cashel, who for
O’Donnell in 1602. Séamus Mac Grianna was a distin- his part in the struggle against English aggression in
guished Gaelic writer. The present distribution of the name Ireland was first tortured and then hanged. One of the
Greene in Ireland, as revealed in the returns of the most remarkable characters of late seventeenth century
Registrar-General, is widespread throughout the country, Ireland was the informer Patrick Hurley of Co. Clare,
with the adjoining counties of Clare, Galway and Tipper- self-styled Count of Mountcallan, whose adventurous
ary predominating. and infamous career was finally brought to a close by
No Irishman or woman called Greene is famous unless his trial and conviction in 1700.
we count Alice Stopford (Green) the Irish historian who It may here be mentioned that some Clare Hurleys
married the English historian J. R. Green. Plunket have acquired the name Commane by a process of
Greene (1865-1936), was a singer and composer of some erroneous translation, camdn being the Irish word for
note. Daniel O’Huonyn, of the family of Greenes of Co. a hurley (stick).
Clare, became an Admiral of the Spanish Navy about The great majority of present Hurleys are from Co.
1750. Cork. This was the case, too, in the seventeenth century
when the name was also recorded as numerous in
Counties Limerick and Clare. To Co. Cork belonged the
MacHUGH _ The Gaelic surname MacAodha, signifying second sept referred to above. These in Irish are O Muir-
the son of Aodh, i.e. Hugh, has acquired in the process thile, sometimes phonetically anglicized as Murhilla and
of anglicization a great number of variants. These in- shortened to Murley, but nearly always Hurley, for no
clude MacKay, MacKee, MacCoy, Hughes, Hewson, obvious reason. They were located in the neighbourhood
Eason, etc., and also MacHugh — the name now under of Kilbritain (in Carbery East): one of them, who
consideration. MacHugh is the form used by the became Bishop of Ross in 1517, is recorded as John

107
O’Murily or O’Murhila. In early records confusion is Seoinin (or Little John) Burke. Jennings, of course, is
caused by reason of the fact that the Co. Limerick itself a common indigenous English surname and some
O’Hurleys sometimes appear as Murilly. Further con- people in Ireland so called may well be of English
fusion in the case of the Co. Cork O’Hurleys arises origin; but it is safe to say that in Connacht, where the
because the name of the sept O hlarlatha, normally name is chiefly found to-day, they are of the Burke
anglicized O’Herlihy, has become Hurley in some places. stock. At the time of the Composition of Connacht
This family were erenaghs of St. Gobnait’s Church, (1585) they held extensive lands in the baronies of
Ballyvourney. One of them, Thomas O’Herlihy, was Dunmore, Co. Galway, and Kilmaine, Co. Mayo. One of
Bishop of Ross from 1562 until 1570 when he was the family John Jennings, alias Burke, was Archbishop
forced to abdicate and was incarcerated in the Tower of Connacht (ie. Tuam) 1441-1450. The family
of London until his death ten years later. produced a number of distinguished soldiers. Charles
Brother Donogh O’Muirhily (d. 1586) was one of Jennings (1744-1799), who assumed the name of Kil-
the many Franciscans who suffered martyrdom in the maine from his ancestral home, is regarded as the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. greatest Irish soldier of the French revolutionary period;
Arms illustrated on Plate X VI. his brother Father James Jennings suffered a long
imprisonment during the French Revolution; and two
others David and Patrick Jennings were officers in the
MacINERNEY, Nerney, Kinnerk _In Irish this name is Irish Brigade. Sir Patrick A. Jennings (1830-1897),
Mac an Airchinnigh, i.e. son of the erenagh. The word Governor of New South Wales, was born at Newry.
erenagh denotes steward of church lands, originally an
ecclesiastical office but later in the hands of laymen
and hereditary. As might be expected, therefore, the JORDAN Though Jordan is quite a common English
surname in question came into existence in a number name very few of Irish Jordans are of English descent.
of unrelated families in different parts of the country. Mac Siurtain was a surname of the Gaelic type adopted
The erenaghs of St. Patrick’s, Elphin, and of Tuam thus by one of the hibernicized Norman families which ac-
acquired the surname Mac an Airchinnigh. The descend- quired extensive territory in Connacht after the invasion
ants of the former are still to be found in Co. Ros- of 1172. It signifies descendants of Jordan, i.e. Jordan
common, but their name is now anglicized Nerney. d’Exeter, and this sept, for such it was in effect, in due
Much more numerous is the sept of Thomond; indeed the course became in the sixteenth century phrase “wild
name MaclInerney is now almost exclusively associated Irish”. In the “Annals of Connacht’, in which the
with County Clare where it is now one of the most name appears frequently between the years 1336 and
numerous surnames. Their origin as erenaghs there is 1470, it is spelt MacSiurtan. This origin was by no means
obscure, but they were established as a sept of the same forgotten, for one of them who was killed in 1422 is
stock as the powerful Macnamaras at least as early as described by the annalist as “the strongest hand and the
1300. They are centered in the old parish of Kilconry, bravest heart of all the d’Exeters of his time”. In English
barony of Bunratty (between Ennis and Quin), but they were usually called MacJordan in Mayo, while in
their ancestral estate at Ballycally was lost at the time Clare, where they were also settled, the Fiants give them
of the Cromwellian confiscations. Nevertheless the sept variously as MacShurtan, MacShurdane, MacShurton etc.
as a whole remained undisplaced, for the 1659 census Nowadays the form always used is simply Jordan. The
shows that there were some thirty families of MacInerney modern barony of Gallen in Co. Mayo was long known
in Clare, all in the barony of Bunratty. An alternative as MacJordan’s country, and it is so described both in
form of the name found in Clare, though not common, the Fiants and in the “Composition Book of Connacht”.
is Kinnerk; and in this connexion it may be mentioned In the latter the chief is called MacSurtaine alias Jordan.
that the local pronunciation of MacInerney is — or was Dorothea Jordan (1762-1816), actress and mother
until recently — MacInerheny (almost MacInerkney). of the FitzClarences (she was the mistress of William IV),
Father Laurence MaclInerheny, the priest who was was actually Dorothea Bland, from Derryquin, Co.
martyred by the Cromwellians in 1642, so spelt his name. Kerry, Jordan being a stage name. Kate Jordan (1862-
Few of the name have been prominent in Irish 1926), American novelist and playwright, was also
history. In modern times the most distinguished was born in Ireland. Father Fulgentius Jordan, martyred in
Father M. H. MacInerny, O.P., author of The History of 1652, was a member of the Augustinian Order.
the Irish Dominicans. To most people in Ireland to-day At the present time the name is chiefly found in
it connotes Clare hurling and large scale buiding. Counties Galway and Mayo.
Arms illustrated on Plate X VI. Arms illustrated on Plate XVI.

JENNINGS The name Jennings is the modern angli- JOYCE Though not Gaelic and sometimes found in
cized form of Mac Sheoinin, pronounced MacKeoneen, England of non-Irish origin, Joyce may certainly be
and written Maclonyn, MacJonine etc. in the records up regarded as a true Irish name, and more particularly a
to the middle of the seventeenth century. It is not, Connacht one. The first Joyce to come to Ireland of
however, of true Gaelic origin being a surname adopted whom there is authentic record was Thomas de Jorse
by a branch of the Burkes of Connacht, descended from or Joyce, stated by MacFirbis to be a Welshman, who in

108
1283 married the daughter of O’Brien, Prince of
Thomond and went with her by sea to Co. Galway;
there in lar Connacht, which runs over the Mayo border,
they were at first tributary to the O’Flahertys but they
established themselves so firmly and so permanently
that the territory they inhabited became known as
Joyce’s Country and they had a recognized Chief of the
Name in the Irish way: the ‘Composition Book of
Connacht” places that chief in the barony of Ross (Co.
Galway). Statistics of births, deaths and marriages show
that this is still their stronghold: over eighty per cent
of the Joyces in Ireland come from Galway or Mayo.
In Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, the Joyces are sometimes
called Shoye which is clearly a phonetic spelling of the hold fifty-third place in that list. The agnomen Kavanagh
form of the name used in the Irish language, viz. Seoighe. was long associated with the MacMurroughs, Art Mac
A very curious synonym for Joyce, found at Clare- Murrough, the King of Leinster who put up so deter-
morris, is Cunnagher. Before coming to the matter of mined a resistance to Richard II of England, being
distinguished individuals of the name in Irish history styled Kavanagh. The Kavanaghs themselves have
the fact that the Joyces have always been noted for produced a number of notable figures, none more
their exceptional stature should be mentioned. William picturesque than Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (1831-
Joyes, or Joyce, was Archbishop of Tuam from 1487 1889), who, although he had only stumps of arms and
to 1501, and two of the name were Archbishops of legs, overcame the disability and became an expert
Armagh from 1307 to 1324. Three Joyces of Galway, horseman and fisherman, learned to write and draw
two of them priests, were instrumental in establishing and was for many years a Member of Parliament. In
the Dominican College at Louvain in 1648 which was the same century Morgan Peter Kavanagh (1800-1874)
soon afterwards incorporated in the University. Several and his daughter Julia Kavanagh (1824-1877) were well-
were mayors of Galway City of which the Joyces were known authors in their day. Going back to the sixteenth
one of the “Fourteen Tribes”. The most notable of century there was Cahir Mac Art Kavanagh (1500-
modern times were James Joyce (1882-1941), author of 1554), who took part in the Geraldine rebellion, and
Dubliners, Ulysses etc., and Patrick Weston Joyce (1827- Art Kavanagh, who was Hugh O’Neill’s companion
1914), historian and author of Jrish Names of Places. in the dramatic escape from Dublin Castle in 1590. In
His brother Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-1883) was well the next century we find Brian Kavanagh, one of the
known in the U.S.A. as a physician and poet, while many Kavanaghs who fought for the Stuart cause,
Isaac Wilson Joyce (1836-1905), an American citizen described as the tallest man in King James’s army;
of Irish descent, made a name in a different field, for while among the Wild Geese of the name Morgan
he was a Methodist revivalist preacher. Kavanagh, who rose to be Governor of Prague in 1766,
Arms illustrated on Plate X VII. was said to be the biggest man in Europe. Several
Kavanaghs were officers in the Irish Brigade in the army
of France and a branch of the family settled in that
KAVANAGH, (Keevan) Kavanagh is one of the very country, but it was in Austria they chiefly distinguished
few ancient Gaelic Irish surnames which has neither themselves. Two were prominent in 1798 — Rev. Francis
the prefix Mac or O: it is wrong to call it O Caomhanach Kavanagh, who was one of the leaders of the insurr-
in Irish as is sometimes erroneously done. In Irish it is ection in Co. Wexford, and Walter Cavanagh of Borris,
simply Caomhanach which is an adjective denoting Co. Carlow, nicknamed by the people “the monarch”’,
association with Caomhdan, in this case St. Caomhan, whose house was burned down by the insurgents. The
the first Kavanagh having been fostered by a successor well-known song “Eileen Aroon’’, said to be composed
of that saint. It was not customary for such epithets by Carol O’Daly in the thirteenth century, should be
to be perpetuated, as happened with this branch of mentioned in connexion with this family, the Eileen
the MacMurroughs. The first Kavanagh was Donal son invoked being the daughter of the Kavanagh chief
of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, who was of the time.
one of the prominent figures in Irish history, being the Kavanagh is sometimes used as a synonym for two
immediate cause of the Anglo-Norman invasion. The often quite distinct surnames, affording an example of
Kavanagh territory lay then in Counties Wexford and the not uncommon process of attraction whereby some
Carlow and they continued to be extensive landowners wellknown patronymic of somewhat similar sound is
there up to recent times. The name is very numerous assumed in place of the original name. O Caomhdin,
in and around Co. Wexford in all classes of society, anglice O’Keevan and Kevane, once an important sept in
so much so indeed that there are enough Kavanaghs Mayo, where it has also been maladroitly turned into
in the south-eastern counties of Leinster by them- Cavendish, is one; the other is O Caibhdeanigh of
selves, without counting the scattered Kavanaghs in the Ossory, an obsolete form of Gaffney.
rest of the country, to put the name in the list of the Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.
eighty commonest surnames in the country: all told they

109
KEANE, O’KANE, O’Cahan, (MacCloskey, MacEvinney) This name has become corrupted to Kyan in Co.
There were two great septs of O Cathdin.The earlier angli- Wicklow where, according to Edmund Hogan S.J. and
cized form of this name was O’Cahan, and even as late other authorities, a leading branch of the O’Cahan sept of
as the beginning of the present century, O’Cahans were Co. Derry were settled in the eighteenth century at Bally-
still found in Co. Derry; but in modern times the forms murtagh. Of this family was Esmond Kyan who was exe-
Keane, Kane, and sometimes O’Kane, are almost univer- ecuted (half an hour before pardon arrived) for his part
sally used, Keane in Munster and Connacht, Kane in in the 1798 Insurrection. He was one of the few insur-
Ulster. The two septs were quite distinct originally, but gents with previous military experience. The name Kyan
if the belief that the Keanes of Thomond are a minor is quite distinct from Kyne.
branch of O Cathdin of Ulster is true, as the best author- The other sept was of Ui Fiachrach, located in Co.
ities assert, the propinquity of Clare to Galway must Galway. Though numerous they were not of great
necessarily lead tO uncertainty in the west of Ireland prominence in Connacht in the history of the province,
in cases where no pedigree or reliable family tradition where, however, they are still to be found in large
exists. In this connexion it should be added that the numbers, usually called Cain or Cane.
Cahanes of west Clare, who were coarbs of St. Senan, Finally, the name Kean, usually nowadays without
wrote their name MacCahan and are thought to be quite the final e, is that of a Co. Waterford sept quite distinct
distinct from the O’Cahanes. from O’Cahane, the surname being O Céin in Irish.
The O’Kanes of Keenaght and Coleraine (Co. Derry) This sept, situated in the territory between Kilmac-
were a powerful and important sept, though not of thomas and Bunmahon, is mentioned by O’Heerin and
much account before the twelfth century when they is still represented there. Several notable Keanes came
ousted the O’Connors of Glengiven (mod. Dungiven) from Munster, such as August Henry Keane (1833-1912),
from their territory. Once established there they re- the anthropologist; John Lord Keane (1781-1844), a
tained their ascendancy in the country which is now soldier of renown. Charles Kean (1811-1880), the actor,
Co. Derry until they were ruined by the Plantation was born in Waterford, and his father, Edmund Kean
of Ulster. Many of this sept appear in the Annals from (1787-1833), a still more famous actor, is stated by
the year 1170 onwards. According to Keating, O’Cahan O’Donovan to be of the O’Cein sept.
was one of the inaugurators of O’Neill. In 1598 the last Arms illustrated on Plate X Vil.
of their regularly inaugurated chieftains, Donnell Ballagh
O’Cahan (d. 1617) was formally installed as such. He
joined Tyrone (O’Neill) in the great war against the (O)KEARNEY, Carney The name Kearney is evenly
English but later, having submitted with the loss of distributed throughout the four provinces of Ireland;
much of his estates, he so far changed his allegiance the alternative spelling Carney, however, is almost
as to be knighted by James I; nevertheless, he spent confined to Connacht, particularly Co. Mayo. The latter
his last years as an untried prisoner in the Tower of are O Cearnaigh in Irish (presumably from cearnach,
London. A century later, Sir Richard Kane (1666-1736) victorious) and are a branch of the Ui Fiachrach whose
distinguished himself as a soldier in the British army territory was named Moynulla and Balla in Co. Mayo.
and as a writer on military subjects. Echlin O’Kane The Dalcassian O’Kearneys, who migrated to Cashel
(1720-1790), an Ulsterman though born in Drogheda, in early times, are also O Cearnaigh. The most important
was one of the most famous Irish harpers of the eight- Kearney sept in history are of different origin. In Irish
eenth century, playing as he did in several European their name is O Catharnaigh. They were chiefs of Teffia,
courts. Sir Robert John Kane (1809-1890) was a leading Co. Meath, and even when their influence diminished
Dublin scientist, best remembered for his book The they retained a considerable territory in Kilcoursey
Industrial Resources of Ireland. O’Donovan says he was in Co. Offaly. One of them became Baron Kilcoursey.
of the Derry sept. The MacCloskeys of Co. Derry are The Meath Kearneys are usually known as Fox, the head
a branch of the O’Kanes, being descended from Bloskey of the family being styled “The Fox’’. This arose from
O’Kane, slayer of Murtagh O’Loughlin — heir to the the fact that the cognomen Sionnach (fox) was applied
throne of Ireland in 1196. The best known of these to their eleventh century ancestor. For further particulars
in modern times was Dr. MacCloskey, Archbishop of see the entry for Fox, above. Quite a number of alter-
New York, who was created Cardinal in 1875. native forms are used in English besides Carney,
Another branch became MacEvinney or MacAvinny including Keherney, O’Caherney and (in Co. Cavan)
(Mac Aibhne in Irish), the eponymous ancestor being McCarney. There is a townland called Ballymacarney in
Aibhne O Cathdin. It must be remembered, however, Co. Meath.
that MacEvinney is also the anglicized form of the Five Kearneys of Irish origin appear in the Dictionary
Breffny surname Mac Dhuibhne. of American Biography in the sphere of politics,
Apart from the prowess of the O’Cahans in Ulster literature and war. Seven notable ecclesiastics called
in medieval times, the Thomond O’Cahans, or Kearney lived and worked in Ireland, of whom Rev.
O’Keanes as they..were usually called on the continent, Barnabas Kearney, S.J. (1567-1640), David Kearney,
supplied many distinguished officers to the armies of Archbishop of Cashel from 1603 to 1625, and the Pro-
France and Spain in the eighteenth century, notably testant Rev. John Kearney (1542-1600), author of a
Eugene O’Keane (killed in action 1693), one of fourteen Catechism in the Irish language, may be specifically
brothers four of whom served in France. mentioned. In France the Abbé Charles Kearney (c.

110
1745-1820) was a prominent anti-revolutionary at the
time of the French Revolution.
The family of John Kearney of Fethard, who was
secretary to James II, were very prominent in French
court and legal circles during the eighteenth century.
Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.

KEATING, (Keaty) Though itis still found indigenous

in England, Keating is a name which may be regarded
as hibernicized. The Keatings of Norman origin them-
selves first came to Ireland with the Anglo-Norman
invaders at the end of the twelfth century, when they
settled in Co. Wexford. With that county they have been The eponymous ancestor of the sept was Art Caemh
most prominently associated; but branches of the family whose father, slain in 902, was King of Munster. Unlike
soon established themselves in Leix and other parts of most O names, O’Keeffe is one which has retained
South Leinster. Writing of Queen’s County in 1613 the the prefix fairly consistently: even in the 1880’s, when
Lord Deputy describes the Keatings as a “great sept of Gaelic ideals were at their nadir, registration of
people” there. In 1579 Sir Nicholas Malby, in his des- O’Keeffes and Keeffes was about equal and to-day the
cription of Ireland and its septs, calls them ill-disposed O’Keeffes largely predominate. Though, as already
rebels (of Co. Carlow). From the year 1302 onwards stated, not numerous outside Co. Cork, they total
Keatings held many positions of importance as sheriffs, enough to be included in the list of the hundred most
members of parliament etc. The best known of these was common names in Ireland. The two most famous
John Keating (1635-21695), who was Lord Chief Justice O’Keeffes in the story of Ireland were Father Eoghan
and a notable figure in the parliament of 1689. At that (or Owen) O’Keefe (1656-1726), who was president of
time also several served in King James’s Irish army. The the bards of north Co. Cork, and John O’Keeffe (1747-
name appears among the attainders following the defeat 1833), the playwright: the latter’s daughter Adelaide
of James II, one family so dispossessed being as far O’Keeffe was a well-known authoress in her day. Exiled
north in Leinster as Co. Meath. They do not seem to O’Keeffes, from Pobal O’Keeffe, were prominent in
have been so closely identified with the national cause in France, particularly the family of the intrepid Irish
the previous generation, as none was attainted in 1642. Brigade officer Constantine O’Keeffe (1671-1745)
However, the most famous and most patriotic of all which was admitted into the nobility of France; General
Keatings lived then, viz. Seathrin Céitinn or Dr. Patrick O’Keeffe (1740-1809) of a later Irish Brigade,
Geoffrey Keating (1570-1644), hunted priest, gifted continuously on active service for forty-seven years and
preacher and author of Foras Feasa and other important four times severely wounded, is also worthy of mention.
works in the Irish language. During the eighteenth and Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.
nineteenth centuries the name was not prominent in
Ireland, though General Thomas Keating (1748-1796)
was a notable figure in revolutionary France; but in our (O)KEENAN The sept of O’Keenan — O Ciandin in
own day Sedan Keating was an outstanding artist and Irish — is chiefly remarkable for the number of distin-
President of the Royal Hibernian Academy. guished ecclesiastics and historians it produced in the
The name O Céatfhadha, usually anglicized Keaty, middle ages. Between 1345 and 1508 no less than eight
belonging to a minor Dalcassian sept located near the are mentioned by the Four Masters as historians to the
city of Limerick, has in some cases assumed the form Maguires of Fermanagh. The most famous of these was
Keating. MacKeatings are found in Ulster: I have not Adam O Ciandin, Canon of Lisgool, while one Rory
traced their origin. Arms illustrated on Plate X VII. O’Keenan was chief scribe of the “Book of Magauran”’.
The Abbey of Lisgool is in Co. Fermanagh and this,
running through Co. Monaghan into Louth, and com-
O’KEEFFE~ The O’Keeffes not only originated in prising the territory formerly known as Oriel, is the
Co. Cork, but they also stayed there. It is still an out- home country of the Keenans nowadays as in mediaeval
and-out Co. Cork name, judging by birth registrations, times. The name Keenan is not to be confused with
voters’ lists, directories and such like tests. It is true Keenahan which is quite distinct from it. The best
that, like so many powerful native Irish septs, they were known Keenans are Frank Keenan (1858-1929),
forced out of their original territory by the invading American actor, son of an Irish emigrant, Sir Norbert
Normans early in the thirteenth century, but in their Keenan (b. Dublin 1866), Australian statesman, Sir
case it was only a trek westwards within the bounds Patrick Keenan (1829-1894), Chief Commissioner of
of what is now Co. Cork. So firmly did they establish National Education in Ireland and Joseph Henry Keenan
themselves on the lands they then acquired in the (b. 1900) the authority of thermodynamics. The form
Duhallow country that their new territory got and MacKeenan appears in the census of 1659 as numerous
kept the name of Pobal O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe, in Irish in Leitrim and elsewhere, but the prefix Mac is now
O Caoimh, is derived from the personal name Caemh. quite obsolete and may be due to a mistake on the

111
part of the seventeenth century non-Irish officials migrants from any of the above septs. In each case the
who were often confused between O and Mac. It is eponymous ancestor was called Ceallach, a personal
always O in the native Irish Annals. name, from the genitive case of which we get O Ceallaigh,
the Irish form of the surname. The Kellys of Kilkenny
(O)KELLEHER The Kellehers are a Dalcassian family, and Tipperary, however, are O Caollaidhe, not O Ceall-
in Irish O Céileachair, i.e. descendent of Céileachar or aigh, some of whom retain the older form Kealy, which
Kelleher, who was a nephew of the famous Brian Boru. is Queally in Co. Waterford. Queally is also found as a
They left their original habitat in Co. Clare in the synonym of O Cadhla, usually O’Kelly in English. Most
fourteenth century and migrated to Co. Cork. The name Rev. Malachy Queally, who was among the most dis-
is now seldom found outside that part of Munster: of tinguished of the Archbishops of Tuam (1630-1645),
148 births recorded in one year for that name 92 were was born in the diocese of Killaloe which includes a
great part of Tipperary.
in Co. Cork and 23 in Co. Kerry. According to the
extracts made from the census of 1921 by Jeremiah O’Kelly of Ui Maine was, and is, outstanding among
King, the Kerry historian, there were 165 families all these. There is an authentic pedigree of their chiefs
of Kelleher in that county at that date. The name from the earliest times until the present day, and
is sometimes abbreviated to Keller, but most Kellers O’Kelly of Gallagh is one of the few whose claim to
are of German or Austrian origin — though Alderman the designation Chief of the Name is officially recog-
Keller of Cork, who was well known in that city in the nized: in popular parlance he is The O’Kelly. The arms
eighties was really a Kelleher, as was Monsignor Keller, illustrated in plate XVII are those of O'Kelly of Ui
of Cloyne, another prominent figure in Co. Cork about Maine and, it should be understood, do not appertain
the same time. Maolmuire Mac Ceileachair, the compiler to O’Kellys of other septs. Ui Maine, often called Hy
of the “Book of the Dun Cow’, belongs to the pre- Many, covers east Co. Galway and the southern part
surname period and his name merely indicates that he of Co. Roscommon. The Four Masters and the other
was the son of a man called Ceileachar (Kelleher). Annals are full of their exploits and obituaries. Four
of them have been Bishops of Clonfert, which is the
diocese comprising much of the O’Kelly country. In
(O)KELLY, Queally, (O’Keily) There are approxi- 1518 the O’Kellys were one of the dangerous Irish
mately 50,000 Kellys and O’Kellys in Ireland to-day. septs named by the Corporation of Galway. In
It is the second commonest Irish surname, not far the next century the O’Kellys of Co. Galway were
behind Murphy in numerical strength. This name very prominent, as indeed were those of the Pale,
presents a remarkable example of the extent to which too, for no less than ten of the name in Counties Dublin,
the prefixes O and Mac, so widely dropped during the Kildare and Meath were attainted in 1642. The most
period of Gaelic submergence, have been resumed. famous was Col. Charles O’Reilly (1621-1695), who
In the year 1890 there were 1,242 births registered first appears in the 1641 war, as a commander under
as Kelly (distributed all over the country), while only Sarsfield in 1690, and represented Co. Roscommon in
nine were registered as O’Kelly. To-day the proportion the Parliament of 1689; he is best known, however,
has risen from one in 130 to approximately one in as the author of the very valuable contemporary history
twenty. President of Ireland, Mr. Sedn T. O’Kelly, was a Excidium Macariae. It is of interest to note that the
case in point. estate of this leading Catholic family was secured to
There is a fairly widespread but quite erroneous them under the Treaty of Limerick. Twenty-five O’Kelly
belief that all persons of the name descend from proprietors, nearly all of them of the Hy Many sept,
members of the great O’Kelly sept of Ui Maine. The fact were attainted in 1691. In modern times they have been
is that this surname came into being independently less prominent. Dennis O’Kelly (1720-1787) had a
in at least seven widely separated places. Up to the thir- remarkable career: emigrating from Ireland he started as
teenth century the O’Kellys of Breagh (Co. Meath) were a billiard-marker in London, was part owner of the
equal in importance to those of Ui Maine, but the famous Derby winner “‘Eclipse’’, and became a colonel.
impact of the Anglo-Norman invasion dispersed them. Patrick O’Kelly (1754-1835) was a well-known character
The Kellys of Ulster to-day are, no doubt, mostly of — poet and eccentric. James O’Kelly (1845-1916), had a
the O’Kelly of Cinel Eachrach sept (Counties Antrim varied and adventurous career as war correspondent in
and Derry); those of the midlands come probably three continents and Parnellite M.P. Seamus O’Kelly
from the O’Kellys, one of the seven septs of Leix who (1881-1918), playwright, was another man of note
were still strong in their homeland in 1543, when they hailing from east Galway.
were specifically mentioned in an order relating to Many O’Kellys have distinguished themselves in
martial law in Queen’s County; the atrocious murder of America. Eugene Kelly (1808-1894), banker and philan-
Fergus O’Kelly of Leix by the Earl of Kildare later in thropist, a strong Irish nationalist and Catholic, and
the same century, and the subsequent transfer of John Kelly, the missionary, were of the Derry-Tyrone
O’Kelly estates to-the Fitzgeralds makes a black page in sept. William Kelly (1811-1888), the inventor, and, ina
the history of the latter family; north Connacht Kellys very different sphere, Michael Kelly (1857-1894), the
are more likely to be of the Templeboy (Co. Sligo) idol of baseball fans, and also Col. Patrick Kelly,
sept than of that of Ui Maine; while Dublin Kellys can commander of the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg, may be
either be from a north Wicklow family of the name, or mentioned.

112
 In France Father Malachy Kelly (d. 1684) was the Fontenoy in 1745. At the present time probably the
founder of the Irish College, Paris. One branch of the Hy best known bearer of the name is Siobhan MacKenna,
Many sept settled at Guyenne and was ranked among the Irish actress. Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.
the nobility of France.
It should be added that some Kellys are MacKelly,
not O’Kelly. This was a minor sept also of east Connacht, (O)KENNEDY, Minnagh The eponymous ancestor of
but the Mac prefix is now entirely lost and any surviving the O’Kennedys was Kennedy, nephew of Brian Boru,
modern representatives are thus indistinguishable from or Cinnéide in Irish, the resultant surname being O
O’Kellys. Daniel MacKelly, Archbishop of Cashel from Cinnéide (Brian Boru’s father was Cinnéide). They are
1238-1253, was the first Dominican to become an Irish thus a Dalcassian sept, and at first their territory was
bishop. The well-known Kelly family of the Isle of around Glenomra near Killaloe, and their occupation
Man is also MacKelly. is perpetuated by the name of the civil parish com-
For information on O’Kelly pedigrees see O’Donovan, prising that area, viz. Killokennedy, but pressure from
The Tribes and Customs of Hy Many, App. A. the powerful O’Briens and MacNamaras caused them
Arms illustrated on Plate X VII. to cross the Shannon and settle in Upper and Lower
Ormond. There they soon increased in power and
importance, and from the eleventh to the sixteenth
(Mac)KENNA MacKenna is one of the few names century they were lords of Ormond. The sept divided
from which the old Gaelic prefixes of Mac and O were into three branches, the chiefs of which were distin-
not generally dropped in the dark period of the guished by the epithets Don (brown), Fionn (fair) and
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Though almost Rua (red). The Four Masters record the martial exploits
always written MacKenna, in the spoken language of many of these chiefs. According to Keating, St.
Kenna is quite common and in some places, notably Ruadhan of Lorrha was the special protector of the
Clare and Kerry, the emphasis is on the final A, with O’Kennedys of Ormond. A branch of the sept emigrated
the result that births have been from time to time to Antrim about the year 1600, and the name is found
registered under many synonyms — such as Kennagh, in that county now, though, no doubt, some of the
Ginnaw and even Gna. These forms are peculiar tc Ulster Kennedys are of Scottish origin, for Kennedy is
Co. Kerry. By origin, however, the MacKennas do not also a Scots name. Kennedy, indeed, is one the
belong to Munster. They are a branch of the southern Ui commonest names in Ireland, being widely distributed
Neill but, nevertheless, they are seated in south Ulster, over all the provinces, with a preponderance in Co.
their territory being Truagh (the modem barony of Tipperary: it is placed sixteenth in the statistical list
Trough in the northern part of Co. Monaghan). A of Irish surnames with an estimated present day popu-
branch of this sept settled in the parish of Maghera. lation of some eighteen thousand persons.
Co. Down in the seventeenth century. Unlike most Irish surnames Kennedy has few
The MacKennas, though “lords of Truagh”’,, were not synonyms in English: one, however, still found in Co.
prominent in mediaeval times. O’Dugan in the “Topo- Leitrim is interesting, viz. Minnagh, i.e. Muimhneach —
graphical Poems” says that they were originally Meath- or the Munster man (cf. Donlevy — Ultagh). Kennedy
men before they settled in Truagh. In our modern became Quenedy in Spanish, for, like all the great Irish
history nearly all of MacKennas of note have made their families, many of the sept found their way to the
name in the field of literature. Niall MacKenna (b. c. continent. Matthew Kennedy (1652-1735), who went
1710) was a Gaelic poet and harper; Theobald Mac- to France after the capitulation of Limerick in 1691,
Kenna (d. 1808), secretary of the Catholic Committee was a notable literary figure in Paris: he was remarkable
in 1791, was a prolific pamphleteer; Andrew MacKenna for his life-long enthusiasm for the Irish language. At
(1833-1872), was a leading editor and writer in Belfast; home the O’Kennedys, though remaining Catholic,
Stephen MacKenna (1837-1883), was a novelist; better were not entirely submerged as a result of the successive
known as a novelist is another Stephen MacKenna conquests and confiscations of the seventeenth century:
(b. 1888), while a third Stephen MacKenna (1872-1934), an Order of the Lord Lieutenant, dated 30th March,
was translator of Plotinus and an Irish language enthus- 1705, granting permission to a few selected papists to
iast; Father Lambert MacKenna, S.J. (1870-1956), carry arms, including eight gentlemen of Co. Tipperary,
known for his English-Irish Dictionary, has many Gaelic and among them is John Kennedy of Polnorman. In
language publications to his credit. Nearly all of these more modern times the name has been less prominent
were of families belonging to the country around than might be expected having regard to its numerical
Trough, as also was General John MacKenna (1771- strength. It furnished sensational news in 1779 through
1814), who, after a period of service in the Spanish army, the famous abduction case of the two Miss Kennedys
joined Bernard O’Higgins, the “Liberator of Chile’, of Co. Waterford. In the same century Rev. John
and became an outstanding figure in South America. Kennedy, a Presbyterian minister, made a useful con-
Patrick MacKenna (b. c. 1765), of Maghera, was an tribution to social history by keeping an interesting
active associate of Wolfe Tone and Napper Tandy: he diary (1724-1730) describing his many duties in Ulster.
became a successful shipbuilder at Boulogne. Father Another author was Patrick Kennedy (1801-1873);
Charles MacKenna, P.P. of Donagh, which is in the while, also in the field of literature, Patrick John
barony of Trough, was chaplain to the Irish Brigade at Kennedy (1843-1906), was a well-known Irish-American

113
Catholic publisher. In our own day a brillian lawyer, Kennedy, his mother’s maiden name being Maria
Hugh Kennedy (1879-1936), was first Chief Justice of Handrick of the same place, which brings them back to
the Irish Free State. the end of the eighteenth century. The name Handrick,
In the earlier editions of this book, no mention was Henrick and Hendrick (O hEanraic in Irish) is associated
made of that small O’Kennedy sept which was one of with this same district in south Wexford and is very
the Ui Maine or Hy Many group located in Connacht rare elsewhere.
(of the same stock as the O’Dorceys or Darcys and the Place-names give some indication of O’Kennedy
O’Loughnans), because it was of minor importance location. Mount Kennedy, the seat of the baronet family
especially having regard to the numerical strength of of Kennedy, and Newtownmountkennedy, a small town
the Ormond O’Kennedys and the power and promin- in County Wicklow, lie some distance from those parts
ence of their chiefs. The latter were descended from in the country chiefly associated with the name; but
Cinnéide, nephew of Brian Boru, the greatest of the most of the place-names embodying the surname
kings of independent Ireland, who was killed at Clontarf O’Kennedy are found in one of their homelands. In
in 1014 during the battle which finally destroyed the addition to Killokennedy (cill, kil, church), which has
power of the Norsemen (or Danes as they are often already been mentioned, there is Garrykennedy (garrar,
called) in Ireland. The surname came into being in the garry, garden) in Upper Ormond and Coolkennedy (cuil,
eleventh century as O Cinnéide, which was later an- cool, corner or nook) also in north Tipperary. There is,
glicized O’Kennedy. Cinnéide was also the name of too, a place in south County Waterford called
Brian Boru’s father, who was King of Thomond. The Ballykennedy (baile, bally, home or place).
prefix O, which was discarded in the period of Gaelic Several Kennedys were officers in James II’s Irish
and Catholic depression under the Penal Code imposed army and fought at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and
on the country in the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- in other less disastrous engagements during the Williamite
turies by its English conquerors, has seldom been War. As a result of their loyalty to the Stuart and
resumed in modem times, leaving the name simply Catholic cause seventeen of the name were outlawed
Kennedy. This is now one of the most numerous after the Jacobite defeat and their lands were confis-
surnames in Ireland. cated in consequence. The majority of them were from
The principal sept of O’Kennedy, of this Dalcassian County Tipperary and from the city of Dublin. Some,
descent, originated in Thomond, in that part of County of course, had lost their lands a generation earlierin the
Clare where their name is perpetuated in the parish of debacle under the Cromwellian regime. These, when
Killokennedy, near Killaloe. They are generally stated they did not go to the Continent to become the fore-
to have been driven thence by the O’Briens and the runners of the famous Wild Geese, disdaining to work
Macnamaras at an early date, and they certainly prosper- as labourers for the new “upstart” proprietors, had to
ed and multiplied in their new territory on the other side seek a dangerous living as rapparees or tories: as such
of the Shannon in Ormond (Co. Tipperary), for as early they usually met a premature death, as for example
as 1159 the Four Masters, who have many references to Daniel Kennedy, for whose head, set up as a warning
the family after 1300, describe the then chief as Lord of over the gate of Carlow Castle, an English officer
Ormond. There they became undisputed lords of that received a reward of £20 (a large sum then) in May
country: they appear, for example as a “nation” of 1657.
importance in an Ormond deed of 1336. The sept was In contrast to this melancholy but not inglorious
subdivided into three, the chiefs thereof being called picture it may be added that, before the Land Acts had
respectively O’Kennedy Finn (fionn, fair), O’Kennedy transferred ownership from the landlords to the occupy-
Roe (rua, red) and O’Kennedy Donn (donn, brown). ing tenants, there were 19 Kennedys listed in de Burgh’s
Their history can be read in Dermot F. Gleeson’s admir- Landowners of Ireland, 1878, a book which gives par-
able book The Last Lords of Ormond. Nevertheless ticulars of all landlords in possession of considerable
they were not without influence in Thomond after estates at that date. Of these, however, only two were
their migration, for we find Donal O’Kennedy as Bishop seated in a part of the country traditionally associated
of Killaloe from 1231 to 1252. with the name. Those who remained at home, and at the
In due course they spread eastwards from Ormond so same time retained the faith and national spirit of their
that by 1659, when Petty’s “Census” was taken, forbears, had to be content with a more humble position
Kennedys were numerous throughout County Tipperary in the country.
and had settled in considerable numbers as far east as the An interesting sidelight on the Irish origin of the
city of Waterford. The name in that document is also Scottish Kennedys is given by Dr. Handley in the Jrish
spelt Keenedy, Kenedie, Kenady, Kenedy etc. At that in Scotland (p. 7). Writing at the end of the 15th
date there were 36 families called Kennedy in the century the Scots poet Dunbar calls his fellow bard
baronies nearest to that city. This is interesting because (Kennedy) an Irish beggar, and their dispute reveals
this area is close to Stokestown and Dunganstown, the the extent to which the Irish language was then
homeland of the ancestors of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, prevalent in south-west Scotland.
the first man of Gaelic-Irish ancestry on both sides to Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.
hold the office of President of the United States of
America: his great grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, was
baptized there on October 18, 1829, son of James

114
(O)KENNY The name Kenny is numerous in Ireland: hundred most numerous names in Ireland. It is chiefly
it has seventy-sixth place in the list of commonest found in the province of Leinster, the spelling Kehoe
surnames. The majority of the people so called belong to being usual in Co. Wexford. The present Irish spelling
families located in Counties Galway and Roscommon. of this name is MacEochaibh. Formerly in Munster it
This is the homeland in early times, as well as to-day, was MagCeoch or MacCeoch which was retained while
of the O’Kenny sept which in Irish is O Cionnaoith: Gaelic survived there as the vernacular. Outside Leinster
it is of the Ui Maine (Hy Many) and the same stock as MacKeoghs are mainly located in the neighbourhood
the O’Maddens. Another sept of the same name was in of Limerick: the place name Ballmackeogh is in Co.
early times in Co. Tyrone, but there is little trace of it Tipperary a few miles from that city. This was the
left there now. When Kennys are found of long standing homeland of one of the three distinct septs of Mac-
connexion with Co. Down, they are probably of the Keoghs. The second was in the Ui Maine group. Their
minor Ulster sept of O Coinne. eponymous ancestor was Eochaidh O’Kelly; they were
In Co. Leitrim Kenny has to some extent absorbed lords of Magh Finn and their territory of Moyfinn in
the local name Keeney. This, spelt also Keeny, Keany, the barony of Athlone, Co. Roscommon, long known
Keaney, is fairly numerous in Co. Leitrim and south- as Keogh’s Country, was popularly so-called even in
west Donegal. Woulfe give the Irish form of Keany as quite recent times. The place Keoghville in the parish
O Cianaigh or perhaps more correctly O Caoinnigh; of Taghmaconnell took its name from them. The third
he lists elsewhere Mac Eanna, anglice MacKeany, as a and historically the most important sept were the
Wexford-Carlow surname and regards it as now hardly MacKeoghs of Leinster. These are of the same stock
distinguishable from MacKenna. MacKeany, however, as the O’Byrnes and were hereditary bards to that great
is found in Co. Fermanagh as synonymous with Keany. family. With them they migrated in early mediaeval
I find MacEanny in a Co. Roscommon Fiant of 1593 times from north Kildare to Co. Wicklow, whence they
and I am inclined to think that Keany (Keeney etc.) spread later to Co. Wexford. The Four Masters describe
is a Mac not an O name, the K, as in Keegan, Keogh Maolmuire MacKeogh as chief professor of poetry in
and many others, being the C of Mac carried over to Leinster in 1534, and several fine poets of the name are
a proper name beginning with a vowel or silent F. I cited by Douglas Hyde in his Literary History of Ireland.
put this forward, however, as a probability, not as an In a different field of literature two eighteenth century
authenticated fact. Protestant clergymen called Keogh are remembered:
Kenney is usually merely a variant spelling of Kenny, John Keogh (1653-1725), as a mathematician and
but it is also the name of some English immigrant another John Keogh (1681-1754), as a botanist and
families. One of these, by a coincidence, settled in the zoologist. In the political sphere Keoghs have produced
homeland of O’Kenny of Ui Maine. three notable figures the third of whom, however, sheds
The situation with regard to the main body of the no lustre on the name: Matthew Keogh (1744-1798),
Kennys, i.e. of Galway and Roscommon, is unusual hanged for his prominent part in the 98 Insurrection;
because by a coincidence it is also the name of a prom- John Keogh (1740-1817), Catholic leader in the de-
inent English family from Somerset who, through inter- pressed days before O’Connell; and William Keogh
marriage with Co. Galway families, became extensive (1817-1878), M.P. and judge, and associate of the
landowners in that county and in Roscommon. These swindler Sadlier — of whom the less said the better.
descend from Nicholas Kenny, Escheator General for Mention should also be made of Capt. Myles Walter
Ireland under Elizabeth I, whose family was then es- Keogh (1840-1876), a distinguished officer of the
tablished in Co. Wexord. Thus the leading families of Federal Army in the American Civil War, who lost
the name in the Hy Many country, to which the his life in the memorable battle of Little Bighorn in
O’Kenny sept belongs, are in fact of English origin. the Indian war in which the only survivor on his side
Rev. Arthur Kenny (1776-1855), the anti-Catholic was Keogh’s horse.
controversialist, was probably one of these. On the The cognate patronymic O hEochaidh is anglicized
other hand Rev. Peter James Kenny, S.J. (1779-1841), Haughey, O’Hoey and Hoy. The sept so named, which
founder of Clongoweswood College, was one of the was of the same stock as the MacDonlevys, was of such
most distinguished Catholic preachers and theologians importance in early times that its chief were Kings of
of the nineteenth century. James Kenney (1780-1849), Ulster until the end of the twelfth century when their
the dramatist, was born in Dublin and his, perhaps kinsmen the MacDonlevys superseded them in that
better known, son, Charles Lamb Kenney (1821-1881), dignity.
was born in Paris. James F. Kenney (b. 1884), was the There are, however, Hoeys in Ulster of planter
author of the standard work Sources for the Early stock. There are also called Huey. O hEachach
Historv of Ireland. (Haugh) and O hEochach (Hough) are etymologically
variants of O hEochaidh, but they must be regarded
as racially distinct. Haugh belongs chiefly to Uo. Clare
and Hough to Counties Limerick and Tipperary. The
(Mac)KEOGH, Kehoe; O’Hoey, Hoy, Haughey, Haugh, use of Hoey as a variant of Haughey (q.v.) is very rare
Hough, Keogh, including Kehoe and MacKeogh, but Hoy is recorded as having been so used.
almost equally common forms of the same Irish sur- John Cashel Hoey (1828-1893), editor of the Nation
name — Mac Eochaidh — just misses a place in the after Gavan Duffy, later became a man of note in

115
Australia; his wife Frances Sarah Hoey (1830-1908), considerable section of the population, but those
was a successful and prolific novelist. actually using the form Owens are little more than three
Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII. thousand persons, some at least of whom are of Welsh
descent. They are widely distributed.
Although not actually called Owens we may mention
Robert Owenson (1744-1812), in his day a famous actor
MacKEON, MacKeown, (Owens, Hone) Though it both in Dublin and London, because his real name was
originated in Co. Sligo the sept of MacKeon may be MacOwen. His daughter was Lady Morgan (1783-1859),
regarded as belonging to the adjacent county of Leitrim, poetess and patriotic Irish novelist. Another notable
as it is there they are found located both in mediaeval Irish actor was John Lonnergan Owens who flourished
and modern times. The name, in Irish Mac Eoghain, in Dublin at the time of Grattan’s Parliament.
simply means son of John or Owen (in the Tuam area Finally it may be mentioned that in 1659 O hEoghain
it is sometimes anglicized as Johnson). This sept had was anglicized O’Howen and O’Hone in Co. Femanagh.
an important branch in Co. Galway: the sixteenth A different origin, however, is ascribed to the well
century “Composition Book of Connacht” refers to known Hone family of modern times which produced
lands in the barony of Kiltartan then called Termon the artist Nathaniel Hone (1718-1784), and his two sons,
Brian MacOwen. and in our own day Evie Hone (1894-1955), of stained
Another common spelling is MacKeown but, while glass fame. (I am informed by a member of the family
some people so called are no doubt of the MacKeon that they came to Ireland from Holland.)
sept referred to above, most of them, especially in the Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII.
Six Counties of Northern Ireland, are the descendants
of Scotsmen, originally called Bissett, who settled in
the Glens of Antrim as early as the thirteenth century O’KIERAN, O’Kerin, Kearns, Kerrane Thesept known
and became very numerous. Their name in Irish is in Irish as O Céirin was in early times in possession of
MacEoin, Eoin (pronounced Owen) being one of the the greater part of the present barony of Costello, Co.
alternative forms of John in Irish. What has been said Mayo, of which their chiefs were paramount. During the
above is illustrated by two place names: Koenbrook is mediaeval period they gradually became reduced in
in Co. Leitrim and Ballymakeown near Belfast. It will importance, though they remained in their native
be observed that the initial K in Keon or MacKeon is habitat in a more or less subordinate position and also
actually formed from the final letter of the prefix Mac. spread into the neighbouring counties. An inquisition
The name MacKeon is best known in Ireland in the of 1609 describes them as then erenaghs of Killaghtee,
person of General MacEoin, twice a minister in the in the diocese of Raphoe; and in the census of 1659 we
Government of the Republic, who as “the blacksmith find them in Co. Sligo. It is in Co. Mayo they are still
of Ballinalee” made an undying name for himself in the numerous to-day. This Mayo sept anglicized their name
War of Independence (1916-1921). Miles Gerald Keon Kearns. In Donegal it is sometimes Kerr to-day. An
(1821-1875), the novelist, and Miles Keon who devised influential branch of it settled in Co. Clare about the
a new constitution for the Catholic Committee in 1792, year 1420. They prospered in their new home and have
were both Co. Leitrim men. been prominent in Co. Clare since then. The anglicized
Irish families of Owens may be Mac or O. MacEoghain form of the surname of this branch is Kerin or O’Kerin.
is dealt with above. O hEoghain is of dual origin: a The tomb of Teige O’Kerin (1685) is still to be seen
Clare sept of the same stock as the O’Neills of Thomond in Ennis Abbey. Kearon in Wicklow and Kerrane in
(quite distinct from the famous Ulster O’Neills), and an Mayo are other variants of the name. The three best
ecclesiastical family from the Lough Erne area. Members known men of the name were in fact none of them from
of the latter are usually called Owens in English speech. Co. Mayo or Co. Clare. Father Moses Kearns, the
This is also true to a less extent of Co. Cork. The intrepid leader in Co. Wexford in 1798, was executed
surname MacOwen (sic) was in 1659, when Petty’s census in that year; a decade earlier he had been hanged from
was taken, one of the commonest names in Counties a lamp post in Paris by the revolutionary mob, but
Cork and Limerick, being very numerous in almost every survived through the breaking of the rope and the for-
barony in both those counties and also to some con- tunate presence of an Irish doctor. William Henry Kearns
siderable extent in Kerry. Yet to-day MacOwen scarcely (1764-1846), a Dublin man, was a noted violinist,
exists as a surname there. Such of their descendants as organist and composer. Richard Kerens (1842-1916),
survive are probably known as Owens now. They did not American railroad builder, was the son of a Kearns
become McKeon. In this connexion, however, it must be from Co. Meath. Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII.
remembered that many ephemeral surnames, formed by
prefixing Mac to the father’s christian name, were still
common among the cottiers and small farmers of the (O)KINNEALLY, (Quinnelly) The original Gaelic
mid-seventeenth century. In most parts of the country form of this name is O Cinnfhaelidh; there are several
the two Gaelic surnames noted above have several anglicized forms of it — Kinneally, Kennelly, etc. The last
forms in English: the O families have become Hynes as mentioned is also used as a synonym for Quinnelly,
well as Owens, and the Mac families MacKeown, Mac- a west Cork surname, so that confusion may arise in
Keon, MacOwen etc. The sum total of all these makes a this case. The name now under consideration is that of

116
a sept living in the territory known to-day as the barony in Co. Louth, and were not connected with Galway
of Connello in Co. Limerick. They do not appear in the until the fifteenth century. In Irish the name is O Ciar-
Annals after the end of the twelfth century, having been dubhdin, the sept being of the race of Heremon. Early
subdued and dispersed by the Fitzgeralds after the forms in English are Kerovan, Kyrvan and O’Quirivan,
Anglo-Norman invasion; but their descendants are still whence the Co. Clare placename Craggykerrivane. It was
found in Munster in many places between Limerick and not until they went to Galway that they made their
Waterford. One of these was a lieutenant in King James’s mark in Irish history. Since then there have been many
II’s own Regiment of infantry at the Boyne, and another Kirwans of note. Most Rev. Francis Kirwan (1589-1661),
was a brigadier in the Irish Brigade in France in the next Bishop of Killala, was a prominent supporter of
century. Rinuccini — he was driven into exile and ended his days
In more recent times the best known of the name in France. A generation later, John Kirwan is note-
was Edmund Vaughan Kenealy (1819-1880), a Cork worthy as the only Catholic mayor of Galway (1686)
barrister who was a public figure in England, coming between 1564 and the passing of the Catholic Eman-
into particular prominence for his part in the notorious cipation Act of 1829. Richard Kirwan (1708-1779),
Tichborne case, for which he was disbarred. He was a of Cregg, Co. Galway, was especially remarkable in an
poet of some note, as was another Cork man, William age of fine soldiers for his valour in the service of France
Kenealy (1828-1876), who was closely associated with and Austria and as a successful duellist. An Irish family
Kilkenny, of which town he was Mayor. Dr. Kenealy, of Kirwan established in Dauphiny was ranked among
O.S.F.C., was first archbishop of Simla (India). the nobility of France. Two remarkable men who began
Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII. their careers as Jesuits and became Protestants, were
Walter Blake Kirwan (1754-1805), Dean of Killala, and
famous preacher, and Richard Kirwan (1734-1812),
KINSELLA This is one of the few genuine native chemist, linguist, philosopher, patron of Bunting and
Gaelic surnames without the prefix Mac or O. It is President of the Royal Irish Academy. Of the former,
true that the form O’Kinsellagh is sometimes found in his uncle, the Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, on hearing
old documents, and a few present-day Kinsellas have his nephew, a devout Catholic parish priest, bewail his
“resumed”? an O, but to do so is incorrect, as Kinsella, apostate brother’s change of religion, is said to have
or Cinnsealach in Irish, is, like Kavanagh, an agnomen remarked, ‘Tut, man, he had no religion to change!”
which has supplanted the original name. Kinsellas and Another Kirwan should also be mentioned, for Owen
Kavanaghs descend from Dermot MacMurrough, ill- Kirwan was hanged with Robert Emmet in 1803.
famed King of Leinster from 1134-1171; and the names Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII.
are derived from Enna Cinsealach and Domhnall Caomh-
anach, sons of that king. The territory of the Kinsella
sept comprised most of the barony of Gorey in the LACY, de Lacy The De Lacys of Ireland, more
northern part of the modern Co. Wexford, and it is in commonly now called Lacy or Lacey, came to this
that part of Leinster they are chiefly found to-day. This country at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion,
district was formerly called the Kinsellaghs. Many of the having gone to England from Lascy in Normandy in the
sept acquired the name MacEdmund, but this is now previous century with William the Conqueror. In the
obsolete. Annals the name is written de Léis in Irish. The first and
The Kinsellas are much less numerous than their most famous of them was Hugo de Lacy (killed 1186) to
kinsmen the Kavanaghs, and have produced less men of whom was “granted” the whole of O’Melaghlin’s terri-
note. One, Aeneas Kinsella, was a member of the tory, the Kingdom of Meath (of much greater extent
Supreme Council at Kilkenny in 1646, and another, than the modern county of Meath). Twice married, his
Bonaventure Kinselagh, was an officer in Kavanagh’s second wife was a daughter of Roderick O’Connor,
infantry regiment in King James II’s army in Ireland; King of Ireland. The vast Meath possession went out
but none, strangely enough, took a leading part in Co. of the family through the failure of the male line. The
Wexford in the insurrection of 1798. One notable de Lacys of Co. Limerick, a family which produced
Wexford-born Kinsella was well known in America as many famous men, to some of whom reference will
the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, viz. Thomas be made in this note, claim descent from the O’Connor
Kinsella (1822-1884), who has been described as “a marriage, but, though this is accepted by O’Donovan,
splendid example of an emigrant Irish boy, rising to some doubt is cast upon its authenticity in a closely
wealth and honoured position in the country of his reasoned article on the subject by N. J. Synnott
adoption”. Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII. (J.R.S.A.J. 1919), who suggested that the Limerick
families may be Lees, a name of frequent occurrence
in Limerick records from the twelfth to the fifteenth
(O)KIRWAN- The Kirwans — the O is never used century; he points out that in the sixteenth century the
with this name nowadays — are best known as one of Lacys of Bruff and Bruree spelt their name Leash, as
the “Tribes of Galway”; they are second only to the well as Lacy; and Leash, of course, is phonetically
Lynches as a leading family of that city. Like the Darcys equivalent to the Irish form Léis. Be that as it may,
and unlike the other twelve “tribes” they are of Gaelic the Lacys are undoubtedly of Norman origin and are
origin. They are first recorded in history as erenaghs historically intimately connected with Co. Limerick.

117
Most Rev. Hugh Lacy, Bishop of Limerick from 1557 Tolendal was the French equivalent of Tullaghnadaly,
to 1581, is a case in point, as his name appears in records which the historian of the family, Denis Patrick
as Lacy alias Lees. He was “deprived” of his bishopric O’Mullally, on the authority of William Hawkins, Ulster
by Queen Elizabeth in 1571, and died for his faith in King of Arms, asserts should be Tullagh O’Mullally — an
gaol ten years later. Pierce Lacy of Bruff, who took a assertion clearly disproved by John O’Donovan in his
prominent part in the Elizabethan wars, was executed edition of The Tribes and Customs of Hy Many. It was
in 1607. Col. John Lacy was a member of the Supreme in English written Tullindaly in 1689, for James
Council of the Confederate Catholics in 1647 and was O’Mullally, ancestor of Count Lally and member of the
expressly excluded from the amnesty after the Siege James II Parliament of that date, is recorded as of
of Limerick in 1651. At the second Siege of Limerick Tullindaly. The book referred to — History of the
in 1691 another Pierce, or Peter, Lacy of the Ballingarry O’Mullally and Lally Clann (Chicago 1941) — though an
family took a prominent part though then only thirteen uncritical and amateurish work marred by the inclusion
years of age. He is better known as Count de Lacy of much high-falutin padding, is, nevertheless, a mine of
(1678-1751) for, having gone into exile with Sarsfield, information on the activites of the sept and its members.
he took service with Peter the Great of Russia and For pedigrees, notes and arms see The Tribes and
became one of the most famous soldiers of the eighteenth Customs of Hy Many, App. H.
century. Indeed no Irish family has attained greater fame Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII.
in the military history of Europe. The most renowned of
these besides Count Peter, already mentioned, were his
son Marshal Francis Maurice de Lacy (1725-1801), who (O)LALOR, Lawlor This name in modern times is
was an Austrian field-marshal, and another Maurice de spelt in three different ways — Lawlor, Lalor, Lawler
Lacy (1740-1820), who was a celebrated general of —the first of these being slightly more numerous than
the Russian army; and Count Francis Anthony de Lacy the others. In Irish it is O Leathlaobhair, which would
(1731-1792), who was a distinguished general and appear to denote descendant of the half leper, no doubt
diplomatist in the Spanish service at the same period. a nickname arising from physical defect and not to be
Though the name is still found in Co. Limerick and taken literally. The prefix O, it may be noted, which
other parts of Munster, the ancestral estates of the was discarded during the period of Gaelic submergence,
de Lacys, which were at Ballingarry, Bruff and Bruree, has not been resumed in modern times. The O’Lalors,
have long since passed into other hands, and even a like their kinsmen the O’Mores, were one of the Seven
century ago there was no large landed proprietor of Septs of Leix. They were located near the famous Rock
the name in Ireland. of Dunamase in Co. Leix, but were driven from this
It should be added that the Gaelic surname O Laith- territory by the English invaders under Queen Elizabeth
easa, a Co. Wexford family, is Lacy in English. I. The scene of the making of the treaty, as a result of
Arms illustrated on Plate X VIII. which the leading men of the Seven Septs were trans-
planted to Co. Kerry in 1609, is still called Lalor’s
Mills. The peasants and workers of the O’Lalor sept
LALLY, O’Mulally The name Lally is a contraction remained in their old territory, a fact which is borne
of O’Mullally, which was formerly the normal form in out by the prevalence of the name there to-day: nearly
English of the Gaelic O Maolalaidh. This sept, a branch all the Lalors, Lawlors and Lawlers in Ireland are to be
of the Ui Maine of the same stock as the O’Naghtens, found in Leinster, either in Leix or in the counties lying
was of some importance in Connacht, where, after the to the east of it. The name of one Harry Lalor is tradi-
coming of the Anglo-Normans, they were at constant tionally preserved as the hero of the massacre of
feud with the de Burgos or Burkes. Through this, and Mullaghmast in 1577 in which many innocent and unsus-
other causes, they were obliged to move northwards, but pecting Lalors, O’Mores and other inhabitants of Leix
only a short distance, as they remained in the area sub- were treacherously done to death by the O’Dempseys
sequently formed into the county of Galway, settling in in conjunction with the English planters of the district.
the neighbourhood of Tuam. Two O”Mullallys became The fall of the O’Dempseys as a great family was,
Archbishops of Tuam, and two other bishops of the ad- according to John O’Donovan, locally attributed to this
jacent dioceses of Clonfert and Elphin between 1211 and disgraceful event.
1611. Those who did not go abroad have remained there or Rev. James O’Lalor (or Lawler), a Co. Kilkenny
thereabouts ever since: of the thirty-four births recorded Parish Priest, wrote in 1764 a notable elegy in Irish on
for Lally in one year, thirty were in Connacht. one of the Kavanaghs, which was published by John
After the Siege of Limerick, however, it is among the O’Donovan some 90 years later. The editor in his intro-
Wild Geese and other exiles that we must look for Lallys duction mentions several distinguished Lalors all of Leix
of note. The most famous of these was Thomas Arthur or Kilkenny. He does not, however, mention the revolu-
O’Mullally (1702-1766), better known as Count Lally tionary James Fintan Lalor (1807-1849), son of Patrick
de Tolendal, who, after a most distinguished and Lalor, sometime M.P. for Leix; his brother Peter (1823-
romantic career in the French army, was executed 1889) led the insurgent miners at Eureka, Australia,
through the machinations of his enemies. His trial has in 1854 and subsequently became a minister and speaker
since been officially declared a travesty of justice and of the Legislative Council of Victoria. John Lawlor
the decree finding him guilty solemnly reversed. (1820-1901), the sculptor, is remembered by his statues

118
in London, Cork and Limerick. Alice Lalor (1766-
1846), better known as Mother Teresa, was a prominent
figure in the religious life of America.
Arms illustrated on Plate X VII.

O’LEARY O'Leary is and always has been essentially

a Co. Cork surname. Like many Gaelic septs they were
driven from their original habitat at the time of the
Anglo-Norman invasion at the end of the twelfth
century, but they did not migrate far — only from Corca
Laoidhe in south-west Cork to Inchigeela in the same
county, a remote territory with the lofty Kerry
mountains in sight to the west of them. Here they long whether a family of the name in Ireland is Gaelic in
ruled as chiefs under the paramount Muskerry Mac- origin or of planter stock. The latter were well estab-
Carthys. Out of one hundred and three landowners lished in Co. Tipperary and elsewhere at the beginning
recorded in the Civil Survey (1654) of the barony of of the seventeenth century. Confining our attention
Muskerry no less than thirty-four were O’Learys, while to the former it may first be stated that there are four
MacCarthys numbered forty-one and O’Herlihys ten. distinct septs to be considered, two O’s and two Macs,
The name is to-day very numerous being sixty-second so that in English we find occasional O’Lees and
in the list of the hundred commonest names in Ireland MacLees side by side with the simple form Lee. O
with an estimated population figure of almost ten Laidhigh is the Connacht form, centered in Co. Galway;
thousand persons. It is remarkable what a large pro- and O Laoidhigh the Munster, chiefly associated with
portion of these, as indicated by vital statistics, were Counties Cork and Limerick. MacLaoidhigh belongs
born in that part of the country to which the sept to Leix and is written Lea in the census of 1659; and
traditionally belongs — no less than eighty per cent. In Mac an Leagha to Ulster, anglicized as Lee, MacAlee and
this connexion it may be added that there are two places MacAlea. Laoidhigh is the genitive case of laoidheach the
called Ballyleary in Ireland, both in Co. Cork. The adjective formed from Jaoidh (a poem).
O’Learys took a prominent part in the Irish wars against The most important of these septs were the O’Lees of
the English invader when these affected Munster. They West Connacht, best known as a medical family, not
suffered much in the Desmond Wars; one Mahon only chiefs in their own right but also hereditary
O’Leary was a forerunner of the Wild Geese as he went physicians to the powerful sept of O’Flaherty. The Lees,
to Spain with d’Aquila after Kinsale; fifteen years indeed, were traditionally doctors by profession, for in
attainted in 1642; the name is found in the 1691 at- addition to the family just mentioned a number of
tainders and also in the Irish regiments of France in mediaeval medical treatises in Irish and Latin were
the eighteenth century. Indeed almost every aspect of written by MacLees. The form MacLee was sometimes
Irish life has been enriched by an O’Leary. Literature used by the O’Lees of Connacht, who were also erenaghs
has Ellen O’Leary (1831-1889), patriotic poetess, Joseph of Annaghdown: among the many ecclesiastics of this
O’Leary (1795-1855), song writer and, most notable sept was John O’Lee, notable Dominican Bishop of
of all, Father Peter O’Leary (1839-1919), better known Killala from 1253 to 1275. Another Father John Lee
as Peadar O Laoghaire, called in his day “the greatest (b. c. 1560) was an Irish priest prominent in the educa-
living master of Irish (Gaelic) prose”. Law has Joseph tional sphere in Paris. He came from a leading family in
O’Leary (1792-1857), author of many standard legal Waterford, of which city another member of it was
works; William Hegarty O’Leary (1836-1880) made his Sheriff from 1575 to 1580. Andrew Lee (1650-1734),
name as a surgeon; while the most famous of all was colonel successively of Clare’s and Mountcashel’s Regi-
John O’Leary (1830-1907), the Fenian. In the field ments, was one of the greatest soldiers ever to fight
of athletics Daniel O’Leary (1846-1933) performed for France in the Irish Brigade.
amazing feats in America and long held the world
record for long distance walking . The town of Dun
Loaghaire, formerly Dunleary, a suburb of Dublin, is
named after Laoghaire who was King of Ireland at the (O)LENAGHAN, Linehan A Roscommon family of
time of St. Patrick in the fifth century; but this, of this name, in Irish O Léanachdin, appears in early
course has no connexion with the surname formed records, the most notable of whom was Maelciaran
some six centuries later. In Irish O’Leary is O O’Lenechan of Tuamna, in Boyle barony, a priest very
Laoghaire. Arms illustrated on Plate XIX. highly praised in the “Annals of Loch Cé” and by the
Four Masters for his numerous good qualities: he died
in 1249. Little is heard of them in modern times.
(O)LEE, MacAlee Lee is a fairly widespread name Linehan or Lenihan as it is also spelt, is now regarded as
in Ireland, but as it is also a very common indigenous belonging primarily to Counties Limerick and Tipperary.
surname in England it is impossible to say in the absence Maurice Lenihan (1811-1895), author of the History of
of a pedigree, or at least a well-established tradition, Limerick, is the most notable bearer of the name.

119
(O)LENNON, Linnane, Leonard, (Linnegar; but the pressure exerted by the Anglo-Norman Butlers
MacAlinion) The normal form of Lennon in Irish is forced them southwards to the country around Cashel
O Leanndin, or O Lionndin, but confusion arises because and Cahir, where they have remained in considerable
these Gaelic names have been anglicized Leonard and numbers up the present day. The name, in Irish O
Linnane, while the Irish surnames O Londin (Lenane) Longargain, is usually anglicized Lonergan, without the
and even O Luinin (Linneen) are also sometimes Lennon prefix O, but sometimes takes the form Londrigan.
or Leonard in English. Of these Lennane, or Linane, The Chief of the Sept resided near Cahir, but little is
belongs to the Corca Laoidhe group and was situated heard of them in the stormy military and political
near Glandore Harbour. O Leandin in, but not of, Hy history of Ireland. Their claim to fame lies in the
Many, is still found in Co. Galway as Lennon, while the number of leading ecclesiastics they gave to the Church
same name belonging also to a Hy Fiachra sept of Co. from the twelfth to the fifteenth century, no less than
Mayo is now usually called Leonard: their position six of these being archbishops or bishops, two of
is shown on the Connacht map at the end of the book. Killaloe and three of Cashel, i.e. in the two homelands
Historically O’Lennon of Fermanagh is the only Lennon of the sept. The most distinguished of these was Donell
sept of importance. They were erenaghs of Lisgoole near (not Donat as sometimes stated) O’Longargan or
Enniskillen and produced many distinguished ecclesias- O’Lonergan, Archbishop of Cashel, who took a prom-
tics: no less than six of them are mentioned by the Four inent part in the Council of Kells in 1152. Mention
Masters as priors or canons of Lisgoole between 1380 should be made, too, of the family of O’Lonergan which
and 1466; while to-day the name is closely associated supplied harpers to the O’Kellys of Ui Maine. They
with the church, an unusually large proportion of possessed a small patrimony at Ballynabanaby in the
persons of the name being priests. Apart from these the parish of Kilgerril (south-east Galway) at the time that
most noteworthy are John Lennon (1768-1846), whose the Book of Lecan was compiled, i.e. at the beginning
daring feats with his ship Hibernia are part of American of the fifteenth century. In modern times the only
history 1812-14; John Brown Lennon (1850-1923), the Lonergans of any note were Thomas S. Lonergan (b.
American Labour leader; and John Lennon, an out- 1861), Irish born American poet and politician, Anne
standing member of the Beatles group, assassinated Lonergan, the Irish nun who was imprisoned during the
in 1980, became well known outside Ireland not only as French Revolution and Bernard Lonergan, the American
a talented musician but also for his connection with philosopher. Arms illustrated on Plate XIX.
the Peace Movement. O Luinin, mentioned above, also
belongs to Co. Fermanagh and is now almost indistin-
guishable from O Leanndin, except where, strangely (O)LORCAN, Larkin The prefix O has been entirely
enough, it has been anglicized Linnegar. dropped from this old and distinguished Gaelic surname.
Leonard, itself a well-known indigenous English It was born by a number of distinct and unrelated septs.
surname, is remarkable in Ireland for the fact that it The most important of these was O Lorcdin of Leinster,
is used as the synonym or anglicized equivalent of a of royal blood in that province but dispossessed of
greater number of quite distinct Gaelic surnames than their patrimony in the barony of Forth (Co. Wexford)
almost any other. In addition to the three distinct by the Anglo-Norman invaders: the lesser families,
sept names mentioned above, there is the royal family however, remained on the lands and the name is still
of Mac Giolla Fhinnéin — son of the follower of St. fairly numerous in Leinster. The other counties in which
Finnian — also anglicized as MacAlinion. From this it is chiefly found to-day are Armagh, Galway and
stock come many of our Irish Leonards, at any rate Tipperary; and each of these is the homeland of one of
those associated with West Ulster (Donegal and Fer- the several septs referred to above. Those of Armagh
managh). They are descended from Giolla Finnéin descend from the Oriel Ui Lorcain, chiefs of Farney
O’Muldory, as are the once powerful family of and of West Ui Breasail; the Galway Larkins are of
O’Muldory whose head was chief or lord of Lough Erne. the same stock as the O’Maddens; and in Co. Tipperary
Another family which sometimes, rather strangely, the head of the family was erenagh of Lorrha. James
anglicized their name as Leonard was that of Mac Giolla Larkin (1876-1947) was a notable leader particularly
Seanndin (the saint in this case is St. Senan, not St. in the great Dublin strike of 1913.
Finnian) this name being corrupted in Irish to Maguinn-
seandin and usually anglicized as Nugent. The Registrar-
General’s returns show that, in addition to the fore- O’LOUGHLIN, (Loughnane) The sept of O’Loughlin
going, Lenaghan and even Nanany are found as synony- is entirely distinct from those of MacLoughlin (q.v.),
mous with Leonard in English. though some confusion arises outside Munster due to
No person of the name Leonard has distinguished the dropping of the prefixes Mac and O in the eight-
himself in the political, military or cultural life of eenth and nineteenth centuries. It should also be re-
Ireland (or for that matter in England either). membered that the MacLoughlins of Cineal Eoghan
or Kinel Owen, in the days when they were a royal
family, were first called O’Loughlin, but about the
(O)LONERGAN _ In pre-Norman times the O’Loner- year 1200 they became MacLoughlin. O’Loughlin
gans inhabited north-east Thomond, i.e. that part of as we know it, however, is by origin a Clare name and
Tipperary which lies on the east side of Lough Derg, in Co. Clare it is chiefly found to-day. A Dalcassian sept,

120
the O’Loughlins were the most powerful of those in descendants has of late years done a great deal of
the north-western part of the county on the shores of research on the O’Melaghlin genealogy and the pedigrees
the Atlantic and Galway Bay. Their chief was Lord of of their present day MacLoughlin representatives: the
Corcomroe in early times, but later their territory results of his work are deposited in the Genealogical
was restricted to the present barony of Burren. As late Office (Office of Arms), Dublin Castle.
as seventy years ago the head of the O’Loughlins was Turning to the MacLoughlins proper, we have another
known locally as “The King of Burren’. Corcomroe powerful and important sept, or at least one which
is so called because the clan-name of the O’Loughlins can be so described up to the thirteenth century, when
and O’Connors was Corca Modhruaidh; when the they too declined in influence. This sept was called Mac
division came the latter took Corcomroe and the former Lochlainn in Irish, i.e. son of Lochlainn, a forename
Burren. Even when Lord of Corcomroe, O’Loughlin was of Norse origin, which does not, however, imply that the
usually styled O’Loughlin Burren. In 1585 the chief of family was itself of Norse stock: the MacLoughlins of
the name was seated at Craggans, Co. Clare. Ballyvaughan Ulster were, in fact, a senior branch of the northern
and Kilfenora are still the heart of the O’Loughlin Ui Neill and their territory was in Innishowen (Co.
country. One Conghalach O’Loughlin was bishop of Donegal). At the present time the name, which is very
Corcomroe from 1281-1300; this see was subsequently numerous, is found chiefly in Counties Donegal and
called Kilfenora. Three Clare O’Loughlins made a name Derry. In Dublin the name appears as MacGloughlin,
for themselves in the nineteenth century: Sir Michael presumably from the variant forms in Irish, Mag
O’Loghlen (1789-1842), Master of the Rolls and supp- Lochlainn.
orter of Daniel O’Connell, and his two sons Sir Colman Up to 1241, when the MacLochlainn ascendancy in
O’Loghlen (1819-1877), M.P. for Clare and Catholic Ulster was finally ended at a battle of that date, the
protagonist, and Sir Bryan O’Loghlen (1828-1905), leading men of this sept are mentioned continuously in
who was Prime Minister of Victoria, Australia. the Annals of our mediaeval history, as are the
The O’Laughnans, O Lachtnain in Irish and nor- O’Melaghlins of Meath; but subsequently no outstanding
mally anglicized O’Laughnan and Loughnane, present figure of the name appears in any phase of national
an example of the tendency for scarce Gaelic surnames activity, though the branch of the Ulster sept, which had
to be changed into a well-known name of somewhat settled in Co. Leitrim under the O’Rourkes, was suffi-
similar sound. Thus O’Loughnan has in some places ciently established there to be included among the
become O’Loughlin. It has also been atrociously angli- chieftains of that county in the Composition Book of
cized Loftus in Connacht and Lawton in Co. Cork. Connacht (1585). In modern times the most notable
There were several septs of O’Lachtnain. The numerous person of the name was John MacLoughlin (1784-
mediaeval bishops and abbots of the name were all 1857), of Hudson Bay Company fame.
Connacht men. Arms illustrated on Plate XIX. Arms illustrated on Plate XIX.

MacLOUGHLIN The surname MacLoughlin, also (O)LOWRY, LAVERY The Irish surname O Labh-
spelled MacLaughlin, is used in modern Ireland as the radha is in English Lowry and Lavery, both these forms
anglicized form of that of two entirely distinct Gaelic being found in almost equal numbers in north-east
septs, both of considerable importance. One indeed Ulster where the sept originated. Their territory in
which was of royal status, is not a Mac name at all but mediaeval times was in the neighbourhood of Moira,
an O name, being O Maoilsheachlainn in Irish, and up Co. Down. Branches of the sept were called Baun-
to the end of the seventeenth century always anglicized Lavery, Roe-Lavery and Trin-Lavery, these epithets
O’Melaghlin (with some slight variants). They are des- being the Gaelic adjectives ban (white), rua (red) and
cended from Maoilsheachlainnn, better known as tréan (strong). Trin-Lavery became Armstrong in some
Malachy II, King of Ireland from 980 to 1002, when he cases — one of the numerous examples of mistranslation.
was dethroned by the great Brian Boru. Maoilsheachlainn Sir John Lavery (1856-1941), famous landscape and
signified servant or follower of Seachlainn, i.e. St. portrait painter was born in Belfast. He designed the
Secundinus. Malachy was of the race of Niall of the Nine first series of Irish bank-notes, the head engraved
Hostages. After the Anglo-Norman invasion the thereon being that of Lady Lavery, his wife.
O’Melaghlins, like all the Gaelic princes and chiefs of
Meath and central Ireland, were greatly reduced in
power. In 1543 they were still strong enough to be LYNCH __ It must be emphasized at once that the name
named in an Order establishing martial law in the Lynch, which is among the hundred commonest
midland counties (see entry for Dunn, above), but in surnames in Ireland, is of dual origin. Lynch is used as
each of the successive waves of invasion, especially in the anglicized form of the native Gaelic names O Loing-
the seventeenth century, they further declined, till after sigh, and also of the Norman de Lench.
1691 they disappear altogether as O’Melaghlins, and the The Norman family of Lynch, though far less
remnant of the sept remaining in their ancestral territory numerous than their Gaelic name-sakes, have been more
were thereafter known as MacLoughlin. Surprisingly, prominent on account of their predominance in the
MacLoughlin is one of the most numerous names in the affairs of Galway city, where they were the most in-
Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls (1665). One of their fluential of the “Tribes”. In the hundred and seventy

121
years which elapsed between 1484, when Dominick Count John Baptist Lynch, a peer of France, was
Lynch procured the city’s charter from Richard III, grandson of an officer who went to that country with
and 1654, when Catholics were debarred from civic James II: he lost all in the French Revolution but later
offices, no less than eighty-four mayors of Galway recovered some of his property. General Isodore Lynch,
were of the family of Lynch. Dominick’s son, Stephen who joined the revolutionary army, had a distinguished
Lynch, was in turn responsible for obtaining from Pope military career in the French service. Patrick (Patricio)
Innocent VIII the Bull which established that unique Lynch (1824-1886), “son of a wealthy Irish merchant”,
ecclesiastical institution, the Wardenship of Galway. who first saw service in the British navy, has been
Many of the Wardens were Lynches. The Galway family described as ‘“‘the foremost Chilean naval hero”. Finally
also produced a number of distinguished ecclesiastics, we may mention Hannah Lynch (1862-1904), a leading
the most famous of whom were Rev. John Lynch figure in the Ladies’ Land League.
(1599-1673), the-author of Cambrensis Eversus; the Arms illustrated on Plate XIX.
centenarian Archbishop of Tuam, Most Rev. James
Lynch (1609-1713), who despite persecution and
imprisonment, continued to administer his diocese; (O)LYNE, LYONS, LEHANE, LANE _ The four sur-
Rev. Richard Lynch, D.D. (1611-1676), the author names given above are the anglicized forms of two
of many works in Spanish; and Rev. Dominick Lynch distinct Gaelic surnames. Lehane is peculiar to Co. Cork,
(d. 1697), the Dominican philosopher. Of all the Galway while Lyne to-day is found chiefly in Co. Kerry, though
Lynches the one most likely to be remembered by any formerly well known in Co. Galway where Lyons has
visitor to that city is James Lynch, the stern mayor superseded it. Lyons is the most numerous: 210 births
who in 1493 felt it his duty to hang his own son for an are recorded by Matheson as being registered in a year,
offence for which the penalty was death: the spot where of which 85 were in the Cork-Kerry-Limerick area and
this event took place, known as the gate of the Old 71 in Co. Galway. Over seventy per cent of the Lane
Jail, with its tragic inscription, is still pointed out and births were in Counties Cork and Limerick. Lyons, it
the story retold. It should be noted, however, that some should be added, is quite distinct from the Scottish
modern Galway historians have suggested that this name Lyon. It will thus be seen that much confusion
story may be apocryphal. Nearby is Lynch’s Castle arises in connexion with these names.
which was built in 1320. The two Gaelic surnames referred to above are O
After the coming of the Normans, the Leyns (Lynch) Liathdin and O Laighin. O Liathdin, said to be originally
family was first settled in Meath, where Lynch’s Knock, of the Ui Fidhgheinte of the modern Co. Limerick,
the site of a battle in 1647, perpetuates their occupation. were settled in the barony of Barrymore, Co. Cork,
It was a branch of this family that migrated to Galway but are more closely associated with the country north
in the early fifteenth century. The arms illustrated on of Youghal, called Ui Lithdin by the Four Masters,
Plate XIX are those of the Lynches of Galway. Branches wherein lies the village of Castle Lyons. The same
of this family have been prominent among the modern Gaelic name, anglicized Lehane, is found in the Court-
landowners in Co. Galway under the hyphenated names macsherry area. O Laighin belongs to Co. Galway.
Lynch-Blosse and Blosse-Lynch. They were centred around Kilconnell, but though
The Gaelic Lynches, formerly often called O’Lynch, dwelling in the Hy Many country they were, according
comprise a number of quite distinct and independent to O’Flaherty’s Ogygia, not of it, but of Firbolg origin.
septs, most of which were submerged as such after the O’Donovan states that the Lanes of Trughanacmy (Co.
Anglo-Norman invasion but whose descendants are still Kerry) are of a different origin again, their name in Irish
to be found in their several places of origin. The being O Laoghain.
Thomond sept produced Clare-born Patrick Lynch Among notable Irish men called Lyons we may
(1757-1818), linguist and Gaelic scholar. The Sligo sept mention Rev. John Lyons (1708-1790) and John Charles
has Alan O’Lynch, noted Dominican Prior of Kildare Lyons (1792-1874), two distinguished antiquarians, and
(1411), to its credit. From that of Breffny came Dr. Dr. Robert Lyons (1826-1886), Professor of Medicine
John Joseph Lynch (1816-1888), Bishop of Toronto, in the Catholic University medical school, Dublin. We
the first Catholic ecclesiastical dignitary to attend a may also include Matthew Lyon (1746-1822), a Co.
British royal levée since the time of James II. Col. Wicklow man who from being a poor emigrant to the
Charles Lynch (1736-1796), from whose name the U.S.A. became a colonel in the American army in the
American word to lynch, or “lynch law’’, was coined, War of Independence and a member of Congress much in
was son of another Charles Lynch, scion of the northern the public eye. Sir Hugh Lane (1875-1917), the famous
sept whose head in early mediaeval times was chief of collector of pictures, who was drowned in the torpedoing
Dalriada. The Lynches of Co. Donegal are properly of the ‘Lusitania’, is the best known Irishman of that
Mac Loingseachdin (Lynchehaun); those, O Loingsigh form of the name. Some Kerry families, especially
(of Lynch), now numerous in Cork, Kerry and Limerick, around Dingle, spell the name Leyne, and are particular
probably stem from the septs of the name located in about this. Father Matthew O’Leyn (d. 1599) was one of
Corca Laoidhe and in Owney. Thomas Lynch (1749- the many Irish Franciscan martyrs.
1779), the youngest of the signatories of the American The family of Lyons of east Cork, who were
Declaration of Independence, was of an Irish family physicians to the Roches of Fermoy, are called O’Leighin
which had then been three generations in America. in B.M. MS. Egerton 92.

L222
(Mac)LYSAGHT The MacLysaghts, like the Con-
sidines, are a sub-sept of the leading Dalcassian sept of
O’Brien of Thomond. The name, in Irish Mac Giolla
Iasachta, is of obscure origin. It is believed to indicate
that the eponymous ancestor was loaned by the O’Briens
as a fighting man or in some other capacity. It is not,
as some have stated, “son of the servant of Jesus’’, which
is Mac Giolla Iosa, anglice MacAleese, a well known
surname in Co. Derry. The famous Cork painter Daniel
MacLise (1806-1870) was of the Scottish clan MacLeish;
his father migrated to Cork where he settled in 1797 (this
name of course has no connexion with MacLysaght).
The sept of MacLysaght was originally located in the
neighbourhood of Ennistymon, Co. Clare, and the name, Grattan’s Parliament. His namesake, and a Clareman but
though nowhere very numerous, is still to be found no traceable relation, Edward MacLysaght, was first
chiefly in Counties Clare and Limerick, with a branch Chief Herald of Ireland in succession to the Ulster Kings
in Co. Cork. The latter was established by a younger of Arms. Two of the latter’s forbears were sheriffs of
son who early in the seventeenth century became a Limerick City in the seventeenth century, one being
Protestant; this particular family was consistently concerned in the famous “Battle of the Mayors”. This
pro-English and his descendant was created a peer, family, as well as others of the name, was transplanted
thus becoming one of the very few members of the in the Cromwellian Settlement as Irish papists, thus
eighteenth century Irish House of Lords who was of returning from Co. Limerick to Co. Clare, the county
Gaelic Irish stock. His ancestor fought in William III’s of their origin. The following curious and unusual in-
army, but at the same time there were three in James scription can be read on the tomb of Patrick Lysaght
Il’s army including William MacLysaght, or Lysaght, (1656-1741) at Kilfenora: Non quemquam defraudavi,
who distinguished himself by his valour on the Jacobite me saepe fefelli Et Marti et Baccho saepe tributa dedi (I
side as an officer in Clare’s Dragoons at the Boyne, have defrauded no one, I have often deceived myself,
Aughrim and Limerick. One or two of the Clare sept and I have often paid tribute to Mars and to Bacchus).
conformed in the penal times, but the great majority Arms illustrated on Plate XIX.
of the MacLysaghts remained Catholic and obscure.
It would be more accurate in this connexion to say
Lysaghts than MacLysaghts because, as in the case (O)MADDEN, (MacAvaddy, Madigan) Madden is one
of so many native Irish names, the prefix had fallen of those Gaelic Irish surnames from which the prefix O
almost entirely into disuse until early in the present was dropped during the centuries of Gaelic eclipse, but
century. In the sixteenth century Fiants the name, which did not share in the widespread resumption of O’s
always in Co. Clare, appears very frequently, with and Macs since the Gaelic revival. In Irish it is O Maddin,
many variations in these early attempts to spell this the earlier form being O Madadhdin. This sept was a
difficult name in English, as for example MacGillesiaghtie, branch of the Ui Maine (Hy Many) living in that part
MacGillisiachta and MacGyllysaghta: the last of these of Co. Galway which lies beside the Shannon and ex-
shows clearly how it eventually became Lysaght. The tending over that river into Offaly. Their chief was the
name is of frequent occurrence in the Co. Clare Inchi. recognized lord of that area in early times, and after
quin Manuscripts: it fills nearly a column of the index the occupation of Connacht by the Anglo-Normans
under several variant spellings. MacGillysaghty was retained his lordship under the de Burgos. That is the
the usual form up to mid-seventeenth century, after part of the country in which the Maddens are still
which both Mac and Gil were generally dropped. Such most numerous. Referring to the supposed derivation of
abbreviation at that period was normal, cf. Carrig. In a the name from the word mada, it is interesting to note
list of priests of the diocese of Kilfenora sent to Pope that in Co. Mayo the name Mac a’ Mhadaidh (which
Urban VIII in 1629 the spelling is MacGilliesaghta. The literally means “son of a dog’’) is indifferently angli-
restoration of the Mac is in this case noteworthy, cized MacAvaddy and Madden, the former being a
because it was not done gradually and haphazard as has close approximation phonetically to the Irish form. It
happened with other surnames, but the resumption was should also be mentioned that the Madigans of Counties
made about forty years ago by the concerted and formal Antrim and Derry, especially in the Magherafelt district,
action of some hundred or more Lysaghts (organized often shorten their name to Madden. The Madigans,
by William MacLysaght of Doon, Co. Limerick). We however, who may now be regarded as almost exclusively
thus find certain members of the sept in modern times a Clare-Limerick family, are a branch of the Co. Galway
known indifferently as Lysaght and MacLysaght. Of Maddens using an otherwise obsolete form of the name.
these the most distinguished was S. R. Lysaght (1856- A Madden family of English origin is also found in
1941) the poet and novelist. Edward Lysaght (1763- Ireland, who gave their name to the village of
1811), known as “Pleasant Ned”, wit, duellist and Maddenton in Co. Kildare. The Maddens of Athgarret in
poet in both the English and Irish langauges, was one the same county, however, are O’Maddens from Co.
of the celebrated characters of Dublin at the time of Galway. In the heyday of landlordism, prior to the

123
Land Acts, the Madden estates, principally in Mayo, Mahons, and his grandson Patrick MacMahon (1808-
Leitrim and Fermanagh, comprised some 25,000 acres. 1893) who was President as well as Marshal of France.
The Rev. Samuel Madden (1686-1765) the philan- It is probable that Charles Patrick Mahon (1800-1891),
thropist, belonged to the Maddenton family; Richard better known as ‘“‘The O’Gorman Mahon’, was a
Robert Madden (1798-1886), author of The United descendant of the Clare MacMahons.
Irishmen, their Lives and Times, was of Gaelic stock. Mahon, however, though sometimes used as an
Two other Irish Maddens distinguished themselves abbreviated form of MacMahon, is as a rule a distinct
in the field of literature, viz. Daniel Owen Madden name, being that borne by two septs located in Conn-
(1815-1859), and Thomas More Madden (1844-1902), acht, one in the diocese of Kilmacduagh (south Galway)
the latter a son of Richard Robert mentioned above. and the other an erenagh family of Killaraght, Co. Sligo,
In addition to pedigree and useful notes thereon who were hereditary custodians of the Cross of St.
O’Donovan in his-edition of The Tribes and Customs Attracta. This surname, O Mochdin in Irish and properly
ofHy Many, Appendix B, has a long note on O’Madden Mohan in English, spread in to Munster, where it was
arms. The probability of the Maddens of Maddenton, usually anglicized Vaughan. Though Vaughan is, of
who came to Ireland from Oxfordshire in the sixteenth course, a common Welsh name most of our Irish
century, being actually of Irish origin, is also considered Vaughans are in fact of this Gaelic stock.
there. Arms illustrated on Plate XIX. Arms illustrated on Plate XX.

MacMAHON, (Mohan, Vaughan) MacMahon is one of (O)MAHONY _ There are a great many O’Mahonys in
the best known and most distinguished names in Ireland. Ireland — the name is included, usually without the
In Irish Mac Mathghamha, or in ultra-modern spelling prefix O, among the hundred commonest surnames. It
MacMahiuna, it is said to be derived from the Irish word belongs almost exclusively to West Munster, the great
for a bear. It is borne by two quite distinct septs. One of majority of Mahony and O’Mahony births being registered
these belongs to Co. Clare, in which county it is now in Co. Cork, particularly in the area associated histori-
the most numerous name. These descend from Mahon, cally with the O’Mahony sept. Their chieftains were
son of Murtagh Mor O’Brien, King of Ireland (d. 1119), powerful, being often described as princes. Their
and the last inaugurated Chief of the Name fell at the principal territory comprised the modern barony of
battle of Kinsale in 1602. Their territory was Corca- Kinelmeaky and extended to the sea, with a fortified
baskin in West Clare. The Ulster sept of MacMahon castle called Rosbrian off the coast of south-west Cork.
in the thirteenth century became lords of Oriel on the The name O Mathghamhna — in modernized spelling
decline of the O’Carrolls. It is associated chiefly with O’Mahtna — is derived from their ancestor Math-
Co. Monaghan, where the name holds third place in ghamhan, whose mother was a daughter of Brian Boru.
the county list. In fact, as is usually the case with old Mathghamhan is the Irish word for a bear. He was
Gaelic families, their present-day representatives in’ killed, with many more of the Desmond fighting men,
Ireland (who are about ten thousand in number) are still at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Another famous
to be found chiefly in their original territories — in this soldier of the name was Count Daniel O’Mahony (d.
case Clare and Monaghan. 1714), general in the Irish Brigade in the service of
There have been very many distinguished bearers of France and hero of the battle of Cremona, the best
the name MacMahon. Bernard MacMahon (1680-1747), known of the many O’Mahonys who served with dis-
his uncle Hugh MacMahon (d. 1737) and his brother tinction in the French and Spanish armies. John
Ross Roe MacMahon (1698-1748) were all Archbishops O’Mahony (1816-1877) of Kilbeheny near Mitchels-
of Armagh, having previously been bishops of their town, was the celebrated Fenian leader. In the literary
native Clogher. Of the five bishops who held the see of sphere the best-known is Sylvester Mahony (1804-1866),
Clogher in the eighteenth century, three were Mac- who under the pseudonym of Father Prout was the
Mahons and two O’Reillys. Another earlier and very author of “The Bells of Shandon” and other poems
famous Bishop of Clogher was Heber MacMahon (1600- associated with Cork. Father Francis O’Mahony, Pro-
1650), a leader of the Confederate Catholics who vincial of the Irish Franciscans from 1626 to 1629, was
actually commanded the Ulster army and died on the also known as Father Francis Matthews. Matthews is
scaffold. Prominent in the same cause were Hugh rare as an anglicized form of O’Mahony, but not unusual
McMahon, last chief of the Ulster sept, who was also in Ulster as a synonym of MacMahon.
beheaded, having been betrayed by Owen O’Connolly in Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
1641, and Col. Brian MacMahon, who fought at Benburb
(1646) and was a member of the Supreme Council of
the Confederate Catholics. A generation later the name O’MALLEY O’Malley may well be said to be Irish of
appears in King James’s Irish army, in which Col. Art the Irish. It is one of the few O names from which the
MacMahon’s infantry regiment was notable. Subsequently prefix was never widely dropped. It is not specially
many of these officers distinguished themselves in the numerous, but it is very well known. It belonged ex-
service of France in the Irish Brigade. Later in that clusively in the past to Co. Mayo, and this is almost
country there was John MacMahon (1715-1780), who equally true of the present day: over eighty per cent
was ennobled as Marquis d’Eguilly, of the Clare Mac- of the births recorded are in Connacht and most of

124
these are in Co. Mayo. Their particular territory is Three Malones sat in the Parliament of 1689, three
in the baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk in that served in King James II’s army in Ireland and eight were
county. Unlike the majority of septs located on the attainted after 1691. One family of Malones was out-
coast the O’Malleys were famous for their naval ex- standing in the eighteenth century in Ireland. They had
ploits and their prowess at sea is enshrined in their conformed, but were nevertheless prominent in their
motto “terra marique potens’. Outstanding in this advocacy of Catholic emancipation. Anthony Malone
connexion was Grace O’Malley, the subject of so many (1700-1776) was Chancellor of the Exchequer; his
romantic tales. These “‘tales” are based on fact, for she brother Edmund Malone (1704-1776) was an Irish
has been variously described by responsible contemporary M.P. and judge, and the latter’s sons were noteworthy
writers as “a most famous sea captain” and “nurse of all — Edmund Malone (1741-1812) as friend of Johnson,
the rebellions in the province (of Connacht) for forty Boswell etc. and Shakespearian critic while Richard
years”. She is still known as Graine Mhaol: in Irish her Malone (1738-1816) was another prominent Irish M.P.
name is Grdine Ni Mhaille, O’Malley being O Maille. Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
Locally in Co. Meath it is often anglicized Melia, the
variant in Irish being O Maele. It may be of interest
to notice here that the well-known Sir Owen O’Malley, (O)MANGAN, Mongan The normal form of Mangan
diplomat and author, who claims to be Chief of the in Irish is O Mongdin, which is more phonetically angli-
Name, insists on his name being pronounced O’Mailey. cized as Mongan in parts of Connacht; but even in Mayo,
In addition to Grace O’Malley (1530-1600), we may the original homeland of one of the septs so called, it
mention Austin O’Malley (c. 1760-1854), United Irish is more usually Mangan nowadays. The Munster
leader, who fought with Humbert at Castlebar in 1798, Mangans, originally Co. Cork, are now found more in
while at the same time George O’Malley (1780-1843) Co. Limerick. James Clarence Mangan (1803-1849),
at the age of eighteen took the English Government the poet, came from Shanagolden, Co. Limerick, where
side on the occasion of the French invasion of Co. the family to which he belonged still live. Rev. Edward
Mayo and subsequently distinguished himself at the Mangin (1772-1852) was also a poet and essayist of note.
Battle of Waterloo. The former was father of General Mangan is also found as a synonym of Manahan (a
Patrick O’Malley (d. 1869) of the French army. Also form of Monahan, q.v.) and of Mannion (q.v.).
notable were Rev. Thaddeus O’Malley (1796-1877), the The Munster Mangans (in Irish O Mongdin) have been
priest who got into trouble frequently for his unorthodox long enough established in Co. Limerick to have a town-
ecclesiastical and political views; and Frank Ward land (in the parish of Dromcolliher) called after them
O’Malley (1875-1932), well-known Irish-American wit viz. Ballymongane. This is also the name of a townland
and writer. Perhaps I might add Lever’s celebrated in the parish of Kilnamona, Co. Clare. The Ulster sept,
fictional character Charles O’Malley, the typical divil- which, as erenaghs of St. Caireall, gave its name to the
may-care Irishman. Arms illustrated on Plate XX. parish of Termonomongan in Co. Tyrone, appears to
be now almost extinct. There are twelve families of
Mangan in the Hearth Money Rolls for Co. Tipperary
(O)MALONE Although Malone is a genuine O name, (1665-1667). Charles Mongan (1754-1826), son of
being in Irish O Maoileoin (meaning descendant of the Dominic Mungan or Mongan, a Co. Tyrone blind itin-
follower of St. John), it is never met with in English erant harper, became a Protestant and having assumed
with its prefix. The Malones are an ancient sept, the surname Warburton was appointed successively
associated with the O’Connors of Connacht, and their Bishop of Limerick and of Cloyne. Three brothers
principal family was for centuries associated with the named Warburton (viv. 1810-1894) were of sufficient
Abbey of Clonmacnois, to which they furnished many importance to be included in Crone’s Dictionary of Irish
abbots and bishops, for Clonmacnois was for a time Biography. Though of Offaly they were not in the direct
an independent see before being united with Ardagh. line of the family of Garryhinch in that county, who
Rev. Professor John Ryan, SJ. pointed out to me were very extensive landowners.
that the alleged close connexion of the O’Malones with Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
the O’Connors of Connacht did not exist, being the
result of a pedigree which was a forgery. For the
suggestion regarding the origin of the Malones of Co. MANNION, O’Mannin, Manning The sept of 0
Clare see Muldoon. Unlike most old Irish septs its Mainnin was located in the barony of Tiaquin, Co.
modern representatives are not found in any considerable Galway, their chief's residence being the castle of
numbers in the territory of their origin: Counties Clare Clogher. They were an important sept in the Hy Many
and Wexford — in quite different parts of the country — country but were not of that group by descent, as their
now have more Malones than other areas. The Clare ancestors were the ancient pre-Gaelic Pictish rulers of
Malones are probably descendants of the Clonmacnois that area. Their territory was much reduced by the
sept, but the origin of those of Wexford is obscure. The O’Kellys, and their estates were largely lost in the
Rev. Sylvester Malone (1822-1906), author of the seventeenth century confiscations, but the Mannions
Church History of Ireland, was a Clare priest. Another (as they are called in Connacht) remained in their
notable priest of the name was Rev. William Malone homeland where they are numerous to-day. The name
(1586-1659), Superior of the Jesuit Mission to Ireland. has also been anglicized Manning: Cornet John Manning

125
of O’Neills Dragoons in King James I1’s Irish Army was their original habitat than elsewhere: it holds second
an O’Mannin. Manning, of course, is a fairly common place in the list of most numerous names in Co. Fer-
name in England, and some of the Mannings of Dublin managh, but does not so appear in any other county.
and Cork are of English descent. Frederick Maning It is one of the few names from which the prefix Mac
(1812-1883), who became a Maori chief in New Zealand, has not been widely dropped. It is, however, in some
was a Dublin man. parts of Ulster disguised under the English form Moyne.
For pedigree notes by O’Donovan, see The Tribes and It is very seldom met with in Munster. In Connacht,
Customs ofHy Many, App. C. Mayo is its main stronghold. The most famous of the
MacManus sept in Irish history, Terence Bellew Mac-
Manus (1823-1860), hailed from Co. Fermanagh. He
fought beside William Smith O’Brien at Ballingarry,
MANNIX, (O)Manahan, (MacNeice) Mannix is the and was sentenced to death and transported, but escaped
usual form in English of the Gaelic surname O Mainichin and went to America. His funeral in Dublin was the
(derived from manach — a monk), a minor sept of Corca occasion of the greatest Fenian demonstration ever
Laoidhe in the south-west of Co. Cork: it is placed in seen. Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
the “Book of Lecan” and other mediaeval manuscripts
in the O’Hennessy territory at the head of Ross Bay.
The name was never numerous and is now scarce, being MARTIN, (Mac)GILMARTIN, Kilmartin Martin is
rarely found outside the counties of south-west Munster; among the fifty most numerous surnames in Ireland;
it is well-known throughout the world in our own time in fact it has thirty-eighth place. The thirteen thousand
on account of the uncompromising pro-Irish political. persons of the name in Ireland are widely distributed
opinions of Most Rev. Daniel Mannix (1864-1963), over the country, being found most frequently in East
Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia. Ulster and, of course, in Dublin which, being the metro-
This name is also sometimes anglicized Mannihan or polis, contains families from all the provinces. Martin is
Manahan, but not Manning, which is a synonym of also a common name in Great Britain: it has thirty-
Mannion (q.v.). Mannix, it should be added, is an first place in England and forty-eighth in Scotland.
occasional synonym of MacNeice (MacNaois in Irish), The best known families of Martin are those of
an Ulster surname, which is itself a variant of Mac- Galway city and county: they were one of the cele-
Aonghuis, anglice MacGenis. brated “Tribes of Galway’’. These Martins are not Gaelic
Mannix is sometimes used for Minogue in east in origin. Their pedigree states that they came to Ireland
Clare. with Strongbow. An interesting fact relating to the
O’Mannis is a seventeenth century scribe’s error for Martyns of Tullyra, Co. Galway, should be mentioned
MacMannis, which should be equated with MacManus. It here. A special clause was inserted in the penal act 8
has no connexion with the Munster surname Mannix. Anne, chap. 3, providing that the prohibition of gavel-
There is thus a consequential error in the earlier kind in Catholic families should not apply to Oliver
editions of Irish Families Arms Plate XX. In the seven- Martin of Tulliry on account of his assistance to Pro-
teenth century there was much confusion on the part of testants during the brief period of Catholic ascendancy
record clerks between Mac and O. For example, in the in the seventeenth century — an example of clemency
“census” of 1659 in several baronies of Co. Clare the very unusual in the ferocious Penal Code.
O’Connors are widely returned as MacConnor; and at the Our native indigenous Martins may be either O’s
end of the century we find MacGuire appearing in the or Mac’s. The O’Martins were of some importance in
Jacobite outlawries as O’Guire. the mediaeval period: Giolla Earndin O Martain who
died in 1218 is described in the various Annals as chief
brehon or chief professor of law in Ireland — chief poet
etc., in “Loch Cé”; and in 1431 the death of the Bishop
MacMANUS _ This name is often stated to be Norse in of Clogher, who was also an O’Martin, is recorded.
origin but in fact it is as thoroughly Irish as any ancient MacMartin was the surname assumed by a branch of
Gaelic name. MacManus is Mac Maghnuis in modern the O’Neills in Co. Tyrone. Survivors of these minor
Irish, i.e. son of Magnus. Magnus (Latin: great) as a septs are now plain Martin without either prefix. Co.
christian name came to Ireland from northern Europe Tyrone is also the original homeland of another sept
it is true, but its combination with Mac as a surname whose present-day representatives are sometimes called
originated in Ireland. In two separate cases it designated Martin: this is an important sept of Mac Giolla Mhartain,
descent from individual persons called Maghnus. The anglicized MacGilmartin in the seventeenth century
first is descended from Maghnus (d. 1181), son of and now usually Gilmartin or Kilmartin. Their forbears
Turlough O’Connor, King of Ireland, and was seated in were chiefs in the barony of Clogher, Co. Tyrone, but,
the parish of Kilronan, Co. Roscommon; the other, though they were still very numerous in the adjoining
a distinguished Fermanagh family, lived on the shores county of Fermanagh at the time of the 1659 census,
of Lough Erne. The island of Belle Isle in that lake was they were gradually forced westwards to the territory
formerly called Ballymacmanus. These are a branch of in which they are now chiefly found, i.e. Counties
the Maguires. As is frequently the case, the present-day Leitrim and Sligo. Fergal MacMartin (d. 1431), Bishop
bearers of the name are found in greater numbers in of Killala, was probably of this sept.

126
 A number of distinguished men and women of the first medical work printed in Dublin (1619), his son
name have adorned the annals of Ireland, especially Edmund O’Meara (d. 1680), another medical author,
in the nineteenth century. The most notable of these and Barry O’Meara (1786-1836), also a surgeon and
were: John Martin (1812-1875) the Young Irelander author, famous for his association with Napoleon at
and brother-in-law of John Mitchel; Richard Martin St. Helena, were all Tipperary men. Kathleen O’Meara
(1754-1834) that romantic character known as “Hair (1839-1888), grand-daughter of the last named, wrote
Trigger Dick” and “Humanity Dick’’ (the originator many novels and biographies. Also of Tipperary stock
of legislation against cruelty to animals), who could were the brothers Count Thomas O’Meara (1750-1819),
boast that his Connacht avenue was thirty miles long; Baron William O’Meara (1764-1818) and Col. Daniel
his daughter Harriet Letitia Martin (1801-1891), the O Meara (b. 1764), all of whom had distinguished service
novelist; his grand-daughter Mary Letitia Martin (1815- in the Irish Brigades in France. In our own time the
1850), the ‘Princess of Connemara”, owner of 200,000 O’Maras of Limerick have been very prominent in the
acres, who ruined herself relieving sufferers at the time industrial and political activities of that city; and one
of the Great Famine. In recent times we have had of them, Joseph O’Mara, was the founder and also the
Miss Martin of Ross (1862-1915), of the famous literary star of the well-known O’Mara Opera Company.
partnership Somerville and Ross; and finally, not to Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
mention various distinguished churchmen and colonial
statesmen, Edward Martyn (1859-1932) another re-
markable Co. Galway man, the co-founder of Sinn Féin
(O)MEEHAN, Meighan O’Meehan in Irish O Miadh-
achain, is the name of a sept belonging to Co. Leitrim:
and a pioneer of the Irish dramatic movement.
this sept (also called Meighan) is of the same stock as
Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
the MacCarthys of south Munster, but by the end of
the eleventh century they had migrated and established
themselves in their new country, their association there-
(O)MEAGHER, Maher Maher, also written Meagher,
with being perpetuated by the place name Ballagh-
is in Irish O Meachair, derived from the word meachar,
meehin, or Ballymeighan, in the parish of Rossinver, Co.
meaning hospitable — Maher is a word of two syllables,
Leitrim. Thence they spread into adjacent counties and
not pronounced Marr. Of the same stock as the
are now fairly numerous in all east Connacht, and in
O’Carrolls of Ely it belongs to the barony of Ikerrin
Co. Clare where they are mentioned in 1317 as one of
in Co. Tipperary — in fact fifty per cent of the eight
the Thomond septs which rallied to O’Brien; they also
thousand people of the name come from Co. Tipperary.
appear in the 1659 census as more numerous in Co.
Maher territory was near Roscrea, at the foot of the
Clare than elsewhere.
famous Devil’s Bit Mountain and, unlike some Gaelic
Thomas and Denis O’Miachan (O’Meehan) were
septs, they were not ousted by Norman invaders but successively bishop of Achonry between 1251 and
remained in possession side by side with the Ormond 1285, (the authority for this statement was Analecta
Butlers. Though this is a genuine Gaelic O name it is Hibernica V1; the subsequent published British Hand-
rarely, if ever, met with in its English form with the book of Chronology corrects this, the name of the first
prefix. being Thomas O’Maicin not O Miachdin), and another
One of the adventurous and ill-starred rapparees of bishop, Edru O’Meighan, held the see of Meath from
the seventeenth century was Capt. John Meagher, who 1152, when he attended the Council of Kells, until 1173.
was captured and hanged in 1690. Father Maher (1793- Another distinguished ecclesiastic was the historian Rev.
1874) was a distinguished ecclesiastic; and Thomas Charles Patrick Meehan (1812-1890). Two of the sept
Francis Meagher (1823-1867), known as “Meagher of distinguished themselves in France: Count James
the Sword’? was one of the most prominent of the Anthony Mehegan (alias Meehan) (1719-1792), son of
Young Irelanders. He was later leader of the Irish Chevalier O’Mehegan, as a soldier and his brother
Brigade in the Federal Army in the American Civil Chevalier William Alexander Mehegan (1721-1766) as a
War. Arms illustrated on Plate XX.
French author.
The most notable fact relating to the sept is of a
religious character: a metal case containing a manu-
O’MEARA, O’Mara In Irish this name is O Meadhra
script of St. Molaise of Devenish (sixth century) was for
and both the spellings given above are used as the over a thousand years preserved by successive generations
ordinary anglicized form, O’Meara being slightly more of O’Meehans, and is now in the National Museum of
numerous than O’Mara. It is of interest to note that, Ireland. Arms illustrated on Plate XX].
while sixty years ago the records show that less than
one thi:d of the people of the name used the prefix
O, to-day it is very rare in Ireland to find plain Mara (O)MOLLOY, (Miley, Millea) Slowey The O’Molloys,
or Meara, without it. The O’Mearas are now and always now always simply Molloy or occasionally Mulloy, are
have been Co. Tipperary people: they belong by origin of very distinguished origin. They are of the southern Ui
to the north of that county, the centre of their Neill, traditionally descended from the famous Niall
territory being Toomevara, a place-name which of the Nine Hostages, King of Ireland A.D. 371. The
embodies their surname — Tuaim ui Mheadhra in Irish. head of this important sept was O’Molloy chief or lord
Dermot O’Meara, physician and poet, author of the of Fercal, a district covering several baronies of the

127
county of Offaly (alias King’s County). In Irish this (O)MOLONY, (Maloughney) Molony or Moloney is
name is © Maolmhuaidh, which, according to O Maoldhomhnaigh in Irish, which denotes descendant
O’Donovan, signified noble or venerable chieftain. A of a servant of the Church. It is seldom if ever found
quite different origin is traced for the Molloys of Conn- to-day with the original prefix O, though it is one
acht, who are called O Maoil Aoidh (servant of St. hundred per cent Gaelic with no similar name to be
Aedh), a name which has many anglicized forms such as found in England. Molony is a Dalcassian sept belonging
Millea, Miley and Mullee, the most usual being Molloy. to Kiltanon near Tulla in East Clare, where they are very
The origin of the Offaly sept is evidenced by the fact numerous to-day, though also found in equal numbers
that in early records in English the name is often given as in the adjoining counties of Limerick and Tipperary.
O’Mulmoy. Many of this distinguished family had An interesting example of the vagaries of Irish nomen-
friendly relations with the English crown. In 1189 Albin clature is afforded by this name Molony. Some families
O’Molloy (d. 1223), then Bishop of Ferns, was one of in north Co. Tipperary now called Molony are not O
the officiating prelates at the coronation of Richard I Maoldhomhnaigh, but O Maolfhachtna, which, however,
and, notwithstanding the efforts of several prominent is also in rare cases anglicized as Maloughney and Mac-
O’Molloys to withstand Tudor aggression in Ireland, Loughney, thus giving the impression that it is a Mac
their chief was appointed hereditary bearer of the and not an O name.
English standard in Ireland, an office he exercised at A number of Molonys have done good work in the
least within the Pale. An important branch of this sept, field of historical and genealogical research. Two
whose head was known as the Green Molloy, is said to O’Moloneys of the Kiltanon sept were successively
have migrated to Co. Roscommon, though one eminent Bishops of Killaloe for a period of more than seventy
authority, John O’Donovan, considered them a distinct years. The younger John O’Moloney (1617-1702),
sept. The fact remains that east Connacht and Offaly nephew of the elder, was remarkable both for his in-
are the main habitats of Molloys in modern times. tellectual attainments as a University professor in
Many distinguished O’Molloys and Molloys may be Paris and later for his stout resistance to the persecution
mentioned. Albin O’Molloy (see above) was a Cistercian of his fellow Catholics in Ireland. Father Donogh
monk before he became Bishop of Ferns; he is remem- O’Moloney, V.G. of Killaloe, was tortured to death in
bered for his reply to Geraldus Cambrensis, attributing 1601. Col. Sir James Stacpoole Moloney was one of
the ills of Ireland to English and Welsh clerical intruders, those inteprid soldiers who took part in the forlorn hope
and for his excommunication of the Earl of Pembroke. attack on Montreal in 1786, in which ninety-three of
Two other priests were notable, viz. the Franciscan, the one hundred participants were killed. In America
Rev. Francis Molloy, author of Lucerna Fidelium the name of Irish-born Martin Molony (1847-1929),
(published 1676) and the first printed Irish grammar, self-made millionaire, is still well remembered on
and Monsignor Gerald Molloy (1834-1906), theologian account of his munificence in Catholic causes.
and scientist. James Lynam Molloy (1837-1909), com- Arms illustrated on Plate X XI.
poser of “Love’s Old Sweet Song” and many popular
ballads, Joseph Fitzgerald Molloy (1858-1908), novelist (O)MONAHAN, Monks The name Monahan or Mon-
and poet, Charles Molloy (1690-1767), dramatist, and aghan (the latter is the more usual spelling in Ireland)
Charles Molloy (1646-1690), author of a standard is chiefly to be found in the counties of Galway, Mayo
treatise on maritime law, were other contributors to and Fermanagh, all of which are not far from the
the literature of their country. Most of these were original habitat of the O’Monaghans, viz. that part of
Offaly men. There were two distinguished officers the Co. Roscommon which lies between Elphin and
of the name in King James II’s army in Ireland and Jamestown. The Four Masters record O’Monaghan (O
one, a relative, in that of King William. Manachain in Irish) as Lord of the Three Tuathas of Ros-
In treating these names in /rish Families as angli- common in 1287, about the time they were displaced from
cized forms of O Maolaoidh of Connacht I followed lordship by the O’Hanlys. The Manachan from whom the
Woulfe. Further research shows that almost every record family takes its name was a famous Connacht warrior of
in which they appear relates to Leinster, mainly Co. the ninth century. Manachain denotes a monk, hence the
Kilkenny or an adjacent area. Among these are Fiants synonym Monk used in some places as the anglicized
of 1575, the “census” of 1659, Ossory and Prerogative form of the name. Dick Monk, who fought with the
wills of the eighteenth century and Griffith’s Valuation rebels at the battle of Arklow in 1798, was also known
of the nineteenth. It would seem unlikely therefore that as Richard Monaghan. There is a remarkable Monaghan
the Irish form of these midland families is O Maolaoidh: tomb in the Dominican Church at Athenry, Co. Galway,
but I am unable as yet to suggest the correct alternative. dated 1686. The name has not been important in history
When Millea occurs in Connacht it is probably a or literature. The Irish-American poet James Monaghan
corrupt form of (OQ) Malley, Mullee being the usual was born in Co. Westmeath (1862); James Henry Mon-
anglicization form of O Maolaoidh there. aghan (1804-1878), b. Co. Galway, was notable as the
The use of Molloy as a synonym of Slowey in the prosecutor (in his capacity of Attorney-General) of
Cavan-Monaghan area of Ulster is explained by the William Smith O’Brien, T. F. Meagher, Gavan Duffy,
elision of the C and the aspiration of the S in the spoken John Mitchel etc. and later as the Catholic Chief Justice
form of the Irish Mac Sluaghaidh. who tried the Fenian prisoners.
Arms illustrated on Plate XXII. Arms illustrated on Plate X XI.

128
(O)MOONEY, Meeny, Mainey This name, O Maon- Arms for the family of Moran of Ballinamore, Co.
aigh in modern Irish, is derived, according to Professor Leitrim, are recorded at the Office of Arms, viz. azure
M. A. O’Brien, from the Old Irish word moenach on a mount proper two lions combatant or supporting a
meaning dumb. It is a surname adopted by several un- flagstaff also proper therefrom a flag argent. Mr. T.
related septs. The eponymous ancestor of the O’Mooneys Whitley Moran has made a study of the O’Morans of
of Ulster was Monach, son of Ailioll Mor. His descendants Connacht.
became erenaghs of Shanaghan in the parish of Ardara, It should perhaps be added that there is an English sur-
diocese of Raphoe. More numerous to-day and better name Morrin of French origin.
known in history are the Mooneys of Offaly, where they Among distinguished bearers of the name were
have given their name to the townland of Ballymooney General James O’Moran (1739-1794), of Dillon’s Irish
— there is also another townland Ballymooney in the regiment in the army of France, who was guillotined,
adjoining county of Leix. The Mooneys of the parish though he was a brilliant soldier and continued to serve
Lemanaghan, near Clara, were for centuries the cus- France loyally after the Revolution: Michael Moran
todians of the shrine of St. Monahan. Thirdly there (1794-1871), the Dublin street singer and public
was a sept of O Maonaigh located in the barony of character known as ‘“Zozimus’; Most Rev. Patrick
Tireragh, Co. Sligo. Their present-day representatives Moran (1823-1895), bishop in South Africa and New
are usually called Meeny: four townlands called Bally- Zealand; and Cardinal Patrick Moran (1830-1911) of
meeny in the parish of Easky indicate their territory. Australia, author of The Life of Blessed Oliver Plunkett.
Finally, there was the Munster sept of the same name David Patrick Moran (1870-1936), founder of the
in Irish: the form used there in modern times is Mainey, weekly review, The Leader, had a considerable influence
in accordance phonetically with the Munster pronun- on public opinion (especially in the early days of the
ciation of Irish. “Trish-Ireland”” movement) through his writings in that
A notable person of the name was Father Donagh journal. Arms illustrated on Plate X XI.
Mooney, Provincial of the Irish Franciscans from 1615
to 1618, who was guardian of the young Earls of Tyr-
connell and Tyrone at Louvain in 1626. Thomas O’MORE, MOORE Moore is a very numerous name
Mooney (1815-1888), the Dublin man who edited a in Ireland: with some 16,500 of the population so called
Fenian newspaper in San Francisco, was in his latter it holds twentieth place in the list of commonest names.
years a very controversial figure in London. The great majority of these (apart from the metropolitan
Arms illustrated on Plate X XI. area) are in Munster and Ulster. It is practically im-
possible to say what proportion of these are of Gaelic
Irish origin and what proportion of English extraction,
(O)MORAN, Morrin Though numerous enough to be for Moore is also indigenous in England and very
included among the sixty commonest names in Ireland common there (it has thirty-ninth place in their list).
and now to be found in every county, Moran is essentially It would perhaps be better to say Anglo-Norman rather
a Connacht name and the majority of the population than English, since Anglo-Norman Moores established
so called belong to the Connacht counties of Mayo, themselves in Munster soon after the invasion. These
Galway, Roscommon and Leitrim. This might be ex- Moores are called de Mora in Irish, a phonetic rendering
pected, because the two quite distinct septs O Mordin of the English name which is derived from the word
and O Moghrdin, now both anglicized Moran, held moor (heathy mountain). The Old Irish Moores
their territory in that province. O Mérdin (possibly are O Mordha, from the word mordha (stately, noble).
derived from the word mor, big) was a chief in Co. The eponymous ancestor Mordha was twenty-first in
Mayo and resided near Ballina; O Moghrain, earlier O descent from Conal Cearnach, the most distinguished
Mughrain, of Ui Maine was chief of Criffon in Co. of the heroes of the Red Branch. The O’Mores were
Galway and another was head of a powerful family in the leading sept of the Seven Septs of Leix, the other
Co. Roscommon, seated near Ballintobber. six being tributary to them. According to Keating the
The Arms recorded at the Office of Arms as O’Moran O’Mores have St. Fintan as their protector. Of thirteen
and illustrated in Plate XXI belong to families now families of Moore recorded in Burke’s Landed Gentry
usually called Moran but more correctly Morahan. This of Ireland (1912), twelve claim to have come to Ireland
is O Murchdin in Irish, a sept of east Offaly. This name as settlers from England or Scotland and one to be
has also been anglicized as Morrin and as such it appears an offshoot of the O’Mores. Judged by the test of
in the “census” of 1659 as very numerous in five resistance to English aggression the O’Mores may be
different baronies of counties Offaly and Kildare, described as one of the foremost Irish septs. In this
sometimes bracketed by the enumerators with Moran, connexion particular mention may be made of Rory
from which they even then found it indistinguishable. O’More (d. 1557) and his son Rory Og O’More (d. 1578),
A century earlier it occurs frequently in that area in both of whom were distinguished Irish leaders in the
the Chancery Rolls and Fiants as O’Moran. Further wars against the Tudor sovereigns, and another Rory
complication is the modern equation of Moran and O’More, a member of the Leix sept, the head of the
MacMoran or MacMorrin, a sept whose pedigree (as 1641 Rising and a staunch ally of Owen Roe O’Neill
Mac Moruinn) is given in the Fermanagh genealogies in the subsequent war. It is of interest to note that he
as O’Luinin. was known in English as Moore as well as O’More.

129
 Of the many Moores who have distinguished them- ecclesiastic was Rev. Patrick Eugene Moriarty (1804-
selves in various phases of Irish life the most famous 1875), born in Dublin of Kerry stock, and Augustinian
was, perhaps, Thomas Moore (1779-1852), the poet: Superior in the U.S.A., who was famous as a preacher
he was of a Co. Wexford family. The Moores of Moore and temperance reformer. Henry Augustus Moriarty
Hall, Co. Mayo, produced George Henry Moore (1810- (1815-1906), whose family lived on Dursey Island at
1870), the politician, and his two sons George Moore the mouth of the Kenmare River, made his name as a
(1852-1933) the novelist, and Col. Maurice Moore seaman and particularly by his success in recovering
(1854-1939), author and ardent worker in the Nationalist the broken Atlantic cable in mid-ocean in 1866. Four
cause in the present century. The Moores of Moore Hall priests named Moriarty were among those from Kerry
descend from the Moores of Alicante, Spain, who were who were proscribed under the Penal Code in 1714.
English in origin. Father Florence O’More, alias Moore In the previous century Father Thady MacMoriarty,
(1550-1616) was a noted Irish Jesuit in Austria. Rev. a noted Dominican of Tralee, was martyred in 1653.
Michael Moore (1640-1726) was the only Catholic O Muircheartaigh is also the name of a sept located
provost of Trinity College (Dublin University). Others near Kells, Co. Meath. Like other minor septs in that
were noted as economists, architects etc., and one Rev. part of the country they were soon submerged after the
Henry Moore (1751-1844) was friend and biographer Anglo-Norman invasion; but their descendants have
of John Wesley. survived, not however as Moriarty, but as Murtagh,
A number of O’Mores of the Leix sept were officers and this name is fairly numerous in the midlands. The
of the Irish Brigade in France in the eighteenth century. Murtaghs of Ulster and North Connacht, where the
The descendants of one of them, Murtagh O’More, (who name is also found, are in many cases of Scottish origin
went to France in 1691) ranked among the nobility of — in Scotland the form Murdoch is more usual.
France as lords of Valmont. Arms illustrated on Plate XX1.
The family name of the Earls of Drogheda is Moore:
their ancestor came to Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I.
The Moores of Barmeath have been settled there since (O)MORONEY, Mulrooney The Irish surname O
the fourteenth century. The grandson of Saint Thomas Maolruanaidh (i.e. descendant of the follower of
More claims in his Memoir that the family of More in Ruanaidh or Rooney) was that of several septs in
England was a branch of the O’Mores of Ireland: sub- mediaeval times. That of Fermanagh, where they were
sequent research suggests that, though they did indeed powerful before the rise of the MacGuires, survives
come from Ireland, they were of the Barmeath line. to-day in small numbers under the name of Mulrooney.
The transplantations of the remnants of this sept West of the Shannon the name has become Moroney.
to Kerry after their subjugation in Leix, may account As such it is exclusively a Co. Clare surname, though
for the frequency of this name More there now. formerly they were to be found in the north-east of Co.
St. Malachy, who was Archbishop of Armagh from Galway. Arms illustrated on Plate XXII.
1132 to 1148, is described by Gams and other ecclesias-
tical authorities as Malachy O’Moore. His surname, how-
ever, was O’Morgair (now obsolete), which is not, in MORRIS, FITZMAURICE, (Morrison) Though the
fact, an early form of O Mordha. name Morris is essentially English, it has been used, as
Arms illustrated on Plate XXI. also has Morrison, as an anglicized form of 0 Muirgheasa,
a sept of the Ui Fiachrach (Co. Sligo), where, however,
the normal form Morrissey is now rarely met with.
(O)MORIARTY; Murtagh Moriarty is O Muirchear- O Muirghis is an abbreviation of this; Morris is also
taigh in Irish, but nowadays the prefix is never attached used as an abbreviation of Fitzmaurice (in Irish Mac
to this name, though the form O’Moriarty (and indeed Muiris), the Fitzmaurices being celebrated as a branch
occasionally MacMoriarty) is found in old records. of the Geraldines and lords of Lixnaw in Kerry. Fitz-
The sept, which is of the same stock as the O’Donoghues maurice was also the surname adopted by a branch
and the O’Mahonys, has always been associated with of the Prendergasts in Co. Mayo.
Kerry. Their original territory lay on both sides of The family of Morris whose arms are illustrated in
Castlemaine Harbour, but after the Anglo-Norman Plate XXII are of Norman origin. When they first came
invasion their influence was reduced by the uprise of to Ireland they were known as de Marreis, or by its
the Fitzgeralds, in spite of an early alliance by marriage Latin equivalent de Marisco (see Morrissey below).
— O’Moriarty, Chief of the Name, married the daughter In 1485 a branch of this stock settled in Galway City
of a leading Fitzgerald about the year 1210. Neverthe- where they became one of the “Tribes of Galway”,
less the rank and file of the sept remained in the home- and from that date until the submergence of Catholic
land throughout the centuries and in our own time Ireland in Cromwell’s time, they were prominent in the
statistics indicate that ninety per cent of the births commercial and social activities of Galway, though sur-
registered in the name of Moriarty take place in Co. prisingly few of them held municipal office: those who
Kerry. did so are recorded as Mares, Mareis and Maries, but in
The Most Rev. David Moriarty (1814-1877), Bishop no case in the modern form Morris up to 1654, when the
of Kerry, was remarkable for his opposition not only to Catholic Corporation was suppressed.
the Fenians but also to Home Rule. Another notable The Fitzmaurices of Kerry were very prominent in

130
the wars against the Elizabethan invaders in the six- regarding the origin of the Morrisseys of Co. Waterford
teenth century, notably James Fitzmaurice (1530-1579), and south Tipperary, it should be stated that the six-
two Thomas Fitzmaurices (1502-1590 and 1574-1639), teenth century Ormond Deeds and Fiants and also the
and Patrick Fitzmaurice (1550-1600). Of men called “census” of 1659 indicate the presence of O’Morrisseys
Morris the best known is Rev. Francis Orpen Morris there who may have been Gaels or families of Norman
(1810-1893), author of British Birds and other standard stock who assumed the prefix.
works on natural history, who was born in Co. Cork.
Hervey Montmorency Morres (1767-1839), Tipperary-
born officer in the Austrian and the French armies, was (O)MULCAHY, (Muckley) This is O Maolchathaigh
a United Irishman and took a leading part in the 1798 in Irish — cathach means warlike. The prefix O is seldom
insurrection. From Galway there was Michael Morris if ever used nowadays. Mulcahy is a fairly common name
(1827-1901) the judge, who was created a peer in his in south Munster but not elsewhere. It is said to have
old age. Michael Morris, Lord Killanin, President of the originated in south Tipperary. The census of 1659 shows
International Olympic Committee (1972-1980), is that it was numerous in Counties Waterford and south
grandson of Michael Morris, the’ first holder of the Tipperary, and also Limerick and Cork in the seventeenth
title. Arms illustrated on Plate X XII. century. It is remarkable how little is heard of this sept
in mediaeval records or of its modern representatives.
General Richard Mulcahy (b. 1886), close associate of
Michael Collins in the War of Independence and sub-
MORRISSEY As in the case of Morris, the bearer sequently a minister in several Irish governments, was
of the name Morrissey anxious about his forbears, is the best known bearer of the name. Others worthy of
faced with many problems, unless he has a reliable mention are Denis Dowling Mulcahy (1833-1920),
pedigree of, or at least a well recognized tradition about, Fenian and author; Jeremiah Hodges Mulcahy (d. 1889),
his own family. painter; and Hon. Edward Mulcahy (b. 1883), New
The only native Gaelic Irish sept whose name has Zealand cabinet minister: all these were born either in
been anglicized as Morrissey is O Muirgheasa, a branch Co. Tipperary or Co. Limerick.
of the Ui Fiachra: their territory was at the southern An example of the absorption by attraction of a rare
side of Sligo Bay. These are of MacDermot stock, being name in a well-known one is to be seen in Mulcahy,
descended from Muiris, the grandson of a famous which has been used as a synonym of Mulclohy. This
MacDermot, viz. Donogh na mainstreach (i.e. of the name, O Maolchloiche in Irish, belongs by origin to
monasteries). It may be mentioned that MacMuirgheasa Inishmulclohy, Co. Sligo, where it is now usually
was the Gaelic form of their name used by the Fitz- anglicized Stone (by a mistranslation). In Munster, when
maurices of Mayo. However, Morrissey is a name which not made Mulachy, it is Muckley.
is only very rarely to be found in any part of Connacht
to-day: in fact it is chiefly confined to Munster, parti-
cularly Counties Waterford, Limerick and Cork. There (O)MULLAN, (O’Mellan, Mullen) The name Mullen
is, it may be added, a place called Morrisseysland near originated from several very distinct sources. It can be an
New Ross. No Gaelic sept of Morrissey is associated abbreviation of MacMullen, a Scottish surname borne
with Munster or Leinster. There was, however, a very by many of the seventeenth century settlers in Ulster;
powerful family called de Marisco. whose first repre- it can be one of the anglicized forms of the Irish O
sentatives in Ireland were Normans, attached to the Maolain, which is possibly derived from the Gaelic word
house of Ormond, through which they obtained ex- maol (bald). Other forms besides Mullen are Mullin and
tensive grants of land. As is well known, many of the Mullan in Connacht, and Mullane and Mullins in Cork,
Norman families became thoroughly hibernicized, Limerick and Clare. If all these forms, excluding Mac-
like the Powers, the Roches, the Purcells, the Walshes Mullen, were counted as one the name may be included
etc. of that region. The de Mariscos adopted the among the fifty commonest surnames in Ireland. As a
patronymic MacMuiris and in due course this became in historic sept O’Mullan belongs to Co. Galway. The
many cases Morrissey. An early form of the name in eponymous ancestor, Mullan, was descended from a
English is de Marecy. In other parts of the country King of Connacht and was of the same stock as O’Con-
genuine Irish Morrisseys (i.e. O’Morrissey, but in fact cannon. Another sept of O’Mullan or O’Mullen existed
the O is never seen in English in this name) allowed in Ulster (Tyrone and Derry), not to be confounded
themselves to be called Morris and Morrison. Morris, with the planter MacMullens. Chichester, writing in
indeed, is a commoner name in Ireland than Morrissey 1608, mentions O’Mullane as one of the principal septs
(the proportion is eleven to nine). Here I must mention under the O’Cahanes. The most famous of this sept was
a further difficulty: Morrissey is also an indigenous Shane Crosagh O’Mullan, the Derry rapparee, who,
English surname. It is nevertheless reasonably certain having been evicted from his property about the year
that the great majority of Irish Morrisseys are of hiberni- 1729, took to the mountains and for several years
cized Norman Marisco stock. led a fabulous Robin Hood type of existence, but was
While Dr. St. J. Brooks (/.R.S.A.J. lxii, 50) and Dr. eventually hanged with his two sons at Derry jail. A
D. F. Gleeson (J.R.S.A.J. xxi, 132 and The Last Lords third sept of O Maolain is that of Co. Cork. The name
of Ormond, pages 12, 15) both agree with my opinion in this case is usually anglicized as Mullane, or Mullins

131
in Co. Clare. The mother of the Liberator, Daniel (O)MULVIHIL, Melville, Mitchell O’Mulvihil is the
O’Connell, was an O’Mullane and he is said to have anglicized form of O Maoil Mhicil, the eponymous
inherited his distinctive and so-called typical Irish ancestor being so called on account of his devotion to
face from her people, not from his father’s family. St. Michael. The sept was of some importance in
John Mullan (1830-1909), the American explorer mediaeval times, being of the same stock as the Mac-
and pioneer, was the son of an Irish emigrant. Dr. James Brannans, and located with them on the west bank of
Mullin (1846-1920) was probably the most remarkable the Shannon in the modern county of Roscommon;
man of the name: born in extreme poverty, he worked both were styled chiefs of Corca Sheachlainn, or Cor-
on a farm at the age of eleven and later as a carpenter, cachlann. O’Mulvihil and MacBrannan are eulogized
was entirely self-taught, yet became an M.D. and also together in O’Dugan’s famous “Topographical Poem’,
wrote many notable books including A Toiler’s Life. written in the fourteenth century, but the O’Mulvihils
Most Rev. John MacMullen (1833-1883), Bishop of disappear from history at an early date — the last to
Davenport, the Chicago educator and churchman, was find a place in the “Annals of the Four Masters” being
born in Co. Down. Finally, it should be noted that O Gillananaev O’Mulvihil, who was one of the leading
Mealldin, in English O’Mellan, has to a large extent men responsible for the assassination of the son and heir
become, by attraction, Mullen: this is a sept of Co. of the King of Connacht in 1189. In the census of 1659
Tyrone, keepers of St. Patrick’s bell, of whom the best the O’Mulvihils are recorded among the most numerous
known is the Franciscan friar Terlagh O’Mellan whose families of Co. Longford. In modern times the represent-
journal (1641-1647) is a most valuable source of seven- atives of this sept are scattered, being found in places so
teenth century history. widely separated as Kerry, Donegal and Wicklow, but
Arms illustrated on Plate X XII. nowhere in large numbers. The arms illustrated in Plate
XXII are those of the chief representative of the sept in
1874, who was then seated at Knockanira, Co. Clare.
The family acquired that property in 1712 from the Earl
(O)MULLIGAN, Molohan, Mulqueen The name of Thomond. Doon, formerly Doonmulvihil, is a place
Mulligan has in our day acquired a comic connotation on in the civil parish of Inchicronan near Ennis, which
account of Jimmy O’Dea the Irish comedian’s inimitable indicates that the Mulvihil family of Knockanira, just
sketches of ‘‘Mrs. Mulligan the Pride of the Coombe”’. referred to, were established in Co. Clare long before
The sept of O’Mulligan (in Irish O Maolagain), however, that date. Mulvihils are still in Co. Clare. In some places
is of distinguished origin, its chiefs being lords of a terri- the name Mulvihil has been anglicized Mitchell, and in
tory called Tir MacCarthain (in the baronies of Boylagh other Melville.
and Raphoe, Co. Donegal). They were dispossessed in Sir Henry Blackall reminds me that the Mulvihils
the Ulster Plantation of the early seventeenth century. of Knockanira, Co. Clare, altered their name to Mulville.
To-day the Mulligans are chiefly located in Counties There are pedigrees of this family in the Genealogical
Mayo and Monaghan. In 1659 the Muiligans were found Office. Arms illustrated on Plate XXII.
in considerable numbers in the last-named county and
in Fermanagh, and also in the Longford-Westmeath area. (O)MURPHY, O’Morochoe Murphy is much the
In Donegal their name was sometimes changed to commonest surname in Ireland: birth registration statis-
Molyneux, but this is rare there now. Of this sept was tics indicate that of, a population of 4 millions, no less
Charles J. Mulligan (1866-1916), the American sculptor, than approximately 55,000 are Murphys. The name,
who was born in Co. Tyrone. John O’Mulligan, who with which the prefix O is never used nowadays, may be
was Bishop of Leighlin and died in 1431, is also said either O Murchadha or Mac Murchadha in Irish (see
to be of this line. Another Ulster Mulligan of some note MacMurrough, below). It arose independently in several
was Rev. William Mulligan (d. 1883), professor of mathe- parts of Ireland: there are, for example, indigenous septs
matics in Queen’s College, Belfast. Col. James Mulligan so called in Counties Tyrone and Sligo, both these are
(1830-1864), a renowned officer who commanded the unimportant in comparison with the great Murphy clan
Western Irish Brigade on the Federal side of the American of Leinster. This was centred in Co. Wexford. The Chief
Civil War and was killed in action, was of Irish parentage. of the Name is O’Morchoe, an otherwise obsolete form
Father Edmund Mulligan, was was executed in 1643, in English. Birth statistics indicate that Murphy is the
was a noted Cistercian. commonest name in Co. Wexford and it also has first
The name of Hercules Mulligan, George Washington’s place in Co. Carlow. The surname, however, is even more
confidential correspondent, should be added here. He numerous to-day in Munster than in Leinster, particularly
was born at Coleraine in 1740 and died at New York in in Counties Cork and Kerry. This Munster sept, which is
1825. For James Venture Mulligan (1837-1907), born at associated particularly with the barony of Muskerry, Co.
Rathfriland, Co. Down, one of the most notable of Cork, is said to be a branch of the Kinsella section of the
Australian explorers, see Australian Encyclopaedia Vol. Wexford clan. Their arms, however, are quite different
VI, p. 195, and Jack Logan, Northwest Australia, Vol. from those of the Wexford Murphys. The Ulster sept of
II, p. 465. In some parts of the west O Maolachdin has Murphy mentioned above as belonging to Co. Tyrone is
become Mulligan by absorption; but in west Clare it is still numerous but is now more common in the adjacent
found anglicized as Molohan and Mullihan which county of Armagh, where in fact it is first in the statis-
approximate phonetically to the Irish original. tical list. A chief named Flaherty O’Murphy is recorded

132
in the Annals of Tir Boghainne, i.e. the modern barony the Kavanaghs and the Kinsellas descend from
of Banagh in Co. Donegal, so that it will be seen that the Murchadha (Murrough), grandfather of King Dermot
Murphys were and are widespread in Ulster also. MacMurrough; and from his brothers came the
As might be expected in the case of a name as O’Morchoes and MacDavie Mores. The latter, except in
numerous as Murphy the references to prominent the case of the Chief of the Name, who is now styled
persons of the name in the Annals are frequent through- O’Morchoe, all became Murphys and Davises respectively.
out the centuries, both of the Leinster and the Ulster They all belong to County Wexford and adjacent
septs, for the most part to chiefs and soldiers; but there counties. The country south-east of Enniscorthy is still
are others, e.g. Domhnall Dall Ua Murchadha “chief sage known locally as “The Murroughs” and the MacDavie
of Leinster” who died in 1127. Passing on to more More district near Arklow is colloquially called “The
modern times a few names may be selected to illustrate Macmores”’. The original surname is now rare, Mac-
the extent to which the Murphys have contributed to Murrough being seldom found to-day outside Co.
the political and cultural history of the nation. Wexford Dublin. In Irish it is written Mac Murchadha, i.e. son
produced the best known of these: the two Catholic of Murrough. The arms illustrated (Plate XXII) are those
priests who lost their lives in the 1798 Rising — Rev. of the Kings of Leinster, but they are not borne by any
John Murphy (1753-1798) and Rev. Michael Murphy family now, the various branches (Kavanagh, etc.) each
(1767-1798). Of the many Co. Cork Murphys who have having its own distinct coat of arms. MacMorrow (q.V.)
distinguished themselves we may mention John Murphy is a name of different origin.
(1700-1770), better known as Sedn O Murchadha na Arms illustrated on Plate XXII.
Raithineach, last chief of the Blarney bards; Canon
Jeremiah Murphy (1848-1915) and Most Rev. John
Murphy (1772-1847), Bishop of Cork, both of whom (O)MURRY, MacMurry, Murray, MacMorrow, (Gilmore)
were remarkable not only for their scholarship but also A considerable proportion of the Murrays now living in
for the extraordinary fine libraries, including Irish manu- Ireland are of Scottish extraction, particularly in Ulster,
scripts, which they possessed. Marie Louise O’Murphy where they are more numerous than in the other
(1737-1814), beautiful daughter of an Irish soldier provinces. The old Irish surname O Muireadhaigh,
settled at Rouen, was an influential mistress of Louis formerly anglicized O’Murry is now almost always
XV. Her features are immortalized in many paintings Murray. There were several septs so called, of which the
by Boucher, whose model she was. John Murphy (1755- only one of importance after the Anglo-Norman invasion
1836), was a famous sea captain; James Cavanagh was that of Ui Maine. The Chief of the Name as re-
Murphy (1760-1814), first a bricklayer, later an architect, corded in the “Composition Book of Connacht” (1585).
was a leading authority on Spanish, Moorish and Portu- was seated at Ballymurry, their territory being in the
guese architecture; and finally there was William Martin barony of Athlone (Co. Roscommon). These are men-
Murphy (1844-1921), business magnate and leader of tioned about the same time by Carew, who also refers
the employers in the great Dublin strike of 1913. The to O’Murrihie of Ballywiddan in the barony of Carbery,
Ulster Murphys have been less prominent: Arthur Co. Cork: this is a local variant of the name usually
Murphy (1727-1805) was an actor and dramatist of anglicized Murray. Donogh O’Murry, Archbishop of
some note; Rev. James Gracey Murphy (1808-1896) Tuam from 1458 to 1484, a member of this sept, was
was a Hebrew scholar; and Patrick Murphy (1834- responsible for the establishment of that unique eccles-
1862) was remarkable for his immense height, being iastical jurisdiction, the Wardenship of Galway; and
eight feet one inch tall. Many Murphys of Irish emigrant Bartholomew Murray (1695-1767), of Co. Clare, is
families have also been outstanding in various phases of memorable for his benefactions to the Irish College
life in America and Australia. and many appear in the in Paris. In the nineteenth century there were two
regimental lists of the Irish Brigade in the service of leading Irish architects called William Murray: the elder
France. Arms illustrated on Plate XXII. was nephew and associate of Francis Johnston (1761-
1829) of Armagh, greatest of Irish-born architects. Sir
Terence Aubrey Murray (1810-1873), who was born
MacMURROUGH ~ The name MacMurrough is one of in Limerick, was a pioneer pastoralist in Australia and
the most illustrious in Ireland. It is, of course, best built at Canberra the house later converted into the
known as that of the royal house of Leinster — not too official residence of the Governor-General. One of his
happily in the case of Dermot MacMurrough (1110- sons Sir John Hubert Plunket Murray (1861-1940) was
1171), King of Leinster, the abductor of Dervorgilla notable for his care of the natives during his long term
the wife of O’Rourke, Prince of Breffny: it was Mac- of office as governor of New Guinea; the other, Professor
Murrough who sought help from Henry II and thus was Gilbert Murray (1866-1957), of Oxford University,
the immediate cause of the Anglo-Norman invasion. was celebrated as a Greek scholar.
His descendant Art MacMurrough (1357-1417), also The “Composition Book of Connacht” also mentions
King of Leinster, did much to remove the opprobrium MacMurry of Co. Leitrim, the Chief of the Name being
consequently attaching to the name by his continuous of Loghmoyltagh in that county. The present day
and successful resistance to English aggression. Art representatives of that sept, who mostly come from this
MacMurrough was styled Kavanagh. This important sept area, use the name MacMorrow (in the Manorhamilton
became divided into several sub-septs. The MacMurroughs, area this predominantly Leitrim name is now usually

133
written MacMorry). There is another Gaelic name which Nangle in North Connacht where, after the invasion
has been sometimes anglicized Murray, viz. Mac Giolla at the end of the twelfth century, that famous Norman
Mhuire, of the barony of Castlereagh in Co. Down: family became possessed of vast estates. The leading de
Murray is here an abbreviation of MaclIlmurray; but the Angulos adopted the surname MacCostello (q.v.). This
usual form of this in English is Gilmore. does not apply to the Cork branch, which, as noted
above, retained an anglicized form of de Angulo, viz.
Nagle, and this was written de Nogla in Irish. Sir Richard
(O)NAGHTEN, (MacNaughton, MacCracken) There Nagle (d. 1699), who was Attorney General and Speaker
are a great many synonyms for O’Naghten (O Neachtain of the Irish Parliament in 1689, is called Nangle by
in Irish) in modern Ireland, including Naughtan, Naugh- Clarendon — he was a leading man in the temporary
ton, Nochtin, Nocton, Knockton and even sometimes Catholic revival under James II. Another Co. Cork Nagle,
Connaughton (which is actually a different surname); Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle (1757-1830), captivated
while, very strangely, some families of Naughten in King George IV by his “rollicking Irish humour” and
Kerry have become Behane. The English name Norton ability to tell a good story, and became a great favourite
is grotesquely also so used; the Nortons of Athlone, of that monarch. Nano Nagle (1719-1784), who devoted
for example, are descended from Feradach O’Naghten her life to the service of the poor in her native Co. Cork,
(fl. c. 1790). was foundress of the Presentation Order of nuns. Nagle’s
The sept of O’Naghten has, however, no historical Mountains near Ballyhooly, Co. Cork, are named after
connexion with Kerry or with any part of Ireland this family.
outside Connacht, except Co. Clare, and indeed prac- Thomas Patrice Nagle, son of Gerrard Nagle of
tically all the O’Naghtens, Naughtons etc. of the present Cambrai, both of the Irish Brigade, having accepted the
day come from the West. The O’Naghtens of Clare are Revolution, was in 1809 created Baron by Napoleon.
a Dalcassian sept of the same stock as the O’Quinns General James Nagle (b. 1822) was distinguished for
located in the district north of Corofin: one of them his bravery in the American Civil War on the Federal
was elected Bishop of Limerick in 1581. Though still side. The only Nangle prominent in history was Richard
found in Thomond this sept was of comparatively Nangle (d. 1541), Provincial of the Austin Friars, whose
minor importance. The important sept of the name appointment as Bishop of Clonfert at different times
was of Ui Maine and akin to the O’Mullallys. Up to by Henry VIII and the Pope was the occasion of much
the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion they were chiefs controversy and of his own abduction by a rival. Edward
of a territory near Loughrea; after the upheaval they Nangle (1799-1883), zealous Protestant, was termed
settled not far north of this in the Fews (barony of “the apostle of Achill”’. :
Athlone, Co. Roscommon). O’Naghten appears as There is a rare Gaelic surname Mac an Oglaoich which
Chief of the Fews in several sixteenth century manu- belongs to Co. Sligo and was anglicized MacNogly in
scripts, and as late as the eighteen eighties the Naughtons sixteenth century records. Woulfe suggests that this may
of Thomastown Park possessed an estate of 4,829 acres still be extant in the form of Nagle. This is doubtful:
between Athlone and Ballinasloe in the historic the name Nagle is almost entirely confined to Co. Cork,
O’Naghten country. but it is a fact that there are Nangles in north Connacht.
John O’Neachtan (c. 1655-1728), a fine Gaelic scholar Arms illustrated on Plate XXII.
and poet, was of this sept, though his life was spent in
Co. Meath. He and his son, Teig O’Neachtan, or
O’Naughton, were the principal figures’ in a Gaelic (Mac)NALLY, MacAnally The usual form of this name
literary circle in the Dublin of the 1720’s. Some families in Irish is Mac an Fhailghigh, the derivation of which is
there use the form MacNaghten instead of O’Naghten. obscure (in modern Irish failgheach means a poor man).
MacNaughton, as it is usually spelt in the north of These words are pronounced approximately MacAnally
Ireland, is however, a surname of quite different origin: and this is quite a common alternative form of the name
it is that of a Scottish family settled in Co. Antrim. in English. In Connacht, where the name is found in
O’Donovan has valuable pedigree and notes on Mayo and Roscommon, the prefix Mac is usually
O’Naghten in The Tribes and Customs of Hy Many, dropped, the simple form Nally being in use. Woulfe
Appendix G. For collection of O’Naghten poems see says that the family is of Welsh or Norman origin and
Analecta Hibernica No. 3, page 227. This O’ name that — settled in Co. Mayo — they acquired the Gaelic
has no connection with the Scottish MacNaughton; the name now borne by them. This may be true of the Mayo
well known Antrim and Down name Mac Cracken is Nallys; but it is certain that in Ulster, where the name is
a corrupted form of the Scottish MacNeachtain. Henry chiefly found, it is often used as an English synonym of
Joy Mac Cracken (1767-1798), who commanded the the Gaelic Mac Con Uladh, i.e. son of the hound of
United Irishmen at the battle of Antrim, was executed Ulidia (eastern part of Ulster). In this connexion it is
in Belfast his native city. worthy of note that the majority of modern bearers
Arms illustrated on Plate XXII. of the name MacNally or MacAnally (outside the two
large cities of Dublin and Belfast) are found in Counties
Armagh and Monaghan, which are in East Ulster, and
NAGLE, Nangle Nagle, or Neagle, is the form used by this was the case in 1659 when Petty’s census was taken.
the Cork branch of the de Angulos who are called This name appears under the form Knally as a prin-

134
cipal Irish name in Co. Westmeath (Rathconrath barony)
in the “census” of 1659.
The only well-known character in Irish history,
political, cultural and military, of the name is of little
credit to it, for that was Leonard MacNally (1752-1820),
friend and associate of the 98 men, who betrayed them
to the British Government. On the credit side we may
place Most Rev. Dr. John MacNally (b. 1871), illustrious
Archbishop of Halifax, Canada, who was of Irish descent,
and Most Rev. Charles MacNally, Bishop of Clogher
(1843-1864). David Rice MacAnally (1810-1895), who
was a Methodist clergyman, educator, sheriff and local
preacher, is said to have weighed no less than three diplomatist, who was assassinated in 1790 on account
hundred and sixty lbs.!_ Arms illustrated on Plate XXII. of his royalist sympathies. For a note on the name of
the well-known playwright Brinsley MacNamara see
page 40.
MacNAMARA In Co. Clare, the homeland of the Mac Conmara, the Irish form of this name, is derived
MacNamaras, the name is very numerous. In fact in from the words cu (hound) and na mara (of the sea).
everyday speech it is usually abbreviated to simple The forename Cumara was at one time found in conn-
Mac: this is interesting, because another Mac name, exion with the surname Mac Conmara, and was the name
MacMahon, comes first in the numerical list of Co. of the eponymous ancestor of the sept, who was twenty-
Clare names, considerably ahead of MacNamara, which third in descent from Cormac Cas.
has second place, yet the abbreviation is never applied Arms illustrated on Plate XXIII.
to MacMahon. The sept of MacNamara was, after the
O’Briens, the most important and powerful of the
Dalcassians of Thomond. They were hereditary marshals (O)NEILAN, Neylan, Nyland This name is seldom
to the O’Briens and had the privilege of inaugurating found with the O nowadays. It is usually spelt Neilan in
the chief of the O’Briens who was, of course, often a Connacht and Neylan in Co. Clare — the O’Neilans
king. The sept was originally confined to a small terri- being the original owners of Ballyally Castle. It originated
tory, but by the end of the eleventh century they had in Thomond (Co. Clare): three of the name are listed
become lords of Clancullen (which comprises a great as persons of importance in Co. Clare in the “Com-
part of East Clare) and they are so described by the Four position Book of Connacht” in 1585, though they are
Masters many times at various dates between 1099 and not described as chiefs. (Clare being west of the Shannon
1600. The sept in due course became two — the chief was included with Connacht for the purpose of that
of West Clancullen (barony of Bunratty) being Mac- survey). In 1659 they were very numerous in Co. Clare
Namara Fyne (i.e. fionn, fair), and the chief of East and scarcely met with elsewhere. They are still found
Clancullen (baronies of Upper and Lower Tulla) Mac- chiefly in Connacht and Clare.
Namara Reagh (i.e. riabhach, swarthy or grizzled). Other forms of the name, found chiefly in Co.
They were to a great extent dispossessed in the Crom- Galway, are Nilan, Niland, Nyland.
wellian débacle, but one family, resident until quite The O’Neilans — O Nialldin in Irish — have not been
lately at Ennistymon, became Protestants and were prominent in Irish history. One was tanist abbot of
extensive landlords up till the Land Act of 1903. The Clonmacnois (d. 1093). They are seldom heard of again
history of Clare is full of the name MacNamara: among till the sixteenth century when John O’Neylan was
other notable acts they founded the Franciscan Abbey Bishop of Kilfenora from 1541 to 1572; James O’Neylan
of Quin in 1402. was (according to the Clongowes Manuscript), one of the
After a period of obscurity they emerged into fame principal gentry of Co. Clare in 1598 and two others are
or notoriety in the eighteenth century. Donough Mac- also mentioned by the Four Masters, all being Claremen.
Namara (d. 1814), better known by the Gaelic form of Nicholas O’Nelan, abbot of the Augustinian Order in Co.
his name — Donnchadha Rua Mac Conmara — was born Clare, is recorded as living in the diocese of Killaloe
at Cratloe in East Clare, educated as a priest, expelled, in 1613 — seventy years after their house was officially
led a wild life and is one of the best known of the suppressed. Two priests of the name appear in the roll
Gaelic poets. His contemporary, another Clareman, of martyrs for the Faith — Father Daniel O’Neilan,
Admiral James MacNamara (1768-1826) was tried for O.F.M. (d. 1580) and Father Denis O’Neilan (d. 1651).
murdez following a duel over a dog and was acquitted. Baron Patrick O’Neillan was a distinguished general
Thomas “Fireball” MacNamara was a duellist pur sang, in the Austrian Imperial army, having become colonel
whose career in France is reminiscent of the “Three in 1717. Fifteen of the name are mentioned in Frost’s
Musketeers’; he eventually became a highwayman as History of Co. Clare, and many families of the name
well as a Clare rebel and ended on the scaffold about the appear in the 1659 census of Co. Clare. It is thus essen-
year 1710. Two other MacNamaras were noteworthy tially a Clare name even though it is now rather more
in France at the time of the French Revolution, parti- numerous in the Connacht counties to the north of it.
cularly Count MacNamara, naval commander and Arms illustrated on Plate XXIII.

135
O’NEILL, Nihill As has already been remarked under O’Neill (d. 1660) — names too well known in the history
the headings O’Brien and O’Connor, it is impossible to of Ireland to require description here. Less famous but
do justice to these great septs within the limits of this worthy of mention, even in so cursory a sketch as this,
work. The following is a very brief summary of the is Sir Nial O’Neill (1658-1690), whose regiment of
origin and achievements of the O’Neills. dragoons distinguished itself at the battle of the Boyne,
First it should be made clear that although the name where he was mortally wounded. In the century following
O’Neill is inseparably associated with Ulster (the Red that disaster many O’Neills were to be found among the
Hand of Ulster was taken from their arms), there are outstanding officers of the Irish Brigades in the French
several other quite distinct septs of O’Neill which may army. Arthur O’Neill (1737-1816), the blind wandering
be mentioned before the Ulster septs are dealt with. harper, may be regarded as the precursor of Bunting
The O’Neills of Thomond were chiefs of a territory in in the field of Irish traditional music; and John O’Neill
the modern barony of Bunratty: to-day O’Neill is not (1834-1878), was leader of the Fenian invasion in
a common name in Co. Clare, but the Nihills and the Canada in 1867. All these were Ulstermen. The only
Creaghs of that county claim to be of Thomond O’Neill man of the other septs, referred to at the beginning
stock. Dr. Richard Hayes, however, states that the of this section, to make much mark was John O’Neill
Nihills were originally Ulster O’Neills who settled in (c. 1777-c. 1860), who began life as a shoemaker in Co.
Co. Clare after the battle of Kinsale. The name O’Neill Waterford, whence he went to London and became a
is quite numerous in and around Co. Carlow, where an successful dramatist. Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953),
O’Neill sept was situated in the barony of Rathvilly. the American dramatist was son of the American actor
Another O’Neill sept was located in the Decies and its James O’Neill (1849-1920), who was an Irish emigrant.
present day representatives are found in Co. Waterford In that field we may also mention the actress Peggy
and south Tipperary. O’Neill (1796-1879).
The first of the great Ulster sept to bear the surname It may be remarked in conclusion that O’Neill is one
O’Neill was Donell O’Neill, the eponymous ancestor of the very few surnames the spelling of which is
being his grandfather Niall, King of Ireland, who was identical in both the Irish and English languages. In Irish,
killed in a battle with the Norsemen in A.D. 919, not, however, the E is accented.
as might be supposed, the famous Niall of the Nine Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII.
Hostages, though that somewhat legendary and heroic
character was also a remote ancestor. From that time
until the end of the seventeenth century, when Ulster (O)NOLAN _ Nolan, seldom found nowadays with its
ceased to be the leading Gaelic province of Ireland, legitimate prefix O, is the name of a sept of great anti-
the O’Neills figure prominently among the great men quity which has always been associated with that part
of Irish history. of Ireland which lies around the barony of Forth in
The O’Neills were the chief family of the Cinel Co. Carlow (not to be confused with the better known
Eoghan, their territory being Tir Eoghan. Tir Eoghan Forth in Co. Wexford). In pre-Norman days their chiefs,
(modern Tyrone) in early times comprised not only who held high hereditary office under the Kings of
that county but most of Derry and part of Donegal. Leinster, were known as Princes of Foharta (modern
Down to the time of Brian Boru, who reigned from 1002 Forth). After the invasion, though their power de-
to 1014, the Ui Néill, ic. descendants of Niall of the clined, they retained considerable influence.
Nine Hostages, were, almost without interruption, In the sixteenth century a branch of the Nolans
High Kings of Ireland. Their race formed two main migrated to Connacht and became extensive landowners
branches — the northern Ui Néill of Ulster and the in Counties Mayo and Galway, in which counties the
southern Ui Néill, as those who established themselves name is not uncommon to-day. Nolan is among the forty
in Meath were called. The latter did in fact occupy also most numerous names in the country as a whole, the
part of southern Ulster contiguous with Meath. In the great majority of persons so called being found, as might
fourteenth century a branch of the Tyrone O’Neills be expected, in Carlow and the adjacent counties. In
migrated to Antrim where they became known as 1878, however, Connacht landlords named Nolan poss-
Clann Aodha Bhuidhe, from Aodh Buidhe (or Hugh essed over 12,000 acres; but there was no extensive land-
Boy) O’Neill, who was slain in 1283, the term being owner of the name in or near Co. Carlow. There was also
perpetuated in the territorial name Clannaboy or Clan- a small sept of O’Nuallain belonging to the Corca Laidhe
deboy. The attempts made by the English in the six- group. (Possibly the Nolans of west Munster to-day stem
teenth century to exterminate them, which were carried from them). These, however, for some reason not
out by Essex and others with a ferocity and perfidy apparent, were often called O hUallachain — thus in
seldom equalled even in that violent age, were unsuccess- Lynch’s De Praesulibus (1672) the two names are
ful, and O’Neills are numerous there to-day, as they are treated as interchangeable. In this connexion it may be
also in West Ulster. The sixteenth and seventeenth mentioned that, according to Woulfe, O hUallachain
centuries produced the most famous of the O’Neills: is anglicized Nolan in north Connacht. As Knowlan and
among them Con Bacach O’Neill (1484-1559), first Earl Knowland this name is noted in the “census” of 1659
of Tyrone; Shane O’Neill (1530-1567); Hugh O’Neill as numerous in Longford and in the adjacent baronies
(1540-1616), second Earl of Tyrone; Owen Roe O’Neill of Co. Westmeath.
(1590-1649); Sir Phelim O’Neill (1604-1653); and Hugh In Irish the name is O Nualldin, ie. descendant of

136
Nuallan. The derivation of the name is obscure. The and Cavan, has also in some cases curiously taken the
word nuallan in modern Irish means a shout or cry, form Nugent in English. The great majority of Nugents,
but it does not follow that the name comes from that. however, are of the stock referred to above.
In recent centuries few Nolans stand out as being Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII.
particularly distinguished but several not unimportant
persons of the name may be mentioned. Philip Nolan
(1771-1801), an Irish emigrant to America, was one (Mac)NULTY The derivation of many Irish surnames
of the most notorious frontiersmen and contraband is open to doubt, but there is none about that of Mac-
traders of those early days in the West; Most Rev. Nulty: in Irish it is Mac an Ultaigh, i.e. son of the
Edward Nolan (d. 1859), was Bishop of Kildare and Ulsterman. An older anglicized form of the name, now
Leighlin; two Nolans had some success in the literary rare, is MacAnulty. The MacNultys belong to-day as
field, viz. Rev. Frederick Nolan (1784-1864) as a Pro- they have done since the inception of surnames, to
testant theologian and Michael Nolan (d. 1827) as a north-west Ulster — to Donegal, which claims to be
legal writer; John Philip Nolan (1838-1912), of the the most Irish part of Ireland. As might be expected
Co. Galway Nolans, is remembered not so much as a from the location of this sept they were overshadowed
soldier as for his political career during which he came by the O’Donnells, sometimes in association with them,
into conflict with the notorious Judge Keogh and took as in the battle of Desertcreagh in 1281 (a MacNulty
the part of Parnell at the split of the Irish Parliamentary was among the “distinguished slain” there), sometimes
Party. Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII. against them as on the occasion in 1431 when the
O’Donnells are recorded by the Four Masters as making
a predatory expedition against the MacNultys of Tirhugh
NUGENT, (Gilsenan) Though not an indigenous Irish (Co. Donegal). From Derry, on the border of Co.
surname Nugent may be regarded as completely Irish to- Donegal, came Frank Joseph MacNulty (1872-1926),
day, since the Nugents have been important people in American labour leader, whose father Owen MacNulty
Ireland since the twelfth century when they came at was a veteran of the Civil War.
the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, their home The name is also found in Co. Meath but usually it
country being France. They were then called de Nogent, is shorn of its prefix Mac there. I presume these Nultys
i.e. of a place called Nogent in France, where they can are an offshoot of the Donegal MacNultys. Bernard
trace their descent back to A.D. 930. The Nugents were MacNulty (d. 1892), friend of John Boyle O’Reilly, was
one of the Norman families which got extensive grants the founder of the first branch of the Fenian Brother-
of land in Ireland: theirs was in Meath and Westmeath, hood in the U.S.A.
with which they have been identified ever since. The (Mac)Connulty is a form of the Donegal name Mac-
head of the family was created Baron Devlin (a place in Anulty, peculiar to Co. Clare.
Co. Westmeath) in 1486 and in 1621 Earl of Westmeath.
Their descendants are found to-day in every walk of life
and the name is frequently met with in all the provinces (O)NUNAN, Noonan, Neenan The name Noonan,
except Connacht. which is also, but less frequently, spelt Nunan (the pre-
They are now numerous in Co. Cork, where a branch fix O has not been resumed), belongs almost exclusively
of the family established themselves and formed a sept to the province of Munster and particularly to Co. Cork,
in the Irish fashion: their chief resided at Aghavarten where it originated. In modern Irish it is O Nuandin: this
Castle, near Carrigaline. is a corrupt or contracted form of the older O h-Ion-
In Irish history the Nugents have chiefly distinguished mhainedin, of which the anglicised form O’Hinunane,
themselves as soldiers. In the Dictionary of National now obsolete, is approximately a phonetic rendering.
Biography and similar works or reference no less than In early times O’Noonan was chief of a sept in Duhallow
twelve appear as such between the years 1444 and 1862: and the O’Noonans were also connected with the Church
four of these were upholders of the English interest; as erenaghs of the church of St. Beretchert at Tullylease
and eight were either rebels or supporters of the Stuart in the barony of Duhallow. The numerous Munster
cause. Perhaps the most outstanding of these was surname Noonan has to some extent absorbed the rather
Christopher Nugent (d: 1731), who after the siege of rare Clare name Neenan (O Naoidheandin) which,
Limerick in 1691 took service with the French and however, is still found in the western part of the county.
commanded Sheldon’s regiment, later known as The most notable man of the name in modern times
Nugent’s regiment. He took part with James II in the was James Patrick Noonan, (1878-1929), American
1715 expedition to Scotland. In the course of his distin- labour leader, son of an Irish emigrant. In the middle
guished military career he was wounded at least twleve ages William O’Noonan, alias Ouhynaunen, was re-
times. John Nugent (1672-1754), fifth Earl of West- markable inasmuch as at a time when the native Irish
meath, who also served with distinction in James II’s were officially outlaws in English law he was “the
Irish army and in that of France, was the last Catholic King’s surgeon” and 1341 he cured Lionel Duke of
holder of the title. Many other Nugents were prominent Clarence, son of King Edward III, then Viceroy of
among the Wild Geese in France and Austria. Ireland.
The Gaelic name Mac Giolla Seandin, normally
anglicized Gilsenan, that of a sept belonging to Meath

137
(O)PHELAN, Whelan The name Whelan must be (1629-1681), whose labours in his diocese of Armagh
dealt with in conjunction with Phelan, as they are and further afield were tireless, though he lived at a time
anglicized variants of the same Gaelic surname, viz. when to be a Catholic prelate in Ireland was to be a
O Faoldin, which itself has variant forms such as O hunted man: it is hardly necessary to add that his life
Faoiledin and O hAoldin. Whelan is more numerous ended on the scaffold for, after a mockety of a trial in
than Phelan: it alone stands seventy-ninth in the list London, he was hanged, drawn and quartered. The great
of the hundred commonest names in Ireland; with majority of the Plunketts, including the Earls of Fingall
Phelan added the name takes forty-fourth place, with and the Barons of Louth, remained steadfastly Catholic
an estimated population of about twelve thousand throughout successive generations of Penal Code and
persons. In the last year for which such statistics are persecutions; they are indeed remarkable inasmuch as
available 214 births were registered for Whelan and they retained their aristocratic status, though a number
93 for Phelan. Eighty per cent of the latter belonged of them were attainted for their activities on the Irish
to Counties Waterford, Kilkenny and adjacent areas; side in 1642 and 1691. In this brief summary it is not
while Whelans extended further into Wexford and possible to enumerate the many Plunketts who dis-
Carlow. Many, of course, were born in Dublin, but tinguished themselves in the service of their country.
in considerations of this kind the metropolitan area can The best known, in addition to those already mentioned,
be disregarded. It is natural that the present day repre- are Nicholas Plunket, seventeenth century historian;
sentatives of the sept of O Faoldin should be found in Thomas Plunket (1716-1779), successful general in the
the places mentioned, because their chiefs were Princes Austrian army; Patrick Joseph Plunkett (1738-1827)
of the Decies before the Norman invasion, while a French university professor and later Bishop of Meath;
branch of the sept was settled a little further north in John Hubert Plunkett (1801-1869), Roscommon-born
the south-west part of Co. Kilkenny. One of these, John Australian statesman and protagonist of Catholic Eman-
Phelan, was Bishop of Ossory at the time of the Catholic cipation (as indeed were many of his namesakes, in-
resurgence under James II. The gentleman who styles cluding the first Baron Plunket, a Protestant and Lord
himself ‘‘O’Phelan, Prince of the Decies” (a claim not Chancellor of Ireland); Sir Horace Plunkett (1854-1932),
allowed by the Genealogical Office), was born Whelan; founder of the co-operative movement in Ireland; and
the well-known writer Sedn O’Faolain is the son of Joseph Mary Plunkett (1887-1916), poet and revolu-
Denis Whelan. Another distinguished Whelan was Leo tionary soldier who paid with his life for his signature
Whelan, R.H.A. (1892-1956), the portrait painter. Of of the republican proclamation of Easter 1916. All
those using the form Phelan the best known are Edward these, with one exception, came from the Dublin-Meath-
Joseph Phelan, the Director-General of the International Louth area with which the Plunketts have been identified
Labour Office, of Co. Waterford, and Frederick Ross for seven centuries. Arms illustrated on Plate XXIII.
Phelan, a distinguished Canadian soldier. In the United
States, Phelans have been prominent, notably James
Phelan (1824-1892), Leix-born pioneer, and his son POWER _ Though not Gaelic in origin, Power is one of
James Duval Phelan (1861-1930), senator and mayor that class of hibernicized names (like Burke and Walsh)
of San Francisco. Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII. which may be regarded as one hundred per cent Irish.
The name, now one of the most numerous in Ireland —
it is estimated that there are about eleven thousand
PLUNKETT The name Plunkett or Plunket is of Powers in the country to-day — came with the Normans
French origin, not Danish as has often been stated: it in Strongbow’s twelfth century invasion. It is derived
is a corruption of blanchet, derived from blanc, white. from the old French word povre (Latin pauper, poor)
Though not an indigenous Gaelic surname it is one of and was first written le Poer, a form still retained by one
those introduced into Ireland at the time of the Anglo- or two families. The poverty implied was rather that of
Norman invasion which have become exclusively Irish, a voluntary vow than of destitution. The Norman
for Plunkett is not found elsewhere except in the case Powers settled in Co. Waterford where they are still
of exiles of Irish stock. It may fairly be said that it is more numerous than anywhere else: in fact nearly
one of the most distinguished names in our history. half their total is in that county and Power heads the
From the year 1316, when Thomas Plunkett of Louth statistical list for Co. Waterford. The remainder, apart
was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, down to our from the city of Dublin, which contains people from
own time there has scarcely been a generation in which all the provinces, are for the most part in the counties
one or more Plunketts have not been prominent in the which adjoin Waterford, viz. Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny
life of the country, either in the Church or the law or in and Wexford. Baron le Poer was among the great
politics or literature. Taking the Church first we may Norman lords who took part in the thirteenth century
observe that one of the most notable Protestant Arch- occupation of Connacht, and Powers remained in that
bishops of Dublin was William Conyngham Plunket, province under the Burkes. The name, however, does
who was also Baron Plunket. There are, it may be men- not survive in Connacht.
tioned here, no less than three other old peerages in the Though few individuals are actually outstanding,
various branches of the Plunkett family, viz. Fingall, many of the name have held positions of importance
Louth and Dunsany. One of the greatest Irishmen of all in the Church, notably as Bishops of Waterford; and
time was also an Archbishop — Saint Oliver Plunket many are recorded as participating in the age-long

138
struggle against English aggression, particularly in the
seventeenth century when two Powers were members
of the Supreme Council of the Confederate Catholics
in 1646 and later when a number of them fought in
the Irish army of James IJ. Notwithstanding this fact
the leading families of Power succeeded in retaining
a much greater portion of their estates than most of
their fellow-Jacobites.
In the last century Tyrone Power (1797-1841) was
a celebrated Irish comedian; Marguerite Power (1789-
1849), better known as Countess of Blessington, was a
popular novelist in her day. Frank Power (1858-1884),
artist and journalist, was well known during his lifetime
on account of his adventurous association with Gordon
at Khartoum. In our own time Father Patrick Power
(1862-1951), author of History of the Diocese of
Waterford etc., was a notable historian and antiquarian. railway between Dublin and Cork. He was known as
Power’s distillery produces a famous Irish whiskey. Baron of Loughmoe, a title conferred by the First Earl
Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII. of Ormond as Lord of the Palatinate, but this title was
not officially recognized by the Crown. The name is
derived from the Norman-French word porcel, which in
PRENDERGAST, Pender Maurice de Prendergast, turn comes from the Latin porcus. Though Norman,
whose name was taken from a village in Pembrokeshire, the Purcells did not come to Ireland until some years
came to Ireland with Strongbow and was one of the after the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1172, when they
leading Anglo-Norman invaders who obtained extensive became adherents of the great Butler (Ormond) family.
grants of land in various parts of the south and west of In Irish the name is written Puirséil. The Purcells are a
the country. His descendants were seated near Waterford good example of the saying “hiberniores Hibernicis
and in south Mayo, districts in which the name has ipsis”, for not only are they found as Bishops of Ferns
always subsequently been found. In 1598 they are listed and of Waterford and as Abbots of Holy Cross and
as among the leading gentry of Counties Waterford, St. John’s, Kilkenny, but also as staunch fighters in the
Wexford and Tipperary. Some families of Prendergast Irish cause: one, Major-General Purcell, though un-
assumed the name Fitzmaurice at an early date. The successful as a military strategist in earlier engagements,
Prendergasts who assumed the Fitzmaurice name were was so prominent in the defence of Limerick in 1651 as
also called MacMaris; Sir Henry Sidney so terms them in to be excluded from the favourable terms granted to
a despatch of 1576. the defenders generally; and another, Col. Nicholas
The most distinguished man of the name was John Purcell, was one of Patrick Sarsfield’s right hand men.
Patrick Prendergast (1808-1893), author of The Crom- This Purcell was one of the negotiators of the Treaty
wellian Settlement of Ireland and other historical works. of Limerick in 1691. Subsequent to this they were active
Two Sir Thomas Prendergasts (1660-1709 and 1698- as Wild Geese both in the regiment known as Purcell’s
1760), father and son, are noteworthy, though not Horse and in Clare’s Dragoons etc. Other Purcells worthy
praiseworthy from the Irish point of view: the first was of mention are Richard Purcell (c. 1720-1766), who in
a Jacobite who betrayed an anti-William plot in which he his day was a celebrated engraver, and John Baptist
was concerned and subsequently became a brigadier in Purcell (1800-1883), Archbishop of Cincinnati, who was
the English army, being killed at the battle of Mal- born at Mallow. In connexion with him may be recalled
plaque; the son who became a Protestant was noted his brother Father Edward Purcell and the dramatic
for his virulent anti-clericalism. After the defeat of story of the failure of the “Purcell Bank’.
James II these Prendergasts obtained extensive grants of Arms illustrated on Plate X XIII.
O’Shaughnessy lands in Co. Galway, litigation regarding
which dragged on till 1755.
The name Prendergast has been widely corrupted to MacQUAID The origin of the name MacQuaid, of
Pender. which Mac Uaid is the form used in Irish, is obscure. It
has long been well known in Co. Monaghan which is its
principal location to-day. As MacQuaid, Mac Quade and
PURCELL Purcell is usually regarded as an Irish name, MacQuoad it appears frequently in the Hearth Money
though the most famous man so called, Henry Purcell, Rolls for Co. Monaghan and for Co. Armagh (1664-
the composer, was an Englishman. Both English and 1667). In Irish it is MacUaid (son of Wat). It has been
Irish Purcells are of Norman descent, the latter being borne by two notable churchmen: Bernard John Mac-
found mostly in the contiguous counties of Kilkenny Quaid (1823-1909), first bishop of Rochester, U.S.A.,
and Tipperary. The picturesque ruined castle of Lough- whose parents, Irish emigrants, were murdered; and
moe, the seat of the head of the family, is a well-known Most Rev. John Charles MacQuaid, late Archbishop
landmark near Thurles, to be seen from a main line of Dublin.

139
(O)QUIGLEY, Cogley This name is O Coigligh in was an officer in O’Neill’s infantry in King James II’s
Irish, denoting descendant of Coigleach, a forename army in Ireland. Father Peter MacQuillan (c. 1650-
which suggests that its first bearer was an untidy person. 1719) from Co. Derry became a leading Dominican
Although even as late as the year 1800 the form in France, and later prior at Louvain. Many of the rank
O’Quigley was used as its English equivalent, it is seldom and file of the sept remained in Ulster as is evidenced
if ever found nowadays with its prefix O. Synonyms re- by the prevalence of the name in Counties Antrim,
corded by the Registrar-General for different places in Armagh etc., in the Inquisitions, Hearth Money Rolls,
Ireland are Twigley, Kegley and Cogley, but Quigley is 1659 census etc., as well as modern birth indices, voters’
the usual spelling. The sept belongs to the Northern Ui lists and so forth. John Hugh MacQuillan (1826-1879), a
Fiachra and was located in Co. Mayo (barony of Carra). Quaker, was a pioneer of modern dentistry in America.
It became dispersed by the end of the sixteenth century There is some doubt as to the derivation of the name.
and is now widéspread, most of the name belonging It is usually given as either son of Hugelin (diminutive
by birth or recent family ties to the Derry-Donegal- of Hugh), or son of Hudelin (diminutive of Hud), the
Sligo areas, its main habitat also in the seventeenth Irish forms being Mac Uighilin and Mac Uidhilin. Mac-
century, with others in Counties Galway and Louth. Firbis describes the sept as Clan Uighilin. Some authori-
An Ulster sept of the name, in the Inishowen Peninsula, ties, however, make the name a gaelicized version of
should be mentioned: in the “census” of 1659 Quigley son of Llewellyn, but Prof. Curtis, in a critical examin-
is the fifth most numerous name in that barony. Two ation of the subject, rejects this and is convinced that
very notable Quigleys, both priests, should be parti- the eponymous ancestor was Hugelin de Mandeville.
cularly mentioned: Father James O’Coigley or Quigley Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV.
of Armagh, who after many exciting adventures in
France at the time of the French Revolution was hanged
in England on unquestionably tainted evidence in 1798, MacQUILLY, Cox Although Cox is a common English
and Dr. James Edward Quigley, Bishop of Buffalo, name the great majority of our Irish Coxes are of native
whose support of trade unionism in America and success Irish stock, Cox (i.e. Cocks) being derived by translation
in the settlement of strikes there up to the time of his from the Gaelic Mac an Choiligh (son of the cock), the
death in 1915 made him a prominent figure in the alternative form in English being the phonetic MacQuilly.
U.S.A. Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV. This sept is still more numerous in the county of its
origin, viz. Co. Roscommon: they were coarbs of St.
Barry at Kilbarry in that county. There is another in-
MacQUILLAN ~—_ Though MacQuillan is not a name of digenous Irish surname Mac Conchoille, which has
Gaelic origin it came into existence in Ireland and is not also been anglicized Cox in some parts of the country
found elsewhere except among emigrants from Ireland. through a mistranslation — it is more often rendered
The MacQuillans are of Norman-Welsh descent: they as Woods meaning, as it does, son of the hound of the
settled soon after the invasion in the territory called the wood.
Route (Co. Antrim), and were known as Lords of the Sir Richard Cox (1650-1733), though Irish, was an
Route with their chief residence at the Castle of Dunluce aggressive Protestant who espoused the Williamite cause:
until, following their major defeat at the battle of Ora he was a judge and Governor of Cork, but was removed
in 1563 and again in 1580 by Sorley Boy MacDonnell, from the Privy Council because, in spite of his Pro-
they were finally dispersed by the MacDonnells. In 1315 testantism, he opposed the violation of the Treaty of
the MacQuillan chief of the day joined Edward Bruce. Limerick. He later became Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
By that time they had become indistinguishable from The only other Irish Cox of much note was Walter
any native Gaelic sept — in the words of a contemporary Cox (1770-1837), gunsmith and editor of extremist
“they were as Irish as the worst’. They were described newspapers; he was resident for a time in New York.
as Princes of Dalriada and ranked, at any rate in the
fourteenth century, as hereditary High Constables of
Ulster. Their predominant position was consolidated (O)QUINLAN, Quinlevan, Kindellan Quinlan is the
by Sincin Mor MacQuillan, who ruled as Chief from Munster form of the Gaelic O Caoindealbhdin which, in
1390 to 1449. As such they are prominent in the war- Leinster, where the sept originated, was usually anglicized
like activities of the O’Neills, O’Donnells and O’Cahanes as Kindellan, and in modern times as Conlan and
in that province up to the date of the battle of Ora, Connellan (q.v.). They were of distinguished origin,
mentioned above. Rory Og MacQuillan, then Chief of being of the southern Ui Neill, and tne senior line of
the Name, in 1541 declared that no captain of this race the descendants of Laoghaire, King of Ireland in St.
ever died in his bed. The last of the family of note in Patrick’s day. The sept, originally located in nerth
Ireland were Edward MacQuillan (1503-1605), whose Meath, was much reduced by the Anglo-Norman in-
remaining estate was confiscated in the Plantation of vasion, but they retained property there until the
Ulster, and Rory Og MacQuillan (d. 1634), to whom defeat of James II. At that time the form of the name
some of the estate was regranted. He was the last to be in use in Co. Meath was Kindellan and this has been
known as the “Lord of the Route”. Subsequently retained in Spain, the country in which they settled
members of the sept are chiefly met with in France and as exiles. The Kindellans have been prominent in Spain
Spain, in the Irish Brigades. One, Capt. Rory MacQuillan, since then. John Ambrose Kindellan (1750-1822) was

140
a noted general in the Spanish army and General Alfredo
Kindelan was an important member of Gen. Franco’s
Cabinet in that country. The branch which settled in
north Tipperary became Quinlan in English. The Quin-
lans are among the more numerous Irish families in Co.
Tipperary in the 1659 census and do not appear as such
elsewhere in it. Timothy Francis Quinlan (b. 1861), the
Australian politician, was born in Co. Tipperary. The
name is now almost confined to Munster, particularly
Counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary; in Clare it is
also found but under the synonym Quinlevan.
Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV.

(O)QUINN = Quinn is one of the most numerous Irish Columcille in Tory Island. In Sligo the sept was one
surnames, the number of people in Ireland so called at of the “seven pillars of Skreen”, but the descendants
the present day being estimated at seventeen thousand: of these have become scattered. At no time have they
in the list of commonest surnames it occupies twentieth played a prominent part in the political, military or
place in the country as a whole and first place in Co. cultural life of the country: only one is mentioned
Tyrone, though widespread in many counties. Tyrone is by the Four Masters — he was abbot of Durrow in
the place of origin of one of the five distinct septs of 1090, far away from the homeland of the sept.
this name. The most notable were the Dalcassian sept of The usual form of the name in modern Irish is
Thomond, whose territory lay around Corofin, in the O Raithbheartaigh. Mr T. O Raifeartaigh has given
barony of Inchiquin, Co. Clare, and that of Antrim, me the following note: “Etymologically O Robhar-
where the Quinns have long been associated with the taigh and O Raithbheartaigh (both spellings found)
Glens of Antrim. The O’Quinns of Co. Longford were are unrelated. The former is clearly from robharta
also an important sept, being of the same stock as the (a flood tide), hence presumably the three fishes in
O’Ferralls of Annaly. It will be noticed that the place the arms. The latter is rath plus bheartach (prosperity
names Inchiquin, Ballyquin etc., are spelt with only wielder). There were three O’Ravertys on the Hearth
one final N. There are two in Irish — O Cuinn — which Money Rolls of 1663 in my native parish, but O’Raverty
surname is formed from the personal name Conn. At the could come from either Irish form”. There are twenty
present time as a rule Catholic families use two Ns and entries for O’Raverty in the Co. Armagh H.M. Rolls.
Protestants one; but this practice is not invariable now, Roarty is an anglicized form. This surname, though
and was less so in the past. The first of the Dalcassian rare, is still extant in the north-western counties.
sept to bear the surname was Niall O Cuinn, who was Raftery, sometimes confused with Rafferty, is quite
killed at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. a different name: it is O Reachtaire in Irish and belongs
Among prominent men of the name James Quin exclusively to Connacht. It is notable on account of
(1693-1766), the famous actor, and Walter Quin (1575- the blind Mayo folk-poet Anthony Raftery (1784-1835).
1634), the Dublin born poet who was tutor and lifelong Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV.
associate of Charles I, and his son James Quin (1621-
1659), noted singer, may be specifically mentioned.
The Franciscan Thomas O’Quinn was Bishop of Clon- MacRANNALL, Reynolds, Grannell In Reynolds we
macnois from 1252 to 1279, and John Quinn, a Domin- have an example of a fine old Gaelic Irish surname which
ican, was Bishop of Limerick from 1522 to 1551. Thady has been given as its usual anglicized form a common
Quin (1645-1726), of Adare, who was a descendant of English one. In Irish it is Mac Raghnaill, Raghnall being
the Thomond O’Quins, was the grandfather of the first the Gaelic equivalent of Randal or Reginald. The forms
Earl of Dunraven: this peerage is one of the few held MacRannal and Grannell, also used in English, are of
by old Gaelic families, others being O’Brien, O’Callaghan, course, nearer the original. The sept belongs to Co.
O’Daly, O’Grady, MacLysaght and O’Neill. Leitrim: their territory was Muintir Eolais in the southern
Families of O’Quinn settled in France and became half of that county. They remained influential as long
leading citizens both in Bordeaux and Pau. There is a as the Gaelic order survived and indeed up to the end
street called Rue O’Quinn in Bordeaux, indicating the of the seventeenth century, in spite of continual rivalry
importance of the family, which is still extant in that and feuds with their powerful Breffny neighbours the
part of France. Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV. O’Rourkes (with whom, however, they were at times
allied). The “Composition Book of Connacht”’ calls the
Chief of the Name Magranill of Moynish (Co. Leitrim)
(O)RAFFERTY, Roarty, (Raftery) Originally be- and thirty years later Camden, writings of Counties
longing to the adjacent counties of Donegal and Sligo, Leitrim and Longford in 1617, includes them, under
the O’Raffertys are now found in many parts of Ireland, the name of MacGrannell, with the O’Rourkes as “‘down-
though nowhere in large numbers. They are still assoc- right Irish”. O’Dugan’s fourteenth century “Topo-
iated with Co. Donegal where they were coarbs of St. graphical Poem” shows that they were equally prominent

141
in the mediaeval period. Modern statistics indicate that William Redmond (1861-1917), killed in the first Great
Co. Leitrim is still the principal stronghold of the name, War, was also a leading member of that party. At the
nearly half the people in Ireland so called hailing from present time the Redmonds are almost entirely con-
that area. centrated in the three eastern counties of Wexford,
An excellent memoir on the MacRannals in the Wicklow and Dublin.
Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (vol. xxxv) “The Composition Book of Connacht’ (1585) in-
gives much valuable information, particularly about the cludes the name MacRedmond among the leading men
family of Lough Scur Castle, whence came several of Co. Mayo. These MacRedmonds were also of Norman
notable members of parliament as well as James stock but had no connection with the Redmonds of
Reynolds, whose diary (1658-1660) is of great interest. Wexford, MacRedmond being the name assumed by a
The Elizabethan Mac Rannal of this line who was the branch of the great family of Burke. The majority have
first to change the name to Reynolds was known in con- reverted to the surname Burke.
sequence as Mac Raghnaill Gallda (i.e. the English Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV.
MacRannal). Their estates were very extensive: after the
Restoration and the Act of Settlement they were in
possession of no less than 6,660 acres in Co. Leitrim and
1,000 acres in Co. Roscommon.
Quite a number of Irishmen called Reynolds have (O)REGAN _ Regan is listed among the hundred most
distinguished themselves in various fields of activity. numerous Irish surnames: it holds sixty-eighth place with
To the Church they have given Most Rev. Christopher a total estimated population of nine thousand two
Augustine Reynolds (1834-1893), first Catholic Arch- hundred and fifty persons at the present time. Fifty
bishop of South Australia. (Richard Reynolds, Catholic years ago few bearers of the name made use of their
martyr, was not Irish). In science there were Osborne prefix O, but it has been resumed by many families and
Reynolds (1842-1912), famous for his original investi- the voters’ lists, directories etc., now indicate that nearly
gations on mechanical and physical subjects, and James forty per cent are listed as O’Regan. Like most of the
Emerson Reynolds (1842-1920), discoverer of various widespread Irish surnames O’Regan originated inde-
chemical substances. In literature the father of the last pendently in more than one place. As regards origin,
named, Dr. James Reynolds (d. 1866), was a novelist the more important of these was O Riagdin of Counties
and playwright, while George Nugent Reynolds (1770- Meath and Dublin, one of the Four Tribes of Tara, and
1802) was a noted ballad writer and probably the author very prominent in the wars against the so-called Danes.
of “The Exile of Erin’. We must also mention Thomas They were dispersed after the Anglo-Norman invasion
Reynolds (1771-1832), brother-in-law of Wolfe Tone, and their descendants have largely disappeared except in
whose betrayal of the United Irishman was largely Co. Leix, to which area they migrated. The other
responsible for the failure of their plans to free Ireland O’Regan sept, Dalcassian in origin, descends from
from British domination. On the other hand it should Riagan, nephew of the famous Brian Boru: they were
be mentioned that the Reynoldses, especially those of seated in the Limerick area of Thomond. In modern
Lough Scur, were strong supporters of James II and times Regans and O’Regans are found more in Co. Cork
figured largely in the attainders and forfeitures which than in Co. Limerick. Fineen MacCarthy, writing in
followed his defeat. Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV. 1595, claims several families of O’Regan, living in
Carbery, as his kinsmen. Keating, Terry and other seven-
teenth century authorities state that some families in
REDMOND _ Redmond is a name of Norman origin: Co. Limerick stem from the Co. Leix O’Regans; and it
the first in Ireland was Alexander Raymond, who was of is a fact that the arms borne by families located in both
the same stock as Raymond le Gros, one of the best those areas are the same.
known of the Anglo-Norman invaders. The name soon Riagan being pronounced Reegan, the tendency in
became Redmond. The family obtained considerable speech to call it Raigan (it is even spelt O Raogain in
grants of land in Co. Wexford, and throughout the 780 Co. Waterford Irish-speaking districts) can only be
years since they settled in Ireland they have always been explained by the influence of the written word Regan
associated with that county and prominent in its affairs. (cf. Egan correctly pronounced locally Aigan).
the Ortelius map marks them as a sept in the barony of While there have been surprisingly few outstanding
Forth, Co. Wexford. They are found on the Irish side in figures in Irish life called Regan, two are worthy of
the seventeenth centyry, several of the name being individual mention: Maurice O’Regan who wrote a
attainted after 1691. Two were Wexford rebels in 1798: contemporary account of the Anglo-Norman invasion
Rev. John Redmond and Michael Redmond; and the under Strongbow; and Teige O’Regan, the faithful
four Redmonds, notably Chevalier Gabriel Redmond follower of James II, who greatly distinguished himself
(1713-1789), who served with distinction on the Con- at the siege of Claremont and Sligo (Wood-Martin says
tinent with the Irish Brigade were all of Wexford families. he was about 70 years old in 1690).
In the present century John Edward Redmond (1855- The pronunciation of the name of President Ronald
1918), a Co. Wexford landlord, was leader of the Irish Reagan as Raygan is in consonance with that of much of
Party in the British House of Commons up to its ex- Munster where O Raogain rather than O Riagdin is the
tinction on the rise of Sinn Féin, and his brother, more usual Irish form. Arms illustrated on Plate XXIV.

142
O’REILLY, (O’Rahilly). O’Reilly, in Irish O Raghaill-
igh, i.e. descendant of Raghallach, was until recently
much more commonly found without the prefix O.
Reilly and O’Reilly constitute one of the most numerous
names in Ireland, being among the first dozen in the list.
The bulk of these come from Cavan and adjoining
counties, the area to which they belong by origin, for
they were for centuries the most powerful sept in
Breffny, their head being chief of Breffny-O’Reilly and
for a long time in the middle ages his influence extended
well into Meath and Westmeath. At the present time we
find them very numerous still in Breffny, heading as
they do the county list both in Cavan and Longford.
In 1878 O’Reilly landlords possessed over 30,000 acres. families of the name were known both as Mulcreevy and
Five O’Reillys have held the Primacy as Archbishop Rice, not, he adds, as might be expected Bushe. In Mun-
of Armagh, notably Edmund O’Reilly (1606-1669) and ster a few families originally O Maolcraoibhe became
Hugh O'Reilly (1580-1653); five were Bishops of Kil- more naturally Creagh in English, though of course most
more, two of Clogher and one of Derry; and another of the Munster Creaghs are of quite different descent
famous churchman was Edmund Joseph O'Reilly, S.J. (q.v.). The Rices of Munster are Welsh in origin, Rhys
(1811-1878). Edward O’Reilly (d. 1829) compiled a being their name in Wales. Though never numerous,
pioneer Irish-English Dictionary in 1817. In the field of from the fourteenth century onwards they were in-
patriotic endeavour we have John Boyle O’Reilly (1844- fluential in Counties Limerick and Kerry; many appear
1890) the Fenian; Myles O’Reilly M.P. (1825-1880), in town life as provosts, mayors and sheriffs of Limerick,
who commanded the Irish Brigade in the Papal service; Cork and Waterford and as landed proprietors in Counties
and Philip MacHugh O’Reilly (d. 1657), who, having Limerick and Kerry, where they settled near Dingle.
been largely responsible for organizing the rising of 1641 Sir Stephen Rice was among the prominent Jacobites
in his own county of Cavan, fought under Owen Roe who suffered for their adhesion to the cause of James II.
O’Neill and died in exile. In King James II’s Irish army In Co. Limerick the best known family were the Spring-
Col. Edmund O’Reilly’s regiment of infantry included Rices of Foynes, who have provided several prominent
thirty-three officers and Col. Mahon’s regiment sixteen members of the British diplomatic service: the first Lord
officers called Reilly or O’Reilly. Many of these became Monteagle. Thomas Spring-Rice (1780-1866), M.P. for
Wild Geese. Count Don Alexander O’Reilly (d. 1797), Limerick and Chancellor of the Exchequer, was one
after a distinguished military career in the French, of these. The national record of the Rices in Co. Kerry
Austrian and Spanish service ended his days as Governor in the seventeenth century can be judged by the fact
of Louisiana in America. A good deal of unreliable that no less than twenty of them lost their lands as a
material is to be found in print on the subject of the result of the Cromwellian forfeitures. Of this family
O’Reillys. It is therefore advisable to mention that an were James Louis Count Rice (b. c. 1730) soldier in
authoritative article on them appeared in the Jrish the Austrian army and close friend of the Emperor
Ecclesiastical Record Vol. 45—1935, Part 2), from the Joseph II and also renowned as a duellist. Some of
pen of Father Paul Walsh. In it that famous and almost the exiled Rices of Kerry settled in France where they
legendary seventeenth century figure “Myles the Slasher” became successful bankers. The most distinguished Irish
finds a correct place. Rice in modern times in Ireland was Edmund Ignatius
O’Reilly is occasionally found as a synonym of Rice (1762-1844), founder of the Christian Brothers.
O’Rahilly, but this is merely an example of careless The name Rice has also associations with the city of
registration since O’Rahilly, which is O Raithile in Irish, Galway. The pilot traditionally believed to have accom-
has no connexion with Breffny. It is true that the sept panied Christopher Columbus on his voyage of discovery
originated in Ulster but they have so long been associated and even to have sailed to America on his own, was Rice
with Co. Kerry and they must be regarded as Munster- de Galvey alias Penrise.
men, especially as Egan O’Rahilly (1670-1726), greatest
of Munster poets — by many regarded as greatest of all
Gaelic poets — was of a family long established near (O)RIORDAN, Rearden The sept of O’Riordan
Killarney. Arms illustrated on Plate XXV. originated in Co. Tipperary, but they migrated to Co.
Cork at such an early date they can be regarded as
belonging to that county, where they are now far more
RICE, (O’Mulcreevy) The name Rice in Ireland is of numerous than anywhere else. The vital statistics are
two very different origins. The Rices of Oriel, now indeed quite remarkable in this respect: of 170 births
found chiefly in Louth and Armagh — counties com- recorded for a given year 100 were in Co. Cork and 54
prised in that area — are Gaelic, being called O Maol- in the counties (Kerry and Limerick) adjoining their
craoibhe in Irish. The anglicizing of this surname as Rice territory in north-west Cork, where they were “followers
is curious: the word craobh from which the name is de- of the Lords of Muskerry”. The place name Ballyreardon
rived means a branch. In Co. Down in O’Donovan’s time in East Cork indicates that they were also influential

143
in that part of the county. The spelling of this place- In the mediaeval period the name was often written
name will be noted: Reardon is an alternative form of de Rupe (Latin rupes, a rock). In the same way de
Riordan, which in Irish is O Riorddin. The O prefix is Rupefort is equivalent to Rochfort, the name of a
frequently used in English, having been very widely Hiberno-Norman family whose long association with
resumed in the present century: sixty years ago there Co. Westmeath is perpetuated in the village of
were sixteen Riordans for every one O’Riordan, now the Rochfortbridge. Arms illustrated on Plate XXV.
numbers are approximately equal. The sept did not
produce any outstanding figure in Irish history, litera-
ture or art, though several Co. Cork O’Riordans appear
as Irish soldiers in the seventeenth century. MacFirbis (O)ROONEY In modern Ireland this name is seldom
mentions a family of O’Riordan who were historians if ever found with the prefix O to which it is entitled,
of Eile but little is known of these. Rev. Dr. M. since it is O Ruanaidh in Irish. The O’Rooneys were a
O’Riordan was the author of Catholicity and Progress sept of Dromore (Co. Down) and to-day they are prin-
in Ireland, a book which was much discussed when it cipally to be found in Ulster and the neighbouring
appeared in 1906. Professor Sedan P. O’Riordan (1905- county of Leitrim. Several notable ecclesiastics of the
1957), of Cork, was an archaelogist, whose excavations name appear in the history of the diocese of Dromore;
at Tara and elsewhere earned him an international Felix O’Rooney, Archbishop of Tuam, was a famous
reputation. A branch of the O’Riordans, long seated character who fell foul of the ruling O’Connors in
at Derryroe, Co. Cork, settled at Nantes in 1753 and Connacht, but in spite of imprisonment by them lived
later became Peers of France. on till 1238, having resigned the episcopate and become
Arms illustrated on Plate XX V. a monk. The O’Rooneys were a literary family: Ceallach
O’Rooney (d. 1079), was called chief poet of Ireland
and Eoin O’Rooney (d. 1376) was chief poet to Mac-
ROCHE, (Rochfort) Although Roche is not an in- Guinness of Iveagh. This tradition was maintained by
digenous Gaelic Irish surname it can nevertheless be John Jerome Rooney (b. 1866), the Irish-American
regarded as exclusively Irish to-day, being found in Catholic poet, and by the better-known William Rooney
England only in Irish, and more rarely French, emigrant (1873-1901), poet and Gaelic revivalist. There is a place
families. It is French in origin — de la roche (of the rock) called Rooney’s Island in Co. Donegal.
— and came to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman
invasion in the twelfth century. Like Barry, Burke,
Power and Walsh, which are in the same category it
became one of the commonest names in Ireland, MacRORY, Rogers, MacCrory In the sixteenth and
especially in Munster and Wexford, where most of the seventeenth centuries, as evidenced by the Tudor Fiants,
original Roche settlers were located. They are parti- by the census of 1659 and other records, the name
cularly associated with Co. Cork on account of the pre- MacRory was both numerous and ubiquitous; now it
dominance of a powerful family of Roches in the neigh- is rare. This is no doubt partly due to the fact that in
bourhood of Fermoy where a large area of territory the southern half of the country it has been turned into
was long known as Roche’s Country. The head of this the common English name Rodgers or Rogers; it can
family is Baron Fermoy. Roche of Rochesland is listed also be ascribed to the ephemeral nature, outside its
as one of the principal gentlemen of Co. Wexford in own proper territory, to which reference will be made
the sixteenth century. In the Irish language the name is hereunder, of the surname MacRory, i.e. Mac Ruaidhri,
de Roiste. son of Rory. This like MacTeige and MacCormac, was,
The place-name Rochestown occurs six times in at least up to the middle of the seventeenth century,
Co. Wexford, twice each in Counties Cork and Kilkenny frequently used for one generation only. In Co. Clare,
and once each in Counties Limerick, Tipperary, Kildare, for example, many of the people who appear in the
Meath, Westmeath and Dublin; in the last named there is records as MacRory were O’Briens, MacNamaras and
also a Rocheshill. Roche’s Street in Limerick commem- MacMahons. Later some resumed their real patronymic
orates the particular association of the family with that but a larger number became Rodgers, thus obscuring
city. their Dalcassian origin.
Two Roches are especially well remembered. Father The true Gaelic sept of MacRory belongs properly
Philip Roche of Co. Wexford, hanged for his prominent to Co. Tyrone. A branch of this was established in Co.
part in the 1798 Rebellion — in which one Edward Derry where they became erenaghs of Ballynascreen
Roche also participated with distinction — and Sir in the barony of Loughlinsholin. Cardinal MacRory
Boyle Roche (1743-1807), famous for his wit and (1861-1945) was of this sept. MacRorys are still found
“bulls”. Several were noted in their days as writers. in Counties Tyrone and in the Connacht couniy of
One of these James Jeffry Roche (1847-1908), the Leitrim, while MacCrory and MacGrory are synonyms
poet, went to the United States and became American in parts of Ulster.
minister to Switzerland; another James Roche (1770- In the fourteenth century some families of MacRory
1853), author of Essays of an Octogenarian, had a came to Ulster from Scotland as gallowglasses. If any
varied and interesting career in business and politics descendants of these are left they are now indistin-
in Paris, Bordeaux and Cork. guishable from the native Ulster MacRorys.

144
O’ROURKE In mediaeval times the O’Rourkes were thousand five hundred Ryans are really O’Mulryans —
one of the great princely families of Ireland, being Lords this earlier form of the name is, however, now almost
of Breffny and providing more than one King of obsolete: even in the census of 1659 in Co. Limerick
Connacht in the period prior to the Norman invasion. Ryan outnumbers Mulryan by about four to one, and
At various times their territory expanded or contracted to-day there is not one O’Mulryan or Mulryan in the
largely because of the long standing rivalry between the Telephone Directory. The sept of O Maoilriain was
O’Rourkes and O’Reillys in Breffny. At its widest it located in Owney, formerly called Owney O’Mulryan,
extended from Kells, in Co. Meath, to Sligo. After which forms two modern baronies on the borders of
Cromwell, like all great Gaelic families its star declined. Limerick and Tipperary, in which counties the Ryans
Many of its ablest members left the country to become are particularly numerous to-day. They do not appear
valued leaders, particularly military leaders, in European in the records of this territory (formerly belonging to
countries: their descendants are still (or were till Russian the O’Heffernans) until the fourteenth century, but
Communism upset the old order) among the important after they settled there, they became very powerful.
families in Russia and Poland. Joseph O’Rourke, Prince Nevertheless they did not produce any really outstanding
O’Rourke in the Russian aristocracy, was General-in- figures in Irish history or literature, except the romantic
Chief of the Russian Empire in 1700 and Patrick Count character known as Eamonn a ’chnuic, or Ned of the
O’Rourke was a distinguished member of the same Hill, ie. Edmund O’Ryan (c. 1680-1724), Gaelic poet,
service in the middle of the last century, while two gentleman, soldier and finally rapparee, beloved of the
Owen O’Rourkes, both Counts, served Maria Teresa of people, though he met his death through the treachery
Austria from 1750 to 1780. Of those who went to of one of them. Two abbés called O’Ryan were executed
France the most noteworthy were Col. Count John during the French Revolution. Luke Ryan (c. 1750-
O’Rourke (c. 1705-1786) and Father Manus O’Rourke 1789) first an officer in the Irish Brigade, made a huge
(1660-1741) who during a lifetime as an exile wrote fortune as a privateer, was condemned to death and four
voluminously in the Irish language. With a great sept like times reprieved and having been cheated out of his
this, of course, such emigration, though it impoverished money died in a debtor’s prison.
their prestige at home, had little effect on numbers, Many Ryans have distinguished themselves in the
and the Rourkes and O’Rourkes (including such variant United States. Father Abram Joseph Ryan (1838-1886),
spellings as Rorke and Roark) constitute a body of of a Clonmel family, was poet of the Confederates in the
population sufficiently large to find a place in the one Civil War; another Tipperary man, Patrick John Ryan
hundred most numerous names in Ireland. The bulk of (1831-1911) was Archbishop of Philadelphia, and
these, as might be expected, are to be found in the Stephen Vincent Ryan (1826-1896) from Clare, was
counties comprising the old territory of Breffny (i.e. Bishop of Buffalo. In other walks of life the most
Cavan, Leitrim and part of the adjoining counties). noteworthy Irish-American of this name was Thomas
Apart from those O’Rourkes who distinguished them- Fortune Ryan (1851-1928), a millionaire who began life
selves in continental armies and other forms of foreign as a penniless youth.
service, there have been many notable Irishmen of the The Ryans of Co. Carlow and other counties in that
name. Earliest of these is Tiernan O’Rourke, Prince of part of Leinster, are distinct from those dealt with
Breffny (killed in battle 1172), who is best known on above, though both are of the race of Cathaoir Mor,
account of the epoch-making events which followed King of Leinster in the second century. These are O
the carrying off of his wife Dervorgilla by Dermot Riain, not O Maoilriain: the chief of this sept was lord of
MacMorrogh; Brian O’Rourke, inaugurated Chief of the Ui Drone (whence the name of the barony of Idrone in
Name in 1564, had a most romantic career, ending, still Co. Carlow). Arms illustrated on Plate XXV.
without knowing a word of the English language, on
the scaffold in London; his son Brian O’Rourke, also
Chief of the Name, was equally hostile to the English SARSFIELD This name is dear to all Irishmen on
but died a natural death in 1604. In a very different account of the picturesque career of one of our national
sphere Edmund O’Rourke (1814-1879) may be men- heroes. Patrick Sarsfield (1650-1693), the highlights of
tioned; he was in his day famous under the pseudonym whose distinguished military career were the destruction
of Edmund Falconer, as a dramatist and actor-manager. of the Williamite siege train at Ballyneety, the defence
It is probable that William Michael Rooke (1794-1847), of Limerick and his death from wounds at Landen;
the Dublin-born composer, came of a family of Rourkes the year before, he had been made a general in the
whose name had been corrupted to Rooke. French Army. It is interesting to note that the great
Arms illustrated on Plate XXV. popularity of the christian name Patrick dates from the
time of Patrick Sarsfield. (See, however, discussion on
this point in Chapter V above).
RYAN, O’Mulrian Ryan is amongst the ten most There were two main branches of the Sarsfield family
numerous surnames in Ireland with an estimated popu- seated in Counties Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Patrick
lation of twenty-seven thousand five hundred. Only a Sarsfield, who was Earl of Lucan, belonged to the
very small proportion of these use the prefix O. Subject former. The first record of the name in Ireland is
to one exception, to be noticed later in this section, it is Willielmus de Sharisfeld who appears in the Pipe Roll
safe to say that the great majority of the twenty-seven of Cloyne (Co. Cork) in 1252, though it is claimed that

145
Thomas de Sarsefeld, chief standard-bearer to King There were three Irish-American authors of note, viz.
Henry II, was in Ireland in 1172. Unquestionably they John F. Scanlan (b. 1839), Co. Limerick Fenian and
obtained grants of land in Co. Cork about 1300 if not poet, his better-known brother Michael Scanlan (b.
earlier, (branching to Lucan in Co. Dublin somewhat 1836, Co. Limerick), author of Jackets Green, The
later) and they are represented to-day by a leading Fenian Men etc.; and William J. Scanlan (1855-1898),
family in Co. Cork, whose archives are lodged in the actor, singer and song writer. Rt. Rev. Mgr. James
National Library. The Chevalier Col. Edmund Sarsfield Donald Scanlan (b. 1899) was Bishop of Dunkeld and
(b. 1736), an Irish Brigade officer who adopted the Vicar Delegate to the U.S. Forces in Britain.
unusual course of embracing the principles of the Arms illustrated on Plate XXV.
French Revolution, was one of this branch. Field-
Marshal Jacques Hyacinthe Viscount de Sarsfield (1717-
1787), and Col. Guy Claude Comte de Sarsfield (1718- (O)SCULLY, Scullion Though originally a West-
1789), were of the Munster branch which, it should be meath sept, as early as the twelfth century the Scullys
added, had a seat at Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. A family (in Irish O Scolaidhe) were driven by Anglo-Norman
of this branch settled at Nantes in 1653. In 1746 five of pressure to Co. Tipperary and may be regarded as be-
the six sons of Francis Sarsfield, of Doolin, Co. Clare, longing to Munster — birth statistics place them chiefly
were serving in the French army. Patrick Sarsfield’s only in Co. Cork to-day. A branch of the family retained
son, Col. James Francis Sarsfield (d. 1719), was an its lands in Co. Dublin up to 1256 when the property
officer in the Spanish army‘and later in that of France. of William O’Scully passed into ecclesiastical possession.
A large rock at Cullen near Ballyneety is still known On leaving Delvin (Co. Westmeath), one branch settled
as Sarsfield’s Rock in commemoration of the exploit at Lorrha in north Tipperary where they became erenaghs
mentioned above. Arms illustrated on Plate XXV. of the church of St. Ruan. It was no doubt an offshoot
of these which gave its name to Ballyscully, a place on
the other side of the Shannon. Another branch of the
(O)SCANLAN, O’Scannell There are at least two same sept settled near Cashel in south Tipperary in the
quite distinct septs whose descendants are now known seventeenth century. Scully’s Cross, unlike many family
as Scanlan. One is O Scannldin of Munster and the other memorials, may be said to add to the beauty of the
Mac Scannldin of Oriel (Louth), neither of which has Rock of Cashel, in which famous ecclesiastical ruin the
retained the prefix O or Mac in modern times. The latter Scullys have the privilege of interment.
are perpetuated in the place name Ballymascanlon near Scully is used sometimes in north Connacht as a
Dundalk. The widespread distribution of the O’Scanlans synonym of Scullion or Scullin (O Scollain). Scullin
is indicated by the fact that there are six Ballyscanlans is now rare, but Scullion is fairly numerous in north-
in Ireland as well as a Scanlansland and a Scanlan’s east Ulster. The O’Scullions were erenaghs of Bally-
Island. Two of these are in Co. Clare and one in Mayo, scullion in the deanery of Rathlowry, diocese of Derry.
which lends colour to the statement that there was also The best known Scullys were Tipperary men. James
a north Connacht sept of O’Scanlan. Further evidence Scully was proprietor of Scully’s Bank at Tipperary,
in support of this is supplied by the records of the one of the few private banks to weather the financial
Registrar-General, which show that after the Kerry- crises of 1820 and 1825. It is of interest to record
Limerick-Cork area most Scanlan births are reported that this very reputable institution was acquired by
from Clare and Sligo. In this connexion the returns of John Sadlier of scandalous and notorious memory.
the 1659 census are interesting: in that year the majority Denis Scully (1773-1830), political writer and Catholic
of people called O’Scanlan and O’Scannell were located advocate, and his son Vincent Scully (1810-1871),
in those very areas. At that time it would appear that well-known Irish politician and author, were of the
O’Scannell was often used as a synonym of O’Scanlon same Kilfeacle family. James Scully (b. 1865), American
even in Munster. The “Composition Book of Connacht” poet, was born in Co. Cork. Vincent Scully (b. 1900),
(1585) uses the form Scanlan in its survey of Co. Sligo. Canadian cabinet minister, was born and educated in
The MacScanlans appear to have almost died out as Ireland.
hardly any Scanlan births were reported from the James Henry Scullin (1876-1953), one of Australia’s
provinces of Leinster and Ulster. The Scanlans belonging most notable Prime Ministers, was born in that country
to Co. Sligo and Co. Donegal are really O’Scannells — an of a Catholic Irish family — his father was from Derry.
instance of a common name absorbing a rarer one — for Five other Australian Prime Ministers were of Irish
example Most Rev. Patrick O’Scanlan, Bishop of birth or parentage, viz. Joseph Benedict Chifley (1885-
Raphoe (afterwards Archbishop of Armagh 1262-1272), 1951), who was son of Patrick Chifley and Mary Ann
was also called O’Scannell. A Tipperary-born bishop of Corrigan (a native of Co. Fermanagh) and grandson of
modern times Dr. Lawrence Scanlan (1843-1915), Bishop another Patrick Chifley, of Thurles, Co. Tipperary;
of Salt Lake City, is remembered in America on account Francis M. Forde (P.M. 1945) whose family came from
of his amicable relations with the Mormons of that Ballinaglera, Co. Leitrim; Joseph Aloysius Lyons (1879--
place. In Ireland the name is chiefly associated with a 1939) from Co. Galway; John Joseph Curtin and Arthur
most tragic event, the Scanlan murder in Co. Limerick Fadden.
in 1819, which was the theme of several novels and
plays, the best known of which is The Colleen Bawn.

146
(O)SHANNON, O Shanahan, Gilshenan, Giltenan The
Gaelic names of three distinct Irish families became
anglicized as Shannon or O’Shannon. First there is
O Seandin (descendant of Senan, a personal name) of
which we know little beyond the fact that it was associ-
ated with Counties Carlow and Wexford, where, however,
the name is now rare. Another derivation from the same
personal name is Mac Giolla t-Seandin (son of the
follower of St. Senan), which, though normally angli-
cized Giltenan, has become Shannon in Co. Clare. The
cognate Mac Giolla Seandin anglicized Gilshenan etc.,
the name of a Tyrone-Fermanagh sept, is not rendered
Shannon in recent times; but the census of 1659 (in
which prefixes Mac and O were often confused) gives their more powerful neighbours the MacRannalls, and in
O’Seanan as one of the principal Irish names in the 1473 the latter destroyed their dwellings by fire and
district around Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, at that slew several of their leading men.
date. A further complication arises insomuch as in Co. They remained steadfastly Catholic: one, Cormac
Clare, where, with Belfast, the name Shannon is found Shanley, is among the priests enumerated in a Penal
most plentifully, it is a synonym of Shanahan (in Irish Law presentment for Co. Leitrim in 1714. Except for
O Seanachdin). This is a case of contraction due to the Irish born Canadian poet, Charles Dawson Shanly
English influence: English surveyors and law clerks (1811-1875), whose two brothers, Walter and Francis,
(being like many English of the present day inclined were noted engineers in Canada, the name has seldom
to silence an internal H) at the time of the Act of been prominent in modern times.
Settlement and again after the Williamite confiscations Arms illustrated on Plate XX V.
wrote down Irish names as nearly as they could phoneti-
cally, hence Shanahan was recorded Shannon. The
O’Shanahans were a Dalcassian sept of sufficient im- O’SHAUGHNESSY _ The O’Shaughnessys (in Irish O
portance to have a recognized chief in early times: of Seachnasaigh) were a sept of considerable importance
the clan Ui Bloid, his territory lay between Bodyke and in that part of Co. Galway known as the barony of
Feakle in Co. Clare where the name still survives; but in Kiltartan; indeed we may say are, rather than were, for
the year 1318 he and his followers were dispossessed around that area the greater number of persons of the
by the MacNamaras and in the fourteenth century they name are still concentrated. They have an illustrious
became dispersed all over Munster. Curiously enough, origin, being of the southern Ui Fiachrach, descended
though one would expect less foreign influence in the from the famous King Daithi, the last pagan King of
west, the form Shannon is normal in Clare, but Shana- Ireland. In the eleventh century they supplanted their
han is commoner in the other Munster counties. The kinsmen the O’Cahills and also the O’Clerys as the prin-
total number of births recorded is approximately the cipal sept of Ui Fiachra Aidhne which was co-extensive
same for Shannon and Shanahan (i.e. sixty per year with the diocese of Kilmacduagh: they are recorded as
each). chiefs there from 1100 onwards and their territory is
It should be noted that the surname Shannon is un- described in the “Composition Book of Connacht”
connected with the name of the principal river in Ireland. (1585) as O’Shaughnessy’s Country.
The name does not appear frequently in the history They do not figure prominently in the history of
of the country or among its notabilities in the cultural the country until the seventeenth century. Sir Dermot
sphere. The well known London portrait painter Charles O’Shaughnessy whose great-great-grandfather had, as
Shannon (1863-1937), was presumably of Irish ex- Chief of the Name, so far forsaken the Gaelic order
traction. A prominent Labour leader and writer in our as to fall in with the policy of “surrender and regrant”
own day was Cathal O’Shannon and, in America, Wilson and accept a knighthood from Henry VIII, joined the
Shannon (1802-1877), the governor of Ohio, made his Confederation of Kilkenny. As a result his estates were
mark as lawyer and diplomat. confiscated under the Cromwellian régime. Though
possession of a considerable portion was regained at
the Restoration much of it was once more lost in the
(Mac)SHANLY The prefix Mac of the name was Williamite forfeitures, for the chief of the day was again
dropped as early as the middle of the seventeenth cen- found on the Irish side. However, the O’Shaughnessy
tury; cccasionally, since that time, O has been prefixed influence remained strong in south Galway for at least
to it, but quite erroneously, as it is truly a Mac name, another generation for we find in a case relating to
Mac Seanlaoich in Irish. In modern Irish seanlaoch O’Shaughnessy lands in 1731 their opponents appealing
means old hero. The sept is of Co. Leitrim, the chief for a transfer of venue on the grounds that no jury in
being known as MacShanly of Dromod. One Donncahy Co. Galway would give a verdict unfavourable to that
MacShanly is described in 1404 as a wealthy farmer of family. As was the case in so many of the great Irish
this place — his father, Murray, being “servant of trust” families the last Chief of the Name, William O’Shaugh-
to the King of Connacht. They were often at war with nessy (1674-1744), served in the Irish Brigade: he was

147
colonel of Clare’s regiment and died in France, having twenty years. Daniel Shee (1777-1836) was an orien-
attained the rank of marshal after almost fifty years talist who was expelled from Dublin University for
of active service, which began in King James’s army at refusing to give evidence against his friends among the
the Boyne. United Irishmen. John Dawson Gilmary O’Shea (1824-
A branch of the Kiltartan O’Shaughnessys settled 1892) was an American historian of note, whose father,
in Co. Limerick in the sixteenth century where their a leader in Irish-American affairs, went to the U.S.A. in
descendants are still living. One family of this branch 1815. The murder of the twelve year old boy Denis
changed their name temporarily to Sandys. Sir John Shea in 1851 is a shocking commentary on the evils of
(“Big John’’) O’Shanassy (1818-1883), distinguished landlordism at that period. The name O’Shea is of course
himself as an Australian statesman and ardent Catholic; intimately associated with the fall of Parnell.
while Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy (1809-1889) Arms illustrated on Plate X XVI.
of the Limerick branch, was a pioneer of telegraphy
as well as an eminent surgeon.
The sacred crozier of St. Colman, reputed to be used (O)SHEEHAN, Sheahan Sheehan is one of Ireland’s
as a means of inducing defrauders to give up illicitly very numerous surnames: combining the alternative
acquired goods to their rightful owners, was in the spellings Sheehan (eight per cent) and Sheahan (twenty
possession of the O’Shaughnessy family from the time per cent), it holds the seventy-fifth place in the list
of Bishop O’Shaughnessy of Kilmacduagh (d. 1223) for thereof, with an estimated total population in Ireland
several centuries: it is now in the collection of the to-day of about eight thousand five hundred persons
National Museum of Ireland. of the name. Of these the great majority were born
For pedigree notes see The Tribes and Customs of in Co. Cork or, on its borders, in the adjacent counties
Hy Fiachrach, App. B. of Kerry and Limerick. The name should be Sheehan
Arms illustrated on Plate XXV. rather than Sheahan because in Irish it is O Siodh-
achain, said to be derived from the word siodhach
(peaceful) but Celtic scholars doubt this. The sept
(O)SHEA, Shee O'Shea is included in the list of fifty originated as a Dalcassian one, having a chief resident
most numerous surnames in Ireland with an estimated in Lower Connello, Co. Limerick, but, as stated above,
number of nearly twelve thousand persons so called, the passing of the centuries finds their modern rep-
if we include Shea, Shee and O’Shee, (variants of the resentatives somewhat south of this. It is seldom met
same name) in the total. In Irish it is O Séaghdha, ice. in English with its prefix O.
descendant of Séaghdha: this word means hawk-like Although the name has little present-day association
and hence dauntless. The O’Sheas are primarily a Kerry with Connacht it should be stated that there was in
sept. They were Lords of Iveragh but their power de- mediaeval times a sept of the Ui Maine called O’Sheehan:
clined there from the twelfth century onwards, though they were hereditary trumpeters to O’Kelly, the
not their numbers, for it is there that the great majority O’Lonergans being the harpers to the same leading chief.
of O’Sheas are found even at the present day. Some of O’Sheaghyn, mentioned in the Fiants of 1543 as Chief
the leading members of the sept migrated to Co. Tipp- of his Nation in southern Co. Galway, was not, as might
erary and we find Odoneus O’Shee recorded as Lord of be supposed, an O’Sheehan: O’Sheaghyn is there the
Sheesland in Co. Tipperary in 1381. In the next century somewhat grotesque attempt of a foreign official to
their sphere of influence moved to the adjoining county write down the name O’Shaughnessy.
of Kilkenny: Robert Shee was Sovereign (i.e. chief The two most distinguished persons of the name in
burgess) of the city of Kilkenny in 1499, and the well Irish life have both been Catholic priests, viz. Patrick
known family, now represented by the Poer O’Shees of Augustine Sheehan (1852-1913), universally known
Gardenmorris and Sheestown, Co. Kilkenny, come into as Canon Sheehan, author of My New Curate etc., and
prominence there about that time. Of the so-called Michael Sheehan (1870-1945), Archbishop of Sydney,
Ten Tribes of Kilkenny the Shees (the only ones of who was associated with Ring College and the revival
Milesian blood), were the most influential; the Rothes of the Irish language.
and the Archers were next in importance (the others Arms illustrated on Plate XXVI.
were Archdekin, Cowley, Knaresborough, Langton,
Lawless, Ley and Ragget). The form Shee and O’Shee is
based on the anglified pronounciation of Shea (cf. O’Dea (Mac)SHEEHY This name is now peculiar to Munster,
and Dee) and is not met with often outside Co. Kilkenny. though it is not found there before 1420 when the first
Sir William Shee (1804-1868), M.P. for Kilkenny was of the family came to Co. Limerick, where they took
the first Catholic judge in Ireland since the Revolution service with the Earl of Desmond and established them-
of 1690. Capt. Robert O’Shea was a devoted follower selves near the town of Rathkeale. They are first heard
of Prince Charlie and was with him at Culloden. He was of in Ireland as gallowglasses, and as such they fought
an officer of the Irish Brigade in France. At least five with distinction in many battles, having come to Ireland
others of the name (O’Shee in France) were distinguished in the fourteenth century from Scotland, (where they
officers. The son of one of them became a peer of were a branch of the MacDonnell clan). Apropos of the
France. Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) was the character of the MacSheehy gallowglasses it is on record
President of the Royal Irish Academy (London) for that Manus ne Cleggan MacShene, captain of gallow-

148
glasses, received £7.15.6% Irish as “head money” for Denis Sheridan (b. 1612) assisted Bedell to translate the
the head of Mallanchy (MacClancy) chief of his name, Bible into Irish and his son William Sheridan (1636-
one of O’Rourke’s chief allies in 1539. The most spec- 1711) was Protestant Bishop of Kilmore. We must also
tacular of the engagements in which they took part was mention Rev. Thomas Sheridan (1687-1738), an author
the sack of Kilmallock in 1591 when, with the Mac- best remembered now as the intimate friend of Dean
Sweeneys, under James Fitzmaurice, it took three Swift; and another Thomas Sheridan (1647-1712), a
whole days and nights to remove the treasures of that close follower of James II; while his son, yet another
town. Later, when engaged in the 1642 war in Co. Thomas Sheridan (1684-1746), was tutor in exile to
Limerick, they are noticeable for their savage treatment Prince Charles, the “Young Pretender’, and took part
of their prisoners. The supposed derivation of their with him in the “Forty-Five”, as did his nephew
name Mac Sithigh, from the Irish adjective sitheach Chevalier Michael Sheridan (1715 - c. 1775). Lastly, we
(peaceful) would thus seem to be inappropriate. have General Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) the
Though the census of 1659 shows that the name well-known and successful commander in the American
was then always written with the prefix, the Mac was Civil War. He, like nearly all the others cited above, was
subsequently dropped and the name is now always a Co. Cavan man. Arms illustrated on Plate XX VI.
found simply as Sheehy, though a few isolated families
have “resumed” an O, calling themselves O’Sheehy,
which is a solecism. The Mac was still retained in the (O)SHIEL, Shields By origin and by the test of
eighteenth century, especially among exiles. Seven present-day distribution of population, O’Shiel is an
MacSheehys were prominent in France. Dr. John Mac- Ulster name. In Irish O Siadhail, it is usually anglicized
Sheehy (1745-1815) was physician to the French court, as Shiels, Sheils, Shields or Sheilds rather than O’Shiel,
before the Revolution, and, a few years later, Brian (or and these forms are chiefly found in Counties Donegal,
Bernard) Mac Sheehy (1774-1807) went to Ireland in Derry, Antrim and Down. Though claiming descent
1796 to prepare for Wolfe Tone’s expedition: he was from Niall of the Nine Hostages, the O’Shiels were
killed beside Napoleon, whose aide-de-camp he was, known as a medical family, rather than as a territorial
at the battle of Eylau. John’s uncle, Patrick MacSheehy, sept. They became physicians to several great chiefs in
was killed at the battle of Grenada in 1779 after dis- various parts of the country. The most famous of these
tinguished service in the French army; and another, was Murtagh O’Shiel, hereditary physician to Mac-
chevalier John Desmond Louis MacSheehy (1783- Coughlan, who was killed in 1548. An important branch
1867), also attained high honours in the same service. of the family was settled in MacCoughlan’s country with
Father Nicholas Sheehy (1728-1766) who was parish a seat at Ballysheil (in the parish of Gillen, Offaly). The
priest of Clogheen, Co. Tipperary, is noteworthy for two most notable men of the name were of this branch:
the fact that he was singled out by the Ascendancy as Richard Lalor Sheil (1791-1851), founder of the
champion of the Whiteboys, and was hanged for an Catholic Association and second only to Daniel
allleged murder with which he cannot have been O’Connell in the struggle for Catholic Emancipation;
associated. Arms illustrated on Plate XX VI. and his brother, Sir Justin Sheil (1803-1871), soldier,
diplomatist and staunch Catholic. Two others prom-
inently identified with the Catholic cause in America
(O)SHERIDAN~ The Sheridan family originated in were Senator James Shields (1806-1879), a Tyrone man,
Co. Longford, being erenaghs of Granard, but later and Father Thomas Edward Shields (1862-1921). Three
moved to the next county — Cavan — where they centuries earlier Connach O’Shiel, Abbot of Ballysodare,
became devoted followers of the powerful O’Reillys. who was appointed Bishop of Elphin by Henry VIII in
The name is O Siridedin in Irish, ie. descendant of 1545, rejected the new doctrines till his death in 1552.
Siridean, a personal name the derivation of which is After the Jacobite defeat several families of O’Shiel
uncertain. While Cavan is the county in which they settled in France. One of these (of Nantes) was admitted
are still to be found in greater numbers than elsewhere, to the ranks of the French nobility in 1775.
the Sheridans are now dispersed widely throughout Recently the name was intimately associated with the
every province, though less in Munster then elsewhere. stage and particularly the Abbey Theatre — George
The prefix O has been entirely dropped since the seven- Shiels being one of its most prolific playwrights. William
teenth century. Shiels (better known as Barry Fitzgerald) before going to
The Sheridans have been chiefly notable for their Hollywood made his name as an actor in that Dublin
achievements in the literary field. The most famous, of theatre. Arms illustrated on Plate XX VI.
course, was Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) the
Dublin-born dramatist and orator, long a prominent
member of the English parliament; his mother Frances SKERRETT The Skerretts of Ballinduff, Co. Galway,
Sheridan (1724-1766), was also a successful writer, and Finvarra, Co. Clare, have now died out in the male
as was his brother Charles Sheridan (1750-1806); and line — the last representative being Rev. Hyacinth
yet another member of this remarkable literary family Heffernan Skerrett, a priest. They were extensive land-
was Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788) who was also one owners in both those counties eighty years ago. Some
of the leading actors of his day. These do not complete junior lines survive elsewhere, but the name is now very
the list of Sheridans prominent in the literary sphere, for rare. It is included here because the family was one of

149
the “Tribes of Galway”. Of English origin it appears of ‘the Young Pretender” in his Rebellion of 1745.
under the guise of Huscared, and subsequently Scared, Since his time the name has been made famous by many
as early as 1242, when they held lands in Connacht O’Sullivans and Sullivans. In the field of literature
under Richard de Burgo. In 1378 we find the name Owen Roe O’Sullivan (1748-1784) and Tadhg Gaolach
as Scared, alias Scaret: in that year one of them was pro- O’Sullivan (d. 1800) were two of the best of the eight-
vost of Galway; by 1414, when another of the name eenth century Gaelic poets; Humphrey O’Sullivan (1780-
held that office, it had become Skeret. After that it 1837) kept a most interesting diary in Irish which has
occurs intermittently in the lists of mayors and sheriffs been partially published by the Irish Texts Society; the
up to 1642, and they were listed as Irish Papists in the brothers A. M. Sullivan (1830-1884), and T. D. Sullivan
return made under the Act of Settlement of proprietors (1827-1914), as well as being authors of note, were
in 1640. Twelve years after that date, two Skerretts were leading Nationalist M.P.’s, the former being a Young
among those townsmen who refused to sign the articles Irelander in 1848. On the stage Barry Sullivan (1821-
of capitulation at the end of the siege of Galway. Two of 1891), and Charles Sullivan (1848-1887), were cele-
the “tribe” were Archbishops of Tuam: Nicholas brated actors, and Maureen O’Sullivan is famous to-day
Skerrett, who was expelled from the see in 1583, and in the same sphere, while Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-
Mark Skerrett, who held it from 1756 to 1775. 1900), of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, was of Irish
descent. If we add, from a very different sphere, John
L. Sullivan (1858-1918), perhaps the best known pugilist
(O)SULLIVAN In Irish O’Sullivan is O Stileabhain. of all time, we have recorded but a tithe of the
The derivation of the name is in dispute among scholars. O’Sullivans of note to be found not only in Ireland
There is no doubt that the root word is suil (eye), but itself but also in the Irish Brigades, in the French
whether it is to be taken as one-eyed or hawk-eyed must Revolution (on both sides) and in the history of the
be left an open question. While not quite as numerous United States. Arms illustrated on Plate XXVI.
as Murphy and Kelly, Sullivan, which is by far the
commonest surname in Munster, comes third in the list
for all Ireland. Almost eighty per cent of the Sullivans (Mac)SWEENEY _ The statement that the MacSweenys
(or O’Sullivans) in Ireland to-day belong to the counties are of the same race as O’Neill is somewhat misleading
of Cork and Kerry, the remaining being mostly of Co. because, though it is true that their eponymous ancestor
Limerick, or of the city of Dublin, in which, of course, was Suibhne O’Neill, this man was a chieftain in Argyle,
families from all the four provinces are found. Thus and the MacSweenys who later established themselves
the O’Sullivans, as is almost always the case with the as three great septs in Tirconnell (Donegal) did not do so
great Gaelic septs, are still concentrated in or near their until the fourteenth century — there is no mention
ancient homeland. of them in the Annals before 1267 when both the Four
It was not until after the Anglo-Norman invasion that Masters and the “Annals of Connacht” record the death
the O’Sullivans came to the fore. Their origin, however, of Murrough MacSweeny, who was grandson of Suibhne.
is illustrious: descended from Eoghan (Owen) Mor, (The name is Mac Suibhne in Irish.) He was one of the
the father of the famous Oilioll Olum, they were, with famous MacSweeny gallowglasses. This word (galloglach)
the O’Callaghans, the MacCarthys and the O’Keefes, one denotes a paid fighting man retained permanently as
of the leading families of the Munster Eoghanacht. such by an Irish chief, often (though not necessarily)
Some at least of them were lords of a territory near brought over in the first instance from Scotland.
Cahir prior to the invasion: from 1200 onwards, Although soldiering was their regular occupation this did
however, they are to be found in the extreme south-west not prevent them becoming an Irish sept in the usual
of Munster. There they became very numerous and sense, or rather in this case, three kindred septs, viz.
powerful, dividing into a number of branch septs of MacSweeny Fanad, MacSweeny Banagh and MacSweeny
which O’Sullivan Mor and O’Sullivan Beare were the na dTuath, commonly called MacSweeny of the Battle-
most important. The former had his principal castle at axes, though the words na dTuath actually mean “of the
Dunkerron on the shore of Kenmare Bay, the latter was Districts” (in Tirconnell). A branch of the first of these
lord of the modern baronies of Beare and Bantry. migrated to Munster, where about the year 1500 they
Though seldom appearing in any of the Annals before followed their hereditary profession under the Mac-
1400, they were prominent in the sixteenth century. Carthys, and became possessed of territory and fortified
Outstanding at that period was Donal O’Sullivan Beare castles in Muskerry (Co. Cork).
(1560-1618), hero of the siege of Dunboy and parti- MacSweeny (also spelt MacSweeney and MacSwiney,
cularly famous for his almost incredibly hazardous often without the prefix Mac) is now regarded almost
march to Ulster after the disasters of the battle of more as a Cork-Kerry surname than as a Donegal one,
Kinsale and the capture of Dunboy. His nephew, Philip for though still common in its original territory in
O’Sullivan Beare (1590-1660), was a soldier in the Ulster, it is to-day more numerous in the south. To this
Spanish army, but is better known as a historian: his branch belonged Terence MacSwiney (1879-1920), Lord
Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Compendium recounts the Mayor of Cork, whose death in prison after a seventy
events of the Elizabethan wars as told to him by his day hunger strike did much to focus world attention
uncle and other participants. From a junior branch came on the struggle for Irish Independence. (This date,
Col. John William O’Sullivan (b. 1700), close companion (1879), is correct. The date 1883 usually given for

150
the birth of Terence MacSwiney actually refers to
another man of the same name). Many of the Tirconnell
MacSweenys had a place in Irish military history from
the fourteenth century till the early seventeenth, when
Ulster, up to that time the most Irish and independent
province of the country, was subdued. In modern times
up to 1916 Irish professional soldiers have had to find
scope for their talents abroad. There were, it is true,
no less than eleven officers called MacSweeny in James
Il’s army in Ireland, but after this brief opportunity
of fighting on their native soil we have to look for them
in the Irish Brigades in the service of various continental
powers. Both Ulster and Munster MacSweenys con-
tributed their quota. Thomas William Sweeny (1820- Minister and one of the very few persons of Irish name
1892), leader of the Fenian raid into Canada, was born to be a Knight of the Golden Fleece (the most exclusive
in Co. Cork. order in Christendom). The name of his son Heinrich
The MacSweenys do not figure prominently in the was removed from the roll of Viscounts on account
literary or ecclesiastical history of the country. One of of his having fought against Britain in the first World
the nineteenth century Connacht poets mentioned by War. His only son and heir uses his Imperial title of
Hyde was a MacSweeny, and Terence MacSwiney, as Count only.
well as some plays, wrote Principles of Freedom, which Two Co. Louth Taaffes are notable in the literary
was published posthumously. field. Rev. Denis Taaffe (1753-1813), as well as being
Arms illustrated on Plate XX VI. a prolific writer, was a co-founder of the Gaelic Society;
he was excommunicated in 1790, became a Protestant
clergyman, fought on the side of the United Irishmen
TAAFFE Taaffe was originally a Welsh name signify- and was wounded in 1798, and finally returned to the
ing David (cf. the modern pet name Taffy). In Irish it Catholic Church. John Taaffe (1787-1862), poet and
is rendered Tath, pronounced Taa and, according to commentator of Dante, was of the circle of Byron and
O’Donovan, often so spelt. Settling in Co. Louth soon Shelly. Arms illustrated on Plate XX VI.
after the Anglo-Norman invasion, the Taaffes rapidly
attained a position of considerable importance in the
country and, though they never became numerous like MacTIERNAN, MacKiernan No less than thirty-three
so many of the Norman immigrants, they continued to MacTiernans are mentioned in the “Annals of the Four
be one of the most influential families in Ireland. The Masters”, practically all of them Chiefs of Teallach
ancestor of most of the Taaffe lines was Sir Nicholas Donnchadha (modern Tullyhunco, in the county of
Taaffe whose grandson, Richard Taaffe, was Sheriff Cavan) or their relatives. Though not much information
of Dublin in 1295, and in 1315 Sheriff of Co. Louth. is given about their exploits, the mere recording of so
His son, John Taaffe — a Franciscan — was Archbishop many obituaries indicates the importance of the sept
of Armagh. Several other descendants of Sir Nicholas throughout the three centuries from 1250 to 1550. The
were Sheriffs of Louth in the fourteenth, fifteenth and name is still found chiefly in the Cavan-Leitrim area
sixteenth centuries. Their principal property at Bally- but generally without the prefix Mac; when the Mac
bragan was forfeited in the confiscations which followed is retained MacTernan is now the usual form. Another
1641: before that time a branch of the family had sept of MacTiernan held territory in the north-eastern
migrated to Co. Sligo where their descendants are still part of Co. Roscommon in mediaeval times. Their origin
living. The Taaffes were consistent supporters of the is different from the Tullyhunco sept, being descended
Stuart cause and the head of the Sligo branch was from Tiernan, grandson of Turlough Mor O’Connor,
ennobled as Viscount Taaffe and later Earl of Carling- King of Ireland, while the Cavan sept is a branch of the
ford. Nine of the name were in the army of James II O’Rourkes. This being so, it is of interest to note that
in 1690, two of them being killed; one at the siege of the large estate of Hugh MacTernan of Heapstown
Derry, the other at the battle of the Boyne. The third House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, in 1878 lay for the most
Earl of Carlingford and fourth Viscount, Francis Taaffe part in Co. Leitrim.
(1639-1704), was the celebrated Count Taaffe of the The name in Irish is Mac Tighearnain (derived from
Austrian Empire in which service he became a field- tighearna, a lord). It is also spelt with the T aspirated
marshal and received many honours. His nephew Nicholas — MacThighearnain — which was phonetically anglicized
Count Taaffe (1677-1769), also an Austrian field-marshal, MacKiernan. The Chiefs of Tullyhunco were occasionally
was even more famous as a military commander. This called MacKiernan instead of MacTiernan. To-day the
illustrious branch of the family remained in Austria. two names, including their variants with and without
The tenth Viscount was Chamberlain to the Empire the Mac, are about equal in numbers, and Kiernan is
and in 1860 established before the British House of numerous in the same area as Tiernan. The latter is
Lords his right to the Irish title. His brother Edward sometimes confused with Tierney, but there is actually
(1833-1912), the eleventh Viscount was Imperial Prime no connection between them.

151
 In his Ordnance Survey letters (Co. Cavan) O'Donovan Father Richard Henry Tierney, S.J. (1870-1928), editor
gives a pedigree of this family. of America, belonged to a Co. Tipperary family; Dr.
In modern times the two best known people of these Michael Tierney, President of University College, Dublin,
names are associated with America: Frances Christine came from-Co. Galway. The famous annalist Tighearnach
Fisher Tiernan (1846-1920), wife of James Tiernan, was not an O’Tierney, but of the race of the O’Breens.
Catholic novelist and devoted supporter of the Con- Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII.
federates in the Civil War; and Francis Kernan (1816-
1892), Democratic senator (Kernan is also a synonym
of Kernaghan). At home Most Rev. Edward Kernan (d. TOBIN Though Tobin is not an indigenous Gaelic
1844) was Bishop of Clogher for over twenty years. Irish name the family may be regarded as completely
Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII. hibernicized. Originally of Aubyn in France, they were
first called de St. Aubyn. They came to Ireland in the
wake of the Norman invasion and by 1200 they were
(O)TIERNEY, (Tiernan) The most important of the settled in Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny, whence
original O’Tierney septs was that of Co. Mayo, where they spread in course of time to the neighbouring
their chiefs were lords of Carra. The name is now very counties of Waterford and Cork. While not really
scattered, being found in every county of Munster and numerous compared with some others in the same
Connacht, while it is rare in Ulster, outside Donegal. category, such as Walsh, Roche and Power, they are
In Mayo, Tierney and Tiernan have been used as still to be found to-day in considerable numbers in the
synonyms and cases of this are also reported from Co. counties mentioned above, but very few in any other
Clare. Both O’Tierney (O Tighearnaigh) and O’Tiernan part of the country. The Tobins became so influential
(O Tighearndin) are derived from the Irish word tigh- in Co. Tipperary that in mediaeval times the head of
earna, lord. Many examples of the remarkable family the family was known as Baron of Coursey, though
pride of the O’Tiernans of Co. Mayo are recorded. this was not an offically recognized title. Clyn in his
Tierney is much more numerous than Tiernan: 78 births Annals states that in the fourteenth century the Tobins
were recorded for the former compared with 26 for the were a turbulent sept more dreaded by the English
latter in the last year for which statistics are available. settlers than the native Irish. The place Ballytobin near
While Tierneys cannot be assigned definitely to a parti- Callan (Co. Kilkenny) tooks its name from them. No
cular area in the way most Gaelic families can be placed, outstanding person of the name appears in the pages
it may be said that the name is chiefly associated with of Irish political, military or cultural history, but James
the Counties Galway, Limerick and Tipperary. They Tobin represented Fethard in the Parliament of 1689.
were undoubtedly firmly established as a territorial Tobin appears frequently as a name in the Ormond
family, if not an indigenous sept, in Upper Ormond, archives and there have been also one or two minor
for in the Ormond Deeds Fearnan O’Tyernie (i.e. poets in the family. Several Tobins were among the
O’Tierney’s country) is several times mentioned. As Wild Geese. A branch of the family, returning to the
early as 1273 there was a Florence O’Tierney, Bishop of country of its origin, became established at Nantes
Kilfenora, and in 1372 Cornelius O’Tierney became where so many Irish emigrant families settled. The
Bishop of Kerry. An O’Tierney monument in St. Nicholas best known of this branch was Edmund, Marqués de
Church, Galway, is dated 1580. The only Tierney in the Tobin (1692-1747), who was killed in action in the
1691 attainders was of Galway. The arms illustrated in War of Austrian Succession while in the service of Spain.
Plate XXVII were confirmed in 1748 to a Co. Limerick Another branch of the Irish Tobins settled in Newfound-
family of Tierney stated in the patent to have had “long land and have prospered there.
user thereof’. The best known Tierney was George Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII.
Tierney (1761-1830), the English statesman, whose
father was a Limerick man. The most remarkable were
the brothers Matthew Tierney (1776-1845), and Edward O’TOOLE, (Toal) |The O’Tooles are remarkable for
Tierney (1780-1856). The sons of a small farmer in Co. their unremitting resistance to English attempts to
Limerick, both attained astonishing success in their conquer Ireland from the late twelfth century, when the
respective careers: Sir Matthew, beginning as an apothe- Anglo-Norman invasion took place, down to the end of
cary’s apprentice at Rathkeale, rose to be one of the the seventeenth century, when the country was finally
leading doctors in England and Physician in Ordinary subdued. Nor is the name absent from the Roll of
to the King; Sir Edward, who inherited his brother’s Honour in 1798. Their territory, though near Dublin,
baronetcy by special patent, remained in Ireland, where the seat of government, was admirably suited to resis-
he not only attained the lucrative appointment of Crown tance on account of its wooded and mountainous
Solicitor for Ulster but also acquired under the will of nature: they possessed an area co-extensive with the
Lord Egmont, whose agent he was, the extensive Egmont small diocese of Glendalough, and it is of interest to
estates in Co. Cork. The extraordinary finale of this recall the fact that their chiefs exercised what practically
story, which is full of dramatic incidents and reads more amounted to the right of nominating the Abbots of
like romantic fiction than fact, was that some years after Glendalough and the bishops of that diocese up to the
Sir Edward’s death the will in his favour was challenged, time it was united to the Archdiocese of Dublin.
and eventually the estates reverted to the Egmont family. Laurence O’Toole, who was afterwards canonized, was

152
one of these abbots. In 1171, though he was Archbishop as a sept at an early date but scattered families of the
of Dublin at the time, he took up arms against the name have remained in that area till the present day.
Anglo-Norman invaders. Individual O’Tooles who distin- The Tracys of Co. Cork were descended from a younger
guished themselves in the wars against England are too branch of the royal house of Munster and are of the
numerous to particularize, and this is also the case with same stock as the O’Donovans of west Cork, where, as in
officers of the Irish Brigades in the service of France. the former case, they are still to be found. A branch of
O’Tooles also served other European powers in the these settled in Co. Limerick. Finally, in Co. Leix,
eighteenth century. One of the latter may, however, Tracys were Lords of Slievemargy until dispersed by
be specially mentioned for his part in the dramatic successive invasions: traces of these are to be found no
abduction — or rescue — of Maria Clementina Sobieski doubt in the place-names Ballytracy and Tracystown in
of Poland prior to her marriage to James III (the “Old Co. Wexford, but the name is not common there now.
Pretender”), for which exploit Capt. Luke O’Toole Rory O’Trassy was Bishop of Ferns in the twelfth
and his companions were personally decorated by Pope century. The name O’Tressy occurs as of Cloncurry (Co.
Clement XI. Most of the O’Tooles of the present day Kildare), in the “Red Book of Ormond” under date
are found in Dublin city and county and the adjacent 1304.
county of Wicklow. There are also an appreciable Two Tracys made their mark in America, viz.
number in Counties Galway and Mayo, where a branch Nathaniel Tracy (1751-1796), son of an Irish emigrant,
of the O’Tooles was established at an early date — some who was one of the chief financiers of the Revolution,
authorities regard these as a separate sept. The O’Tooles and Benjamin Franklin Tracy (1830-1915), lawyer,
of Connacht are, according to Hardiman, of dual origin: soldier and secretary of the Navy, who was also of Irish
O’Toole of Inisturk a branch of the O’Malleys, O’Toole descent. At home two writers, Thomas Tracy (b. 1820),
of Omey descended from immigrants from the Leinster poet, and Father William Tracy, S.J. (b. 1840), author of
sept. In Irish the name is O Tuathail. A minor sept in Irish Scholars of the Penal Days, and also John Joseph
southern Ulster so called have anglicized it as Toal, a Tracey (1813-1873), painter, may be mentioned.
well known surname in Co. Monaghan.
Apart from St. Laurence O’Toole (1132-1182) and
the twelfth to eighteenth century soldiers noticed above, (Mac)TRAYNOR ~The Gaelic Ulster surname Mac
one member of the sept, though not a credit to it, Thréinfhir — son of the strong man, or champion — is
had an interesting career, viz. Adam Duff O’Toole, who anglicized Traynor, also spelt Treanor and Trainor,
ended by being burned alive in Dublin in 1327, having without the Mac, though the prefix is retained in the
been condemned to death for his advocacy of blas- variant MacCrainor, which is phonetically more correct,
phemous doctrines. It was with Felim O’Toole that since the T is aspirated in the Irish form of the name.
Hugh O’Donnell took refuge in Glenmalure after his While MacCreanor is the form of the name which occurs
escape from captivity in Dublin Castle in 1590. Capt. in the Co. Armagh Hearth Money Rolls of 1664, in the
Luke O’Toole was one of the Irishmen who were Co. Monaghan rolls of like date it is MacTreanor. Apart
guillotined as aristocrats during the French Revolution from Dublin city, Traynors are chiefly found in the
terror. Laurence O’Toole (b. 1722), of Fairfield, Co. districts between Monaghan, Armagh and Dungannon.
Wexford, an officer in the Irish Brigade in France, Sometimes the English surname Armstrong is used (by
had eight sons, all of whom served in the French army. quasi-translation) as a synonym for Traynor.
The eldest of these. Col. John O’Toole (d. 1823), was
created a Count and he is the ancestor of the present
Count O’Toole of Limoges. O’TREHY, Troy Though not numerous in Ireland the
Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII. name Troy is not uncommon in Co. Tipperary and
surrounding areas. The location of this small sept (which
originated in Co. Clare but did not remain there) was in
(O)TRACY It is easy to be misled in dealing with the Clogheen district of Co. Tipperary: their association
the surname Tracy, for it is borne by an ancient and with that part of the country is perpetuated in the place-
noble English family (Barons Sudeley), who are de- name Ballytrehy. O’Trehy is an older anglicized form of
scended from Saxon ancestry. Their surname, however, the name in use as late as the seventeenth century, but
is not Saxon, having been acquired from a female now very rare: O’Trehy is a phonetic rendering of the
Norman line who were called after Traci, a place in Irish O Troighthigh, presumably derived from the Irish
France. The English place Bovey Tracy derives its name word troightheach meaning a foot-soldier. The name in
from that family. There were also Anglo-Irish Tracys — the 1659 census is spelt Trohy and it appears among the
Visccunts Rathcoole, and baronets in Co. Limerick. more numerous names in the baronies of Eliogarty and
So far as modern Ireland is concerned it is safe to Ikerrin, Co. Tipperary. Another place-name is Castletroy,
say that few if any of the people called Tracy (Treacy now a suburb of Limerick. The name was closely associ-
being a common alternative spelling in Ireland but not ated with that city and appears very frequently in its
elsewhere), are of English origin. There are three distinct earliest records. Henry Troy was Provost of Limerick
families of O Treasaigh (anglice Tracy etc.) recorded in 1197. In 1198 the first mayor and sheriffs were
in the old genealogical manuscripts. Of these, that of chosen: between that date and 1463 no less than
south-east Galway, akin to the O’Maddens, was dispersed twenty-one Troys held one or other of those offices.

153
 The best known Irishman so called was Most Rev. and has no connexion with a similar English name pro-
Thomas Troy (1739-1823), Archbishop of Dublin: nounced Thin. A notable member of the Clare sept was
he was noted for his strong and forcibly expressed views Andrew Joseph Thynne (1847-1927) who as lawyer,
in opposition to popular Irish sentiment, e.g. his censure politician and soldier was a prominent figure in Queens-
of the priests who took part in the 1798 Rising, his land, Australia, for more than forty years.
denunciation of the Whiteboys and his advocacy of the The most noteworthy of the Tullys was Father
Union; he was also a co-founder of St. Patrick’s College, Fiacre Tully, O.F.M., who in the years 1625-1631 was
Maynooth. The well-known American painter of horses extremely active in Rome in the Irish interest. The
was not of this stock: his father was a Frenchman called Floods of Co. Kilkenny are said to be of English ex-
de Troye, and this family is also found in Ireland, where traction. To this family belonged two notable politicians:
it has been gaelicized as de Treo. Sir Frederick Flood (1741-1824) and Henry Flood
— Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII. (1732-1791), both prominent as Volunteers and
opponents of the Union, the latter one of the out-
standing personalities of eighteenth century Ireland. The
TULLY, MacAtilla, Flood This name is fairly common distinguished Rev. Dr. Peter Flood (d. 1803), President
in Counties Galway and Cavan but rare elsewhere of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, on the other hand,
(except in the city of Dublin where, of course, names give that measure some support. William Henry Grattan
from all parts of Ireland are to be found). It was formerly Flood (1867-1928), author of the History of Irish Music,
MacTully, and the form MacAtilla is used to-day in some was a noted composer of liturgical music.
places which suggests that the name in Irish was Tully, alias Tally, is also the anglicized form of the
MacTuile or Mac a’tuile, meaning son of the flood; and it Irish surname O Taithligh borne by a sept located near
is a fact that the surnames Tully and Flood were at one Omagh, Co. Tyrone, of which, however, little trace
time interchangeable and that what has been termed a remains to-day. They were erenaghs of Devenish.
mistranslation may indeed be a translation. Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII.
In the Elizabethan Fiants we find Dionysius Flood
alias Donogh O’Multilly. O’Multilly, spelt O’Moltolle in
another case, is O Maoltuile in Irish. It has been stated (O)TWOMEY The name Twomey, usually without
by usually reliable authorities that MacTuile is a corr- the prefix O, is now, as always, predominantly associated
uption of O Maoltuile and that the latter is the real with Co. Cork. When found elsewhere it is often spelt
name of the celebrated medical family, but the form Toomey. In the census of 1659 O’Twomy appears as
Mac Tuile appears in a seventeenth century manu- the second most numerous surname in the barony of
script which is a copy by a well-known scribe of a Barretts, Co. Cork, Murphy being then the commonest
thirteenth century manuscript. The original, written by there. The most distinguished man of the name, however,
an eye witness of the inauguration of Cathal O’Connor, Sean O Tuama (1706-1775), was born and lived all his
last King of Connacht, describes MacTully (Mac Tuile) life at Croom, in the neighbouring county of Limerick:
who was present as O’Connor’s physician. The MacTullys there he and his wife kept a publichouse which was the
were in fact hereditary physicians not only to the meeting place of the Maigue Gaelic poets, he himself
O’Connors but also to the O’Reillys of Breffny. This — “O’Twomey the gay” — being the most distinguished
accounts for the modern distribution of the name given of them.
above. The place-name Tullystown near Granard is
associated with the Breffny branch of the family. The
Tullys listed in the 1691 attainders are all of Co. Galway WALL The name Wall is found in considerable
and the leading family whose arms are illustrated on numbers in that part of Munster which lies between
Plate XXVII are of that county. The same arms are used Limerick and Waterford, and in the counties of Leinster
by the Floods of Co. Kilkenny. which adjoin this. The name is common in England also.
Some Floods are of English extraction, but in Ireland It is of Norman origin: its earliest form is du Val, i.e.
they are mainly O Maoltuile or Mac Maoltuile, abbrevi- of the valley, hence the form de Bhal in Irish. The Walls
ated to Mac anTuile or MacTuile, anglicized MacAtilla have been in Ireland since the thirteenth century and
or MacTully as well as Flood. Tuile means flood, but when they first appear in Irish records they were called
probably it is here for toile-genitive of toil, will, i.e. the de Vale, alias Faltaigh; O’Donovan states that Faltagh
will of God. was the usual English equivalent in his day — a hundred
O’Thina is reported from Co. Galway (Cong district) years ago. An alternative of de Vale was de Wale. Wale,
as entered in a birth registration by a family usually which we would now pronounce Wayle, was, up to the
called Flood. The Irish in this case is O Tuine, for end of the seventeenth century pronounced Wall, just
O Tuile, which is a colloquial contraction of the orig- as the verb to fall was often written fale, and thus the
inal form. (See above). present form of the name came into general use (cf.
O’Thina has no connexion with the surname Thynne. Smale — Small, Sale — Saul).
This Co. Clare name is there pronounced Tyne and Though the name Wall is now rare in Connacht
was formerly so spelt, e.g. Dermot O’Tine of Kilshanny and Ulster, it should be mentioned that families of the
(the homeland of this Irish sept) whose outlawry as name were well established in the western province in
a Jacobite was reversed in 1699. It is O Tiemhin in Irish, the sixteenth century and compilers of the “Composition

154
Book of Connacht” treated them as an Irish sept, naming
Walter Wale, alias the Fealtach, of Droughtie, Co.
Galway as chief of the name.
From the fourteenth century to the twentieth Irish
Walls have made the name an honoured one. Three of
them were bishops in the fourteenth century, notably
Stephen de Wale, or Vale, Bishop of Limerick (1360-
1369) and of Meath (1369-1379), and also Lord High
Treasurer of Ireland. Richard Wall (1694-1778), Spanish
war minister, son of Matthew Wall of Kilmallock, was
a famous man in his adopted country; Joseph Wall
(1737-1802), who was born in Co. Leix, achieved
notoriety in India and was hanged for his cruel conduct
while British governor there; Patrick Viscount Wall, Kilkenny), at Ballykileavan (Co. Leix), at Ballyrichmore
one of the Carlow Walls, was a notable figure at the (Co. Waterford) and also at Bray and Carrickmines near
court of Louis XIV and was murdered in 1787. Four Dublin. References to men of the name are very
close relatives of his were outstanding officers in the numerous in both national and local records: they
Irish Brigade. At home, Edmund Wall (c. 1670-1755) appear as sheriffs, judges, army officers etc., usually on
was one of the Gaelic poets of the Jacobite period; the side of the King (which of course meant attainder
Rev. Fr. Charles William Wall (1780-1862) was famous in the seventeenth century) but not always — two for
as a Hebrew scholar; Father Patrick Wall (c. 1780-1834) example were killed ‘in rebellion against Queen
was the constant patron of the Co. Waterford Irish scribe Elizabeth”.
Thomas O’Hickey; and more recently, Fr. Thomas Wall The pedigrees of the Tirawley (Mayo) Walshes was
was a popular figure of the War of Independence on compiled by Lawrence Walsh in 1588. He states that
account of his defiance of Sir John Maxwell, commander- they are descended from Walynus, a Welshman who
in-chief of the British forces, in which he had the full came to Ireland with Maurice Fitzgerald in 1169 and
support of Dr. O’Dwyer, Bishop of Limerick. Both that this man’s brother Barrett was the progenitor of
Father Tom Wall and Rev. Charles Wall, mentioned the Barretts of Tirawley (q.v.).
above, belong to Co. Limerick. The many famous bearers of the name include
Arms illustrated on Plate X XVII. Rev. Peter Walsh (1618-1688), pro-Ormond opponent
of Rinnuccini and author of “The Loyal Romon-
strance”, for which he was excommunicated and
WALSH, Brannagh Only three surnames (Murphy, expelled from the Franciscan Order; John Walsh who in
Kelly and Sullivan) exceed Walsh in numerical strength 1604 wrote the beautiful Gaelic “Lament for Oliver
among the population of Ireland. It is found in every Grace”; Edward Walsh (1805-1850), and John Walsh
county and is particularly strong in Mayo, where it has (1835-1881), both National School teachers and poets;
first place, and also in Galway, Cork, Wexford, Waterford Most Rev. William John Walsh (1841-1921), one of the
and Kilkenny. The last area is that most closely associ- most distinguished of all the Archbishops of Dublin.
ated with the Walshes, where they have given their name The Churches have had many other Walshes of note:
to the Walsh Mountains in Co. Kilkenny. The name among them Most Rev. Thomas Walsh (1580-1654),
originated as a result of the Anglo- or, more properly, the much persecuted Archbishop of Cashel whose active
the Cambro-Norman, invasion, and simply means the career occupies many pages of the Wadding (Franciscan)
Welshman, in Irish Breathnach, which was sometimes papers; and Most Rev. John Walsh (1830-1898), Catholic
anglicized phonetically as Brannagh — not, however, Archbishop of Toronto, who promoted the Irish Race
as Brannock, a name of different though somewhat Commission after the Parnell Split, as well as several
similar origin. The first to be so called is said to have Protestant bishops, notably the Rt. Rev. Nicholas Walsh
been Haylen Brenach, alias Walsh, son of “Philip the of Waterford, who was murdered in 1585 by a man
Welshman”’, one of the invaders of 1172. Unlike many whom he had rebuked, and is remembered as the man
of the Anglo-Norman families such as Burke, Fitz- who introduced Irish type to the native printing press
gerald, Roche etc., which have since become exclusively in connexion with his unfinished translation into Irish of
identified with Ireland, the Walshes did not all spring the New Testament. The Walsh family of St. Malo and
from one or two known ancestors, but the name was Nantes has had a distinguished history in France since
given independently to many of the newcomers and, its establishment there at the end of the seventeenth
perhaps in consequence of this, no clearly defined century, many of its members being notable in war,
Hiberno-Norman sept of Walsh was formed on the politics and literature. The first emigrant was Philip
Gaelic Irish model, as happened with a number of Walsh (1666-1708), shipbuilder and privateer, his father
those other families. Nevertheless the Walshes of the being the James Walsh, of Ballynacooly in the Walsh
south-eastern part of Ireland are mostly descended Mountains, Co. Kilkenny, who commanded the ship
from the Philip mentioned above and from his brother which brought James II to France after the Battle of
David, and the leading members of this family estab- the Boyne. Judge John Edwards Walsh (1816-1869), was
lished themselves as landed gentry at Castlehowel (Co. the author of a well-known book Jreland Sixty Years

Le
Ago, published in 1847. Many Irish-American Walshes WOULFE ~The Woulfes, or Wolfes, are a family of
have also made their mark, of whom the best known Norman origin who first came to Ireland at the time of
were Blanche Walshe (1873-1915), actress, and Henry the invasion at the end of the twelfth century. In Irish
Collins Walsh (1863-1927), explorer. the name is usually written de Bhulbh, but /e would be
The ubiquity of the Walshes in Ireland is illustrated more fitting than de since the Norman form is Le Woulf
by the place names Walshtown, Walshpark etc., of which (the wolf). Though both influential and fairly numerous
there are twenty-four in thirteen counties as far apart they never actually formed a sept on the Irish model,
as Down, Mayo and Cork, while the name, in more Irish as did several of the Anglo-Norman invading families.
guise, as Ballybrannagh and Ballinabrannagh, appears From the beginning they settled in two widely separated
in Counties Carlow, Down, Cork and Kerry. areas. In Co. Kildare they became so well established
Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII. that their territory near Athy was known as Woulfe’s
Country; the Wolfes of Forenaughts, Co. Kildare were
still extensive landowners in that county and also in
(Mac)WARD, Ward Although Ward is a very common Co. Limerick in 1880. In modern times their home-
English name, the great majority of Irish Wards are land is in Co. Limerick, the second of their original
native Irish in origin, the Gaelic form of the name being settlements. They held extensive lands in the modern
Mac an Bhdird, which means son of the bard; the pro- Counties Cork and Limerick, much of which was lost
nunciation of these words is closely reproduced in the as a result of their participation in the Geraldine War
alternative form in English, viz. Macanward, also written towards the end of the sixteenth century. Two genera-
MacAward and McWard. The Wards, as their name tions later they were identified with the resistance to
implies, were professional and hereditary bards, one Cromwell, two of the name being expressly exempted
family being thus attached to the O’Donnells of from pardon after the famous siege of Limerick in 1651.
Tirconnel (Donegal) and another to the O’Kellys of Ui The name also occurs frequently in the records of that
Maine (Hy Many): the latter, whose territory was near city up to that date. One of these, Capt. George Woulfe,
Ballinasloe, are perpetuated in the Co. Galway place- was the great-great-grandfather of General James Wolfe
name Ballymacward, the former by Lettermacaward (1727-1759), the hero of Quebec, who was thus of Irish
near Glenties. Ward is included in the list of the hundred (Limerick) descent. Distinguished Irishmen of the name
commonest names in Ireland. Like so many old Gaelic have been numerous, including Rev. David Woulfe, S.J.
families the Wards are still found chiefly in the (1523-1578), Papal Legate, whose description of Ireland
territories of their origin, the birth indexes showing written in 1574 is of great interest; Father James Woulf,
Counties Donegal and Galway as their present strong- O.P., hanged after the Siege of Limerick in 1651, Peter
holds. The Wards of Co. Down, the head of which Woulfe (1727-1803), mineralogist and inventor of
family is Viscount Bangor, are of English origin. The Woulfe’s bottle; Stephen Woulfe (1787-1840), advocate
arms often ascribed to Irish Wards belong to the Bangors of Catholic Emancipation but later an opponent of
and do not appertain to the Gaelic Wards (MacWards). Daniel O’Connell — all of the Limerick branch, as was
Maelisa MacAward was bishop of his native see, Father Patrick Woulfe (d. 1933), author of Jrish Names
Clonfert, 1171-1173, but most famous Irishmen of the and Surnames. Arthur Woulfe (1739-1803), killed in
name were from Ulster. Greatest of these was Hugh Boy the Emmet Rising, John Woolfe (b. c. 1740), a notable
Macanward (1580-1635), the historian, first professor architect, and Rev. Charles Wolfe (1791-1823), author
of Theology in the Irish College at Louvain. He was born of the well-known poem “The Burial of Sir John Moore”’,
at Lettermacaward. Eight Macanwards of this Donegal were all from Co. Kildare. Irish Woulfes were also prom-
sept were notable poets in the seventeenth century. A inent in France at the time of the French Revolution
remarkable Irishman in the French army was General both as military officers and churchmen.
Thomas Ward (1749-1794) who, though he continued While it can be said that Irish Woulfes to-day are of
to serve under the Republic and had many years, dis- the Norman stock dealt with above it should be men-
tinguished service to his credit, was guillotined. He was tioned that there is a surname Ulf, anglice Wolfe, which
born in Dublin. John Ward (1832-1912), son of Marcus according to Professor Edmund Curtis is of Norse origin
Ward the Belfast publisher, was an artist of note. Though and pre-Anglo-Norman. There is also an indigenous
he cannot be described as distinguished we may also Gaelic surname O Mactire, belonging to East Cork,
mention another John Ward (1781-1837), an uneducated which was anglicized as Woulfe or Wolfe, mactire being
Corkman who achieved much notoriety in England as the Irish word for wolf. A bishop Oonahan O Mactire,
a mystic of very extreme views. The popular theatre probably of Cloyne, died in 1099, and another Mactire
in Dame Street, Dublim, in the first half of the eighteenth also appears in the Four Masters as tanist of Teffia, but
century was known as Ward’s Theatre. there appears to be no record of this name in its Gaelic
form since early mediaeval times.
Arms illustrated on Plate XX VII.

156_
 ORDNANCE SURVEY Barony Map
OF
{RELAND
SHOWING iS i y

COUNTY BOUNDARIES oo Sy ory

ee
BARONY BOUNDARIES Ses

pee
WY

°
MAGHERABOY
4
CARBURY (/* i a
Y b
es |

aes
9

DRUMAHAIR
MON Gi
oO LEITRIM DARTREE 8S2323

emUp ie
navies
nO 1M O
FERRARD

Se
Nate

oe
JQ
BALLYNAHIRG
2p é
ke
wovoute? g.

GLENQUIN

TRUGHANACMY
6 CORKAGUINY
e
ee
£
4

KEY TO NAMES OF SMALL BARONIES

aes IVERAGH IDENTIFIED BY NUMBERS.

‘Sy MULLIN'S UPPER. Co. CARLOW,

COURCETS. Co. CORK.

DUBLIN. Co. DUBLIN.

CALLAN. Co, KILKENNY,

KILCULLIKEEN.

6 WORTH LIBERTIES. Co LIMER Cr

7 KILMALLOCK,

8 WW. LIBERTIES OF LONDONDERRY. 00. LONDONDERRY,

9 WE LIBERTIES OF COLERAINE
MAP OF IRELAND SHOWING THE COUNTIES
AND BARONIES. (THE DESIGNATIONS OF 10 DROGHEDA. - . Co LOUTH,

SOME EARLY POPULATION GROUPS) RE-

FERRED TO IN THE TEXT ARE INDICATED 00. BOROUGHE Thue @
IN ITALICS).

|WoW
 ‘|S Atal « up

pe ele
oa

i*yep ai ee

“N
 AHERNE MacAULIFFE

BARRETT BARRY ’
O BEIRNE
(of Barrett’s Country, Co. Cork)

BLAKE O’BOLAND O’BOYLAN

Plate I

159
The blazons for these arms are given on page 211.
 O’BOYLE O’ BRENNAN
(Connacht)

O’BRIEN

BROWNE BURKE BUTLER

Plate II

160 The blazons for these arms are given on page 211.
 Plate III

The blazons for these arms are given on page 212. 161
 O’COFFEY MacCOGHLAN MacCOLGAN
(Co. Cork)

pel

O’CONCANNON CONDON O’CONNELL

Plate IV

162 The blazons for these arms are given on page 212.
 j
2 Y O’CONNOR FALY O’CONNOR KERRY

O’CONNOR SLIGO O’CONNOR O’CONOLLY

(of Corcomroe) (Co. Kildare)

O’CONRY CONROY (O’MULCONRY) MacCONSIDINE

(Offaly)

Plate V

The blazons for these arms are given on page 212. 163
 kh
ov O’CORRIGAN MacCOSTELLO MacCOTTER

O’CROWLEY

O’CULLANE (COLLINS) O’CULLEN O’CULLINAN

(Leinster)

Plate VI

164 The blazons for these arms are given on page 213.
 MacCURTIN CUSACK DALTON

O’DALY DARCY O’DAVOREN

ane Rees

O’ DEMPSEY MacDERMOT

Plate VII

The blazons for these arms are given on page 213. 165
 ¥
DILLON
ce O’DINNEEN O’DOHERTY

ty
LP»
A
MacDONLEVY MacDONNELL MacDONNELL
(Clare and Connacht) (of the Glens)

O’DONNELL O’DONNELLAN O’DONNELLY

Plate VIII

166 The blazons for these arms are given on page 213.
 MacDONOGH
(Connacht)
O’ DONOGHUE
qO’ DONOVAN

2
O’ DOWLING

(Ca Wicklow) O’ DRISCOLL

Plate IX
v.
O’ DUGGAN

The blazons for these arms are given on page 214. 167
 O’ DWYER MacEGAN

MacENCHROE (CROWE)
¥
MacENIRY MacEVOY

AC

O’FAHY O’FALLON

Plate X

168 The blazons for these arms are given on page 214.
 O’ FARRELL FITZGERALD

FITZGIBBON: FITZPATRICK O’ FLAHERTY

O’ FLANAGAN FLEMING O’FLYNN

Plate XI

The blazons for these arms are given on page 214. 169
 O’FRIEL O’GALLAGHER O’GALVIN

Plate XII

170 The blazons for these arms are given on page 215.
 MacGENIS MacGEOGHEGAN MacGERAGHTY

_MacGILFOYLE MacGILLYCUDDY MacGORMAN

O’GORMLEY MacGOVERN (MAGAURAN)

Plate XIII

The blazons for these arms are given on page 215. 171
 MacGRATH MacGUIRE

HACKETT _ O’ HAGAN O’HALLORAN

(Co. Carlow and Co. Tipperary)

O’ HANNON

Plate XIV

172 The blazons for these arms are given on page 215.
 f
v
O’HARTAGAN O’HEA O’ HEFFERNAN

O” HENNESSY O’HEYNE (HYNES)

Plate XV

The blazons for these arms are given on page 216. 173
 O’HOLOHAN
(Co. Galway)

© MacINERNEY

Plate XVI
JORDAN (MacSURTAIN)

174 The blazons for these arms are given on page 216.
 JOYCE
Fa KAVANAGH KEANE (0’CAHAN)

O’ KEARNEY KEATING O’KEEFFE

O’KELLY MacKENNA O’KENNEDY

(Ui Maine)

Plate XVII

The blazons for these arms are given on page 216.

 MacKEOGH
(Connacht)

O’KINNEALLY KINSELLA O’KIRWAN

(Munster)

LACY (DE LACY) LALLY (O’MULLALLY) O’LALOR

Plate XVIII

176 The blazons for these arms are given on page 217.
 O’ LEARY O’LONERGAN O’ LOUGHLIN

MacLOUGHLIN — MacLOUGHLIN LYNCH

(formerly O’ Melaghlin) (Tirconnell) (Galwav)

MacLYSAGHT O’MADDEN

Plate XIX

The blazons for these arms are given on page 217. 77

 MacMANUS
(Fermanagh)

O’ MEAGHER

Plate XX

178 The blazons for these arms are given on page 217.
 O’MOLONY

O’MORIARTY O’MORONEY

Plate XXI

The blazons for these arms are given on page 218. 179
 MORRIS O —pee ee”
O

O’MURPHY MURPHY (0’MORCHOE) MacMURROGH

(Muskerry)

O’NAGHTEN NAGLE MacNALLY

Plate XXII

180 The blazons for these arms are given on page 218.
 MacNAMARA

NUGENT O’PHELAN

PLUNKETT POWER PURCELL

(of Loughmoe)

Plate XXIII

The blazons for these arms are given on page 218. 181
 MacQUILLAN 0’ QUIN
(Annaly)

0’QUIN 0’ QUINLAN O’RAFFERTY

(Thomond )

MacRANNALL (REYNOLDS) REDMOND O’REGAN

Plate XXIV

182 The blazons for these arms are given on page 219.
 O REILLY 7]

O’ROURKE RYAN (O’MULRIAN) SARSFIELD

O’SCANLAN MacSHANLY O’ SHAUGHNESSY

(Munster)

Plate XXV

The blazons for these arms are given on page 219. 183
 » SS
i
O’SHEEHAN MacSHEEHY

be

O’SHERIDAN O’SULLIVAN

O’SULLIVAN BEARE MacSWEENEY

Plate XXVI

184 The blazons for these arms are given on page 219.
 O’TOOLE

Plate XXVII

The blazons for these arms are given on page 220. 185
 oy ” Com,
j j
_Y
.
LFante:
ie » ,
| aie ,
 PART FOUR

Anglo-Irish Surnames

In treating of Irish surnames it is necessary to decide what is meant by Irish in this connexion. We
have already without hesitation accepted as such the families of Norman stock which came to this
country in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Next we have to consider those elements of the pop-
ulation which settled in Ireland later than the foregoing but before the sixteenth century, that is to say
while the Gaelic order still continued to function almost undisturbed outside the Pale. Families in
this category are much less numerous than their Norman predecessors. They did not, like them,
become hiberniores ipsis Hibernicis but they did become assimilated in the Irish nation (if that term
be permissable in a mediaeval context) through environment, intermarriage and also the inability of
the country of their origin to protect them in that of their adoption. For the most part their names are
associated with the towns and we do not meet them as territorial magnates except when success in
commerce or favourable marriages had enabled them to acquire country estates. In this class may be
included twelve of the celebrated “Tribes of Galway’’, though most of the families in question were
actually domiciled elsewhere in Ireland before migrating to Galway. In their case the most potent
element in their assimilation was religion. The towns, particularly Galway, were constantly at enmity
with the Gaelic septs outside their walls until the impact of the Reformation, followed by the con-
tinuous military aggression of England during the next 150 years, caused the townsmen to make
common cause with their neighbours and former foes.
It is not, in fact, until we come to the seventeenth century that any serious difficulty confronts us
in the problem under consideration. In that century Ireland was for the first time really conquered
and subdued by her powerful and aggressive neighbour. Notwithstanding the notable Irish victories
at Benburb and the Yellow Ford the defeat at Kinsale in 1602 seemed to seal the doom of the Irish
nation; and the Rising of 1641 and the support of the Stuart cause fifty years later only made the
situation worse, for in the seventeenth century these events led to three major plantations or wholesale
transfers of land from the ancient owners to strangers from overseas — commonly called The Plantation
of Ulster (up to that the most Gaelic part of Ireland), the Cromwellian Settlement and the Williamite
Forfeitures. This meant that the settlers were able to look to Britain for support and protection: the
centre of gravity, so to speak, for large numbers of persons living in Ireland became London, where
previously men’s loyalties had centred around the castle of their chief or at farthest the city of Dublin.
Thus was deliberately created what is termed the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. The families comprising
this class have been slow to become an integral part of the Irish nation, if indeed they can be said to
have done so even now. It is only right to observe that the ““Ascendancy” included many families
of Gaelic origin which, as a result of the anti-papist Penal Code, conformed to the state religion and,
becoming landlords in the modern sense, threw in their lot with the new Cromwellian gentry so much
despised by their ancestors.
The fact that certain individual members of the dominant caste were conspicuous as leaders in re-
curring revolts against all that caste stood for merely emphasizes the truth of the general statement:
such men as the Sheares brothers, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Robert Emmet, Thomas Davis, Charles
Stewart Parnell and Roger Casement were regarded as traitors by their own class. It was proud to
describe itself as ‘‘England’s faithful garrison”; and even to-day (when a former Prime Minister of
Northern Ireland, whose family has been in Co. Fermanagh for three centuries, proclaims himself an
Englishman) it is probably true to say that the majority of this group on either side of the border
.feel a keener sense of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II than to the Republic of Ireland, and to them
“the Army” suggests Aldershot rather than the Curragh. In saying this I do not seek to disparage

187
 these people who have personally sterling qualities for which the average Irishman is not usually
conspicuous. To the Anglo-Irish, indeed Ireland owes much: not only in those untypical individuals
who espoused the national cause, but more so perhaps in the promotion of science and culture — for
example in the activities of the Royal Dublin Society and the Royal Irish Academy and in the archi-
tecture of eighteenth century Dublin. I am considering the question as to how far they can be counted
as Irish, with particular reference to the inclusion of their names in this book. It is obvious that the
mere fact of birth in Ireland, though constituting a man an Irish citizen by law does not ipso facto
make him an Irishman in the sense required by us in a work on Irish families and surnames. If birth
were the sole test we would have to count Tom Clarke and James Connolly as English and Scottish,
and Lord Kitchener as Irish, the former lifelong Irish republicans, signatories of the 1916 Proclamation
and executed for their part in the Rising, the latter a typical Briton who happened to be born in a
garrison town in Ireland.
We have considered mediaeval immigrants and those of the seventeenth century. The families which
were established here in the Elizabethan period may perhaps be included with the latter because,
although they were not planted in the country as part of a deliberate policy aimed at the consolidation
of conquest, they did actually come either as officers in one of the invading armies or as high officials
of the English Queen. The plantations attempted in Leix and Offaly under Philip and Mary may be
disregarded as they had no lasting effect.
The preponderance of English names among the landowners of Ireland in the nineteenth century,
which arose from the causes outlined above, is immediately apparent in the pages of such publications
as de Burgh’s Landowners of Ireland (1878) or indeed Burke’s Landed Gentry ofIreland (1912); for
it was not until the combined effect of the 1903 Land Act, the taxation following the First World War
and the establishment of the Irish Free State produced another agrarian revolution, albeit a peaceful
one, that the Ascendancy began gradually to disappear. Nevertheless, though English names pre-
dominate, there are for the reasons stated above many Gaelic-Irish surnames to be found in these lists.
In addition to those completely hibernicized and numerically strong Norman names like Burke,
Fitzgerald and Roche, which are dealt with individually in Part II of this book, there are a number
of other naturalized surnames. A list of the more important of these is given in Appendix E. That
appendix includes only those names which may be regarded as thoroughly hibernicized. Many others
are found in the early mediaeval records, but the present-day bearers of such names are for the most
part descendants of much more recent immigrants from England, and so may be properly counted
as Anglo-Irish.
Before passing on to that extensive category it should be mentioned that there are a few non-
Gaelic surnames still extant in Ireland which were found here before the Anglo-Norman invasion.
Of these the best known, (all of Norse origin), are:

ARTHUR _ Leading citizens of Limerick from the years. Father John Esmonde was one of the five Co.
twelfth century, of whom many have been mayors and Wexford priests who, with two Franciscan brothers,
sheriffs of that city and two were bishops of the diocese. were put to death by Cromwellian soldiers at Wexford in
The most notable member of the family was Thomas 1649. An interesting account of how the Esmonde
Arthur (1593-1675), the celebrated physician and diarist. estate escaped forfeiture will be found in The Williamite
This name is quite distinct from MacArthur, which is of Confiscation by J.G. Simms (pp. 41-42). Dr. John
Scottish origin. Two Irish Arthurs were noteworthy in Esmonde was hanged as a rebel in 1798.
the eighteenth century history of France.
HAMMOND _ No doubt families descended from com-
COPPINGER _ Settled in Co. Cork and remained there; paratively recent immigrants of this name are to be
several were mayors of the city. The name is seldom met found in Ireland, but Ostmen of the name were in East
with elsewhere. Leinster before the coming of the Anglo-Normans.

~ ESMONDE Always associated with Co. Wexford and HAROLD _ Settled in Dublin, where they gave their
prominent in that county’s history for the past 800 name to Harold’s Cross, and in Limerick where they

188
were prominent in civic history until the Catholic sub- SWEETMAN _ An influential family in Co. Kilkenny,
mergence. The name has now spread to Co. Cork and very well known in recent generations on account of
Co. Kerry. the numerous Sweetmans who have been prominent in
Irish political and cultural activities. Of this family was
SKIDDY The Skiddys formed a sept in Co. Cork and Milo Sweetman, Archbishop of Armagh from 1362 to
elected a chief in the Irish fashion; from 1360 they are 1380, who was one of the most distinguished and
chiefly associated with the city of Cork and provided influential mediaeval prelates.
many mayors up to 1646 when Catholics ceased to hold
that office. WOULFE _ Vide p. 156 supra.

Having regard to the circumstances we have been considering it would seem proper to give a place
in this section only to those Anglo-Irish families which have produced one or more individuals prom-
inently associated with some important Irish activity, whether it be political, military, scientific or
cultural. Inevitably such a classification must be somewhat arbitrary and no doubt names will be
omitted from the resultant selection which some readers will consider should have been included.
It will be observed, for example, that the family of Wellesley (formerly Colley q.v.) is not among
them: several of its members, notably the great Duke of Wellington, had very distinguished careers but
their renown was won in the service of England or the British Empire and they contributed nothing to
the welfare of Ireland and only indirectly, if at all, to her prestige.

The following, however, will probably be generally accepted as worthy of inclusion.

ASHE — Families called Ashe settled in Counties Kil- Sketches and The Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation. As
dare and Meath in the fourteenth century and they are M.P. he voted against the Union. It may be added that
recorded in the sixteenth century as amongst the leading the Gaelic surname O Bearain was sometimes anglicized
gentry there; one was M.P. for Trim in 1613 and another as Barrington.
was poll-money commissioner for Co. Meath in 1661.
In recent times they are chiefly located in Kerry and BERESFORD _ The family came to Ireland at the time
Antrim. Thomas Ashe (1884-1917), the I.R.A. officer of the Plantation of Ulster, Tristram Beresford being
whose long hunger-strike ending in death had a far manager of the London Company; they settled at
reaching effect, was born in Co. Kerry. The well-known Coleraine. Their later connexion with Co. Waterford
Limerick and Kerry name Nash is etymologically of the arose from an alliance with the de la Poer family.
same origin. John Beresford (1739-1805), whose mother was a de la
Poer, exercised almost unlimited political influence
BALFE The Balfes were fourteenth century settlers which he employed in suppression of the 1798 Insurr-
in Co. Meath. One of the earliest recorded instances of ection and in furthering the passing of the Act of Union.
the name is the excommunication of William Balfe, He should also be remembered for the fact that many of
a burgess of Athboy, for usury in 1409. By the end of the best architectural features of Dublin can be attributed
the next century we find them among the leading to his efforts. In the nineteenth century the Beresfords
gentry of Co. Meath, and two were M.P.s for Kells in distinguished themselves rather in the service of the
1585 and 1613. Michael William Balfe (1808-1870), the British Empire than in that of Ireland. The family is now
composer of “The Bohemian Girl” and other operas, represented by the Marquessate of Waterford.
is the most famous Irishman of the name.
BROOKE Descended from Basil Brooke, a_ high-
BARRINGTON First to settle was an Elizabethan ranking Elizabethan officer, the earliest of the name to
captain who obtained O’Moore lands in Leix, which he be noted in Ireland, the Brookes acquired Rantavan, Co.
managed to retain in spite of constant feuds with the Fermanagh, in 1685. Charlotte Brooke (1745-1793),
dispossessed owners. This family was among the chief almost the first in modern times to appreciate and
gentlemen of Leix in 1598; one was M.P. for Mary- collect poems in the Irish language, was born there, as
borough in 1613. The best known Barrington family was her father Henry Brooke (1706-1783) a poet of
came with Cromwell: they settled in Limerick in 1692. some note. Lord Brookesborough — Sir Basil Brooke —
The principal‘ branch resided at Glenstal, now the was Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. In other parts
Benedictine Abbey and well known secondary school. of the country families called Brooks (usually so spelt)
Their association with Limerick is marked by Barring- settled under the Cromwellian régime.
ton’s Hospital in that city. Best known of the name is
Sir Jonah Barrington (1760-1834), author of Personal COLLEY, COOLEY Though usually regarded as an

189
Anglo-Irish name, Colley is also an anglicized form of 1817), author, inventor, original member of the Royal
the Gaelic-Irish Mac Cuille or Mac Giolla Chuille. The Irish Academy, anti-Union M.P. and father of twenty-
sept so called was of Connacht and there are many one children; one of these was Maria Edgeworth (1767-
references to members of it in the sixteenth century 1849) whose Irish novels are classics; his cousin, the
Fiants relating to counties Roscommon, Galway and saintly and talented Abbé Henry Essex Edgeworth
Clare. In the “census” of 1659 Colly appears as a prin- (1745-1807), is best remembered as the priest who
cipal name in the barony of Ballintubber, Co. Ros- attended Louis XIV on the scaffold. The Abbé’s father
common. In the Fiants the spelling of the surname emigrated to France from Edgeworthstown in 1751 and
is usually MacColly, MacCollie etc., and it appears only became a Catholic there.
once as MacCooley.
EMMET _ Early examples of the name in Ireland are:
CROKE _ This- name in Ireland is best known in the William Emmett of Capangaran, Co. Tipperary (Cashel
person of Most Rev. Thomas William Croke (1824- and Emly will 1672), and Robert Emmet of Dungarvan
1902), the patriotic Archbishop of Cashel, whose early (Waterford will 1661). Christopher Emmet (b. 1702)
patronage of native Irish games is commemorated in lived in Co. Tipperary. The family moved to Dublin,
Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic where Robert Emmet (1778-1803) was born and was
Association. The Crokes were in Co. Kilkenny in the executed after his abortive but historic insurrection.
fourteenth century. I have found a record of them His brother Thomas Addis Emmet (1764-1827) made his
there in 1324 and in Co. Tipperary in 1299; as early as name as a lawyer in the U.S.A., having emigrated after
1241 there was a William Croc or Crok of Crokeveyl in the 1798 Insurrection in which he was implicated.
Burke’s country. In the MacFirbis Annals under date Another brother Christopher Temple Emmet (1761-
1443 it is spelt Croc. Many of the name appear in the 1788) was also a patriot. Their father Robert Emmet
Elizabethan Fiants. F.R.S. was state physician in Ireland.

CROKER _ As landed gentry the Crokers are associ- FAY The name Fay is not very common in Ireland.
ated with Co. Limerick where they settled early in the Its present day representatives are chiefly found in the
seventeenth century. Since then the name is found in city and suburbs of Dublin, the remainder being in
various parts of the country. Thomas Crofton Croker Meath and adjacent counties. These are the Fays (called
(1798-1854), author of Researches in the South of de Fae in Irish) who came to Ireland with the Anglo-
Ireland etc., was born in Cork. From the same county Norman invaders at the end of the twelfth century and
came Richard Croker (1841-1922), better known as settled in Co. Westmeath. Their senior descendants are
Boss Croker, prize fighter, Tammany Hall leader and represented by the Fay family of Ballymoon, Co.
famous race-horse owner. Place names in Co. Kilkenny Kildare. Not many Fays are of Gaelic origin — in the
indicate the early presence of Crokers there, Crokers- Dictionary of American Biography there are four Fays
land being mentioned in a deed of 1432. all Puritan and non-Irish. However, it must be remem-
bered that there was a native Irish family of O’Fay in
DAUNT The Daunts established themselves in Co. Ulster who were erenaghs of a church near Enniskillen.
Cork as peaceful settlers in the sixteenth century,’ ac- Their name in Irish is O Fiaich from fiach, a raven.
quiring lands at Tracton, between Cork and Kinsale: Under the name of O’Fee they are numerous in Co.
they are listed among the leading gentry in 1598. Later Fermanagh in the census of 1659. In the Elizabethan
they moved westwards to Kilcascan, where they still are. Fiants the name appears in north-west Ulster as O’Feye.
Of this family was William John O’Neill Daunt (1807- Their descendants are now usually called Foy and some-
1894) the prominent Protestant Nationalist M.P. and times Fee. Of Irish Fays much the best known are the
author of several notable books. Dublin born brothers Frank Fay (1870-1931) and
Willie Fay (1872-1947) pioneers of the Irish dramatic
DAVIS The name Davis is found in many sixteenth movement in the early days of the Abbey Theatre. Fay
century Irish records in various parts of the country (de Fae) has been used as a synonym of Fahy. W.G. Fay,
though not among the landed gentry. The outstanding of the Abbey Theatre, stated that his grandfather was
figure of the name was Thomas Osborne Davis (1814- William O’Fahy of Tuam, Co. Galway.
1845), poet and patriot. His father was a British army
surgeon, his mother an Atkins of the well known Mallow FERRITER The name Ferriter appears in Alan’s
family, in which town Thomas Davis was born and Register (Co. Dublin) as early as 1260 and in the Justic-
lived. The name Davis, used as a synonym of MacDavid iary Rolls in Co. Kerry in 1295. Ballyferriter in the
in Co. Wexford, now hides the identity of that branch Dingle peninsula is named from them. They ranked as
of the MacMurroughs. gentry in the sixteenth century: Pierce Ferriter (c. 1600-
1653), who lost his life as a result of his participation
EDGEWORTH ~ The Edgeworth family has been con- in the Cromwellian war, was a leading Gaelic poet as
tinuously resident in Co. Longford since 1583. The town well as a gentleman of standing. They were for some
Edgeworthstown, formerly called Meathus Truim, per- centuries the owners of the Blasket Islands (recently
petuates their name. Three very famous Irish people abandoned by their Irish-speaking population).
were of this family: Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744-

190
FIELD This well-known English name has been in synonyms in that document is Ediry, a surname which as
Ireland, chiefly in Dublin, since the thirteenth century. Eddery is extant to-day, though rare. Eddery is not
Field is also found as an anglicized synonym of O’Fihilly mentioned in Woulfe’s Sloinnte.
or Feely. John Field (1786-1837), the musician who is Especially noteworthy among the distinguished
best known for his introduction of the nocturne, was bearers of the name in Ireland are Walter FitzSimons
born in Dublin of a family long established there. (d. 1511), Archbishop of Dublin from 1484, who also
ably performed the duties of Lord Deputy and of Lord
FITZSIMONS, Eddery This name might have been Chancellor for several years; and Father Henry Fitz-
treated as Hiberno-Norman, but it has been placed here simon, S.J. (1566-1643), whose remarkable career is
rather than in Part II because it differs from the names described in Rev. E. Hogan’s Distinguished Irishmen of
included there, in that category (like Fitzgerald and the Sixteenth Century. In America, Irish-born Thomas
Burke) in two main respects: first, it is by no means FitzSimmons (1741-1811) was one of the leading men
peculiar to Ireland being, indeed, much more usual in in the War of Independence.
England, and secondly there are no basic arms common
to all armigerous Irish Fitzsimons families. Nevertheless FORBES, Mac Firbis The Forbeses of Castle Forbes,
the first records of the name in Ireland are of a period Co. Longford (Earls of Granard) settled there in 1620.
very shortly after the Anglo-Norman invasion. Among They were a very important family in Scotland. The
the Norman families brought to Co. Down by John de majority of the people of the name in Ireland to-day are
Courcy in 1177 were some called Fitzsimon, while of Scottish stock, but in Connacht they may be of the
others of the name followed the Prendergasts to Mayo sept of Mac Firbisigh whose name was anglicized Forbes.
early in the next century and were still strong there in These were hereditary historians to the O’Dowds and
1585, when a Fitzsimon possessed Castlereagh and other had special privileges: the most distinguished of them
castles. was Donal MacFirbis (1585-1670). Among'distinguished
People are particular nowadays about the way their men of the name we might include Giolla fosa Mor Mac
names are spelt, but even as late as the eighteenth century Firbis, the main compiler of the Book of Lecan (1417).
we find the same families using FitzSimon and Fitz- O’Donovan’s notes to The Tribes and Customs of Hy
Symon (with or without a final S), as well as Fitz- Fiachra will be tound useful; O’Farrell’s History of Co.
Symonds and even FitzSimmons, while occasionally Longford may also be consulted.
the Fitz is dropped and Symons — the use or disuse of
the capital S after Fitz was quite arbitrary — (or variants GALWEY This surname is topographical in origin
thereof) is used. The majority of births recorded by but the place from which it is derived is usually stated
Matheson are entered as Fitzsimons. to be Galloway in Scotland; some Galwey families,
The most important line of FitzSimons is that which however, claim to be descended from Burkes of Co.
came to Ireland from Simonshide, in Hertfordshire, Galway. Referring to the origin of the name, James
and settled in the Pale in 1323, since when they have Grene Barry states (J.R.S.A.I. xxiv, 338) that it was
been continuously leading gentry in Counties Dublin assumed by the descendants of John De Burgo (Burke),
and Westmeath. There are no less than seven Dublin men known as John of Galway, who, after his gallant defence
in the Funeral Entries of Ulster King of Arms between of Baal’s Bridge, Limerick, against the O’Briens, was
1568 and 1610, four being civic dignitaries (Mayor, knighted by Lionel, Duke of Clarence in 1361. His
Recorder etc.). By 1659 they had become not only in- descendant, Sir Geoffrey Galwey (d. 1636) was notable
fluential in Co. Westmeath but numerous, too, for in the for his uncompromising opposition to Carew, when
census of that date FitzSimons appears as a principal Mayor of Limerick. Up to the end of the seventeenth
Irish name in the barony of Demifore. Some of these century the surname was usually spelt Gallaway. Though
adopted the Gaelic patronymic Mac an Ridire, angli- found elsewhere, e.g. in Dundalk and Armagh in 1369,
cized MacRuddery, which, in turn, was sometimes the Galweys may be regarded as belonging to south-west
changed by translation to MacKnight. The Four Masters Munster, particularly to Cork, of which city they were
record the death in 1505 of Edmund Dorcha Fitzsimon frequently mayors between 1430 and 1632. They were
“of the descendants of the Knight’, who was prior*of among the leading merchants not only of mediaeval
Fore. There was a connexion between the Mayo Fitz- Cork but of Youghal, Kinsale and to a lesser extent of
simonses and those of Dublin, for in the “Composition Limerick also. Thirteen families of the name appear in
Book of Connacht” (1585) Nicholas FitzSymons is the census of 1659, all in Co. Cork.
described as “gent. of Downmackiny” (barony of The leading Co. Cork family of Galwey, whose
Clanmorris) and also alderman of Dublin. They are now estates were confiscated after the Jacobite débacle, like
represented by the family of O’Connell-FitzSimon of so many Irish exiles settled at Nantes in France, where
Glencullen, Co. Dublin. Referrring to those FitzSimons they were ranked among the nobility of that country.
of Co. Mayo it is of interest to note that while in 1585
the “Composition Book of Connacht’ has only one GRATTAN _ I have placed Grattan in the Anglo-Irish
reference to them under their Gaelic patronymic, in the section, but it is possible that further investigation may
Stafford Inquisition, made fifty years later, they are show that the name should have appeared in Part II.
called MacRuddery, MacEruddery etc. in 22 entries, the There are four families of Grattan in the Co. Tipperary
name Fitzsimon not being used at all. One of its Hearth Money Rolls (1665-67). Mac Grattan and Mac-

191
Gretton are to be found in current Irish directories. In ment. The most famous historical character is no doubt
all the biographies of Henry Grattan (1746-1820), Betsy Grey (1777-1798), Ulster heroine of the 1798
perhaps the greatest statesman that Ireland has pro- insurrection.
duced, nothing: is revealed about his ancestors further Mr. Philip MacGuinness has given me convincing
back than his great-grandfather, one Patrick Grattan evidence to show that the name anglicized Colreavy
who in 1668 was Senior Fellow in Dublin University. and Culreavy, as well as Gray, in Irish Mac Cathail
Henry’s father, James Grattan, as we know, was Riabhaigh is not Mac Giolla Riabhaigh. The latter is
Recorder of Dublin and M.P. for that city from 1761 to normally anglicized MacAreavy. In Clare it was first
1766; a Dubliner himself, he is traditionally believed MacGillereagh. The “Composition Book of Connacht”
to have come of a family long established there. Woulfe and other late sixteenth century sources refer to Mac-
hazards the guess — it is nothing more — that Grattan Gillereagh of Cragheene, chief of his name: this has
may be Mac Reachtain in Irish, a corruption of Mac now been abbreviated to Gallery.
Neachtain (i.e. the Scottish-Ulster name MacNaughton).
The name MacGrattan certainly exists in north-east GREGORY _ The principal Gregory family in Ireland
Ulster to-day, and in the Dublin records for 1641 I came to this country in the Cromwellian period. The
notice the use of the alias MacGrattan in the case of a first of these to be noteworthy were Robert and George
clergyman called Grattan in the parish of St. John. Gregory who were prominent in the defence of Derry
Henry Grattan junior (1789-1859) M.P., has some during the siege of that city in 1689. After the siege the
claim to recognition in the literary field as the biographer latter settled in Co. Kerry where the family remained
of his father, the statesman. The line is continued in the until 1774. The small town of Castlegregory in Kerry is
well-known families of Grattan-Bellew and Esmonde, not, however, named after them but from the christian
his co-heiresses having married respectively a Bellew and name of one Gregory de Hora. This family of Gregory
an Esmonde. next migrated to Co. Galway: the Coole estate was
acquired in 1768. Coole, of course, inseparably associated
GRAVES _ The name of Graves is associated primarily with the name of Lady Gregory (1852-1932) née
with Trinity College, Dublin, and with the Protestant Augusta Persse, was famous as the country house fre-
Church of Ireland. The principal landed family of quented by all the well-known figures of the Irish
Graves, which was until recently seated at Cloghan literary revival. Her father-in-law Sir Robert Gregory (b.
Castle, Co. Offaly, was earlier of the city of Limerick 1790) was Under Secretary for Ireland and her husband
where John Graves was sheriff in 1719. Of the many Sir William Gregory was M.P. for Co. Galway and
divines and professors in their pedigree the most dis- Trustee of the National Gallery. Before them several
tinguished were Rev. James Graves (1815-1866) co- other members of the family were notable, particularly
founder of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland; Robert Gregory (1727-1810), who devoted much of the
Right Rev. Charles Graves (1818-1899) Bishop of wealth he acquired while chairman of the East India
Limerick, F.R.S., mathematician and authority on company to the improvement of agriculture in Co.
ogham; and Rev. Richard Graves (1763-1829) F.T.C.D. Galway. The name was not unknown in Ireland in
The best known, no doubt, was Arthur Perceval Graves earlier times: it appears as early as 1362 at Swords, Co.
(1846-1931) author of the ever popular song “Father Dublin, and 1346 in the Ormond Deeds.
O’Flynn”. The name appears in the 1659 census in
Counties Dublin, Meath and Louth. GRUBB The Grubb family of English stock were
located in Counties Waterford and Tipperary in 1656.
GRAY, Colreavy, Gallery Grays in Ireland are of They are notable on account of Thomas Grubb (1800-
various origins: Norman (de Grey and Le Grey), English, 1878), whose work in the field of optics was outstanding.
Scottish and to a small extent native Irish. This small It is possible that some families of Grubb are of Scottish
minority derives its surname from the Irish Mac Giolla origin, the name MacRob having been corrupted to
Riabhaigh (son of grey youth), sometimes corrupted Grubb.
to Mac Cuil Riabhaigh. The latter form is phonetically
rendered Colreavy or Culreavy, and in certain parts GWYNN _ There were families of Gwynn in Ireland
of the country, chiefly in Co. Longford, this is inter- before the Cromwellian era. As early as 1570 Richard
changeable with Gray. The same name is rendered Gwynne, gent, obtained a lease of monastic lands in Co.
Gallery in Co. Clare and McAreavy etc. elsewhere. Kildare, the conditions (as given in the Fiant of that
A few Grays may have acquired the name by trans- date) being that he should maintain an English archer,
lation of the Irish adjective liath (meaning grey), as not sublet to any tenant of Irish blood and not charge
such replacement of an original surname by a descriptive coyne. The same source indicates that a year later a
epithet does occur, though rarely (cf. Bane, Reagh, soldier called Maurice Gwyne was pardoned for slaying
Lauder, etc.). The majority of Grays in Ireland to-day Nicholas Barnwell with his sword in a Dublin cemetery,
are Anglo-Irishand are mostly located in Ulster. while in 1587 another Gwynne was granted the wardship
Among prominent Irishmen of the name may be of a County Longford O’Farrell. Later Fiants (for 1602-
mentioned Sir John Gray (1816-1875) and his son 3) exemplify in the person of John Gwynn the extent to
Edmund Dwyer Gray (1845-1888), proprietors of the which plurality of church livings was then carried: he
Freeman’s Journal and Nationalist members of Parlia- was presented to four in three different dioceses —

192
Cashel, Ossory and Lismore. In the next generation O’Harrihys of Co. Fermanagh used Harvey as an alter-
another South of Ireland clergyman, Rev. Arthur native form of their name. The majority of Harveys
Gwynn, who was rector of several parishes, was the in Ireland to-day are Ulster Protestants.
cause of contention between Strafford and Lord Cork. Though a Protestant landlord of English stock,
They were well established as landowners in Co. Bagenal Harvey (1752-1798) of Co. Wexford is re-
Tipperary before 1659 as Petty’s “census” shows; and nowned for his part in the 1798 Rising, for which
there were Gwynn wills proved in both Cloyne and he was hanged. William Henry Harvey (1811-1866)
Lismore dioceses before the end of Charles II’s reign. was famous in his day as a botanist.
Other Gwynns were established as a clerical family in
Co. Down in the seventeenth century shortly after the HENEBRY Philip de Hynteberge was lord of the
Cromwellian war. Gwynnes have been closely associated manor of Rath, Co. Dublin, in 1250. Thence the family,
with Dublin University, especially since the time of later called Hanebry, migrated to Counties Kilkenny
the Rev. John Gwynn (1827-1917). He was the editor and Waterford. They are chiefly found in the latter
of “The Book of Armagh” etc. and a scholar of renown. county to-day, though the name is not common. Father
His eldest son Stephen Gwynn (1865-1951), Nationalist Richard Henebry (1863-1916) was a foremost Gaelic
M.P., was a versatile writer who published many valuable scholar and collector of Irish music.
books, chiefly in the historical field. Edward J. Gwynn
(1868-1941) was one of the most distinguished provosts HYDE The Hydes of Castle Hyde, Co. Cork, acquired
of Trinity College, Dublin. many extensive estates in that county in 1588. Dr.
Douglas Hyde (1859-1949), first President of Ireland
and probably the best known of all the leaders of the
HAMILTON The majority of Irish Hamiltons came Gaelic revival, was of this family: his father, Canon
to this country from Scotland at the time of the Plan- Arthur Hyde, was a clergyman in Co. Roscommon. The
tation of Ulster, but some families of the name were name Hyde appears in the Ormond Deeds relating to
established in Ulster before that: a Hamilton appears in Co. Kilkenny several times in the fourteenth and fif-
the contemporary list of Co. Down gentry in 1598 and teenth centuries.
another in Co. Cavan. The name is now very numerous
in Ulster, particularly in Counties Antrim, Down, KENT Though now regarded as belonging to Co.
Tyrone and Derry. Of the many landed families the Cork, the more so as Eamonn Kent (1881-1916), one of
most prominent is that of the Duke of Abercorn. His the leaders of the 1916 Rising, was from that county,
ancestor the 3rd Earl of Abercorn was a Jacobite, and the name Kent, when first it came to Ireland soon after
like his relative Count Anthony Hamilton (1645-1719), the Anglo-Norman invasion, was to be found only in
served James II in Ireland. The latter (of a Catholic Meath and Dublin. There Kent of Daneston and several
branch) had a distinguished career in France as soldier others were among the leading gentry of the Pale in
and courtier; he is best known as the author of Memoirs 1698, and their name is perpetuated in the modern
de la vie du Comte de Grammont. For the most part parish of Kentstown, Co. Meath.
the Hamiltons were staunch supporters of William of KICKHAM _ The Kickhams are not an old family in
Orange, two being very prominent on that side. The Ireland. The name is included here because Charles
Hamiltons of Ireland have distinguished themselves in James Kickham (1826-1882), author of Knocknagow
many spheres — literature, medicine, art and particularly etc., has a well earned place in the Anglo-Irish roll of
the sciences. In the latter James Archibald Hamilton honour. His father was a substantial shopkeeper at
(1747-1815), astronomer, Rev. William Hamilton (1775- Mullinahone, of a family completely hibernicized though
1797), naturalist, and Sir William Rowan Hamilton not many generations in the country. There is a verbatim
(1805-1855), of quaternions fame, may be specially report of his trial in 1865 in the Fenian Trials series in
mentioned. All these except the last were Ulstermen. the library of Dail Eireann. There was one family of the
Several of the Hamiltons of Co. Tyrone distinguished name in Dublin city in 1659.
themselves in Sweden in the seventeenth century as
soldiers and diplomats. KING Some of the most famous Irishmen named
There is a town of Manorhamilton in Co. Leitrim. King have been of Anglo-Irish stock, notably Archbishop
For information on the notorious “Hamilton gallows” William King (1650-1729), a vigorous Protestant: he was
there see Meehan’s book on the Confederation of an ornament to the nation by reason of his encourage-
Kilkenny. Much useful information on the family ment of the Irish language in Dublin University, his
will be found in O’Grady’s book on Strafford. collection of manuscripts, and his support of Swift, e.g.
in his campaign against “Wood’s halfpence’’. Another
HARVEY The Irish Harveys are mostly of English Protestant, Rev. Robert King (1815-1900) was a dis-
extraction, notably the most prominent family of the tinguished Irish language scholar. He was from Co. Cork,
name, viz. the Harveys of Bargy, Co. Wexford. It is of as were the Kings (Earls of Kingston) who were prom-
interest to note, however, that a distinguished though inent members of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy. On the
small sept of Kilmacduagh in Co. Galway, long dispersed other hand Rev. Paul King (d. 1665) was a noted Irish
from their original habitat, anglicized their name O Franciscan. For King as the anglicized form of several
hAirmheadhaigh as Harvey. Occasionally, too, the Gaelic patronymics, see sub Conroy supra.

193
LAWLESS Though the surname Lawless is formed LOMBARD Originally Lombard meant a native of
from the Old English word laghles meaning an outlaw, Lombardy but the word was later applied to a banker
it may, as far as Ireland is concerned, be regarded as or moneylender of any nation. In Ireland, where the
falling in the Anglo-Norman category. Outlawe was itself name is on record as far back as the thirteenth century,
a not uncommon surname in Ireland in the middle ages, the Lombards have been chiefly identified with Cork as
e.g. Roger Outlawe, prior of the Hospital of St. John of merchants. Several have been mayors of that city since
Jerusalem in 1337, and Henry Outlawe, sovereign of 1380. Lombardstown, Co. Cork, was named after them.
Kilkenny in 1312. The best known family of Lawless is Most Rev. Peter Lombard (c. 1560-1625), Archbishop
that of Cloncurry, Co. Kildare, originally of Herts., of Armagh, was a noted author.
England. Nicholas Lawless, who conformed in 1770, was
created Lord Cloncurry in 1789. Hon. Emily Lawless MITCHELL Mitchell is an old English form of
(1845-1913), Irish novelist and poet, was his great-great- Michael. Families of the name have come to Ireland as
grand-daughter. Some families of the name were estab- immigrants at various times in and since the seventeenth
lished near Dublin soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, century, but none are found among the great Anglo-Irish
branches of which migrated to Counties Galway and landed proprietors. A John Mitchell, however, was one
Mayo. From soon after the invasion the name (written of the poll-money commissioners for King’s County
Laweles, Laghles, Lachles, Laules, etc). appears fre- (Offaly) in 1661. Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, however,
quently in mediaeval records up to the end of the does not take its name from a family called Mitchell
sixteenth century throughout Leinster and Munster, but from the christian name Mitchel (i.e. Mitchel
particularly in Co. Kilkenny. One branch settled in the Condon). The name has an honoured place in Irish
city of Kilkenny in the fourteenth century: Walter history in the person of John Mitchel (1815-1875), revol-
Lawless was mayor of Dublin, his family being land- utionary and author, whose ancestor was a Scottish
owners at Cabra and elsewhere near the city. Petty’s Covenanter who fled to Donegal, his father being a
“census” of 1659 indicates that in the seventeenth Presbyterian minister at Newry.
century they were fairly numerous in Co. Kilkenny and
the Dublin area. They were nearly all staunch Jacobites PAKENHAM _ The first of this family to come to
and among the exiles after 1691 was Patrick Lawless Ireland accompanied his relative, Sir Philip Sidney, in
who became Spanish Ambassador to London in 1713 1576. At the beginning of the next century they were
and afterwards to Louis XIV of France. Dublin is one established at Tullynally, Co. Westmeath, which was
of the places where the name is chiefly found today. renamed Pakenham Hall, and have remained there since.
The other is Co. Mayo. As early as 1285 Thomas Laghles In 1756 the head of the family was created Baron and
was Constable of Connacht, and about that time Sir later Earl of Longford, a title formerly held by the Aungier
William Lawless obtained from the Barretts a considerable family, whose heiress he had married. Several Pakenhams
tract of country in and near the parish of Killala (Co. had brilliant careers in the British military, naval and
Mayo). William Lawless (1772-1824), a professor of diplomatic services; but the outstanding figure in Ireland
Anatomy, was outlawed as a member of the United was Father Paul Mary Pakenham, C.P. (1820-1856) who
Irishmen organization and later became a distinguished established the Passionist retreat at Mount Argus. He
general in Napoleon’s army. Mention should also be was formerly Hon. Charles Reginald Pakenham and
made of Valentine Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry (1773- his conversion was one of the most notable of the nine-
1852) who was a member of the United Irishmen in teenth century: in our time we had Edward Arthur
1798 and a protagonist of Catholic Emancipation. Henry Pakenham, Earl of Longford, of the Gate Theatre,
Mount Lawless in Australia is named after the Irish Dublin, he and his wife being notable playwrights,
family which was one of the great pastoral pioneers of while his brother Francis Aungier Pakenham (Baron
Queensland in the 1840’s. Pakenham Earl of Longford) is author of Peace by Ordeal,
The name Lillis, of Counties Cork and Limerick is a striking work on the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
the same in origin as Lawless, of which it is a local
variant. PARNELL The name Parnell, one of the most
famous in Irish history, is very rare in Ireland to-day.
LEDWIDGE This family was established in Co. Meath Of a family long resident at Congleton, Cheshire, whence
at least as early as 1270; they are included among the was taken the title of the peerage conferred on Sir Henry
leading gentry of that county in 1329. Later they spread Parnell in 1841, the first of the Irish branch was Thomas
to Co. Westmeath where Ledwichtown indicates their Parnell, father of Rev. Thomas Parnell (1679-1717),
location. By 1598 they are found also among the gentry Archdeacon of Clogher, poet and friend of Dean Swift.
of Co. Kilkenny. Rev. Edward Ledwich (1737-1823), His brother and his nephew were both M.P.s for Queen’s
the antiquary, states that they were originally a German Co. (now Leix) and in the next genera*’.n a younger
family settled in Cheshire, England, who came to Ireland son acquired the property of Avondale, Co. Wicklow,
with de Burgo’in 1200, when they obtained land in famous as the birthplace and home of Charles Stewart
Co. Westmeath. The Ledwich Medical School in Dublin Parnell (1846-1891), whose career as leader of the
was named after his grandson, Thomas Ledwich (1823- Nationalist Party needs no description. His sister Fanny
1858). Francis Ledwidge (1891-1917), labourer and Parnell (1854-1882) was a poetess of merit who devoted
poet, came from Meath. her talents to the Nationalist cause. Of his predecessors

194
Sir John Parnell (1744-1801), 2nd Bart., was Chancellor British sovereign in 1800. In addition to Nicholas
of the Irish Exchequer and an opponent of the Union; Preston, 6th Viscount, leader of the Catholic gentry
Sir Henry Parnell (1776-1842), 4th Bart., mentioned of the Pale, attainted by Cromwell, and his son Jenico
above, was a prominent Protestant advocate of Catholic Preston, 7th Viscount, who was colonel of Gormanston’s
Emancipation. Infantry in James II’s army and was likewise attainted,
another member of the family was prominent in the
PARSONS _ The Parsons family has been of importance same cause, viz. Thomas Preston, lst Viscount Tara
in Offaly (King’s County) since the end of the sixteenth (1585-1655) who returned from Spain to lead one of the
century when the brother of the celebrated Sir William armies of the Confederate Catholics: but his want of
Parsons settled at Birr. The name of that thriving town success in that capacity and his quarrels with Owen Roe
was changed to Parsonstown: the old name, however, O’Neill contributed to the ultimate defeat. The name
was restored some fifty years ago. The head of the is found to-day in small numbers in various parts of
family is the Earl of Rosse who is resident at Birr Castle. Ireland.
Sir William Parsons (c. 1570-1650), Surveyor General The Gormanston Register, compiled by Sir Christopher
of Ireland, was one of the most active and efficient of de Preston in 1397-8, and continued subsequently in
English officials in Ireland. His nephew, Sir Lawrence different hands, was published by the Royal Society of
Parsons (c. 1630-1698), born at Birr, took an active Antiquaries of Ireland, in 1916. Both text and intro-
part against James II. More recent members of the duction provide a mine of information regarding the early
family have been distinguished for their work in the history of the Prestons in Ireland and contain many
spheres of science and agriculture. Especially noteworthy useful references to the Berminghams and other families
was Sir William Parsons (1800-1867), 3rd Earl of Rosse, to whom the Prestons were related. A good account of
whose observations by means of the great telescope he the Preston family will be found in the Introduction to
installed at Birr Castle are of lasting importance. His the Gormanston Register.
father, Sir Lawrence Parsons, the 2nd Earl, was one of
the prominent opponents of the Union in Grattan’s ROTHE This name, now rather rare in Ireland but
Parliament. The name Parsons, which is very common usually spelt Ruth, is on record here as early as the
in England, is now found in small numbers in several thirteenth century; but no family of the name became
widely separated parts of Ireland, presumably as the firmly established until about 1390, when the close
result of comparatively recent commercial immigration association of the Rothes with Kilkenny began. By the
from England. end of the sixteenth century they had become one of
Some Irish families called Parsons may be of Gaelic the leading families of that city and county. Robert
origin. In the Tudor Fiants we frequently meet Mac- Rothe (1550-1622), M.P. and Mayor and Recorder of
Eparson, MacParson etc. In Scotland the name became Kilkenny was an antiquary and historian; his descendant
MacPherson. Rev. Bernard Rothe, S.J. (1693-1768) had a distin-
guished career in France after leaving Kilkenny; Most
PIERCE There are many variants of this name. Rev. David Rothe (1573-1650), Bishop of Ossory,
In the form Pers it is recorded in Alen’s Register as of is remembered as an author of note as well as for his
Dublin in the thirteenth century. Pearce is the form in support of Rinnuccini at the Confederation of Kilkenny;
the 1659 census (Co. Kildare), while Pierce and Peirce while another Kilkenny-born Rothe, General Michael
appear in various parts of the country at that date. Rothe (1661-1741), served with great distinction first
A Co. Cork probate of 1677 shows the name as Pearce in King James’s Army in Ireland and later as Commander
and for the same county Peirce and Pierce are frequent of Rothe’s Regiment of Cavalry in the Irish Brigade.
in the eighteenth century. Richard Pierce was Bishop of
Waterford and Lismore from 1701 to 1735. Pearse is RUSSELL _ It might be held that Russell should not
of course famous on account of Padraig Pearse (1879- be included in this chapter in as much as some families
1916), schoolmaster, orator, poet and revolutionary of the name came to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-
leader. The Pearse brothers executed in 1916 were sons Norman invasion and as such were prominent in early
of an Englishman living in Dublin and of a Gaelic Irish mediaeval times. Very few present day Russells, however,
mother. can claim descent from these early settlers, except
perhaps those of Downpatrick, who are known to have
PRESTON _ The Prestons, who were Lords of Preston been there for seven centuries. Later immigrants of the
in Lancashire, have been of importance since they came name have reached Ireland at various periods. Many were
to Ireland about the year 1270. The first of note was well established in Counties Cork, Limerick, Galway,
made a judge in 1327; his son Sir Robert de Preston was Meath and particularly in the Swords area of Co. Dublin
Lord High Chancellor and acquired the estate of by the end of the sixteenth century; more followed in
Gormanstown, Co. Dublin and Co. Meath, which has the Plantation of Ulster and under Cromwell. It must
remained in the family since and from which the title not be forgotten, however, that many Russells served
Viscount Gormanston, conferred in 1478, was taken. in King James II’s Army. Perhaps the most distinguished
The active participation of the Prestons on the Irish family of Russell in Irish life was that of- Ballybot,
side in 1641 and again in 1690 resulted in their attainder Newry, Co. Down. Unlike most Russells this family
and outlawry, but their titles were restored by the remained Catholic through the penal times: of these

195
Charles Russell, Lord Russell of Killowen (1832-1900) STACK The Stacks, who originally came from
the famous advocate, who defended Parnell at the England, have been in Co. Kerry since the beginning
“Times” Commission, his uncle Rev. Charles William of the fourteenth century and by the sixteenth had
Russell (1812-1880), President of Maynooth and co- become thoroughly Irish, being among the foremost
editor of four volumes of the Calendar of State Papers, Kerry opponents of the English in the Elizabethan
his sister Katherine Russell (1829-1898) of the Sisters wars. They were allied by marriage to several of the
of Mercy in America, and his brother Rev. Matthew great families of Desmond. John Stack was Bishop of
Russell, S.J. (1834-1912), poet, are the best known. Ardfert from 1558 to 1588 and Philip Stack from 1588
Most Rev. Patrick Russell (1629-1692), one of the to 1595. General Edward Stack (c. 1750-1833) was a
greatest Catholic Archbishops of Dublin, was of the notable officer in the Irish Brigade in France, and also in
Swords family mentioned above. Thomas Russell (1767- Pitt’s Irish Brigade. Their association with Clanmaurice
1803) was one of the foremost Ulster Protestant United is perpetuated in the Stack Mountains between Tralee
Irishmen. Though his activities were associated with and Abbeyfeale and a district in the vicinity was long
Ulster, he was not an Ulsterman: he was born at Mallow known as Pobble Stack or Stack’s Country.
of a family long associated with Co. Kilkenny. George
William Russell (1867-1935), known as AE, poet, STOKES This name is not uncommon in Leinster
painter and economist, came from Lurgan, Co. Armagh. and Munster. It is derived from the English place name
In addition to these there have been many other Russells Stoke. It is found in Ireland as early as the Anglo-
of note in Ireland. Norman invasion, but modern families of Stokes in
Ireland do not claim to be of Hiberno-Norman stock.
Those of Co. Kerry and Co. Limerick are descended
SHAW Shaw is quite a common name in Ireland
from an Elizabethan officer. Their importance lies in
especially in north-east Ulster;in Leinsterit is particularly
the number of notable persons of the name in the
associated with Mullingar. Originally it is Scottish. The
nineteenth century. The first of these was Professor
main Shaw family in Ireland is that of Bushy Park,
Whitley Stokes (1763-1845), a remarkable man who
Terenure, Dublin. The first of these was William Shaw,
was a United Irishman in politics, a brilliant and self-
an officer in the army of William III: he was grandfather
sacrificing medical doctor and patron of Irish scholar-
of Sir Robert Shaw, first baronet and anti-Union M.P.
ship; his son William Stokes (1804-1878) was another
From there on the christian name Bernard appears in
doctor of European reputation and his grandson Whitley
every generation of the pedigree, which includes George
Stokes (1830-1909) was a leading Gaelic scholar;
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), the dramatist. Mid-
Margaret MacNair Stokes (1832-1900) was a first-class
seventeenth century records, which show that the name
archaeologist. These by no means exhaust the list of
was not uncommon then both in Dublin city and in
people called Stokes who have distinguished them-
north-east Ulster, indicate the presence of at least one
selves in the field of science and literature.
family of Shaw in Co. Galway at that time, but the well-
known family of Shawe-Taylor of Castle Taylor, Co.
SWIFT The name Swift does not occur in Irish
Galway, has no connexion with them since the name
mediaeval records. Early in the seventeenth century
Shawe was only assumed by the Taylors in 1843 con-
a branch of this family of Swift, which had been of
sequent upon the marriage of their heiress with an
importance in Yorkshire since 1300, settled in Dublin
Englishman. Bernard Shaw, was, of course, the out-
and one member of it acquired lands in Co. Kilkenny
standing Irishman of the name — in spite of a lifetime’s
and elsewhere. In the next century they moved to Swifts-
residence in England he always insisted upon his Irish
heath in that county, where his descendants still live.
nationality. Other prominent Shaws were Sir Frederick
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the famous Dean of St.
Shaw (1799-1876), M.P. for Dublin University and Re-
Patrick’s, was of a junior branch of this family. The
corder of Dublin for forty-eight years, and William Shaw
name is found in Dublin and in Counties Kilkenny and
(1823-1895) of Cok, leader of the Irish Party after Isaac
Waterford to-day. The Swifts of Co. Mayo are not of
Butt until superseded by Parnell.
English origin, Swift, by a mistranslation, having been
adopted as the anglicized form of the Gaelic O Fuada,
SHEARES~ The name Sheares is rare in Ireland as also called Foody in English.
it is in England, the country of its origin. It is famous in
Irish history on account of the execution outside SYNGE The name Synge has been prominent in the
Newgate Prison of the brothers Henry Sheares (1753- history of the Protestant Church of Ireland since the
1798) and John Sheares (1766-1798), condemned for seventeenth century. Beginning with two Englishmen
complicity in the 1798 Insurrection. Their father Henry who were respectively Bishops of Cloyne (1638) and of
Sheares (1702-1768), a prominent banker, was M.P. for Cork and Ross (1663), they were followed by a
Clonakilty; his father, the first of the family to settle succession of bishops and deans in the southern dioceses.
in Ireland, was sheriff of Cork in 1716. There was an John Millington Synge (1871-1909), one of the best
English family of Sheares in Co. Wexford (Fort known of the authors and dramatists connected with
Chichester) in 1659. One Sir Henry Sheares (d. 1710), the Irish literary revival, was born in Dublin.
though he had been imprisoned as a Jacobite, was
trustee of Irish grants in 1700. TONE The Anglo-Irish records indicate that the sur-

196
name Tone was not unknown in Ireland in the sixteenth poration of that city under the charter of 1613 the
century, but no person of the name of any note appears sovereign and three of the twelve burgesses were Ushers.
before Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763-1798). His father, Another remarkable character was Fr. James Ussher
Peter Tone, was a coachbuilder in Dublin, where Wolfe (1720-1772) a Protestant farmer who became a Catholic
Tone, who was one of the great figures in Irish history, priest. R.J. Ussher (1841-1913) was a naturalist whose
was born. His son William Theobald Wolfe Tone (1791- Birds ofIreland is a standard work.
1828), who became a French citizen, published his A few families bearing the old Connacht surname
father’s remarkable journal. The name Tone is now very Hession (or Hussian) have changed their name to Ussher,
rare if not extinct in Ireland. which in such cases is really O hOisin. Another angli-
cized form of the Gaelic surname is Hishon, which is
USSHER The Usshers are certainly of Norman found in Co. Tipperary. The name O hOisin occurs in
origin. Parr, who wrote the life of the celebrated Primate the Annals relating to the eleventh and twelfth centuries
James Ussher in 1686, states that they were originally in all the provinces except Ulster.
Nevills and that one of these Nevills, having come to
Ireland with John, took the surname Ussher from the WESTROPP- The name Westropp is not found in
official position he held under that king. There is no Ireland before 1567 when the ancestor of the Anglo-
doubt that several persons of the name are recorded Irish Westropps settled in Co. Limerick, a branch of the
as being in Ireland during the early thirteenth century. family going soon afterwards to Clare. With these two
Tradition links up these individuals with the Ussher counties they have since been closely associated. In the
family which produced so many distinguished Irishmen. latter the family is now represented by the O’Callaghan-
John Ussher, who then lived in Yorkshire, was appointed Westropps, an O’Callaghan of Maryfort (or Lismehane)
Constable of Dublin Castle in 1307; he died in England. near O’Callaghan’s Mills having married the Westropp
It can be confidently stated that Arland Ussher, heiress in 1859. The most distinguished of the family
“merchant of Dublin” in 1420, was this John’s descend- was Thomas Johnson Westropp (1860-1922), the anti-
ant and the pedigree is authenticated from him down to quary and historian.
the present day. Sir William Ussher of Donnybrook was
one of the leading gentry of Co. Dublin in 1598. His WHITE The name White is so numerous in Ireland
father was mayor of Dublin in 1561. The Usshers were and so many distinguished Irishmen have borne it that
also identified with Co. Armagh and with Co. Waterford this book must not be without some more than passing
as gentry and members of Parliament. All the famous reference to it. They came, chiefly from England, at
Usshers were born in or near Dublin. The most remark- intervals throughout the centuries and settled in every
able was the Most Rev. James Ussher (1581-1656), province in widely separated areas. I can only refer here
Archbishop of Armagh for thirty years, whose library to the most important of these. In Limerick the name
formed the nucleus of the famous library of Trinity occurs very frequently in the list of mayors and sheriffs
College, Dublin. He is fully dealt with, both as church- from soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, the earliest
man and author, in the Dictionary of National Biography, being in 1213. A branch of this city family became
though his change from the bitter anti-Papist outlook landed proprietors in Co. Clare. Father James White,
of his middle years to the tolerance of his old age might who compiled a History of Limerick in 1738 (now in
be more emphasized. His brother Ambrose Ussher the Royal Irish Academy), was of this family. The story
(1582-1629) was a noted Hebrew and Arabic scholar. of the Whites of Waterford is very similar, though the
Sir William Ussher (b. 1651) was Clerk of the Council name does not appear in the list of mayors till 1414:
and superintended the publication in 1602 of the first in this case the landed family resided at Whyteshall,
printed version in Irish of the New Testament (that of Co. Kilkenny, and near Clonmel. The famous Jesuit
William O’Donnell), while his father, John Ussher Father Stephen White (1575 - c. 1648) was born at
(1529-1590), the mayor of Dublin, was responsible Clonmel; and John Davis White (1820-1893), who did
for the publication of the first book ever printed in much useful historical work, was a Co. Kilkenny man.
the Irish language. Rev. Henry Ussher (1741-1790), Another landed family of note was that of Leixlip,
royal astronomer, was instrumental in establishing which subsequently went to Loughbrickland, Co. Down.
the Dunsink Observatory. His son, Sir Thomas Ussher
(1779-1848), conveyed Napoleon to Elba and refused WILDE There are references to this name as de Wylde
to testify that the emperor was mad; Capt. Arthur both in the Pale and in Co. Limerick from 1295 onwards.
Ussher (1693-1768), of the Co. Waterford branch, The first of the famous Wilde family came from Durham
veteran of nine campaigns under Marlborough was and became a builder in Dublin; his son Ralph Wilde
famous for killing his colonel in a duel for which he went to Mayo as a land agent about the year 1750. So
was acquitted by the Duke; Henry Ussher (1883- the Wildes were in Connacht and connected by marriage
1957), of Eastwell, Co. Galway has been called with several of the old Gaelic families a hundred years
“the last of the Harry Lorrequers”. A branch of before the best known of them, Sir William Wilde
the family has been established in South America for (1815-1876), the oculist and antiquary, was born there.
nearly two centuries: it still flourishes and has produced In their lifetime his wife and son were more famous than
several priests prominent in Argentina. In connexion himself: Jane Francesca Wilde (1826-1896) better
with Armagh it is of interest to add that in the new cor- known as “‘Speranza’”’ the political authoress, and Oscar

Loy
Wilde (1854-1900) playwright and author of Ballad Yeats, a citizen of Dublin who died in 1712. The first
of Reading Gaol. in Co. Sligo was Church of Ireland rector of Drumcliff.
He was grandfather of John Butler Yeats (1839-1922)
the artist, who had two famous sons, William Butler
YEATS The name Yeats, alias Yates and Yeates, is on Yeats (1865-1939), the poet, and Jack Butler Yeats
record in Dublin in the seventeenth century. The (1870-1957) the leading artist in Ireland in the present
ancestor of the well known Co. Sligo family was Jervis century.

198
 Appendix A

Surnames indigenous and common in Britain which are used as the anglicized form of Gaelic Irish
surnames.

*The asterisk denotes that the older form in italics is now obsolete.

Adrian (O’Dreane*) Coulter (O’Colter)

Agnew (O’Gnieff*) Cox (MacQuilly)
Allen (Hallion) Craven (Cravane)
Crawley (MacCraly*, Crowley)
Badger (Brick) Creed (Creedon)
Banks (Brohan) Crosbie (MacCrossan)
Barnacle (Coyne) Cullington (Cullotan)
Barnes (Berrane) Cummings (see Comyn)
Barron (Berrane) Cunningham (MacCunnigan, O’Cunnigan)
Battle (Duncahy, MacEncaha*)
Berry (O Beara*) Davenport (Donarty)
Biggins (Biggane) Davey (Davin, MacDavitt)
Bird (MacAneeny, Heanahan, Heaney) Davis (Davin, MacDavitt)
Bishop (MacAnaspie) Deane (O’Dane*, MacDigney)
Blake (Blowick) Diver (O Deere)
Blessing (Mulvanerty) Dore (O’Dower*)
Bloomer (Gormley) Downes (Duane etc.)
Bonar (Kneafsey) Drew (O Drea, MacEdrue*)
Bowen (Bohane, Nevin) Drury (O Drea, MacEdrue*)
Bowes (Bogue) Duck (Lohan)
Boyce( do. ) Duncan (Donegan)
Bradley (O’Brallaghan) Dunlop (Dunlevy)
Bridgeman (O Drehitt*) Dyer (O'Dwyer)
Broderick, Brothers (O Broder)
Burns (O Beirne, Birrane, Byrne) Early (O ’Mulvochory*)
Byron(O Beirne, Birrane, Byrne) Earner (Seery)
Eason (MacKee)
Cairns (Kerin, O’Kieran) Eivers (Heever, MacKeever)
Caldwell (Colvan, Houriskey) Evans (O’'Hevine*)
Canning (O’Cannon, Cunneen)
Carey (Keary, Kerin etc.) Fane (Feehin)
Carpenter (MacA teer) Fanning (Fenning, O’Finan)
Carlton (O’Carolan) Farley (O’Farrelly)
Carr (Maclihair, Kerin etc.) Farmer (MacScollog)
Carton (MacCartan) Fay (Fee)
Cashman (Kissane) Fennell (O Finnell)
Caulfield (MacCall, Gaffney, MacCarron, Goonan) Fenton (Feeheny, Feenaghty)
Cawley (MacAuley) Ferris (Fergus)
Chaff (Lohan) Field (Fihilly)
Clarke (O’Clery) Fielding (do.)
Clifford (Cluvane) Finlay (Finnelly)
Close (O’Closse*) Fisher (Bradden)
Cole (MacCool, Gilhool) Flood (MacA tilla)
Coleman (O’Colman) Forbes (MacFirbis)
Collins (O’Cullane) Ford (Foran, MacKinnawe)
Comber (Kerin, Kerrigan) Fortune (O’Fortyn*)
Comyn (MacComin*, O’Comin*) Fox (Kearney, Shahan, Shinnick etc.)
Conway (MacConowe*, O’Conowe*, Convey etc.) Foy (Fee)
Corbett (Corbane) Freeman (MacA teer, Seery)
Corby (MacCorboy*, O’Corboy*)
Corkell (MacCorkill) Gilbey (MacElwee etc.)
Cotter (MacCotter) Gill (abbrev. of many Gil-names)

199
Godwin (O’Dea, Doddan) Leech (Logue)
Goff, Gough (MacGeough) Leigh (see Lee)
Golden, Goulding (O’Gullin*) Leonard (MacAlinion, Lenane, Lennon etc.)
Gow (MacGowan) Lestrange (MacConchogrye*)
Graham (Grehan) Lilly (MacAlilly)
Gray (MacArevy) Lindsay (MacClintock, Lynchy, O’Lynne)
Green (Fahy, MacGlashan, O’Hooneen) Little (Beggane)
Griffin (O’Griffy) Littleton( do. )
Grimes (Gormley, Grehan, Quinlisk) Loftus (Loughnane)
Long (Longan, O’Longy*)
Hales, Hayles (MacHale, Healy) Lord (Kiernan, Tierney)
Halfpenny (Halpin)
Halvey (O’Halwick) Manley (Monnelly)
Hand (Claffey, Lavin) Manning (Mannion)
Hanley (O’Hanley) Markham (Markahan)
Hardiman (Hargaden) Marley (Marrilly)
Hare (MacGarry, O’Hehir) Martin (see p. 126 supra)
Harley (O ‘Harrily*) Masterson (MacMaster)
Harrington (Harroughten, O’Hinderdell*) Matthews (MacMahon)
Hartley (O Hartily*) Maxey (Mackessy)
Harvey (O’Harvey*) May (O’Mea)
Hastings (Hestin) Meade (Miagh*)
Hatton (Macllhatton) Mears (O ‘Meere*)
Haughton (Haughan) Melville (Mulfaal, Mulvihill)
Hawe (Haugh) Merriman (MacMenamin)
Hawkins (Haughan) Merry (Mariga)
Hayden (O’Headan*) Meyer (O’Myer*)
Hayes (O Hea etc.) Michael (MacGillemichell*, Mulvihill)
Hearne (Ahearne) Miles (MacMoylie*, Mullery)
Holland (Holohan, Hylan) Miley (O’Mealue, Mullee)
Holly (MacCullen) Milford (Mullover)
Hone (O’Howen*) Millin (Mulleen)
Hood (O’Hood) Mitchell (see Michael)
Howard (Heever) Molyneux (Mulligan)
Howe (Hoey) Monday (MacAloon)
Howley (O’Howley*) Monks (MacEvanny, Monahan)
Hughes (see Hayes) Montague (MacTeigue)
Hunt (Fee, Feeheny) Morgan (Morahan, Murrigan)
Hussey (Hosey) Morley (Morrolly, Murhila)
Morris (see p. 130 supra)
Ingoldsby /Gallogly) Morrison (see p. 130 supra)
Ivers (see Eivers) Morrissey (see p. 131 supra)
Morrow (MacMurrough, Murray)
Johnson (MacShane) Moss (Mulmona)
Judge (Breheny) Myers (see Meyer)

Kane (O’Cahan) Neville (O’Nee, Nevin)

Kettle (MacKetyll*) Newell (see Knowles)
Keyes (MacKee) Norton (O’Naghten)
Kidney (Duane)
King (MacAree, Conroy, Macllroy, O’Kinga*) Oakes (MacDara)
Kingston (MacCloughry) Owen (O’Howen*, MacKeon)
Kirby (Kerwick)
Kirk (Quirke) Palmer (Mullover)
Knight (MacNaughton, MacRuddery) Patterson (Cussane, MacPadden)
Knowles (O ‘Newill*) Patton, Peyton (O Petane*)
Powell (Gilfoyle)
Lambe (O’Loan, Noone)
Lane (Lehane, Leyne etc.) Rabbitt (MacAneany, Cunneen)
Lawton (Loughnane) Raleigh (O Rawley*)
Lee (Maclea, O’Leye*) Ray (Reavey)

200
Reddington (Mulderrig, Redehan) Smith (MacGowan, O’Gowan)
Reeves (O’Rive*) Somers, Somerville, Summers (Somahan, O’Saura*)
Reid (Mulderrig, Mulready) Spelman (Spillane)
Reynolds (MacRannal) Staunton (see p. 42 supra)
Rice (see p. 143 supra) Stone (Cloherty, Muckley)
Ring (O’Rinne*) Swift (Foody)
Rock (Currigy) Swords (Clavin)
Roe, Rowe (MacEnroe, O’Rowe*)
Rogers, Rodgers (MacRory) Tarrant (Torran)
Rowland (Roolane) Thornton (Drennan, Meenahan, Skehan, Torran)
Rowley ( do. ) Thynne (O’Tyne*)
Rush (Loughry) Torrens, Torrance (see Tarrant)
Rutledge (Mulderrig) Tucker (Togher)
Ryder (Markahan, Markey)
Vaughan (Mohan)
Victory (MacNaboe)
Salmon (Bradden)
Savage (Savin) Warren (Murnane)
Sewell (O ‘Swally *) Waters (Heskin, Hourisky, Toorish etc.)
Sexton (Shasnan) Weir (MacEwire*, Corry)
Shallow, Shelley (Shalvey) White (Bannon, Galligan)
Shields (O ‘Shiel) Whitehead (Canavan)
Silke (O ‘Sheedy — not MacSheedy) Woods (MacElhoyle, MacEnkelly*, Kielty, Quilty)
Small (Begg, Kielty, Quilty) Wren (see Ring)
Smallwoods (MacNecollen*) Wynne (Geehan, Mulgeehy)

201
 Appendix B
Surnames commonly and correctly regarded as Gaelic Irish which are nevertheless found indigenous
outside Ireland (though less commonly than those in Appendix A).

Begg Donegan Glynn Keane

Boyle Doyle Guerin
, Guinness Lowry
Ge Fallon Lynch
Considine
Fearon
Cosgrave Folev* Melod
Coveney y Hart sete
Crowe Healy Moore
Crowley Gaynor Higgins
Curry Geary Hurley Ward

*See page 89.

Appendix C

Gaelic Irish surnames which have an English appearance but are nevertheless rarely if ever found
indigenous in Britain.

Arkins Delahunt Gately Nestor

Denroche Gerty Normile
Diamond* Gleeson
Diggin Going Prunty
Blowick Doolady Gormley
aeee Dowling* Rafter
Broder Downing* (or Wrafter)
Bruen Drought erie Rigney
Buggy Dunworth Harkin* Ring
Durack Hartel pondey.
Hassett Rowan
Hynes* Rudden
Cadden Rani
Canny Scullion
Canty Kerley* Sharkey
Carry Kett* Sherry
Casserley Ferris Kneafsey Slowey
Cheasty Flatly Knee Swords
Coakley Flattery Kyne
Conwell Foody Toner
Corkell Forkin Lynam
Crampsey Fortune* Warnock*
Cribbin Frawley Meldon
Cuffe Fury Mescall Zorkin

*Names so indicated are occasionally found indigenous in England.

 Appendix D

Gaelic Irish surnames which have a foreign appearance but are nevertheless rarely if ever found
indigenous outside Ireland.

Brazil Ghee Kehoe Nihil

Gihon
Gna Lavelle**
Coen* Gweehin Levy* Schaill
Conole Leyden Shera
Lomasney Shovelin
Delacour**
Hargadon Sloyan
Harkan Manasses
Delargy
Hederman Mannix
De Yermond
Hession Mariga Thulis
Melia
Gaussen*** Minogue
Geon Jerety Mulfaal Wilhere

* Cf. Jewish Cohen, Levi **Found in France. *** Round in Switzerland

203
 Appendix E

The best known of the Norse, Norman and English names which have become “‘naturalized” by
long association with Ireland.

Many of them are not found in England except among families which emigrated from Ireland. A
few are used occasionally as synonyms of Gaelic surnames: these are indicated by an asterisk.

Arthur Dalton Jennings St. Leger

Aylward Darcy* Jordan Sarsfield
Devereux* Joyce Saurin*
Balfe Dillon Segrave
Barneville (or Dondon Keating* Shortall
Barnwall) (or Dundon) Sinnott
Barrett Dowdall De Lacy* (or Synott)
Barron* Laffan Stack
Barry* : Landers Stacpoole
Barton poeasd Lavallin Stafford
Bastable Pe wea ie Lawless Staunton
Beamish Ledwich Stritch
Bellew Lillis Sweetman
Bellingham Fagan* Liston Swift*
Belton Fitzgerald Lombard
Bermingham Fitzgibbon Luttrell
Binchy Fitzmaurice Paes
Blake* Fleming Martin* rales
Blaney Flood* Masterson* waste
Boden French Maunsel Terr iS
Bredin Furlong Mockler T a!
Brett* Molyneux* ges
Browne* —
Bryan* Galwey Nagle ae
Burke Gernon Nangle irae
(or Bourke) Glenn Netterville
Butler Gogan Nugent* Uniacke
Grace Ussher
Cantillon Plunkett
Carrick* Hackett Power Veais
Codd Harold Prendergast
Verdon
Cody Haughton (or Pender)
Cogan* Headon* Preston
Coll* Henebry Punch Wadding
Comerford* Herbert Purcell Waldron
Condon Hone* 2 Wall
Coppinger Howlin Redmond Walsh
De Courcy Hussey* Rice* Weldon
Croke Roche White*
Cruise Rochfort Wogan
Cusack Ivers* Rossiter Woulfe
Cussen (or Eivers) Rothe (or Ruth) Wyse
 Appendix F

Irish surnames rarely found outside particular counties or baronies (apart from immigrants to
Dublin and other large urban centres).

Names dealt with in Part II and Part IV are not included in the following list. The great majority
of the surnames in it are properly Mac or O names. These prefixes, however, have in most cases been
dropped and rarely if ever resumed; they are therefore omitted here except when generally used.
Only names extant at the present day are included. The rentals referred to in Chapter I contain many
names peculiar to certain districts a century ago which are now extinct, often because they have been
absorbed in commoner ones.
The list is mainly of value for the counties of the Atlantic seaboard.
I regret that it is not possible to mention by name all the people who have given me information
on this subject. I wish, however, especially to acknowledge the very valuable and detailed notes
which I received from Mr. P. J. Kennedy on Co. Galway and from Mr. J. C.MacDonagh on Counties
Donegal and Sligo; while the observations on Westmeath surnames which Mr. Séamus O Conchobair
kindly sent me were most helpful. I also thank Mr. Sein O Sutilleabhain of the Irish Folklore
Commission and Mr. Hubert Butler for useful advice relating to Counties Kerry and Kilkenny.

Adrian: Antrim. Clune: East Clare.

Agnew: Antrim. Coakley: Cork.
MacAlinden: Armagh. Codd: Wexford.
MacAndrew Mayo. Codyre: South Galway.
Anglin (or Anglim): Cork. MacCole: Donegal.
MacAteer: Tyrone. Callopy: Limerick.
Ballisty: Westmeath. Columby: Westmeath.
Bannigan: Donegal. Conaty: Cavan.
Bastable: Cork. Conefry: Leitrim.
Conheady: Clare.
Battle (alias Duncahy): Sligo.
Connaire: East Galway.
Berkery: East Limerick and Co. Tipperary.
Conneely: Galway.
Berreen: Sligo.
Conole: North Clare.
Blehan: East Galway.
Convery. Derry.
Bolger: Wexford.
Coolahan: East Galway.
Bonar: Donegal.
Corkery: West Cork.
Boran: East Limerick and West Tipperary.
Cournane: Kerry.
Bracken: Offaly.
Creedon: Cork.
Breheny: Sligo and North Roscommon.
Crehan: North East Galway.
Brick: Kerry.
Cremin: Cork and East Kerry.
Briody: North Longford and West Cavan.
MacCrohan: Kerry.
Brody*: Clare.
MacCrory: East Tyrone.
Brosnan: Kerry and West Limerick.
MacCrossan: North Tyrone.
Bugler: East Clare. pero ean
ooo Culhane: Limerick.
Cafferky: Mayo. Culkin: Galway.
Cahalane: Kerry and East Cork. Culloty: Kerry.
MacCallion: East Donegal and West Derry. Cunnane: Roscommon, East Mayo.
Canty: Cork and South Limerick. Cunniffe: North Galway, South Mayo.
Carrigy: Clare. Currane: Kerry.
Cashman: Cork. Currigan: Roscommon.
Cheasty: Kerry. Cussen: Limerick and West Cork.
Cloherty: West Galway.
Clohessy: Limerick and East Clare. Daffy: Clare.

*Though a rare name, Brody (MacBrody, MacBruodin) might well have been given a place in Part II on account of the distinguished
persons the sept has produced. An admirable article dealing with this family by Father Cuthbert MacGrath, O.F.M. will be found in Figse
(Vol. IV. part 1, pp. 48-66), 1944.

205
Dahill: Tipperary. MacGready: North-West Donegal.
MacDaid: Donegal and adjacent areas in Tyrone and Geany: Cork.
Derry. MacGeough: Monaghan and North Louth.
Darragh: Antrim. MacGeown: Armagh.
Deady: Kerry. Gerety: Westmeath.
Deeley: South Galway. MacGettigan: Donegal.
Deeny: East Donegal and West Derry. Giblin: Roscommon and East Mayo.
Deery: North Monaghan and South Tyrone. Gilhooly: Leitrim.
Deloughery: Cork. Gillick: Cavan.
Dennehy: Cork and East Kerry. MacGinley: Donegal.
Derrig: Mayo. Ginnane: Clare.
Desmond: Cork- Ginty: Mayo.
Dever: Mayo (cf. Diver infra). MacGinty: Donegal.
MacDevitt: North Donegal. MacGivern: Armagh and North Down.
Diamond: East Derry and West Antrim. MacGivney: Cavan.
Dirrane. Galway (Aran Islands). MacGlinchy: Tyrone and East Donegal.
Diskin: North Galway. MacGloin: Donegal.
Diver: Donegal. MacGlone: Tyrone.
Divilly: Galway. MacGonigle: South West Donegal and West Tyrone.
Dore: Limerick. Gorham: West Galway.
Duignan: East Roscommon and Leitrim. MacGreal: Mayo.
Dullea: Cork. Grealish: Galway.
Dundon: Limerick. Greally: Galway and South Mayo.
Durack: East Clare. Groarke: Mayo.
Durkin: Mayo and Sligo. Grory: Donegal and West Derry.
MacGuane: Clare.
Early: Leitrim. Gubbins: Limerick.
MacEldowney: Derry. Guihan: West Kerry.
MacElhinney: North West Donegal. Guihen: Roscommon.
MacElligott: Kerry. Guinan: Offaly and North Tipperary.
MacEllistrum: Kerry. MacGuinn: Sligo.
MacErlean: East Derry and West Antrim. Guiry: Limerick.

Faherty: Galway. Hallahan: Cork.

MacFall: West Antrim and East Derry. Hallissy: West Cork and South Kerry.
Feerick: Mayo and North Galway. Hanafin: Kerry.
Fennelly: Kilkenny. Hanna: Antrim and North Down.
Fennessy: Waterford. O’Hare: East Armagh and West Down.
Fergus: Mayo. Hargadon (Hardiman): Galway.
Ferry: Donegal. Hassett: Clare and North Tipperary.
MacFettridge: West Antrim and East Derry. Heanue: West Galway.
Finneran: South Roscommon and East Galway. Henehan: Mayo.
Flattery: Westmeath and North Offaly. Hennelly: Mayo.
Flattley: Mayo. Henrion: Westmeath.
Folan: Galway. Herlihy: West Cork and South Kerry.
Forkin: Mayo. Hession: North and East Galway and South Mayo.
Forrestal: Kilkenny. Hever: Sligo.
Fortune: Wexford. Histon: Limerick.
Frain: Mayo and North Roscommon. Hoban: Mayo.
Furey: Galway. Holian: South Galway.
Furlong: Wexford. Honan: Clare.
Hood: West Antrim and East Derry.
Gahan: Wexford and North Kilkenny. Horaho: (alias Harrison): Sligo.
MacGahan: Louth. Horgan: Cork and South Kerry.
MacGahey: Monaghan. Hosty: Mayo and North Galway.
Gallery: North Clare. Houneen: Clare.
Galligan: Cavan. Hourihane: Cork.
Gallivan: Kerry. Howlin: Wexford.
Gately: Roscommon and North Galway. Hoyne: Kilkenny.
Gaughan: Mayo. MacHugo: Galway.
Gavaghan: Mayo. Hultaghan: Fermanagh.

206
Keady: South-West Galway. Merlehan: Westmeath.
Kearon: Wicklow. Meyler: Wexford.
Keaveney: North-East Galway. Milligan: Antrim and South Derry.
MacKeever: Derry and West Antrim. Milmo: Sligo.
Keoghan: Cavan. Minihane: Cork.
Keohane: Cork. Minogue: Clare.
Kernaghan: Armagh. Molamphy: North Tipperary.
Kerwick: Kilkenny. Molphy: Westmeath.
Kett: West Clare. MacMonagle: Donegal.
Kevane: Kerry. Monaher: Offaly.
McKevitt: Lough. Mongey: Mayo.
Keville: Galway. Monnelly: Mayo.
MacKibbin: Down and Antrim. Morley: Mayo.
Kidney: Cork. Morrisroe: Roscommon.
Kielty: Roscommon and East Galway. Moynihan: Kerry and West Cork;
Kilbane: Mayo. Mulkeen: Mayo.
Kilcash: Sligo. Mulkerrin: Galway.
Kilcullen: Sligo. Mullany: Limerick and North Clare.
Kilgallon: Mayo. Mullarkey: Roscommon and East Mayo.
Kilgannon: Sligo. Mulqueen(y): Clare.
Kilkelly: South Galway. Mulroy: Mayo.
Kilkenny: Roscommon. Mulvenny: Antrim.
Killacky: North Tipperary. Mungovan: West Clare.
McKillen: Antrim. Murnane: Limerick and North Clare.
Killian: Westmeath and South Roscommon. McMurty: Antrim.
Killilea: Roscommon and East Galway.
Killoran: Sligo and North Roscommon. ‘MacNaboe: Cavan.
Kinneen: Galway. MacNamee: Derry.
McKinstry: Antrim and Down Nee: Galway.
MacKinney: Tyrone and West Antrim. MacNelis: Donegal.
Kissane: Kerry. MacNicholas: Mayo.
Kitterick: Mayo. MacNiff: Leitrim.
Kyle: Derry and West Antrim. Nix: West Limerick.
Noone: Roscommon, East Galway and East Mayo.
Laheen: Galway. Normoyle: Clare.
Lahiff (alias Flahy): East Clare. Nyhan (formerly Nehane): Cork.
Lavallin: Cork.
Lavan: Mayo and North Roscommon. Ormond: Waterford and South Kilkenny.
Lavelle: Mayo.
Lehane: Cork. Peoples: Donegal
Leo: Limerick. Philbin: Mayo.
Lestrange: Westmeath. Phylan (or Fyland): Westmeath and North Offaly.
Liddy: Clare. MacPolin: Armagh.
Liston: Limerick. O’Prey: Down.
Logue: Derry and East Donegal. Prior: South Cavan and North-East Longford.
Lohan: Galway. Prunty: Longford.
Lombard: Cork.
MacLoone: Donegal. Qualter: North Galway.
Lordan: Cork. Quee: Antrim.
Lowney: Cork. Queenan: Sligo.
Lucey: Cork. Quilter: North Kerry.
Lydon: Galway and Scuth Mayo.
Lynam: Offaly. Raftiss: Kilkenny.
Ragget: Kilkenny.
Magner: Cork. Rattigan: Mayo.
MacManamon: Mayo. O’Rawe: Antrim.
Maughan: Mayo. Relehan: Kerry.
Mea: Mayo. Rigney: Offaly.
Melia: Galway. Riney: South Kerry.
Mellon: Tyrone. Rodden: Donegal.
MacMenamin: Donegal and North Tyrone. Roddy: East Mayo and North Roscommon.

207
Rohan: Kerry. Taggart: Antrim.
Ronayne: East Cork. Talty: West Clare.
Rossiter: Wexford. Tangney: Kerry.
Rossney: West Kerry. Tannian: South Galway.
Ruane: Mayo and East Galway. Tansey: Sligo.
Tarpey: Mayo and North Roscommon.
Scally: Westmeath and South Roscommon. Teahan: Kerry.
Scarry: East Galway. Thynne: West Clare.
Scullion: Antrim and East Derry. Timlin: Mayo.
Seery: Westmeath. Tonra: Sligo.
Shryhane: Roscommon. Tunny: Sligo.
Silke: East Galway.
Sinnott: Wexford. Vallelly: Armagh.
Snee: Sligo. Veale: Waterford.
Spellissy: Clare. Verling: Cork.
Spelman: Galway and South Roscommon.
Spillane: Cork and West Kerry. Waldron: Roscommon and East Mayo.
MacStay: Down. MacWeeney: Leitrim.
Stritch: East Clare. Weir: South Antrim and North Armagh.
Studdert: Clare. Wheleghan: Westmeath.
Sugrue: Kerry. Woolahan: Kilkenny.
Summaghan: Sligo-Roscommon.
Yourell (or Urell): Westmeath.

208
 Appendix G

Anglo-Norman surnames formed from trades, employments, personal characteristics and nationality
taken from mediaeval Irish records and still found in Ireland. (Many families so called are, however, of
post-medieval introduction.)

le Archer Fereter Petit (Petty)

le Bailiff (Bailey) Fisher Piper
le Baker Fleming Poer (Power)
le Barbour Forester(al) Potter
le Blak(e) Francis Proude (Prout)
le Blound (Blunt) Franklyn Ragged
le Boucher (Butcher) Ganter Rede (Reid)
le Brette Gardener Roussel (Russell)
Broun (Browne) Glover Sauvage (Savage)
Burgeys (Burgess) Grant Serjeant
le Botiller (Butler) Harpur Shepherd
le Campion Hayward Skynner
le Carpenter Hunt(er) Smithe4
le Carter Large Steward (Stewart)
le Clerke! Lawles(s) Tanner(e)
le Collier Leche Taylour
le Comber2 Lightfot Toukere (Tucker)5
le Cooke? le Lombard Ussher
le Cousin Long Vyneter
le Croker Marchant Wakeman
le Cuirteis (Curtis) Mareschal (Marshall) Waleys (Walsh)
le Devenish Mason Warner
le Draper Mercer Webbe
le Dyer Miniter White
lEnfant (Fant) Noble Wilde
le Engleys (English) Norreys Woodeman
l’Ercedekene (Archdeacon) Parker Wyse
Je Fauconer (Falkiner) Paumer (Palmer) Yong (Young)

1 Most of our Irish Clarkes are O’Clery by origin.

2 Comber is also an anglicized form of O Ciardin and O Ciaragain.
In Connacht Cooke and MacCooke are usually for MacDhabhoc, a branch of the Burkes. MacCooge was the seven-
teenth century form there; MacCooke is quite frequent in the Hearth Money Rolls of the north-eastern counties
Smith, especially in Co. Cavan, is now usually an alias of MacGowan.
Tucker is also an anglicized form of Tougher or Toher (O Tuathair). Tougher is now a Mayo name.
 Appendix H

The following are the commonest English, Scottish and Welsh surnames found in modern Ireland.
The majority of them are concentrated in and around Belfast. The figures show the estimated approxi-
mate present population of each.
In the case of names marked with an asterisk * a considerable proportion of the population figure
may be ascribed to persons of Gaelic stock whose Irish patronymic has been changed at some period:
thus many Smiths are really MacGowans, Clarkes are Clerys and Kings Conrys. This is true also of
several others not so indicated — some Grahams, for example, are Grehans, Armstrong may be Lavery,
Burns Byrne, and occasionally Dickson is a synonym of Deehan; but in such cases the relevant propor-
tion is small. For further information on this point see Appendix A. The sign + indicates that the name
so marked is dealt with either in the text of this volume or in More Irish Families.

*Smith 30,000 *+ Ferguson 5,500

+Brown(e) 20,000 *+ Morrow 5,500
*+ Murray 18,000 Young 5,500
Wilson 15,000 + Mitchell 5,500
*+ Campbell 14,000 Walker 5,000
*+ Clarke 14,000 Gordon 5,000
Johnston(e)! 14,000 Craig 5,000
*+Hughes 13,500 Hall 5,000
*+ Martin 13,000 Watson 5,000
Thom(p)son 13,000 Hill 5,000
White 12,000 Irwin? 5,000
Stewart and Stuart 10,500 +Gray 4,500
Burns 9,000 Black 4,500
Robinson 9,000 + Morris 4,500
Reid 8,500 + Morrison 4,500
Graham 8,500 +Montgomery 4,500,
*+ King 8,500 +MacClean and MacLean 4,250
Bell 8,000 Stevenson 4,250
*+ Cunningham 8,500 + Davis 4,250
Anderson 7,000 Wright 4,250
*+ Rogers and Rodgers 7,000 {Beatty 4,250
+Hamilton 7,000 Jackson 4,250
Miller and Millar 7,000 + Russell 4,250
+ Allen 7,000 Dickson and Dixon 4,250
Boyd 6,500 Gibson 4,000
Patterson 6,500
*Green(e) 6,500 The returns for the following well known
Jones 6,500 Irish names are given here as a basis of comparison:
+ Taylor 6,500 Murphy 55,000
Wallace 6,000 O’Brien and Brien? 30,000
+Kerr 6,000 Fitzgerald 13,500
Armstrong 6,000 Clancy 4,250
*Woods 5,500 Coffey 4,250

1 Johnson (c. 2, 500) not included. 2 Irvine (c. 3,000) not included. 3 Bryan and MacBrien not included.

210
 Appendix I

Blazons: descriptions of family arms on the colour places (pages 159-185)

Plate I Coats of arms on page 159

AHERNE MacAULIFFE MacAWLEY
Vert, three herons argent. Argent three mermaids with combs and Argent a lion rampant gules armed and
Crest: A pelican in her piety proper. mirrors in fess azure between as many langued azure in chief two dexter
mullets of the last. hands couped at the wrist of the second.
Crest: A boar’s head couped or. Crest: A demi-lion rampant gules.

BARRETT O’BEIRNE
(Of Barretts Country, Co. Cork)
Argent an orange tree eradicated and
Barry of ten per pale argent and gules BARRY fructed proper, in base a lizard vert, in
counterchanged. Argent 3 bars gemels gules. the dexter base point a saltire couped
Crest: A demi-lion rampant sable ducally gules, on a chief azure the sun in his
crowned per pale argent and gules. splendour or and a crescent of the first.
Crest: A dexter arm in armour embowed
the hand grasping a sword all proper.
O’BOLAND
Argent a lion passant gules langued and
BLAKE armed azure, on a chief or an eagle O’BOYLAN
Argent a fret gules. displayed of the third. Argent an eagle displayed sable armed
Crest: A leopard passant proper. Crest: A demi-lion rampant argent. or.

Plate II Coats of arms on page 160

O’BOYLE MacBRADY O’BRENNAN
Or an oaktree eradicated vert. Sable, in the sinister base a dexter hand (Connacht)
Crest: A sword point upwards proper couped at the wrist proper pointing with Argent a lion rampant azure, in chief
and a passion cross or in saltire sur- index finger to the sun in splendour two dexter hands couped at the wrist
mounted of a heart gules. in dexter chief or. apaumée gules.
Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or a
plume of five ostrich feathers alter-
nately azure and or.

O’BRENNAN
(Ossory) O’BRODER
Gules two lions rampant combatant O’BRIEN Per pale gules and sable, on a fess
supporting a garb all or, in chief three Gules three lions passant guardant in between three griffins’ heads erased or
swords two in saltire points upwards pale per pale or and argent. as many lozenges ermines.
and one in fess point to the dexter, Crest: A demi-greyhound sable holding
pommels and hilts of the second. in the paws a dart gules feathered
Crest: An arm embowed in armour argent.
grasping a sword all proper.

BUTLER
Quarterly: Ist and 4th, Or a chief
BURKE indented azure; 2nd and 3rd, Gules
BROWNE Or a cross gules, in the dexter canton a three covered cups or.
(Galway) lion rampant sable. Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or a plume
Or an eagle displayed with two heads Crest: A cat-a-mountain sejant guardant of five ostrich feathers argent, therefrom
sable. proper collared and chained or. issuant a falcon rising of the last.
Plate III Coats of arms on page 161

O'BYRNE MacCABE O’CAHILL

Gules a chevron between three dexter Vert a fess wavy between three salmon (Munster)
hands couped at the wrist argent. naiant argent. Argent a whale sprouting in the sea
Crest: A mermaid with comb and mirror Crest: A demi-griffin segreant. proper.
proper. Crest: An anchor erect cable twined
around the stock all proper.

O’CALLAGHAN
Argent in base a mount vert on the MacCANN O’CARROLL
dexter side a hurst of oak trees issuant
therefrom a wolf.passant towards the
Azure fretty or, on a fess argent a boar (Ely)
passant gules. Sable two lions rampant combatant or
sinister all proper.
Crest: A salmon naiant proper. armed and langued gules supporting a
sword point upwards proper pommel
MacCARTAN and hilt of the first.
Vert a lion rampant or, on a chief argent
a crescent between two dexter hands
couped at the wrist gules. MacCARTHY O’CASEY
Crest: A lance erect or headed argent Argent a stag trippant gules attired Argent a chevron between three eagles
entwined with a snake descending vert. and unguled or. heads erased gules.

Plate IV Coats of arms on page 162

O’CASSIDY a falcon proper, two crosses crosslet CONDON
Per chevron argent and gules, in chief fitchée in fess azure. Argent a lion rampant gules langued and
two lions rampant and in base a boar Crest: An elephant sable tusked or. armed azure.
passant both counterchanged.
Crest: A spear broken into three pieces O’CLERY
two in saltire and the head in pale proper (Aidhne)
banded gules. MacCLANCY
Or three nettle leaves vert.
Argent two lions passant guardant in
O°’COFFEY pale gules.
(Co. Cork) Crest: A dexter hand couped at the wrist MacCOLGAN
Vert a fess ermine between three Irish erect holding a sword in pale pierced Azure a lion rampant or between three
cups or. through a boar’s head couped all proper. pheons points down argent.
Crest: A man riding on a dolphin proper.

O’CONNELL
O’CONCANNON MacCOGHLAN Per fess argent and vert a stag trippant
Argent on a mount in base proper an Argent three lions passant guardant gules proper between three trefoils slipped
oak tree vert, perched on the top thereof crowned or. counterchanged.

Plate V Coats of arms on page 163

O’CONNOR DON Crest: A blackamoor’s head in profile ermine grasping a wreath of laurel
Argent an oak tree vert. couped at the shoulders sable and bound proper.
Crest: An arm embowed in armour round the temples with a ribbon argent.
holding a short sword entwined with a
O’CONNOR KERRY
serpent all proper.
O’CONNOR FALY Vert a lion rampant double queued and
Argent on a mount in base vert an oak crowned or.
O’CONNOR SLIGO tree acorned proper. Crest: A dexter arm embowed in mail
Per pale vert and argent, in the dexter proper garnished or the hand grasping
a lion rampant to the sinister or, in the a sword erect proper.
O’CONNOR
sinister on a mount in base vert an
(of Corcomroe)
oak tree proper.
Vert a stag trippant argent. O’CONNOLLY
Crest: An arm in armour embowed,
holding a sword all proper. Crest: A hand ina gauntlet erect holding (Co. Kildare)
a broken dart all proper. Argent on a saltire sable five escallops of
the field.
O’CONRY
O’CONROY
(Offaly)
(O’MULCONRY) MacCONSIDINE
Quarterly: 1st, Vert three goats passant
argent; 2nd, Argent a lion rampant Azure an ancient book open indexed Per pale sable and gules, three lions
gules; 3rd, Gules three escallops argent; edged or, a chief embattled of the last. passant guardant in pale per pale or and
4th, Vert a cock statant proper. Crest: A dexter arm vested or cuffed argent armed azure.

212
Plate VI Coats of arms on page 164
O’CORRIGAN Crest: A pelican vulning herself wings a garb of the first between two trefoils
Or a chevron between two trefoils slipt elevated proper. slipt vert.
in chief and in base a lizard passant vert. Crest: A mermaid with comb and mirror
Crest: Two battle axes in saltire in front all proper.
of a sword proper point downwards MacCOSTELLO
pommel and hilt or. Or three fusils azure.
Crest: A falcon proper belled and jessed MacCOTTER
or. Azure three evetts in pale proper.
CREAGH Crest: A lion passant reguardant proper.
Argent a chevron gules between three O’CREAN
laurel branches vert, on a chief azure
as many bezants.
Argent a wolf rampant sable between
three human hearts gules. O’CROWLEY
Crest: a horse’s head erased argent
Crest: A demi-wolf rampant sable Argent a boar passant azure between
caparisoned gules in the headstall of
holding between the paws a human three crosses crosslet gules.
the bridle a laurel branch vert.
heart or.

O’CULLANE O’CULLEN O’CULLINAN

(COLLINS) (Leinster) Argent a stag springing gules attired and
Argent two lions rampant combatant Gules on a chevron between three dexter unguled vert, in base a dexter hand
proper. hands erect couped at the wrist argent appaumeée couped at the wrist proper.

Plate VII Coats of arms on page 165

MacCURTIN CUSACK DALTON
Vert in front of a lance in pale or a stag Per pale or and azure, a fess counter- Azure a lion rampant guardant argent
trippant argent attired or between three changed. charged on the shoulder with a crescent
crosses crosslet or, two and one, and as sable between five fleur-de-lis or.
many trefoils slipt argent one and two. O’DAVOREN
Crest: In front of two lances in saltire DARCY Argent a sword erect in pale distilling
argent headed of an Irish harp sable. Azure semée of crosses crosslet and drops of blood proper pommel and hilt
three cinque-foils argent. or.
O’DALY
Crest: On a chapeau gules turned up Crest: A hind statant proper.
Per fess argent and or a lion rampant ermine a bull sable armed or.
per fess sable and gules, in chief two MacDERMOT
dexter hands couped at the wrist of the Argent on a chevron gules between
last. three boars’ heads erased azure tusked
O’DEMPSEY and bristled or as many cross crosslets
O'DEA Gules a lion rampant argent, armed and of the last.
Argent a dexter hand lying fessways langued azure between two _ swords Crest: A demi-lion rampant azure
couped at the wrist cuffed indented points upwards of the second pommels holding in the dexter paw a sceptre
azure holding a sword in pale all proper, and hilts or one in bend dexter the other crowned or.
in chief two snakes embowed vert. in bend sinister. Motto over: Honor et virtus.

Plate VIII Coats of arms on page 166

DILLON O’DINNEEN O’DOHERTY
Argent a lion passant between three Azure two swords in saltire points up- Argent a stag springing gules, on a chief
crescents gules. wards argent pommels and hilts or vert three mullets of the first.
Crest: A demi-lion rampant gules holding between four roses or.
in the paws an estoile wavy or. Crest: A stag’s head proper. MacDONNELL
(of the Glens)
MacDONNELL Quarterly: 1st, Or a lion rampant gules;
(Clare and Connacht) 2nd, Or a dexter arm issuant from the
MacDONLEVY Azure an ancient galley sails set and flags sinister fess point out of a cloud proper,
flying argent between in chief a cross in the hand a cross crosslet fitchée erect
Argent on a mount in base proper a azure ; 3rd, Argent a lymphad sails
cavalry in three grieces or, between in
lion gules and a buck of the second furled sable; 4th, Per fess azure and vert
the dexter an increscent of the second
rampant combatant supporting a dexter
and in the sinister a dexter hand couped a dolphin naiant proper.
hand couped at the wrist of the third. at the wrist appaumée proper and in Crest: A dexter arm embowed fesswise
Crest: A lion rampant gules. base a salmon naiant of the second. couped at the shoulder vested or cuffed
Crest: A unicorn passant gules. argent holding in the hand proper a
cross crosslet fitchée erect azure.
O’DONNELLAN
O’DONNELL Argent an oak tree eradicated proper, O’DONNELLY
Or issuing from the sinister side of the on the sinister side a slave sable chained Argent two lions rampant combatant
shield an arm fessways vested azure to the stem gules. supporting a dexter hand couped
cuffed argent holding in the hand proper Crest: On a mount proper a lion rampant apaumée gules, in base the sea therein
a passion cross gules. or. a salmon naiant proper.

213
Plate IX Coats of arms on page 167
MacDONOGH counter compony or and azure. O’DONOVAN
(Connacht) Crest: A buck’s head couped gules Argent issuing from the sinister side of
Per chevron invected or and vert, in chief attired argent ducally gorged or. the shield a cubit dexter arm vested gules
two lions passant guardant gules in base cuffed of the first the hand grasping
a boar passant argent armed and bristled a scian in pale the blade entwined with
of the first langued of the third. O’DONOGHUE a serpent all proper.
Crest: A dexter arm erect couped at the Vert two foxes rampant combatant Crest: A falcon alighting or.
elbow vested azure cuffed argent holding argent, on a chief of the last an eagle
in the hand a sword erect entwined with violant sable.
a lizard all proper. Crest: An arm in armour embowed
holding a sword the blade entwined with O’DOWLING
a serpent all proper. Argent a holly tree eradicated proper,
O’DORAN on a chief azure a lion passant between
Per pale sable and argent a boar passant O’DOWD two trefoils slipt or.
counterchanged, on a chief azure three Crest: A lion’s head erased azure collared
Vert a saltire or, in chief two swords
mullets of the second. gemelles or.
in saltire points upwards the dexter
Crest: Out of a ducal coronet ora lion’s surmounted of the sinister argent
head proper. pommels and hilts or.
O’DUGGAN
DOYLE O’DRISCOLL Azure a decrescent argent between nine
(Co. Wicklow) Argent an ancient galley sails furled estoiles of eight points or.
Argent three bucks’ heads erased gules sable. Crest: A demi-lion rampant or langued
attired or, within a border compony Crest: A cormorant proper. and armed gules.

Plate X Coats of arms on page 168

O’DUNN Crest: A hand couped at the wrist and 3rd, Or on a bend vert three plates;
Azure an eagle displayed or. erect grasping a sword all proper. 4th, As first quarter but on the tower
Crest: In front of a holly bush proper MacENIRY a swan proper.
a lizard passant or. Argent an eagle displayed vert. Crest: A tower argent issuant from the
MacENCHROE top of a demi-man in armour couped at
Crest: A falcon close belled proper. the knees holding in the dexter hand a
(CROWE)
O’FAHY battle-axe all proper.
Argent on a mount vert an oak tree
proper, a canton gules charged with an Azure a hand couped at the wrist fess- MacEVOY
antique Irish crown or. ways in chief proper holding a sword
Per fess azure and per pale or and ermine
paleways argent pommel and hilt or
Crest: On a mount vert an Irish wolf- a fess gules issuant therefrom a demi-lion
point downwards pierced through a
hound argent collared gules. argent, in the dexter base a dexter hand
boar’s head erased of the last.
FAGAN couped at the wrist of the fourth.
Crest: A naked arm erect couped below
Per chevron gules and ermine, in chief Crest: A cubit arm erect proper vested
the elbow holding a broken spear all
three covered cups or. gules cuffed erminois in the hand a
proper point downwards or.
sword proper.
Crest: A griffin argent winged and tufted
MacEGAN
or supporting in the talons an olive O’FALLON
branch vert fructed or. Quarterly: 1st, Gules a tower argent
supported on either side by a man in Gules a greyhound rampant argent
O’DWYER complete armour each holding in the holding between the forepaws a tilting
Argent a lion rampant gules between interior hand a battle-axe all proper, spear point to the dexter or.
three ermine spots. in chief a snake fessways or; 2nd and Crest: A demi-greyhound salient argent.

Plate XI Coats of arms on page 169

O’FARRELL proper garnished or and gules holding a FITZGERALD
Vert a lion rampant or. flaming sword azure pommel and hilt of Argent a saltire gules.
Crest: On a ducal coronet or a grey-
the second.
hound springing sable. O’FINNEGAN
Gules two lions rampant combatant O’FLAHERTY
argent supporting a sword in pale blade
FITZGIBBON Argent two lions rampant combatant
wavy point upwards proper.
supporting a dexter hand couped at the
Ermine a saltire gules, on a chief argent Crest: A falcon alighting proper. wrist all gules, in base a boat with eight
three annulets of the second.
oars sable.
Crest: A boar passant gules charged on FITZPATRICK
the body with three annulets fessways Sable a saltire argent, on a chief azure
argent. three fleur-de-lis or.
O’FLYNN
Crest: A dragon reguardant vert sur-
mounted of a lion guardant sable dexter Azure a wolf passant argent, in chief
O’FLANAGAN paw resting on the dragon’s head. three bezants.
Argent out of a mount in base vert an Crest: A dexter hand erect couped
oak tree proper, a border of the second. FLEMING holding a serpent rail embowed head to
Crest: A dexter cubit arm in armour Vair a chief chequy or and gules. the sinister all proper.

214
Plate XII Coats of arms on page 170
O’FOGARTY FOX FRENCH
Azure two lions rampant combatant Argent a lion rampant and in chief (Galway)
supporting a garb all or, in dexter base two dexter hands couped at the wrist Ermine a chevron sable.
a crescent argent in sinister base a harp gules. Crest: A dolphin embowed proper.
of second stringed of the third. Crest: An arm embowed in armour
holding a sword all proper.

O’FRIEL
Gules in dexter fess a garb or, in sinister O’GALLAGHER
fess a dexter hand couped at the wrist Argent a lion rampant sable treading on
fessways proper grasping a cross calvary a serpent in fess proper between eight O’GALVIN
on three grieces argent, in chief three trefoils vert. Gules three salmon haurient argent.
mullets of the second.
Crest: A crescent gules out of the horns
Crest: A garb or. a serpent erect proper.

O’GARA MacGARRY
Argent three lions rampant azure, on a Argent a lion rampant between four
chief gules a demi-lion rampant or. trefoils slipt vert, in chief a lizard passant O’GARVEY
Crest: A demi-lion rampant ermine vert. Ermine two chevronels between three
holding between the paws a wreath Crest: A fox’s head couped gules holding crosses pattée gules.
of oak vert acorned or. in the mouth a snake proper. Crest: A lion passant guardant gules.

Plate XII Coats of arms on page 171

MacGENIS dexter hands couped at the wrist gules. Crest: On a mount vert an oak tree
Vert a lion rampant or, ona chief argent Crest: A greyhound passant or. proper bent towards the dexter.
a dexter hand erect couped at the wrist
gules. MacGILLYCUDDY
Gules a wyvern or. MacGORMAN
MacGILFOYLE Crest: MacGillycuddy’s Reeks proper. Azure a lion passant between three
Azure two bars argent. swords erect argent.
Crest: A demi-lion rampant argent MacGOVERN Crest: An arm embowed in armour
holding between the paws a battle-axe (MAGAURAN) grasping in the hand a sword, blade
erect gules blade of the first. wavy, all proper.
Azure a lion passant or, in chief three
crescents of the last.
O’GORMLEY
Or, three martlets gules, two and one. MacGERAGHTY O’GRADY
Argent on a mount vert an oak tree Per pale gules and sable three lions
MacGEOGHEGAN proper, in chief two falcons volant passant per pale argent and or.
Argent a lion rampant between three gules. Crest: A horse’s head erased argent.

Plate XIV Coats of arms on page 172

MacGRATH O’GRIFFY Crest: Three arrows sable flighted
Quarterly: Ist, Argent three lions (GRIFFIN) argent pointed or one in pale the other
passant gules; 2nd, Or, a dexter hand Sable a griffin segreant or, langued and two barways.
lying fessways couped at the wrist armed gules.
proper holding a cross formée fitchée
azure; 3rs, Gules a dexter hand lying O’HAGAN MacGUIRE
fessways couped at the wrist proper Quarterly, argent and azure, in lst Vert a white horse fully caparisoned
holding a battle-axe or; 4th, Argent quarter, a shoe proper, on a canton thereon a knight in complete armour
an antelope trippant sable attired or. per chevron gules and ermine three on his helmet a plume of ostrich feathers
covered cups or; in 2nd quarter, a flag his right hand brandishing a sword all
of the first charged with a dexter hand proper.
or fourth; in 3rd quarter, a lion rampant
HACKETT of the sixth; and in the 4th quarter, a
(Co. Carlow and Co. Tipperary) fish naiant proper.
Azure three hake fishes haurient in fess O’HALLORAN
Crest: A cubit arm proper vested gules
argent, on a chief of the second three Gules a horse passant argent saddled
cuffed ermine the hand holding a dagger
shamrocks proper. and bridled proper, on a chief of the
erect both proper.
second three mullets azure.
O”’HANLY Crest: A lizard or.
Vert a boar passant argent armed hoofed
O’HANLON and bristled or, between two arrows
Vert on a mount in base proper a boar barways of the second headed of the O’HANNON
passant ermine. third, that in chief pointing to the dexter Quarterly gules and or on a bend sable
Crest: A lizard displayed vert. and that in base to the sinister. three crosses pattée argent.

215
Plate XV Coats of arms on page 173
O’HANRAGHTY O’HARA O’HART
Azure a griffin passant wings elevated or. Vert on a pale radiant or a lion rampant Gules a lion passant guardant or, in base
Crest: On a helmet in profile visor closed sable. a human heart argent.
a dolphin naiant all proper. Crest: A naked arm couped below and
elbow and erect grasping a sword
O’HEA flammant all proper.
O’HARTAGAN Argent a dexter arm lying fessways O’HEFFERNAN
Azure a lion rampant or holding in each couped below the elbow vested gules
Per fess vert and gules, on a fess or a lion
forepaw a dagger argent pommels and turned up of the first grasping in the
passant guardant azure, in chief three
hilts of the second. hand a sword in pale entwined with a
crescents or.
Crest: A gauntlet-erect grasping a sword serpent descending all proper.
Crest: A cubit arm erect in armour the
proper pommel and hilt or.
hand guantleted and holding a broken
sword proper.
O’HENNESSY
O’HEGARTY Vert a stag trippant argent between six O’HEYNE
Argent an oaktree eradicated proper, on arrows two two and two saltireways or. (HYNES)
a chief gules three birds of the first Crest: Between the attires of a stag Per pale indented or and gules two lions
beaked and legged sable. affixed to the scalp or an arrow point rampant combatant counterchanged.
Crest: An arm in armour embowed the downwards gules headed and flighted Crest: A dexter arm armed embowed the
hand grasping a scymitar all proper. argent. hand grasping a sword all proper.

Plate XVI Coats of arms on page 174

O’HICKEY O’HIGGINS O’HOGAN
Azure a lion passant guardant or, on a Argent guttée de poix on a fess sable Sable on a chief or three annulets of
chief ermine a bend sable. three towers of the first. the field.
Crest: A hand in a gauntlet erect holding Crest: A tower sable issuants from the
a baton all proper. battlements a demi-griffin wings elevated
MacHUGH
argent holding in the dexter claw a
(Co. Galway)
sword proper.
O’HOLOHAN Argent a saltire vert between a dexter
Azure a tower or supported by two lions O’HORAN hand couped at the wrist in chief gules,
tampant argent, in base two crescents Vert three lions rampant two and one or. two trefoils slipt of the second in fess
of the last, on a chief of the third three and a boat with oars proper in base.
Crest: A demi-lion rampant or.
annulets gules.
MacINERNEY JORDAN
Argent three lions passant in pale gules (MacSURTAIN)
O’HURLEY armed and langued azure. Argent a fess sable, in base a lion passant
Argent on a cross gules five frets or. Crest: A mermaid proper. of the last.

Plate XVII Coats of arms on page 175

JOYCE KAVANAGH estoile between on the dexter a horse
Argent an eagle with two heads displayed Argent a lion passant gules, in base two counter-saliant and on the sinister a lion
gules, over all a fess ermine. crescents of the last. rampant each also surmounted by an
estoile, and in base a salmon naiant all
Crest: A demi-wolf argent ducally
argent, on the dexter side three lizards
gorged or.
KEATING passant in bend sinister-ways argent and
Argent a saltire gules between four on the sinister an oak tree eradicated
vert, over all an escutcheon argent
O’KEARNEY nettle leaves vert.
charged with a cross calvary on three
Argent three lions rampant gules, on a Crest: A boar statant gules armed and grieces proper.
chief azure between two pheons of the hoofed or holding in the mouth 2
nettle leaf vert. Crest: A cat-a-mountain rampant proper.
first a gauntletted hand fessways or
holding a dagger erect proper pommel
and hilt or.
Crest: A gauntletted hand holding a MacKENNA O’KEEFFE
dagger as in the Arms. Vert a fess argent between three lions’ Vert a lion rampant or,.in chief two
heads affrontée or. dexter hands couped at the wrist erect
Crest: A salmon naiant proper. and apaumée of the last.
O’KELLY Crest: A griffin passant or holding in
(Ui Maine) the dexter claw a sword proper.
Azure a tower triple-towered supported KEANE
by two lions rampant argent, as many (O’CAHAN)
chains descending from the battlements Azure on a fess per pale gules and argent O’KENNEDY
between the lions’ legs or. between in chief out of the horns of a Sable three helmets in profile proper.
Crest: On a ducal coronet or an enfield crescent a dexter hand couped at the Crest: An arm embowed vested azure
vert. wrist and appaumée surmounted by an holding a scymitar all proper.

216
Plate X VIII Coats of arms on page 176
MacKEOGH at the wrist gules, in chief four mullets Crest: An eagle as in the Arms.
(Connacht) of eight points gules, in base waves of
Argent a lion rampant gules, in the the sea therein a salmon naiant all
dexter chief a dexter hand couped at proper. O’KIERAN
the wrist and in the sinister a crescent Crest: An arm embowed in chain armour (Thomond)
both of the second. the hand holding a sword blade wavy all Vert on a chevron argent three leopards’
Crest: A boar passant azure. proper. faces gules.
Crest: A demi-lion rampant sable holding
O’KINNEALLY KINSELLA in the dexter paw a sword erect argent
(Munster) pommel and hilt or.
Argent a fess gules between the chief
Gules a stag statant argent. two garbs of the last and in base a lion
passant sable. O’KIRWAN
LACY
Argent a chevron sable between three
(DE LACY) LALLY Cornish choughs proper.
Or a lion rampant purpure. (O’MULLALLY) Crest: A Cornish chough proper.
Argent three eagles displayed gules two
MacK EOWN and one each holding in the beak a sprig
Argent two lions rampant combatant of laurel proper between as many O’LALOR
sable supporting a dexter hand couped crescents, one and two, azure. Or a lion rampant guardant gules.

Plate XIX Coats of arms on page 177

O’LEARY Crest: Issuant from clouds a naked arm O’LOUGHLIN
Argent a lion passant in base gules, in bent holding a short sword by the blade Gules a man in complete armour facing
chief a ship of three masts sable sails all proper. the sinister shooting an arrow from a
set proper from the stern the flag of St. O’LONERGAN bow all proper.
George flotant. Crest: An anchor entwined with a cable
Argent on a chevron azure three estoiles
Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or an arm or, in chief two arrows in saltire points proper.
in armour embowed holding a sword downwards gules. LYNCH
proper pommel and hilt or. Crest: An arrow in pale point down- (Galway)
MacLOUGHLIN wards distilling drops of blood all proper. Azure a chevron between three trefoils
(formerly O’Melaghlin) MacLOUGHLIN slipt or.
Per fess, the chief two coats; 1st, Argent (Tirconnell) Crest: A lynx passant azure collared or.
three dexter hands couped at the wrist Per fess azure and gules, in chief a lion MacMAHON
gules; 2nd, A lion rampant gules armed rampant or between two swords erect (Oriel)
and langued azure; the base wavy azure argent pommels and hilts or, in base
and argent a salmon naiant proper. Argent an ostrich sable holding in the
three crescents argent. beak a horse shoe or.
MacLYSAGHT O’MADDEN Crest: A naked arm embowed holding a
Argent three spears erect in fess gules, on Sable a falcon volant seizing a mallard sword all proper the point pierced
a chief azure a lion passant guardant or. argent. through a fleur-de-lis sable.

Plate XX Coats of arms on page 178

MacMAHON O’MAHONY Crest: A falcon argent belled or.
(Thomond) Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Or a lion rampant
Argent three lions passant reguardant in azure; 2nd, Per pale argent and gules a
pale gules armed and langued azure. lion rampant counterchanged; 3rd, O’MALLEY
Crest: A dexter arm in armour embowed Argent a chevron gules between three Or a boar passant gules.
proper garnished or holding in the hand snakes tongued proper. Crest: A ship with three masts sails
a sword both proper pommel and hilt or. Crest: Out of a viscount’s coronet or an set all proper.
arm in armour embowed holding a sword
proper pommel and hilt or pierced
O’MALONE through a fleur-de-lis azure. MacMANUS
Vert a lion rampant or between three (Fermanagh)
mullets argent. Vert a griffin segreant or, in chief three
MANGAN
Crest: A man in complete armour in crescents argent.
Sable a dexter hand appaumée argent
the dexter hand a spear resting on the Crests: A hand and arm couped below
between in chief two annulets and in
ground all proper. the elbow erect holding a long cross
base a crescent or.
proper.
Crest: A dexter hand appaumée sable
MARTIN charged with an annulet or.
(Galway) O’MEARA
Azure a cross calvary on three grieces O”’MEAGHER Gules three lions passant guardant in
argent, the dexter arm terminating in a Azure two lions rampant combatant or pale per pale or and argent, a border
sun in splendour or, the sinister in a supporting a sword argent pommel and azure charged with eight escallops
decrescent argent. hilt of the second, in base two crescents argent.
Crest: An estoile or. of the third. Crest: A pelican vulning herself proper.

217
Plate XXI Coats of arms on page 179
O’MEEHAN in pale pierced through three gory heads Crest: An arm in armour embowed
Gules on a chevron argent three bucks’ all proper. holding a sword fessways entwined
heads erased of the field attired or, in with a serpent all proper.
base a demi-lion rampant argent.
Crest: A_ griffin’s head erased wings O’MOLLOY
endorsed or. Argent a lion rampant sable between
three trefoils slipt gules. O’MOLONY
Crest: In front of an oak tree growing Azure, on the dexter side a quiver of
O’MONAHAN three arrows, on the sinister a bow erect
out of a mount all proper a greyhound
Azure a chevron between three mullets all or.
springing sable collared or.
or.
Crest: A knight-in complete armour O’MORAN
resting the sinister hand on the hip and (of Leinster)
holding in the dexter a tilting spear O’MOONEY Sable three stars rayed or.
thereon a forked pennon argent charged Crest: A star rayed or.
with an escutcheon of the Arms. Argent a holly tree eradicated vert
thereon a lizard passant or, a border
_ compony counter compony of the first
O’MORE and second. O’MORONEY
Vert a lion rampant or, in chief three Azure a chevron or between three boars’
mullets of the last. heads couped argent langued gules.
Crest: A dexter hand lying fessways O’MORIARTY Crest: A boar’s head couped argent,
couped at the wrist holding a sword Argent an eagle displayed sable. langued gules.

Plate XXII Coats of arms on page 180

MORRIS O’MULLAN lions rampant combatant azure support-
(Galway) (Connacht) ing a dexter hand couped at the wrist
Or a fess dancettée, in base a lion Argent a dexter hand couped at the wrist gules and in base a salmon naiant proper,
rampant sable. in fess gules holding a dagger in pale in base an Irish harp or stringed argent
proper between three crescents gules. between two battle-axes proper.
Crest: A lion’s head erased argent guttée
de sang. Crest: Out of a crescent gules a dagger Crest: A dexter arm couped below the
erect proper. elbow and erect holding two battle-axes
in saltire proper.
O’MURPHY
MURPHY
(Muskerry) (O’MORCHOE)
MacMORROGH
Quarterly argent and gules, on a fess
Argent an apple tree eradicated fructed
Gules a lion rampant argent.
sable between four lions rampant proper, on a chief vert a lion passant or.
counterchanged three garbs or. Crest: On a chapeau gules turned up MacNALLY
ermine a lion rampant also gules holding
Gules an arm in armour proper garnished
between the paws a garb or. or and embowed couped at the shoulder
O’NAGHTEN Motto over “‘Vincere vel mori’. holding in the hand a battle-axe of the
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Gules, three second between six martlets argent three
NAGLE
falcons close proper; 2nd and 3rd, Ermine on a fess azure three lozenges or. and three ‘palewise, in the centre chief
Vert three swords argent pommels and point an ancient Irish crown or.
hilts or, one in pale point downwards Crest: A nightingale or.
Crest: A naked arm couped at the
the others in saltire points upwards. O’MULVIHIL elbow erect proper holding a dagger of
Crest: A falcon close proper. Per fess argent and gules, in chief two the first hilt and pommel or.

Plate XXIIT Coats of arms on page 181

MacNAMARA O’NEILAN the sea therein naiant a salmon all
Gules a lion rampant argent, in chief two Sable two unicorns passant in pale argent proper.
spearheads or. horned and hoofed or.
Crest: A dexter hand erect couped at O’PHELAN
the wrist grasping a dagger all proper. Argent four lozenges in bend conjoined
azure between two cotises of the last, on
O’NOLAN a chief gules three fleur-de-lis of the first.
NUGENT
Argent on a cross gules a lion passant Crest: A stag’s head or.
Ermine two bars gules.
between four martlets of the first, in
each quarter a sword erect of the second. PURCELL
POWER (of Loughmoe)
Crest: A martlet argent.
Argent a chief indented sable. Or a saltire between four boars’ heads
couped sable.
Crest: A cubit arm erect proper habited
O’NEILL azure cuffed argent grasping a sword
PLUNKET(T) Argent two lions rampant combatant proper pommel and hilt or piercing
Sable a bend argent, in the sinister chief gules supporting a dexter hand couped through the jaw a boar’s head couped
a tower triple-towered of the second. at the wrist of the last, in chief three sable vulned and distilling drops of
Crest: A horse passant argent. estoiles of the second, in base waves of blood.

218
Plate XXIV Coats of arms on page 182
O’QUIGLEY Crest: On a mount a stag couchant O’QUIN
Gules an orle argent, over all a bend proper. (Annaly)
erminois. Vert a pegasus passant wings elevated
Crest: An estoile argent. argent, a chief or.
MacQUILLAN
Gules a wolf rampant argent, a chief or.
O’QUIN Crest: A demi-dragon azure.
(Thomond)
Gules a hand couped below the wrist O’RAFFERTY
grasping a sword all proper between in O’QUINLAN Ermine an eagle displayed sable, over all
chief two crescents argent and in base as Per pale ermine and or two lions a fesse or charged with 2 salmon naiant
many serpents erect and respecting each Tampant combatant between in chief gules.
other tails nowed or. a mullet surmounted of a crescent and in Crest: On a mount vert an eagle dis-
Crest: A boar’s head erased and erect base a dexter hand couped at the wrist played or.
argent langued gules. and erect all gules.

MacRANNALL REDMOND
(REYNOLDS) Gules a castle with two towers argent O’REGAN
Vert a lion rampant between three between three woolpacks or. Or a chevron ermine between three
escallops or. Crest: A beacon fired proper. dolphins azure.

Plate XXV Coats of arms on page 183

O’REILLY O’RIORDAN ROCHE
Vert two lions rampant combatant or Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Gules out of Gules three roaches naiant in pale argent.
supporting a dexter hand couped at the clouds in the sinister side a dexter arm Crest: On a rock proper an osprey rising
wrist erect and apaumée bloody proper. fessways proper holding a dagger in pale argent beaked and legged or holding in
argent pommel and hilt or; 2nd and 3rd, the claws a roach argent.
Argent, a lion rampant gules against a
tree in the dexter couped proper.
O’ROURKE
Crest: a fleur-de-lis gules. SARSFIELD
Or two lions passant in pale sable.
Per pale argent and gules a fleu-de-lis
Crest: Out of an ancient Irish crown counterchanged.
RYAN
or an arm in armour erect grasping a
(O’MULRIAN)
sword proper pommel and hilt of the
first. Gules three griffins’ heads erased argent. O’SHAUGHNESSY
Crest: A griffin segreant gules holding in Vert a tower triple towered argent
the sinister claw a dagger proper. supported by two lions rampant com-
O’SCANLAN batant or.
(Munster) MacSHANLY Crest: An arm embowed the hand
Per fess indented argent and azure three Azure a lion passant or, in chief three grasping a spear point downwards
lions rampant counterchanged. estoiles of the last. all proper.

Plate XX VI Coats of arms on page 184

O’SHEA Crest: A dove as in the Arms. ‘Crest: An arm in armour couped below
Per bend indented azure and or two the elbow and erect holding in the
fleur-de-lis counterchanged. O’SHIEL hand -a sword, blade entwined with a
serpent all proper.
Argent a lion rampant between two
O’SHERIDAN dexter hands couped at the wrist erect
O’SULLIVAN
Or a lion rampant between three appaumée in chief and a mullet in base
all gules. Per fess, the base per pale, in chief or a
trefoils vert.
dexter hand couped at the wrist gules
Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or a Crest: Out of a ducal coronet or an arm
grasping a sword erect blade entwined
stag’s head proper. erect vested gules holding a sword
with a serpent proper between two lions
proper.
rampant respecting each other of the
O’SULLIVAN second, on the dexter base vert a stag
BEARE MacSWEENY trippant or, on the sinister base per pale
Per pale argent and sable, a fess between Or on a fess vert between three boars argent and sable a boar passant counter-
in chief a boar passant and in base an- passant sable a lizard argent. changed.
other counter passant all counter- Crest: An arm in armour embowed Crest: On a ducal coronet or a robin red-
changed armed hoofed and bristled or. holding a battle-axe all proper. breast holding in the beak a sprig of
Crest: On a lizard vert a robin redbreast laurel all proper.
proper. MacSHEEHY
Quarterly: ist, Azure a lion passant
TAAFFE
O’SHEEHAN guardant argent; 2nd, Argent three Gules a cross argent fretty azure.
Azure on a mount in base vert a dove lizards vert; 3rd, Azure three pole-axes Crest: An arm in armour embowed
argent holding in the beak an olive in fess or; 4th, Argent a ship with three holding in the hand a sword all proper
branch proper. masts sable. pommel and hilt or.

219
Plate XX VII Coats of arms on page 185
MacTIERNAN O’TIERNEY TOBIN
Ermine two lions passant gules. Argent a chevron sable, a chief gules. Azure three oak leaves argent.
Crest: A griffin statant gules wings erect Crest: An oak tree proper.
vert.
UE LY.
O’TREHY MacATILLA
(TROY)
O’TOOLE Vert a chevron between three wolves >

Azure two griffins segreant combatant heads erased argent.

Gules a lion passant argent.
or.
Crest: A boar passant proper. Crest: A wolf’s head couped argent.
Crest: A tiger’s head erased or.

WALL WALSH WOULFE

Azure a lion rampant between three (Iverk) Per fess argent and azure, in chief on
crosses crosslet or. Argent a chevron gules between three a mount vert in front of an oak tree
Crest: A naked arm embowed holding a broad arrow heads points upwards sable. a wolf passant both proper, in base two
scymitar the blade guttée de sang all Crest: A swan pierced through the back salmon naiant barways in pale argent.
proper. and breast with a dart all proper. Crest: A stork wings elevated sable.

220
 Ulster

Names of Norman origin are shown in red.

el
 Names of Norman origin are shown in red.
ZN,
a0 Yo
AH ow Ww N arity, 2yllTry
es te
ZUWD PH ming
Munster

a1vwu e*
ee
or
cad
‘yyoRuuo| Jo deur oes
dIR[D) ‘0D 104

222
 Leinster

ROSCOMMON

yor"? OReny Fagen

OGogarty

Oo
* Unga ODoran
wo Co)9 Png 4

PRelor
Yorestal Crean,
McBresn d
S,
‘homtan OCarral

Names of Norman origin are shown in red.

223
 Connacht

QS ov Ontenah™
) 9 Tey
U Tie ower rm
TON ich olesO

puLcet wh
ie) OCoyne ot s sgn
opersys on Prende cqast

0» OConcle

Ko
Mecunniteghita Mee
OHefst OM ou le)
en

Names of Norman origin are shown in red.

224
 Index to Names in Maps

In this index, as in the maps, all Mac names are given as Mc.
(Mc and M’ are, as mentioned elsewhere, merely abbreviations of Mac)

O’Aherne: Clare. O’Breslin: Donegal, Ferman- O’Clabby: Roscommon.

McAlary: Sligo. agh and Sligo. McClancy: Clare and Leitrim.
McAlinden: Armagh and O’Brick: Waterford. McCleary: Antrim.
Down. O’Brien: Clare, Limerick, O’Clerihan: Limerick.
McAlinion: Fermanagh. Tipperary and Waterford. O’Clery: Cavan, Donegal,
McAlister: Antrim. O’Broder: Cork, Kilkenny and Kilkenny, Galway and Mayo.
McAndrew: Mayo. Wexford. Clifford: see Cluvane.
McAneeny: Monaghan and McBrody: Clare. O’Clohessy: Clare.
Roscommon. O’Brogan: Mayo. McClosky: Derry.
Archdeacon: Kilkenny. O’Brolloghan: Donegal. McClune: Clare.
Archer: Kilkenny. O’Brosnan: Kerry. O’Cluvane: Kerry.
McArdle: Monaghan. Browne: Galway (Tribe) and Coakley: Cork.
Arthur: Limerick. Limerick. Codd: Wexford.
McAtilla: Cavan and Longford. O’Brophy: Leix. Cody: Kilkenny.
McAuley: Fermanagh and Burke: Galway, Mayo and O’Coffey: Cork, Galway
Westmeath. . Tipperary. Meath and Westmeath.
McAuliffe: Cork. Butler: Kilkenny and Tipper- Cogan: Cork.
Aylmer: Kildare. ary. McCoghlan: Offaly.
Aylward: Waterford. O’Byrne: Kildare and Wicklow. McColgan: Derry and Offaly.
Bagot: Dublin. McCabe: Cavan. O’Collins: Cork and Limerick.
O’Bannon: Offaly, Fermanagh O’Cagney: Cork. O’Colman: Sligo.
and Tyrone. O’Cahan: Derry and Tyrone. O’Colter: Down.
Barnewall: Meath. O’Caherny: Offaly. O’Comane: Mayo.
Barrett: Cork and Mayo. O’Cahill: Galway, Kerry and Comerford: Kilkenny.
Barron: Kilkenny. Tipperary. O’Conboy: Sligo.
McBarron: Armagh and Louth. O’Callaghan: Cork. O’Concannon: Galway.
O’Barry: Cork. O’Callan: Armagh and Condon: Cork.
Barry: Cork. Monaghan. McCone: Armagh.
O’Begley: Cork and Donegal. O’Callanan: Galway. O’Connachtan: Sligo.
O’Behan: Kildare. O’Canavan: Galway. McConneely: Galway.
O’Beirne: Mayo and Ros- McCann: Armagh. O’Connell: Kerry.
common. O’Cannon: Donegal. O’Connellan: Roscommon.
Bellew: Louth. McCanny: Clare. O’Connelly: Galway.
O’Bergin: Offaly. O’Canny: Mayo. O’Connigan: Mayo.
Bermingham: Galway and Kil- Cantillon: Kerry. O’Connolly: Fermanagh,
dare. Cantwell: Kilkenny. Meath and Monaghan.
Betagh: Meath. O’Canty: Cork. O’Connor: Clare, Derry, Gal-
O’Bogue: Cork. O’Carbery: Westmeath. way, Kerry, Offaly,
O’Bohane: Cork. O’Carmody: Clare. Roscommon and Sligo.
O’Boland: Clare and Sligo. O’Carney: Mayo. McConry: Galway.
O’Bolger: Wexford. O’Carolan: Cavan, Meath, McConsidine: Clare.
O’Boylan: Monaghan. Derry and Tyrone. McConsnave: Leitrim.
O’Boyle: Donegal. McCarrigy: Clare. O’Conway: Mayo and Sligo.
O’Bracken: Kildare and Leix. O’Carroll: Kilkenny, Louth, McCoogan: Leitrim.
McBrady: Cavan. Offaly and Tipperary. O’Coogan: Galway.
(O) Brady: Clare. McCarron: Westmeath. McCook: Galway.
O’Sranagan: Armagh and McCartan: Down. McCool: Donegal.
Monaghan. McCarthy: Cork and Kerry. O’Coolahan: Mayo and Offaly.
McBreen: Kilkenny. O’Casey: Cork, Dublin, Fer- O’Cooney: Roscommon.
O’Breen: Offaly. managh, Limerick and Ros- Coppinger: Cork.
McBreheny: Sligo. common. McCorcoran: Offaly.
McBrennan: Roscommon. McCashin: Leix. O’Corcoran: Fermanagh.
O’Brannan: Kerry and Kil- O’Cassidy: Fermanagh. Corish: Wexford.
kenny, McCawell: Tyrone. O’Corr: Derry.
Index to names in maps

McCorry: Fermanagh. O’Dempsey: Leix ana Offaly. O’Dunn: Leix.

O’Corry: Cork and Tyrone. O’Dermond: Donegal. O’Dunphy: Kilkenny.
McCosgrave: Monaghan. McDermott: Galway and Ros- O’Durack: Clare.
O’Cosgrave: Monaghan and common. McDurkan: Sligo.
Wicklow. O’Derrig: Mayo. O’Dwyer: Tipperary.
McCostello: Mayo. O’Derry: Donegal. Early: see O’Mulmoher.
McCostigan: Leix. O’Devane: Meath. McEgan: Galway.
McCotter: Cork. O’Devaney: Down and Galway. McElligott: Kerry.
O’Coughlan: Cork. O’Dever: Donegal. McEncroe: Clare.
De Courcey: Cork. Devereux: Wexford. McEniry: Limerick.
McCourt: Armagh. O’Devine: Fermanagh. McEnright: Clare.
O’Coveney: Kilkenny. McDevitt: Donegal. McEntaggart: Fermanagh.
O’Cowhig (Coffey): Cork. O’Devlin: Sligo and Tyrone. McEntee: Armagh and
Cox: Roscommon. O’Devoy: Leix. Monaghan.
McCoyle: Donegal. Dillon: Meath, Westmeath and McErlean: Sligo.
O’Coyne: Mayo. Roscommon. Esmond: Wexford.
McCracken: Antrim and Derry. O’Dimond: Derry. McEttigan: Tyrone.
Creagh: Limerick. O’Dinahan: Limerick. Eustace: Kildare and Wicklow.
McCreehan: Tyrone. O’Dinan: Tipperary. Everard: Tipperary.
O’Crehan: Mayo. O’Dineen: Cork. McEvilly: Mayo.
O’Cremin: Cork. O’Divilly: Galway. McEvoy: Leix.
McCrilly: Derry. McDockery: Roscommon. McFadden: Donegal.
McCrohan: Kerry. O’Doheny: Cork. Fagan: Meath.
O’Cronin: Cork. O’Doherty: Donegal. O’Faherty: Galway.
McCrossan: Donegal and Leix. McDonagh: Sligo. O’Fahy: Galway.
O’Crotty: Waterford. O’Donegan: Cork, Down, O’Fallon: Offaly and Ros-
Crowe: see McEncroe. Monaghan and Tipperary. common.
O’Crowley: Cork. McDonnell: Antrim, Clare, Galway O’Falvey: Kerry.
Cruise: Dublin. and Fermanagh. O’Farrell: Longford.
O’Culhane: Limerick. O’Donnell: Clare, Donegal and O’Farrelly: Cavan.
McCullen: Tyrone. Galway. O’Farren: Donegal.
O’Cullen: Kildare. O’Donnellan: Galway. O’Feeheny: Roscommon.
O’Cullinane: Cork. O’Donnelly: Tyrone. O’Feeney: Galway.
McCunneen: Mayo. O’Donoghue: Kerry. O’Fergus: Mayo.
O’Cunneen: Offaly. O’Donohoe: Cavan. Ferriter: Kerry.
O’Cunnegan: Galway. O’Donorty (Donworth): O’Fihilly: Cork.
McCoolahan: Offaly. Tipperary. O’Finaghy: Roscommon.
O’Curneen: Leitrim. O’Donovan: Cork. O’Finan: Mayo.
O’Curran: Galway. O’Dooly: Offaly. O’Finn: Monaghan and Sligo.
O’Curry: Cavan, Clare and O’Doorly: Cork and Galway. McFirbis: Mayo and Sligo.
Westmeath. O’Doran: Leix and Wexford. Fitzgerald: Cork, Kerry, Kil-
McCurtin: Clare. O’Dorcey: Leitrim and Mayo. dare and Limerick.
Cusack: Meath. O’Dowd: Mayo and Sligo. Fitzgibbon: Limerick.
O’Dallaghan: Donegal. Dowdall: Meath. Fitzmaurice: Kerry.
O’Dally: Galway. McDowell: Roscommon. Fitzpatrick: Leix.
Dalton: Westmeath. O’Dowling: Cork, Kildare and Leix. Fitzsimon: Westmeath.
O’Daly: Clare, Cork O’Downey: Galway and Kerry. O’Flaherty: Galway.
Galway and Westmeath O’Doyle: Wexford. O’Flanagan: Offaly, Ferman-
O’Danagher: Tipperary. O’Drennan: Galway. agh and Roscommon.
Darcy: Galway (Tribe) and O'Driscoll: Cork. O’Flannelly: Mayo.
Meath; and see O’Dorcey. O’Drum: Cavan. O’Flannery: Limerick and
McDavie (Burke): Galway. O’Duane: Cork. Mavo.
O’Davoren: Clare. O’Duff: Leix O’Flattery: Offaly.
McDavymore: Wexford. O’Duffy: Donegal and Ros- Fleming: Meath.
O’Dea: Clare. common. O’Flynn: Cork, Mayo and
Dease: Westmeath. O’Dugan: Cork, Galway and Roscommon.
O’Deegan: Leix. Mayo. Flood: Cavan and Longford.
O’Deery: Derry. O’Duignan: Roscommon. O’Fogarty: Tipperary.
Delahyde: Dublin. O’Dullahanty: Offaly. Forde: Galway and Leitrim.
Delahunty: see O’Dullahanty. McDunlevy: Donegal and Forestal: Kilkenny.
O’Delany: Leix. Down. O’Fortin (Fortune): Carlow

226
 Index to names in maps

and Wexford. McGrath: Clare, Donegal and Water- O’Hood: Antrim.

Fox: Offaly. ford. O’Hooney: Cork.
French: Galway (Tribe), Ros- McGreevy: Roscommon. O’Horan: Cork and Mayo.
common. O’Griffey: Clare. O’Horgan: Cork.
O’Friel: Donegal. O’Growney: Westmeath. McHugh: Galway.
O’Furey: Roscommon and Westmeath. O’Guiney: Kerry. Hughes: Mayo.
Furlong: Wexford. McGuinness: Down. O’Hurley: Limerick and Cork.
O’Gahan: Wicklow. MacGuire: Fermanagh. O’Hussey: Fermanagh and Tyrone.
O’Gallagher: Donegal. O’Gunning: Limerick. Hussey: Meath.
Gallery: Clare. McGurk: Derry. Hynes: see O’Heyne.
O’Gallivan: Kerry. O’Hagan: Tyrone. Mcllduff: Cavan.
O’Gallon: Leitrim. O’Halley: Tipperary. McInerney: Clare.
McGanly: Leitrim. McHale: Mayo. Jennings: Galway and Mayo.
McGannon: Mayo. O’Hallissey: Cork and Kerry. Jordan: Mayo.
O’Gara: Mayo and Sligo. O’Halloran: Clare and Galway. Joyce: Galway (and Tribe).
O’Garvey: Armagh, Down and Mayo. O’Hally: Clare. O’Kanavaghan: Sligo.
O’Gaughan: Mayo. O’Hamill: Tyrone. Kavanagh: Wexford.
O’Gavan: Cork. O’Hanley: Roscommon. O’Keally: Leix.
McGaynor: Longford. O’Hanlon: Armagh. McKeane: Clare.
McGee: Antrim and West- O’Hanrahan: Clare. O’Keane: Waterford.
meath. O’Hanratty: Monaghan. Kearns: Mayo.
McGeoghegan: Westmeath. O’Hanvy: Cork and Down. O’Kearney: Tipperary.
McGeraghty: Roscommon. O’Hara: Antrim and Sligo. Keating: Wexford.
Gernon: Monaghan. O’Hare: Armagh. O’Keeffe: Cork.
McGibbon: Mayo. O’Haren: Clare. O’Keelaghan: Armagh.
O’Giblin: Roscommon. O’Harkan: Donegal. O’Keenan: Fermanagh.
O’Gibney: Cavan and Meath. Harrington: Cork. O’Keevane: Mayo and Sligo.
McGilfoyle: Offaly. Harold: Dublin and Limerick. O’Kelliher: Kerry.
McGilhooly: Leitrim. O’Hart: Sligo. O’Kelly: Derry, Galway, Leix, Meath
O’Gilleen: Mayo. O’Hartley: Wexford. and Wicklow.
McGillereagh: Clare. O’Hartnett: Cork. O’Kennedy: Clare and Tipperary.
McGillespie: Donegal. O’Haverty: Galway. McKenny: Monaghan.
McGilligan: Derry. O’Hayden: Carlow. O’Kenny: Clare, Donegal and Galway.
McGillycuddy: Kerry. Hayes: Donegal, Mayo, Meath, Mon- McKeogh: Limerick, Roscommon,
McGilmartin: Tyrone. aghan, Roscommon, Tyrone and Wexford and Wicklow.
McGilmore: Down. Wexford. McKeon: Antrim and Roscommon.
McGilpatrick: Kilkenny and O’Hea: Cork. O’Kerin: Mayo.
eixe O’Healy: Cork. O’Kernaghan: Donegal.
McGilpin: Sligo. O’Heavy: Armagh. McKerribly: Mayo.
McGilroy: Fermanagh. O’Heffernan: Limerick. O’Kerrigan: Mayo.
McGivern: Armagh and Down. O’Hegarty: Derry. O’Kett: Clare.
O’Gleeson: Tipperary. O’Hehir: Clare. O’Kiely: Limerick.
McGlinchy: Donegal. O’Hely: Sligo. O’Kieran: Cork.
McGlynn: Roscommon and Westmeath. O’Henaghan: Mayo. McKiernan: Cavan and Fermanagh.
O’Gogarty: Meath. Henebry: Kilkenny and Waterford. McKilbane: Sligo.
Goggin (Gogan): Cork. O’Hennessy: Cork, Dublin, Meath McKilduff: Galway.
McGoldrick: Fermanagh and and Offaly. McKilkelly: Galway.
Leitrim. McHenry: Galway. O’Killeen: Mayo.
McGonigle: Donegal. O’Henry: Derry and Tyrone. O’Kindellan: Meath.
McGorman: Clare and O’Herlihy: Cork. O’Kinneally: Limerick.
Monaghan. O’Heron: Armagh. Kinsella: Carlow and Wexford.
O’Gormican: Galway. O’Heyne: Galway. O’Kirby: Limerick.
O’Gormley: Donegal, Tyrone, O’Hickey: Clare. O’Kirwan: Galway (and Tribe).
Mayo, Roscommon. O’Higgins: Sligo. McKowge: Galway.
Gould: Cork. O’Hingerdill: Cork. De Lacy: Limerick.
McGourtey: Leitrim. Hoare: Wexford. Laffan: Wexford.
McGovern: Cavan. Hodnett: Cork. O’ Lalor: Leix.
McGowan: Cavan. O’Hoey: Down. O’ Langan: Armagh.
O’Gowan: Down. O’Hogan: Cork and Jipperary. O’ Larkin: Galway, Monaghan,
Grace: Kilkenny. O’Holohan: Offaly. Tipperary and Wexford.
O’Grady: Clare and Limerick. O’Honeen: Clare. O’Lavan: Roscommon.

227
Index to names in maps

O’Laverty: Donegal and Tyrone. McMenamin: Donegal. Tipperary, Tyrone and Waterford.
O’ Lavery: Antrim and Down. O’Merry: Tipperary and Waterford. McNelis: Donegal.
O’Leahy: Cork, Kerry and Tipperary. Meyler: Wexford. Netterville: Meath.
O’Leane: Kerry. Milford: Mayo. McNestor: Clare.
O’ Leary: Cork. O’Minogue: Clare. Neville: Limerick.
O’Lee: Galway. O’Mohan: Galway and Sligo. McNevin: Galway.
O’ Lehane: Cork. O’Molloy: Offaly and Roscommon. McNicholas: Mayo.
Leonard: Mayo. O’Molony: Clare. O’Nihil: Clare.
Lestrange: Offaly. MacMonaghan: Roscommon O’Nolan: Carlow.
O’ Liddy: Clare. O’Mongan: Mayo. O’Noone: Sligo.
O’Linnane: Mayo. O’Mooney: Donegal and Offaly. O’Noonan: Cork.
O’Linnegar: Fermanagh. O’Morahan: Kildare. Nugent: Cork and Westmeath.
O’Loan: Monaghan. O’Moran: Galway and Mayo. McNulty: Donegal.
Loftus: Mayo. O’More: Leix. Ormonde: Cork and Waterford.
O’Lomasney: Tipperary. O’Morghue: Wexford. McPartlan: Armagh.
Lombard: Cork. O’Moriarty: Kerry. O’Pattan: Donegal.
O’ Lonergan: Tipperary. McMorris: Mayo. Peppard: Louth and Meath.
O’ Long: Cork and Kerry. McMorrough Kavanagh: Wexford. O’Phelan: Kilkenny and Waterford.
O’Longan: Limerick. McMorrow: Leitrim. McPhilbin: Mayo.
McLoughlin: Derry and Donegal. O’Moynihan: Cork and Kerry. Plunkett: Dublin and Meath.
O’Loughlin: Clare. O’Mulcahy: Tipperary. Power: Waterford.
O’Loughane: Mayo. O’Mulconry: Roscommon. Prendergast: Mayo and Tipperary.
O’Loughnane: Meath. O’Mulcreevy: Armagh and Down. Preston: Meath.
O’ Loughran: Armagh. O’Muldoon: Fermanagh. Purcell: Tipperary.
O’Loughrey: Sligo. O’Mulhall: Donegal and Leix. O’Queally: Kilkenny.
O’ Luby: Tipperary. O’Mullhollan: Derry, Donegal, O’Quigley: Mayo.
O’Lunney: Tyrone. Limerick and Meath. O’Quill: Kerry.
Luttrell: Dublin. O’Mulkerrin: Roscommon. McQuillan: Antrim.
O’Lynan: Wexford. O’Mullally: Galway. O’Quilligan: Clare.
Lynch: Antrim, Down, Cavan, Clare, O’Mullan: Derry and Galway. McQuilly: Roscommon.
Cork and Tipperary. O’Mullane: Cork. O’Quinn: Antrim, Clare, Longford
O’Lynch(ehan): Donegal and Tyrone. O’Mullaney: Roscommon. and Tyrone.
O’ Lyne: Galway. O’Mulleady: Cavan and Westmeath. O’Quinnelly: Cork.
O’Lynn: Antrim. O’Mulligan: Donegal. O’Quinney: Tyrone.
Lyons: Cork and Galway. O’Mullover: Mayo. O’Quirke: Tipperary.
McLysaght: Clare. O’Mulmoher: Cavan and Leitrim. O’Rafferty: Sligo.
McMacken: Monaghan. O’Mulqueen: Clare. O’Rahilly: Kerry.
O’Mackesy: Limerick. O’Mulready: Roscommon. McRannall: Leitrim.
O’Mackey: Tipperary. O’Mulrennan: Mayo and Roscommon. O’Rattigan: Roscommon.
O’Madden: Galway. O’Mulrian: Tipperary. O’Reddan: Clare.
McMahon: Clare and Monaghan. O’Mulrooney: Galway. Redmond: Wexford.
Mahon: Galway. O’Mulroy: Longford and Mayo. McRedmond (Burke): Galway.
O’Mahony: Cork. O’Mulvenna: Derry. O’Regan: Clare, Cork and Leix.
O’Malley: Mayo: O’Mulvey: Clare and Leitrim. O’Reidy: Tipperary.
O’Malone: Offaly. O’Mulvihill: Roscommon. O’Reilly: Cavan and Meath.
O’Mannion: Galway. Murphy: Cork, Roscommon Reynolds: Leitrim.
McManus: Fermanagh and Tyrone and Wexford. O’Rigney: Offaly.
Roscommon. McMurray: Down. O’Riordan: Cork and Offaly.
O’Markahan: Clare. O’Murray: Mayo and Roscommon. McRoarty: Donegal.
O’Marron: Armagh and Monaghan. O’Murtagh: Meath. O’Roarty: Donegal.
McMaster: Longford. Nagle: Cork. Roche: Cork.
Masterson: Wexford. McNally: Armagh and Monaghan. O’Rodehan (Roddy): Leitrim.
Mathew: Tipperary. McNamara: Clare. O’Rogan: Armagh.
O’Meagher: Offaly and Tipperary. McNamee: Tyrone. O’Rolan: Mayo.
O’Meara: Tipperary. Nangle: Meath. O’Ronan: Cork, Dublin and Mayo.
O’Meehan: Clare, Galway and O’ Naughton: Clare, Galway and O’Rooney: Down.
Leitrim. Roscommon. McRory: Derry.
O’Meeney: Sligo. O’Nee: Limerick. Rossiter: Wexford.
O’Mellan: Tyrone. O’Neilan: Clare. Rothe: Kilkenny.
O’Melaghlin: Westmeath. McNeill: Antrim. O’Rourke: Leitrim.
O’Melody: Clare. O’Neill: Antrim, Carlow, Down O’Ruane: Galway.

228
 Index to names in maps

O’Ryan: Carlow. O’Shiel: Donegal. O’Tomelty: Tyrone.

Ryan: see O’Mulrian. Shortall: Kilkenny. O’Toner: Donegal.
O’Rynne: Cork. O’Shryhane: Donegal. O’Toole: Wicklow.
Sarsfield: Dublin. Sinnott: Wexford. O’Toomey: Cork.
Savage: Down. O’Slattery: Clare. O’Towey: Mayo.
O’Scanlan: Cork, Fermanagh and McSolly: Louth. O’Tracey: Galway and Leix.
Galway. O’Somohan: Sligo. Trant: Kerry.
O’Scannell: Sligo. O:Spelman: Sligo. O’Trehy (Troy): Tipperary.
O’Scully: Tipperary. O’Spillane: Tipperary. Tuite: Westmeath.
Segrave: Dublin. Stack: Kerry. O’Tuohy: Galway.
O’Sexton: Limerick. Stafford: Wexford. O’Tyne: Clare.
O’Shanahan: Clare. O’Sugrue: Kerry. Tyrrell: Westmeath.
McShane: Tyrone. O’Sullivan: Kerry. McVaddock: Wexford.
McShanley: Leitrim. McSweeney: Cork, Donegal and McVeagh: Armagh.
McSharry: Cavan and Leitrim. Kerry. Verdon: Louth.
O’Shaughnessy: Galway. Sweetman: Kilkenny. Wadding: Wexford.
O’Shea: Kerry and Kilkenny. Taaffe: Lough and Sligo. Walsh: Wexford.
McSheedy: Clare. Talbot: Dublin. Wall: Limerick.
O’Sheehan: Limerick. Tallon: Carlow. McWard: Donegal and Galway.
McSheehy: Limerick. O’Tarpey: Sligo. McWeeney: Roscommon.
O’Shelly: Cork. O’Tierney: Mayo. White: Down and Sligo.
O’Sheridan: Cavan and Longford. Tobin: Kilkenny and Tipperary. Wogan: Kildare.
McSherry: Cork and Armagh. O’Tolleran: Mayo. Woulfe: Limerick.
Wyse: Waterford.
 Index to Names

When page numbers are in heavy type this indicates that the names referred to is the subject of an
article in Part II or Part IV of this book.

MacAdam 42 MacAodhagain 81 Ballisty 205

Adrian 199, 207 0 hAodhagan 83, 99 Bane 19
O hAgain 99 O hAolain 106, 138 Banks 38, 199
Agnew 199, 205 Mac Aonghuis 126 Bannigan 205
(O) Ahe(a)rne 41, 200, : arms 159, Mag Aonghusa 93 Bannon 201 : map
211: map O hAodha 102 O Baoighealldin 44
Aheron 41 O hAonghusa 103 O Baoighill 44, 45
Mac Aibhne 110 A’Preith 19 Baraud 42
O hAichir 92 Archdeacon 17,94, 209 : map Barbour 209
Aiken 98 Archdekin 95 Barnacle 64, 199
hAinbhith 100 Archer 148, 209 : map Barnes 199
O hAinchin 100 D’Arcy : see Darcy Barneville 204
O hAinle 100 Ardagh 18 Barnwall 204 : map
O hAiniarraidh 83 McArdle : map Bardid 42
Mac an Airchinnigh 108 MacAreavy 82, 192 Barratt 42 : arms 159, 211 :
O hAirmheadhaigh 193 MacAree 200 map
O hAirt 101 MacArevy 200 Barrett 42, 155, 204
Aitkin 98 Arkins 30, 202 de Barri 42
McAlary : map _ Armstrong 121, 153, 210 Barrington 189
MacAlea, MacAlee 119 O hArrachain 100, 106 (Mac)Barron 85, 204 : map
MacAleese 22, 123 O hArrachtain 101 Barry 42, 102, 204 : arms 159,
McAleevy 74 O hArtagain 102 211: map
MacAlilly 200 Mac Artain 54 Barton 204
MacAlinden 205 : map MacArtan 54 Bastable 204, 205
MacAlinion 120, 200 : map Arthur 19, 188, 204 : map Battle 199, 205
MacAlister 31 : map MacArthur 30, 188 Beamish 204
Allen 199, 210 Ashe 189 O’Beara 199
O hAllmhurain 99 MacAshinah 90 O Beardin 189
MacAloon 200 MacAteer 199, 205 O Beargha 43
d’ Alton : see Dalton (de)Athy 18, 41 Beatty 210
Mac Amhlaoidh 41, 42 MacAtilla 154, 199 : arms 185, Begg 19, 201, 202
O hAndin 100 220 : map Beggane 200
MacAnally 134 MacAuley 41, 42, 199 Begley : map
MacAnaspie 199 MacAuliffe 41, 63 : arms 159, 211: Behan : map
Anderson 210 map Behane 134
MacAndrew 205 : map MacAvaddy 123 O’Beirne 43, 199 : arms 159, 211 :
MacAneany 200 MacAvinny 110 map
MacAneave 89 MacAvoy 83 Bell 210
MacAneeny 199 : map MacAward 27, 156 Bellew 204 : map
Anglim, Anglin 205 MacAwley 31, 42 : arms 159, 211: Bellingham 204
de Angulos 134 map Belton 204
Mac Anna 52 Aylmer : map O Beollain 44
O hAnnachain 100 Aylward 204 : map Beresford 189
Mac Annaidh 52 (O)Bergin 28 : map
O hAnndin 100 Badger 199 Berkery 205
O hAnrachain 100 Bagot : map Bermingham 17 : map
O hAnrachtaigh 100 Bailey 209 Berrane 199
O hAnradhdin 100 Bailiff 209 Berreen 205
MacAnulty 137 Bairéid 42 Berry 199
Mac Aodha 64,-107 Baker 209 Betagh : map
Mag Aodha 93 Balfe 189, 204 Mac an Bhaird 156

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, Oand De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

230
 de Bhal 154 Mac Branain 46 Buckley 49
Mac an Bheatha 83 Brannagh 155 Buggy 21, 39, 202
Mac Ui Bhriain 47 MacBrannan 132 Bugler 205
de Bhulbh 156 O’ Brannan : map O’Buhilly 49
Biggane 199 Brannock 155 Bulkely 49
Biggins 199 Mac Braoin 46 Bunyan 18
Binchy 204 O Braoin 46 Burgess 209
Bird 21, 199 O Braondin 46 Burgeys 209
Birrane 199 Bray 18 de Burgh 49
Bishop 199 Brazil 203 de Burgo 49
Bissett 116 Breathnach 155 Burke 16, 17, 19, 49, 74, 86, 107,
Black 210 Breden 204 108, 118, 123, 144, 191, 204,
Blake 23, 43, 199, 204 209 : MacBreen 46 : map 209 : arms 160, 211 : map
arms 159, 211 : map O’Breen 46, 48, 152 : map Burns 199, 200
Blaney 204 Breheny 200, 205 : map Busteed 205
O Blathmhaic 44 Brenach 155 Butcher 209
Blehan 205 (Mac)Brennan 28, 31, 32,46, : map Butler 50, 53, 87, 204, 209 :
Blessing 199 (O)Brennan 46 : arms 160, 211 : map arms 160, 211 : map
Bloomer 199 O’Breslin : map (O)Byrne 25, 28, 32, 43, 50, 80, 85,
Blosse-Lynch 122 Brette 18, 204, 209 115, 199, 210 : arms 161, 212
Blound 209 Brick 18, 199, 205 : map : map
Blowick 23, 43, 199, 202 MacBride 31, 47 Byron 199
Blunt 209 Bridgeman 199
Bodekin 44 MacBrien 210 MacCabe 51 : arms 161, 212 : map
Boden 204 (O)Brient11137-13519225, 26,27, Caddell 43
Bodkin 41, 44 29, 36, 46, 47, 55, 61, 69, 74, Cadden 202
Bogue 199 : map 955 1097123551 242210 = arms O Cadhain 64
Bohane 199 : map 160, 211 : map O Cadhla 112
Bohelly 49 Briody 205 (Mac)Cafferky 51, 205
(O)Bolan(d) 11, 17, 24, 44 : arms O’ Broder 22, 48, 199, 202: arms 160, MacCafferty 51
159, 211 : map 211: map (Mac)Caffrey 51
(O)Bolger 202, 205 : map Broderick 48, 199 O’Cagney : map
Bonar 199, 205 Brodie 46 Cahalane 205
Boran 205 (Mc) Brody 205 : map MacCahan 110
Botiller 209 O’ Brogan : map (O)Cahan 110, 131, 200 : arms 175,
Boucher 209 _ Brohan 199 216 : map
Boudakyn 44 O Broin 50 O’Cahassy 55
Boughla 49 O’Brologhan 46 O’Caherny 90, 110 : map
Bouhilly 49 O Brollachain 45 (O)Cahill 15, 51, 147 : arms 161,
Bourke 49, 204 (O)Brollaghan 27, 46 : map 212 : map
Bowen 199 Brooke 189 Cahir 23
Bowes 199 (O)Brophy 17, 28 : map Caibhdeanigh 109
Boyce 199 Brosnan 18, 27, 205 : map Caibheanaigh 90
Boyd 210 Brothers 48, 199 Cairreallain 53
(O)Boylan(d) 11, 44 : arms 159, 211 Brouder 48 Cairns 199
: map Broun 209 Oo
AO. Caithnid 68
(O)Boyle 11, 21, 27, 35, 44, 45, 202 (O)Brown(e) 41, 46, 48, 204, 209, O’Calahan 103
: arms 160, 211 : map 210: arms 160, 211 : map Caldwell 199
Bracken 205 : map Mac Bruadair 48 MacCall 199
Mac Bradaigh 45 O Bruadair 48 (O) Callaghan 51 : arms 161,212:
Bradden 199, 201 Bruen 46, 207 map
Bradley 45, 199 le Brun 48 O’Callan : map
(Mac)Brady 45, 97 : arms 160, 211 Brunach 48 O’Callanan : map
: map MacBruodin 205 MacCallion 205
O’ Brady : map Bryan 204, 210 Callopy 205
O’Brallaghan 45, 199 O Buachalla 49 O’Cally 27
(O)Branagan : map Bucaile 49 Campbell 28, 210

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

231
 Campion 209 map Clancy 22, 27, 210
O Candin 52 Mac Casarlaigh 63 (Mac)Clancy 36, 55 : arms 162,212:
Canann 52 McCashin : map map
Canannain 52 Cashman 21, 199, 205 Clarke 56, 188, 199, 210
(O) Canavan 201 : map O’Cassaly 63 Clavin 201
MacCann 52 : arms 161,212 : map Casserley 63, 202 MacClean 210
Mac Canna 52 MacCassidy 55 MacCleary 56 : map
Canning 199 (O) Cassidy 55 : arms 162,212 : map (O) Cleary 56
MacCannon 52 O Cathail 51 O Cleéirchin 56
(O) Cannon 30, 52, 199 : map Mac Cathail Riabhaigh 192 O Cleirigh 56
(Mac)Canny 52, 68, 202 : map O Cathdin 100 O’Clerihan : map
O’Canny : map O Cathalain 57 Clerke 209
Cantillon 204 : map O Catharnaigh 90, 110 Clerkin 56
Cantwell : map O Cathasaigh 55 (O)Clery 56, 147, 199 : arms 162,
Canty 202,205 : map (Mac)Cauley 42 212 : map
Caogain 81 Caulfield 90, 199 Clifford 27,57, 199 : map
Caoimh 111 Cavan 18 MacClintock 200
Caoindealbhain 140 Cavanagh 109 Clo(g)hessy 23,29, 205 : map
Caoinnigh 115 Cavendish 109 Cloherty 201, 205
Caollaidhe 112 McCawell : map Close 199
Caomhain 109 Cawley 42,199 MacCloskey 110 : map
O. Caomhanach 109, 117
O,9.0.0.0.0. O Ceallachdin 52 O’Closse 199
O’Carbery : map O Ceallaigh 112 Clossey 23
Carew 90 Ceardain 91 MacCloughrey 200
Carey 52, 199 Cearbhaill 53 O Clumhain 57
Carl(e)ton 53, 199 O Cearbhaill 53 (Mc)Clune 29, 205 : map
Carlin 53 O Cearbhallain 53 (O)Cluvane 199 : map
(O) Carmody : map O Cearnaigh 110 Mac’ Cnaimhin 18
(Mc) Carney 110 O Céatfhadha 111 Coady 17
(O)Carney 90 : map Céile 99 Coakley 202, 205 : map
O’Carolan 53, 199 : map Céileachain 52 Mac Cobhthaigh 64
Carpenter 199, 207 O Céileachair 112 O Cobhthaigh 56
, Carr 52, 199 O Céin 110 Mac Cochlain 57
O Carra 52 O Céinin 52 O Cochlain 57
Mac Carrghamhna 91 O Céirin 116 Codd 204, 205 : map
Carrick 204 O Ceit 30 Cody 94, 204 : map
Carrigan 62 Céitinn 111 Codyre 205
(Mac)Carrigy 205 : map Chaff 199 Mag Cloch 115
MacCarroll 53 Cheasty 202, 205 Coen 22, 64, 203
(O)Carroll 28, 37, 45, 53, 77, 94, Chifley 146 (O) Coffey 56, 210 : arms 162, 212
127 : arms 161,212 : map Mac anChoiligh 140 : map
(Mac)Carron 90, 199 : map Cianaigh 115 Cogan 16, 204 : map
Carroon 91 Cranain 111 (Mac)Coghlan 57 : arms 162, 212 :
Carry 202 Ciarragain 209 map
Mac Cartan 54, 199 : arms 161, 212: Ciardin 52, 209 Cogley 140
map Ciardha 52 Cohalan 57
Carter 209 Ciardubhain 117 Cohen 64
Mac Carthaigh 54 Cingeadh 61 O Coigligh 140
MacCarthy 17, 27, 35, 41, 47, 54, Cinnéide 113 O Coileain 21, 65
SOROS, tay 1) BSA119; 1150 : Cinnfhaelidh 116
©O-O:0:0:0-0:0:0-0 c Coimin 66
arms 161,212 : map Cinnsealach 117 O Coimin 66
Carton 54, 199 de Cromhsdég 69 O Coindealbhdain 59
(O) Carty 55 O Cionga 61 c Coingheallaigh 59
MacCarvill 53 O Cionnaoith 115 O Coingheallaigh 59
Casement 187 Ciosdg 69 Coinghiollain 59
MacCasey 55 O’Clabby : map Coinin 68
(O)Casey 27, 55 : arms 161, 212: Claffey 200 O Coinin 68

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

a2
 O Coinne 63 Mac Conghamhna 90 (O) Conway 23, 61, 199 : map
Mac Coitir 63 Conheady 205 Conwell 202
(Mac)Cole 199, 205 Conlan, Conlon 58, 140 Conyers 18
Coleman 57, 199 Mac Conmara 138 Conyngham 67
MacColgan 27,57 : arms 162,212: Mac Conmheadha 61 MacCooley 64
map O Connagdin 67 McCoogan : map
O’Colgan 57 (O)Connachton 134 : map O’Coogan : map
Coll 204 O Connaing 58 MacCooge 209
Colley 189 Connaire 205 (Mac)Cooke 106, 209 : map
Mac Collie 190 O Connallain 59 MacCoole 199 : map
Collier 209 Connaughton 134 Coolahan 205 : map
Collins 11, 21, 65, 199 : arms (Mac)Conneely 59, 205 : map (Mac)Cooley 189, 190
164, 213 : map McConnell, 31, 74 Coonaghan 67
Collopy 205 (O)Connell 16, 17, 23, 26, 27, 58, (O) Cooney 62 : map
Collotan 199 74 : arms 162,212 : map Coppinger 188, 204 : map
(Mac)Colly 190 (O)Connellan 23, 58, 140 : map Corbally 18
_ O’Coleman 57, 199 : map (O)Connelly 59 Corbane 199
O Colmain 57 (O)Connery 60, 61 Corbett 199
Colman 57 O’Connigan : map MacCorboy 199
Colreavy 192 O Connmhachdin 61 O’Corboy 199
O’Colter 199 : map Mac Connmhaigh 61 Corby 199
Columby 205 O Connmhaigh 93 (Mac)Corcoran 62 : map
Colvan 199 O Connola 59 (O) Corcoran 62 : map
Comerford 204 : map (O)Connolly 17,59, 188 : arms 163, (Mac)Corish 17 : map
O Comdin 67 212 : map Corkell 202
Comber 199, 209 Connor 27 Corkery 205
O Comhdhain 64 MacConnor 26, 32 MacCorkill 199
O Comhriadhe 68 (O)Connor 16, 25, 26, 39, 47, 59, O’Cormacan 62
(O)Com(m)ane 66, 107 H2e94°110, 1257154 < arms Mac Cormaic 62
Mac Comin199 163,212 : map (Mac)Cormac(k) 12, 62, 144
O’Comin 199 (Mac)Connulty 137 O’Cormack 62
Commons 66 Conole 203, 205 Cormican 23
Comon 67 O’Conoughan 61 McCormick 23, 31, 62
Comyn(s) 66, 199 MacConowe 199 O’Corr : map
Conaghan 67 O’Conowe 199 _ Corra 68
O Conaill 58 Conrahy 28, 60 O Corragain 62
O’Conaire 61 Mac’ Conraoi 61 O Corraidhin 65
O Connalldin O Conraoi 61 O- Corrdain 65
Conan 202 Mac Conratha 61 O’Corren 68
Conary 60 O Conratha 61 (O) Corrigan 17, 62, 95, 146 : arms
_ Conaty 205 Conree 60 164, 213
O Conbhuidhe 61 MacConroy 61 (Mac)Corry 68, 201 : map
(O) Conboy 61 : map (O)Conroy 28, 60, 193, 200 : arms O’Corry : map
(O)Concannon 52, 57 : arms 162, 163, 212 Cory 60
‘ 212 : map MacConry 61 (Mac)Cosgrave 202 : map
O Concheanainn 57 (O)Conry 28, 60 : arms 163, 212: O’Cosgrave : map
Mac Concheanainn 57 map (Mac)Costello(e) 16, 17, 63, 134 :
Mac Conchoille 140 Mac Consaidin 61 arms 164, 213 : map
Mac Conchradha 30, 82 (Mac)Considine 17, 19, 26, 29, 61, O’Costello 63
Condon 57, 194, 204 : arms 202 : arms 163, 212 : map Costely 63
162,212 : map Mac Consnamha 89 McCostigan : map
Condubhain 58 McConsnave : map (Mac)Cotter 63, 199 : arms 164, 213:
McCone : map de Constentine 61 map
Conefry 205 Mac Con Uladh 134 MacCoghlan 57, 61, 149
Mac Conegan 67 Convery 205 O’Coghlan 57 : map
O Conghaile 58,59 Convey 61, 199 Coulter 199
O Conghalaigh 59 (Mac)Conway 61 Counihan 62, 67

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, Oand De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

233
 De Courc(e)y 204 : map O Cruadhlaoich 65 (O) Curran(e) 65, 68, 205 : map
Cournane 205 Cruise 204 : map O’Curneen : map
McCourt : map Cryan 205 Curreen 65, 68
Courtney 23 O Cuana 62 Currigan 205
de la Cousa 106 O Cuanachdin 62, 67 Currigy 201
Cousin 209 MacCuddy 95 O’Currin 68
O’Coveney 202 : map ~ ©Cuffei202 (O) Curry 68, 202 : map
Cowhey 56 O Cuileamhdin 66 (Mac)Curtin 54, 69, 146 : arms
(O) Cowhig 56 : map O Cuileannain 66 165,213 : map
Cowley 148 Mac Cuilinn 66 Curtis 209
Cox 140, 199 : map O Cuilinn 66 de) Cusack 16, 69, 204 : arms 165,
(Mac)Coy 64, 107 Mac Cuille 190 213 : map
McCoyle : map O Cuilledin 65 O’Cushe 106
(O) Coyne 22, 64, 199 : map Mac Cuilleanndain 66 Cushely 63
MacCracken 134 : map Mac Cuil Riabhaigh 192 Cuskely 63
O Craidhen 65 O Cuimin 67 Cussane 200
Craig 210 Mac Cuinedin 68 de Cussac 69
MacCrainor 153 O Cuinedin 68 Cussen 204, 205
MacCraith 97 O Cuinin 68
MacCraly 199 O Cuinn 141
Crampsey 202 Mac Cuinneagdin 67 Mac Dabhoirenn 71
Craobhach 64 O Cuinneain 68 _ Daffy 205
Cravane 199 _ Cuirteis 209 O Dughlaich 77
Craven 199 O Cuis 106 O Daghnain 73
Crawley 199 (O)Culhane 57 : map Dahill 206
MacCrea 97 Culhoun 66 Mac __—Daibhid 73
Creagh 19, 64, 136, 143 : arms Culkin 205 MacDaid 206
164,213 : map O’Cullane 65, 66, 199 : arms 164, O Daimhin 72
O’Crean 65 : arms 164, 213 Z123 O Dalaigh 70
MacCreanor 153 (Mac)Cullen 66, 200 : map O’Dallaghan : map
Creed 199 O’Cullen 66 : arms 164, 213 : map O’ Dally : map
Creedon 199, 205 (O)Cullinan(e) 66 : arms 164,213: Dalton 16, 69, 204 : arms 165,
Creen 65 map 213 : map
Cregan 65 Cullington 199 (O) Daly 15, 27, 31, 70 : arms 165,
(O)Crehan 65, 205 : map Cullion 66 213 : map
McCreehan : map Culloon 66 Dalzell 22
(O)Cremin 205 : map Cullotan 199 O’Danagher : map
Cribbin 202 Culloty 18, 205 O’Dane 199
McCrilly : map MacCullough 31 MacDaniell 74
Croc 190 Culreavy 192 Mac Dara 200
MacCrohan(e) 205 : map Cum(m)ins 66, 67 (Mac)Darcy 41, 70, 114, 177, 204 :
O Croidheagain 65 Cummings 199 arms 165, 213 : map
O Croidhedin 65 MacComyn 67 (O) Dargan 71
O Crok(e) 190, 204 MacCunigan 67 Darragh 206
Croker 190, 209 O’Cunigan 27, 67 O Dathlaoich 22
Cronin 27 Cunnagher 109 Daunt 190
Crone 19 Cunnane 68, 205 Davenport 199
O’Cronin : map MacCunneen 68, 199, 200 : map Davey 199
Crook 18 (O)Cunneen 68 : map MacDavid 19, 190
MacCrory 144, 205 O’Cunnegan : map Mac Davie 49, 133 : map
Crosbie 199 Cunniffe 205 Davin 72, 199
MacCrossan 199, 205 : map (Mac)Cunnigan 48, 67, 199 Davis 187, 190, 199, 210
O’Crotty : map O’Cunnigan 199 MacDavitt 199
(Mac)Crowe 17, 29, 30, 31, 82, 202: Cunningham 27,48,67,199,210 (O) Davoren 12, 71 : arms 165, 213
arms 168,214 : map Cunree 60 : map
(O)Crowley 65, 199, 202 : arms (Mac)Curley 68 Mac Davymore : map
164, 213 : map O Currdin 68 Daw 71

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

234
 Dawley 31 O’ Diff 80 32, 36, 45, 47, 52,66, 73, 74,
Dawney 23,78 Diggin 202 75, 79, 20; 96.0137, 156:
Day 71 Mac Digney 199 arms 166, 213 : map
De : please see footnote. Dillane 71 O’Donnellan 75 : arms 166, 213 :
Den 23, 244 29s, 200 : Dillon 16, 72, 73, 204 : arms map
arms 165,213 : map 166, 213 : map O’Donnelly 75 : arms 166, 213 :
Deady 206 Dilloughery 24 ; map
(O) Deagen : map O’ Dimond : map O Donnghalaigh 76
O Dedghaidh 71 O’Dinahan : map O Donnghaile 75
_ Deane 41,199 (O) Dinan(e) 73 : map (Mac)Dono(u)gh 76 : arms 167,214:
O Deargain 71 (O)Dinneen 73 : arms 166, 213 : map
Dease 18 : map map O’Donoghue 22, 25, 27, 76, 130:
Deasy 18, 19 Dirrane 206 arms 167,214 : map
(O) Dee 71 Diskin 206 O’ Donohoe 76
Deehan 210 Diver 199 O’Donorty : map
Deeley 206 (O) Divilly 206 : map (O) Donovan 65, 77, 79, 82 : arms
Deeny 206 Divir 206 167,214 : map
(O) Deeny 206 : map _ Dixon 210 Doody 78
Delacour 24, 203 O Dobhailen 74 (O) Doogan 80
Delahunt(y) 22, 202 : map O Dochartaigh 73 Doohey 80
Delahyde : map McDockery : map Doolady 21, 202
Delane 71 Doddan 200 Doolan 74
(O) Delany 28, 71 : map O’ Doelan 74 O’Dool(e)y 77 : map
Delargy 22, 203 Dogherty 74 O’Doorly : map
(O) Dell 19, 21 (O) Doheny 23, 78 : map Doorty 73
Deloughery 206 (O) Doherty 27, 32, 73 : arms 166, (O) Doran 77 : arms 167, 214 : map
(O) Dempsey 57, 72, 118 : arms 165, 213 : map O’Dorcey 70, 114 : map
213 : map O Doibhilin 72 O Dorchaidhe 70
Dennehy 206 O Doinn 81 Dordan 31
Denning 73 O Doithe 80 Dore 199, 206
_ Denroche 202 (O) Dolan 73, 74 Dorgan 71
O Deoradhain 77 Dolly 22 Dorrian 77
_O’Dermond : map Mac Domhnaill 74 Dorritty 73
O Deordain 77 O Domhnaill 75 O’Dougherty 45, 74
O’Deoran 77 O Domhnallain 75 O’ Dowd 78 : arms 167, 214 : map
MacDermot(t) 16, 26,43, 65,72, 76, McDonagh 26, 76 : map Dowda 78
131 : arms 165,213 : map Donaghy 76 (O) Dowdall 204 : map
(O) Derrig 206 : map Donahoe : see Donohoe (Mac) Dowell 31, 79 : map
O’Derry : map McDonald 74 (O) Dower 199
Desmond 18, 206 Donarty 199 Dowey 80
(O) Devane 72 : map Dondon 204 (O) Dowling 74, 77, 78, 79, 202 :
(O) Devaney : map (O) Donegan 67, 95, 199, 202 : map arms 167,214 : map
O’ Develin 73 Donelan 75 Downes 199
Devenish 209 Dongan 67 (Mac)Downey 11,78
(O) Dever 206 : map Donlan 75 (O) Downey 73, 78 : map
Devereux 204 : map (Mac)Donlevy 74, 115 : arms 166, (O) Downing 73, 202
(O) Devine 72 : map 213 : map Doyle 25, 79, 204 : arms 167,
Mac Devitt 27, 73, 206 : map _ Donlon 75 214 : map
(O) Devlin 24, 72, 74 : map O Donnabhain 77 O’Doyne 81
O’Devoy 77 : map O Donnagain 67 Draper 209
Mac Dhabhoc 209 Mac Donnagain 67 O’ Drea 199
Mac Dhubdain 96 Mac Donnchadha 76 O’Dreane 199
Mac, Dhuibhne 110 O Donnchadha 76 O’Drehitt 199
O Diaghaidh 71 (Mac)Donnell 26, 27, 31, 32, 36, 74, (O) Drennan 201 : map
Diamond 202, 206 93, 140, 148 : arms 166, 213 _ Drew 199
Mac Diarmada 72 : map O_Driscoeil 79
Dickson 210 O’Donnell 15, 18, 26, 27, 29, 31, (O) Driscoll 56, 79 : arms 167, 214

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, Oand De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

235
 : map (O) Durack 30, 202, 206 : map (Mac) Enright 29, 100 : map
Drought 202 McDurkan : map Mac Enroe 31, 201
O’Drum : map Durkin 206 Mac Entaggart : map
Drury 199 O’Duvdavoren 71 Mac Entee : map
O’Duada 78 Dwane 72 O hEochach 115
(O) Duane 199, 200 : map (O) Dwyer 25, 81, 199 : arms 168, Mag _ Eochagain 94
Dubhagdin 80 214: map Mac Eochaibh 115
Dubhain 72 Dyer 199, 209 Mac _Eochaidh 115
Dubhalla 77 Dynan 73 O hEochaidh 115
Dubhartaigh 73 Dyra 31 O hEodhusa 106
Dubhchonna 78 Mac Eoghain 116
Dubhda 78 O hEachrach 115 Mag Eoghain 96
ox Dubhghaill 79 Mac Eachmharcaigh 51 O hEoghain 116
Dubhghaill 79 O hEachtighearna 41 O hEoghusa 106
Dubhlain 74 O hEaghra 101 Mac Eoin 96, 116
Dubhlainn 74 O hEalaighte 102 Mac Eparson 195
Dubhlaoich 77 Mac Eanna 115 Ercedekene 209
Dubhshlainte 71 Mac Eanny 115 Mac Erlean 206 : map
O.0.0.0.0.0.8
0.0.0.0.0.0
Dubhthaigh 80 O hEanraic 114 Mac Eruddery 191
Duck 199 Early 30, 199, 206 : map Esmond(e) 188, 204 : map
Duddy 78 Earner 199 McEttigan : map
(O) Duff 19 : map Eason 199 Eustace 204 : map
(O) Duffy 32, 80 : map Eddery 191 Mac Evanny 200
Mac Dughaill 79 Edgeworth 190 Evans 199
(O) Duhig 80 Mac Edmund 19, 117 Mac Evea 31
Duganne 81 Mac Edrue 199 D’ Evelyn 24
(O) Duggan 80 erarms 167214": (Mac)Egan 36, 81 = arms 168, 214 : Everard : map
map map Mac Evilly 17, 42 : map
Mac Dugall 79 _ Egmont 152 Mac Evinney 110
(O) Dugan 80 O hEidersceoil 79 MacEvoy 28, 77, 83 : arms 168,
Duibhabhoireann 71 O hEidhin 40, 104 214: map
Duibhir 81 O hEigceartaigh 103 Mac Ewire 201
Duignan 206 : map Mac Einri 82 d’Exeter 17
Duilleain 71 Eivers 199, 200, 204
Duinin 73 Mac Eldowney 78, 206 (Mac) Fadden 11, 27, 42, 146 : map
Duinn 81 Mac Elhinney 206 Mac Fadyen 42
Duinnin 73 Mac Elhoyle 201 de Fae 190
Duinnshléibhe 74 O hElidhe 102 Fagan 83, 204 : arms 168, 214:
(OsO Dulain 74
OGOw
Cress Mac Elligott 18, 206 : map map
O’Dulany 71 Ellison 11 (O) Faherty 206 : map
O’Dullahunty : map Mac Ellistrum 206 (O) Fah(e)y 83, 107, 200 : arms 168,
Dullany 28 (Mac)Elroy 82 214: map
Dullea 206 Mac Elwee 83, 199 Fair 19
Dunadhaigh 78 Emmett 187, 190 O Faircheallaigh 84
Dunadhaigh 78 Mac Enaw(e) 89 Falkner 209
Duncahy 199, 205 Mac Encaha 199 Mac Fall 206
Duncan 199 Mac Enc(h)roe 82 : arms 168, 214: O Fallamhain 84
Dundon 204, 206 map (O) Fallon 84, 202 : arms 168, 214:
Dunleavy 74 Mac Enery 17, 82 map
Dunlevy 22 English 204, 209 Falloon 84
Dunlief 74 Enfant 209 Faltaigh 154
Dunlop 74, 199 le Engleys 209 O’ Falvey : map
(O)Dunn(e) 15, 28, 32, 57, 81 : Mac Eniry 82 : arms 168, 214 : map Fane 199
arms 168, 214 : map Mac Enkelly 201 Fanning 199
Dunnigan 67 Ennis 202 _ Fant 41,209
(O) Dunphy 22, 76 : map Mac Enraghty 101 O Faodhagain 83
Dunworth 202 Mac Enri 83 O Faoil(e)din 84, 138

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, Oand De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.
 Farley 84, 199 (O) Finn 85 : map Forester(al) 209
Farmer 199 (O) Fin(n)egan 85 : arms 169, 214 Forker 22
Farquhar 22 Finnelly 199 Forkin 202, 206
(O) Farrell 84 : arms 169, 214 : map O’Finnell 199 Forrestal 206
(O) Farrelly 84, 199 : map _ Finnergan 206 O’Fortin : map
_O’Farren : map O Fionnagain 85 Fortune 199, 202, 206
OQ Fathaigh 107 Mac Firbis 48, 191, 199 : map O’Fortyn 199
Fauconer 209 Mac _ Firbisigh 191 Fowler 89
Fay 83, 190, 199 O Firghil 90 Fox 90, 110, 199 : arms 170,
O’Fay 190 Fisher 199, 209 215 : map
O Fearghaill 84 Fitch 28, 87 Fowloo 89
Fearon 202 Fitz 87 Foy 190, 199
(O) Fee 190, 199, 200 Fitzgerald 16, 17, 19,26, 27, 28, Frain 206
Feehan 83 35, 44, 50, 85, 187, 204, 210 Francis 209
(O) Feeheny 199, 200 : map > arms 169, 214 : map Frankelyn 209
Feehin 199 Fitzgibbon 17, 85, 86, 204 : Frawley 202
Feel(e)y 23,191 arms 169, 214 : map Freeman 11,199
Feenaghty 199 Fitzhenry 82 French 41, 90, 204 : arms 170,
(O) Feeney 85 : map Fitzjames 19 215 : map
Feerick 206 Fitzmaurice 17, 130, 131, 139, Freney 46
Fegan 83 204 : map de Freyne 90
Feighan 83 Fitzpatrick 17, 28, 87 : arms (O) Friel 90 : arms 170, 215 : map
Fennell 31, 199 169, 214 : map O Frighil 90
Fennelly 206 Fitzsimon(s) 17, 28,191 : map O Fuada 196
Fennessy 206 Fitzstephen 19 O Fuardin 89
Fenning 199 Fitzwalter 50 O Fharthdin 89
Fenton 199 O’Flaherty 48, 76, 82, 87, 107, (O) Furey 206 : map
(O) Fergus 199, 206 : map 109, 119 : arms 169, 214 : Furlong 204, 206 : map
Ferguson 210 map Furphy 66
(O) Ferrall 84, 141 Flahy 207 Fury 202
Ferris 192, 202 O Flaithbheartaigh 87 Fyland 207
Fer(r)iter 190, 209 : map O’Flanagan 15, 44, 87 : arms 169,
Ferry 206 214: map O Gadhra 92
Mac Fetteridge 206 O Flannabhra 88 Gaffney 90, 96, 199
O’Feye 190 OQ Flannagdin 87 Mac Gafraidh 51
Mac an Fhailghaigh 134 O’Flannelly : map Gahagan 94
Mac Fhearadhaigh 61 (O) Flannery 88 : map (Mac)Gahan 206
Mac Phiachra 52 (O) Flattery 202, 206 : map O’Gahan : map
Mac _ Phiarais 103 Flatly 202 Mac Gahey 206
Mac Phinn 85 Flattley 206 O Gairbhin 93
Mag _-Phinn 85 Fleming 88, 204, 209 : arms 169, Mac Gairbhith 92
Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe 83 214 : map O Gairbhith 92
Mag‘ Fhionnain 92 O Floinn 88 O Gairmleadhaigh 96
Mac Phlannchaidh 55 Flood 154, 199, 204 : map Galbally 18
Mag‘ Fhogartaigh 89 Mac Flynn 88 Gall 19
) Fiachnach 30 (O) Flynn 88 : arms 169, 214 : map (O) Gallagher 23, 27, 32, 91 : arms
Fiaich 190 O Fogartaigh 89 170, 215 : map
Fiannaidhe 85 (O) Fogarty 89 : arms 170,215 : map _ Galloway 191
Fidhne 85
O.O.O0 OQ Foghladha 89 O- Gallchobhair 91
Field 191, 199 O Foirbhte 66 Gallery 30, 82, 192, 206 : map
Fielding 199 Folan 206 Galligan 201, 206
(O) Fihilly 23, 191, 199 : map (O) Foley 27, 89, 202 (O) Gallivan(e) 91 206 : map
O’ Finaghy : map Foody 196, 202 Gallogly 200
O’ Finan 199 : map Foran 89, 199 O’Gallon : map
Finglas 18 Forbes 48, 191, 199 O’Galvan 91
Finlay 199 Ford(e) 11,89, 146, 199 : map (O) Galvin 91 : arms 170, 215
Mac Finn 85 Forestal : map Galwey 18, 191, 204

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

Zor
Mac Gamhna 96 Gihon 203 Mac’ Giolla Rua 82
O Gamhna 90 Gilbey 199 Mac Giolla Seanain 137
McGanly : map Mac Gilbride 47 Mac Giolla tSeanain 147
(Mac)Gannon 92 : map (Mac)Gilhool(y) 199, 206 : map Mac Giolla Seanndin 120
Ganter 209 (Mac) Gilfoyle 94, 200 : arms 171, Mac Giriaght 94
O’Gara 92 : arms 170, 215 : map 215 : map Mac Givern 206 : map
O Garbhdin 93 Gill 199 Mac Givney 206
Gardener 209 Mac Gillacuddy 94 Glanchy 55
O Garmghaile 96 O’Gilleen : map Mac Glasdin 107
Garrihy 92 Mac Gillemichell 200 O Glasain 95
Mac Garry 92,.200 : arms 170, 215 Mac Gilleroy 82 Mac Glashan 107, 200
Garvan 93 Mac Gilleragh 192 : map Glass 19
(Mac)Garvey 17, 92 : arms 170,215 : Mac Gillesaghtie 123 O’Glassane 95
map Gillick 206 (O) Gleeson 11, 21,95, 202 : map
O’Garvey 92 Mac Gilliesaghta 123 Glenn 19, 204
Garvin 21,92 (Mac)Gilligan 15 : map _ Glenny 19
Gately 202, 206 Mac Gillisiachta 123 O Glesain 95
O’Guaghan 206 : map Mac Gilloway 83 O- Gliasain 95
Mac Gauran 96 Mac Gillycuddy 17, 18, 24,94: arms Mac Glinch(e)y 206 : map
Gansen 22, 203 171,215 : map Glisane 95
Gavaghan 206 Mac Gillysaghta 22 Glison 95
(O) Gavin : map Mac Gillysaghty 123 (O) Glissane 95
Mac Gawley 42 (Mac)Gilmartin 126 : map Mac Gloin 206
(Mac)Gaynor 23, 202 : map (Mac)Gilmore 133 : map Mac Glone 206
Mac Geady 206 Mac Gilpatrick 17 : map Mac Gloughlin 121
O Gealbhain 91 McGilpin : map Glover 209
O Geandain 92 Mac Gilroy 82 : map (Mac)Glynn 202 : map
Geany 206 Gilsenan 137 Glysan 95
Mac Gearailt 85 Gilshenan 147 Gna 22, 113,203
Gearty 94 Giltenan 147 O’Gnieff 199
Geary 21,92, 202 Gina 22 Godwin 200
Mac Gee 93 : map Mac Ginley 27, 206 Goen 203
Geehan 201 Ginnane 68, 206 Goff 200
Gehegan 94 Ginnaw 113 Mac Gaffney 51
MacGen(n)is 54, 93 : arms 171, (Mac)Ginty 206 Gogan 21, 204
215 : map Mac’ Giobdin 86 (O) Gogarty 89 : map
MacGeoghegan 94 : arms 171, Mac Giobuin 86 Goggin : map
215 : map Mac Giolla Arraith 56 Going 202
Geon 203 Mac’ Giolla Bride 22 Mac. Goisdelbh 63
Mac Geough 200, 206 Mac’ Giolla Buidhe 83 Golden 200
Mac Geown 206 Mac Giolla Céire 52 McGoldrick : map
(Mac)Geraghty 94 : arms 171, 215 : Mac Giolla Chaoine 64 Mac Gonigle 206 : map
map Mac Giolla Chathair 52 Goonan 199
Gerety 206 Mac Giolla Choinnigh 18 Gordon 210
Mac Gerity 94 Mac Giolla Choiscle 63 Gorevan 23
Gernon 21, 204 : map Mac Giolla Chuille 190 Gorham 19, 206
Gerty 22,94, 202 Mac’ Giolla Domhaigh 78 MacGormain 15, 95
Mac Gettigan 206 Mac Giolla Eoin 21 O’Gormaly 96
Ghee 203 Mac’ Giolla Fhinnéin 120 (Mac)Gorman 29, 95 : arms 171, 215
Mac an Ghabain 96 Mac Giolla Iasachta 22, 123 : map
Gettins 31 Mac Giolla Iosa 22, 123 (O) Gorman 19, 29, 30,95
McGhee 93 Mac Giolla Mhairtain 126 O’Gormican : map
Mac Gibbon 49 : map Mac Giolla Mhuire 134 (O) Gormley 95, 199, 200, 202 :
Gibbons 86 Mac Giolla na Naomh 89 arms 171,215 : map
(O) Giblin 206 : map Mac Giolla Phadraig 87 O’Gormooly 96
(O) Gibney : map Mac Giolla Phoil 94 0 Gormshuil 96
Gibson 210° Mac Giolla Riabhaigh 82, 192 O Gormshtiluigh 96

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, Oand De being disregarded;
e.g. for O/Daly see under Daly.

238
 Gough 200 Gubbins 206 (O) Hanley 100 : map
Gould : map Guesin 202 (O)Hanlon 92, 99 arms 172,
Goulding 200 Guihan 206 215 : map
McGourtey : map Guihen 206 (O) Hanly 100 : arms 172, 215
(Mac)Govern 96 : arms 171, 215 : map (Mac)Guilfoye 94, 200 Sears lin Hanna 206
Gow 200 215 : map Hanneen 100
MacGowan 21, 38, 96, 200, 201, Guinan 206 (O) Hannon 100 : arms 172, 215
209 : map O’Guiney : map O Hannradhain 106
O’Gowan 21, 96, 201 : map Mac Guinn 206 (O) Hanraghty 100 : arms 173, 216
McGra 97 Guinnane 68 (O) Hanrahan 100, 106 : map
_ Grace 204 : map (Mac)Guinness 17, 21,93, 144, 202 (O) Hanratty 22, 100 : map
O Grdda 97 MacGuire 42, 51, 62, 96, 98, 100, Hanvey 100
OQ Gradaigh 97 106 : arms 172,215 : map O’Hanvy : map
(O)Grady 29, 45, 96 : arms 171, Guiry 92, 206 O’Hara 31,61,92,101 : arms 173,
215 : map O’Guillin 300 216 : map
Graddy 97 (O) Gunning 58 : map Haran 29, 106
_ Graham 65, 96, 200, 210 Gurk 58 : map Hardiman 200, 206
O Gramhna 90 Giweehin 203 (O) Hare 31,92, 200, 206 : map
(Mac)Grannell 141 Gwynn(e) 192 (O) Haren 106 : map
Grant 209 Mac Gyllysaghta 123 Hardagen 200
MacGrath 17, 97 : arms 172, 215 : Harhan 106
map O Hachierane 41 Hargadon 203, 206
(Mac)Grattan 191 (Mac)Hacket(t) 98, 204 : arms 172, (O) Harkan 203 : map
Graves 192 215 : map Harkin 202
McGraw 97 O’Hagan 22, 83, 98 : arms 172, Harley 200
Gray 82, 192, 200, 210 215 : map Harold 188, 204 : map
O Gréachain 22, 96 Haggerty 103 Harpur 209
Gready 97 O’Hagherin 41 O’Harraughton 101
Mac Greal 206 Haire 92 O’Harrihy 193
Greally 206 Mac Hale 99, 200 : map O’Harrily 200
Grealish 206 Haier 92 Harrington 101, 200 : map
O’Greefa 98 Hales 200 Harrison 206
Green(e) 30, 84, 107, 200, 210 Halfpenny 21, 200, 202 Harroughten 200
McGreevy : map Hall 210 (O) Hart(e) 21,101, 202 : arms 173,
Gregory 192 Hallaghan 206 216 : map
Grehan 22, 65, 95, 200, 210 O’Halley : map O’Hartagan 102 : arms 173, 216
Grennan 21 Hallion 199 Hartegan 102
Mac Gretton 192 (O) Halliss(e)y 206 : map (O) Hartigan 102
de Grey 192 (O) Halloran 26, 39, 99 : arms 172, (O) Hartley 200 : map
Le Grey 192 215 : map O’Hartily 200
O Griada 97 O’Hally : map (O) Hartnett 202 : map
Mac Griana 107 Halpenny 202 (O) Harvey 193, 200
O Griana 109 Halpin 29, 200 Hassett 202, 206
O’Grifee 98 Halvey 200 Hastings 200
Grttia ©2627 ,°29,°97,. 200: O’Halwick 200 O’Hathern 41
arms 172,215 : map O’Haly 102 Hatton 200
Griffith 97 (O) Hamill 31, 202 : map Haugh 115, 200
O’Griffy 97, 200 : arms 172, 215 : Hamilton 193, 210 Haughan 200
map Hammond 188 Haughey 115
Grimes 22, 95, 200 Hanafin 206 Hanghran 106
O Griobhta 97 Hanahan 100 Haughton 200, 204
O Griofa 98 Hand 38 Haveran 41
Groarke 206 Handrick 114 O’ Haverty : map
(Mac)Grory 144, 206 Hanebry 193 Hawe 200
(O) Growney 19,90 : map O’Hanfey 100 Hawkins 21
Grubb 192 Hanheen 100 (O) Hayden 200 : map
Mac Guane 29, 96, 206 O’Hanify 100 de la Haye 102

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

239
 Hayes 21, 26, 102, 200 : map Hever 206 Howe 200
Hayles 200 O’Hevine 199 Howell 99
Hayward 209 Hewson 107 O’Howen 116, 200
O’Hea 26, 102, 200 : arms 173, O?Heyne: 10495 amis m3 0216 : (O) Howley 200
216 : map map Howlin 204, 206
O’Headon 200 (O) Hickey 27, 29, 104 : arms 174, Hoy 115
O’Healihy 102 216 : map Hoyne 206
Healy 12, 102, 200 Hiffernan 103 Huey 115
Heanahan 199 (O) Higgin(s) 11, 24, 104, 202 : arms Huggins 11,22
Heaney 199 174,216 : map Mac Hugh 107 : arms 174, 216 : map
Heanue 206 Hill 19,210 Hughes 102, 107, 200,210 : map
Hearn(e) 11, 41, 200 O’Hinderdell 200 : map Mac Hugo 49, 107, 206
Headon 204 Hines : see O’Hyne Hultaghan 206
(O) Healy 102, 202 : map O’Hinunane 137 Humphrey 41
Hearne 41 Hishon 197 Huneen 107
Heas 102 Histon 206 (O) Hungerdell 101
O’ Heavy : map Hoare : map Hunt(er) 30, 200, 209
Hederman 22, 203 Hoban 206 O’Huonyn 30, 107
Heelan 28, 106 Hodnett 17 : map (O) Hurley 107, 202 : arms 174, 216
O’Heerin 41 O’Hoey 115 : map : map
Heever 199, 200 Hog(g) 22,99 Husae 106
(O) Heffernan 103 : arms 173, 216: (O) Hogan 26,105 : arms 174, 216: Huscared 150
map map (O) Hussey 106, 200, 204 : map
O’ Heffron 41 Holian 105, 206 Hussian 197
Hegaine 81 Holland 105, 200 Hutchinson 102
Hegan 81, 99 Holly 200 Hyde 193
(O)Hegarty 103 : arms 173, 216 : (O)Holohan 103, 105, 200 : arms Hylan 200
map 174, 216 : map Hyland 105
(O) Hehir 23, 29 92, 200 : map Honan 200 Hynes 40, 104, 106, 202 : arms
Hellenny 100 (O) Hone 116, 200, 204 173,216 : map
(O)Hely 102 : map O’Honeen 30 : map de Hynteberge 193
(O) Henaghan 199 : map (O) Hood 200, 206 : map
Henchy 103 O’Hoolahan : see O’Holohan O hlarlatha 108
Hendley 100 O’Hooneen 200 O hlcidhe 104
Hendrick 114 (O) Hooney 107 : map Mac Ilduff : map
Henebry 21, 193, 204 : map de Hora 192 Ingoldsby 200
Henehan 206 O’Horahan 106 Mac Ilhair 199
Henely 100 Horaho 206 Mac Ilhatton 200
O’Henery 82 (O)Horan 206 @ atmSn lie Gn: Ilhenny 23
Henl(e)y 100 map MclIlmurray 134
Hennelly 206 (O) Hoyan 206 : map Mac Ilroy 200
(O)Hennessy 17, 103, 106 : arms Hore : see Hoare Mac Ilpatrick 87
173,216: map Horgan 206 Mac Inerheny 108
Henrick 114 De Horsey, O’Horsey 19 MacInerney 26, 28, 29, 108 : arms
Henrion 206 de Hosé 106 F 174, 216 : map
(Mac)Henry 82, map (O) Hosey 106, 200 O hinneirghe 82
O’Henry 82 : map de Hosey 106 Mac __Inneirghe 82
Hensey 103 Hosse 106 O hinnrechtaigh 101
Heraghty 101 Hosty 206 O hlongardail 101
Herbert 28, 204 Hough 115 O hlonmhainedain 137
(O) Herlihy 107, 119, 206 : map Houlihan 105 Mac __ lonnrachtaigh 101
(O) Heron 41 : map (O) Houneen 107, 206 O hlonrachtaigh 100
Heskin 201 O’Hourahan 106 Mac Ionyn 108
Hessian, Hession 22, 197, 203, Hourihane 100, 206 Mac Iosog, mac Isog 69
206 Houriskey 199, 201 Ivers 200, 204
Hestin 200 Howard 106, 200 Irvine 210
Irwin 210

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

240
 Jackson 210 (O) Kelly 35,17, 23525 426527 289 (Mac)Kilbane 207 : map
Mac James 19 SINS 2p 77, SOs 21205125. Kilbride 47
Jennings 17, 108, 204 : map 14315652 anmsal Jom 2 Gr Kilcash 207
Jerety 94, 203 map de Kilcow 55
Jones 210 Kenady 114 Kilcoyne 64
Johnson 17, 38, 200, 210 Kenealy : see O’Kinnealy Kilcullen 207
Johnston(e) 210 Kenedie 114 Kildellan 23
Mac Jonine 108 (Mac)Kenna 17, 22, 113, 115 : arms (Mac) Kilduff : map
(Mac)Jordan 17, 41, 92, 108, 204 : 175,216 : map Kilgallon 207
arms 174,216: map Kennagh 113 Kilgannon 207
de Jorse 108 (O) Ken(n)edy 25, 28, 31,113,114, (Mac)Kilkelly, Killikelly 18, 23, 207:
Joyce 25, 108, 204 : arms 175, arms 175,216 : map map
216 : map Kennelly 116 Kilkenny 207
Joyes 108 Kenning 68 Killacky 207
Judge 200 Mac Kenny : map Killealy 59
(O) Kenn(e)y 52,115 : map (Mc)Killeen 29, 207
Kanavaghan 61 : map Mac Kenraght 101 O’Killeen : map
(O) Kane 35, 60, 110, 200 Kent 193 Killian 207
O’Karrell 94 Kenyon 68 Killilea 207
Kavanagh 18, 19, 28, 109, 133 (Mac)Keogh 23, 115 : arms 176, 217 Killoran 207
: arms 175,216: map : map Kilmartin 126
Mac Kay 64, 107 Keoghan 207 Mac Kilpatrick 31
Keady 207 Keohane 207 Kilroy 82
Kealahan 52 (Mac)Keon 116, 200 : map Kimmons 66
O’Keally : map Mac Keoneen 108 Kinagam 67
(Mac)Kean(e) 26, 27, 110, 202 : arms (Mac)Keown 31, 96, 103, 116 : arms Kinaghan 67
175,216 : map 176, 217 : map Kinane 68
O’ Keane : map (O) Kerin 52,116, 199 : map (O)Kindellan 140 : map
Mac Kean(e)y 115 Kerley 68, 202 King 60, 193, 200, 210
(O)Kearney 90, 110, 199 : arms Kerens 116 O’ Kinga 61, 200
175,216 : map Kermode 72 Kingston 200
Kearns 116 : map (O) Kernaghan 152, 207 : map Kini(g)han 67
Kearon 116, 207 Kernan 152 Kiniry 82
(O) Keary 52, 199 Kerovan 117 Kinnane 68
(Mac)Keating 16, 31, 111, 204 : arms Kerr 210 Mac Kinnawa 89, 199
175, 216 : map Kerrane 116 (O)Kinneally 116 : arms 176,217:
Keaty 111 McKerribly : map map
Keaveney 207 O’ Kerrigan : map Kinneen 207
Mac Kee 31, 107, 199, 200 Kerrisk 102 Kinnegan 67
O’ Keeffe 111 : arms 175,216: map Kerwick 200, 207 Kinnerk 108
Keegan 81 McKessy 19, 38 Mac Kinney 207
O’Keelaghan : map (O) Kett 30, 202, 207 : map Kinningham 67
Mac Keenan 111 Kettle 200 (O) Kinsella(gh) 19, 117, 133 : arms
(O) Keenan 111 : map Mac Ketyll 200 176, 217 : map
Keen(e)y 115 Kevane 109, 207 McKinstry 207
(O) Keevan(e) 18, 109 : map Keveney 109 (O) Kirby 17, 200 : map
Mac Keever 199, 207 Keville 207 Kirk 200
Kegley 140 McKevitt 207 Kirrane 68
Keherney 110 Keyes 200 (O) Kirwan 41, 117 : arms 176, 217
Kehilly 23 Mac Kibbin 207 > map
Kehoe 115, 203 Kickham 193 Kissane 18, 23, 199, 207
O’Keily 112 Kidney 21, 200, 207 McKissy 30
(O) Kelaghan 51, 52 O’Kiely : map Kitterick 207
(O) Kelleher 27, 112 Kielty 201, 207 Knally 134
Keller 112 (O)Kieran 116, 199, 200 : arms Knaresborough 148
(O) Kelliher : map 176,217 : map Kneafsey 199, 202
Mac Kelly 113 (Mac)Kiernan 151 : map Knee 202

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
eg. for O / Daly see under Daly.

241
(Mac)Knight 191, 200 Mac an Leagha 119 Littleton 200
Knockton 134 O’ Leahy : map O’ Loan 200 : map
Knowlan(e) 136 Mac Lean 210 Mac _ Lochlainn 121
Knowles 200 O Leanachdin 119 Loftus 24, 121,200 : map
McKowge : map O- Leandin 120 O’Loghlan, O’Loghlen 121
Kyan 110 _O’Leane : map Logue 200, 207
Kyle 207 O Leannain 120 Lohan 199, 207
Kyne 64, 202 (O) Leary 27, 119 : arms 177,217: Mac __Loingseachain 122
Kyrvan 117 map O _Loingsigh 103, 121
_ Leash 117 O _Loinn 88>
O Labhradha 121 O Leathlaobhair 118 Lomasney 22, 203 : map
(de) Lac(e)y 28, 117, 204 : arms Leavy 74 Lombard 194, 204, 207, 209 :
176,217 map Leche 209 ; map
Lachles 194 Ledwidge 194, 204 O Lonain 120
Lachtnain 121 Mac Lee 119 London 18
Laffan 21, 204 : map (O) Lee 119, 200 : map Londrigan 120
O’ Lafferty 87 Leech 200 (O) Lonergan 120, 148 : arms 177,
Laghles 194 Lees 117 217 : map
Laheen 207 Leevy 74 _ Long 30, 200, 209 : map
O’Laherty 87 Le Fanu, Lefanu 30 O Longaigh 30
Lahiff 29, 207 O’ Lehane 48, 122, 200, 207 : map (O) Longan 200 : map
Laidhaigh 119 Leigh 200 O Longargain 120
Laifeartaigh 87 O’Leighin 122 O’Longey 200
Laighin 122 de Leis 117 Looney 29, 39
Laithbheartaigh 87 Leland 22 Mac Loone 207
Laitheasa 118
O.0.0.0.0. (O) Lenaghan 119, 120 O Lorcdin 120
Lally 22, 118 : arms 176, 217 Lenane 120, 200 (O) Lorcan 120
(O)Lalor 28, 77, 118 : arms 176, de Lench 121 Lord 200
217 : map O’Lenechan 119 Lordan 207
Lambe 200 Lenihan 119 Loughlin 29
Landers 204 Lennane 120 Mac Loughlin 27, 120 : arms 177,
Lane 48, 122, 200 (O) Lennon 120, 200 217 : map
Langan : map Leo 207 O’Loughlin 26, 120 : arms 177,
Langton 148 Leonard 23, 120, 200 : map 217 : map
Laoghain 122 Lestrange 200, 207 : map O’Loughnane 24, 114, 120, 200 :
Laoghaire 119 Ley 148 map
Laoidhigh 119 Levy 22,39, 203 Mac Loughney 128
O-O- Laoidhigh 119
O.6 Leyden 203 Loughran : map
Large 209 O’ Leye 200 Loughr(e)y 201 : map
Larkin 17,120 : map (O) Leyn(e) 122, 200 Lowney 207
Larminie 31 _ Leyns 122 (O) Lowry 31, 121, 202
La Touche 30 O Liathain 122 O’Luby : map
Mac Laughlin : see MacLoughlin Mac Lice 22 _ Lucey 207
O’ Laughnan 121 Liddy 29, 207 : map O Luimbric 18
Laules 194 Lightfoot 209 _O’Luinin 129
Lavallin 204, 207 Lillis 194, 204 O- Luinin 120
Lavan 207 : map Lilly 200 O’Lunney : map
Lavelle 22, 203, 207 Lim(e)rick 18 Luttrell 204 : map
(O) Laverty 87 : map Linane 120 Lydon 207
Lavery 121,210: map Lindsay 200 Lynagh 18
Lavin 200 Linehan 119 Lynam 202, 207
Lawder 19 (O) Linnane 23, 120 : map O’Lynan : map
Laweles 194 Linneen 120 Lynch 26, 27, 32, 41, 103,117,
Lawler, Lawlor 118, 148 _O’Linnegar 120 : map 121, 202 : arms, d77207
Lawless 194, 204, 209 O _Lionnain 120 map
Lawton 121, 206 Liston 204, 207 Lyncheha(u)n 122 : map
(Mac)Lea 119, 200 Little 200 Lynchy 200

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

242
 (O) Lyne 122 : map _ Mainey 129 Markham 24, 44, 200
O’Lynn 88 : map QO Mainichin 126 Marley 200
O’Lynne 200 O Mainnin 125 Marney 23
Lyons 122, 146 : map O’Malley 22, 48, 124, 128 : arms de Marreis 130
(Mac)Lysaght 17, 22, 29, 61, 123: 178, 217 : map Marrilly 200
arms 177,217 : map (O)Malone 125 : arms 178, 217 : (O) Marron : map
map _ Marshall 209
_ Mac : please see footnote. _ Maloughney 128 O Martain 126
O Macasa 30 O Manachdin 128 (Mac)Martin, Martyn 41, 126, 200
O Macase 19 (O)Manahan 125, 126 204, 210 : arms 178, 217
Macanward 156 Mac Manamon 207 Mason 209
Macaulay 42 Manasses 22, 203 Mac Master 200 : map
Macgilpatrick 87 de Mandeville 140 Masterson 200, 204 : map
Macgiollarnath 89 (O) Mangan, Mangin 125 : arms 178, Mathew : map
Macgilldowney 78 217 : map Mac Mathghamha 124
(O) Mackessy 19, 30, 38, 200 : map Maning 126 O Mathghamhna 124
Mac Macken : map Manley 200 Matthews 11, 200
(O) Mackey : map Mannihan 126 Maturin 30
Maclea 200 O’Mannin 125 Maughan 207
Mactague 24 Manning 125, 200 Maunsel(1) 204
O Mactire 156 (O) Mannion 125, 126, 200 : map Maxey 200
O Madadhdin 123 Mac Mannis 126 May 200
O Madain 123 O’Mannis 126 Mayne 126
(O) Madden 52,56,59,68, 115, 120, Mannix 22, 126, 203 (O) Mea 200, 207
PA See SenQalial, IMGs Mac Manus 63, 126 : arms 178, 217: O Meachair 127
map map _ Meade 18, 200
Maddock 18 Maoil Aoidh 128 O Meadhra 127
_ Madigan 123 Maoil Mhicil 132 (O) Meagher 127 : arms 178, 217 :
QO Maele 125 Maoileoin 125 ; map
Magauran 96 : arms 171, 215 Maoilriain 145 O Mealldin 132
Magawley 42 Maoilsheachlainn 121 O’Mealue 200
Magee 31, 93 Maolachain 132 O’Meara 127 : ahaa) Huiker eAkT/
Magennis 21, 93 Maolagain 132 map
Mageoghegan 94 Maolain 24, 131 Mears 200
Mageown 96 Maolalaidh 118 (O)Meehan 127 : arms 179, 218 :
Maghery 19 Maolaoidh 128 map
Mac Maghnuis 126 Maolchalann 106 Meenahan 201
Maginn 85 Maolchathaigh 131 (O) Meen(e)y 129 : map
Magner 207 Maolchloiche 131 O’Meere 200
Magown 96 Maolconaire 60 Mehegan 127
Magranill 141 Maolcraibhe 143 Meighan 127
Magrath 97 Maoldhomhnaigh 78, 128 O’Melaghlin 77, 121 amarms: | fis
Magraw 97 Maolfhachtna 128 217 : map
Magreena 107 Maolmhuaidh 128 Meldon 202
Maguidhir 98 Maolruanaidh 130 Melia 22, 125, 203, 207
Maguinnseandin 120 = Maoltuile 154 O’Mellan 131 : map
Maguire 32, 98 : see MacGuire O.8 Maonaigh 129
©O.0.0.0-0:0.0:0-0.0-.0:0-0:0:0-0.0.0-0. Mellon 207
Maher 127 : see O’Meagher (O) Mara 127 (O) Melody 202 : map
(Mac)Mahon 17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, Marchant 209 Melville 24, 132, 200
31, 36, 39, 44, 124, 177, 200 de Marecy 131 Mac Menamin 200, 207 : map
: arms 177, 178,217 : map Mares 130 Mercer 209
(O)Mahony 23, 27, 76, 79, 124, Mareschal 209 Merlehan 207
130 : arms 178, 217 : map Maries 130 Merriman 200
Mac Mahuna 124 Mariga 200, 203 (O) Merry 200 : map
O Mahiuna 124 Mac Maris 139 Mescall 202
_O’Maicin 127 (O) Markahan 24, 44, 200, 201 : map Meyer 200
O Maille 125 Markey 201 Meyler 207 : map

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

243
Mac a’ Mhadaidh 123 de Mora 129 O’Muldory 120
Mac an Mhileadha 42 _ O’Morahan 129, 200 : map Muldowney 78
_O’Miachan 127 O Mordin 129 Mulfaal 200, 203
O Miadhachdain 127 Mac Moran 129 Mulgeehy 201
Miagh 200 (O)Moran 129 : arms 179, 218 : O’Mulhall : map
Michael 200 map (O) Mulhollan(d) 105 : map
Miles 200 O’Morchoe 22, 132, 133 : arms Mulkeen 207
Miley 127, 200 . 180, 218 : map (O) Mulker(r)in 207 : map
Milford : map O Mordha 129 O’Mulally : see Mulally
Millar 210 (O) More 59, 118, 129, 133 Mac Mullan 31
Millea 127. O Morgair 130 (O)Mullan(e) 131 : arms 180,
Miller 210 © Morgan 200 218 : map
Milligan 207 O’Morghue : map (O) Mullan(e)y 207 : map
Millin 200 Mac Moriarty 130 Mullarkey 207
Mills 19 (O)Moriarty 27, 93, 130 : arms Mulleady : map
Milmo 207 179,218 : map Mullee 128, 200
Minihane 207 Morley 200, 207 Mulleen 200
Miniter 28, 209 O’Morochoe 132 (Mac)Mullen 131
Minnagh 18, 113 Mac Morogh : see MacMorrough (O) Mullen 131
Minnog 24 (O) Moroney 27, 39, 130 : arms Mullery 200
Minnogew 24 179,218 : map (O) Mulligan 24, 132, 200 : map
(O) Minogue 24, 29, 126, 203, 207 (Mac)Morrin 129 Mullihan 132
: map (Mac)Morris 41, 86, 130, 131, 200, Mullin(s) 24, 121
_ Mitchell 132, 194, 200, 210 210 : arms 180, 218 : map (O) Mullover 200 : map
O Mochdain 124 Morrison 130, 131, 200, 210 Mulloy : see O’Molloy
O Mocheirghe 30 Morrisroe 207 Mullowny 78
_ Mockler 204 Morrissey 131, 200 O’Mulmoher : map
O Moghrdin 129 Morrolly 200 Mulmona 200
O’Mohan 124, 201 : map Mac Morrough : arms 180, 218 : map O’Mulmoy 128
Molamphy 207 (Mac)Morrow 133, 200, 210 : map (O) Mulqueen(y) 29, 132, 207 : map
de Moleyns 24 Mac Morry 134 O’Mulready 201 : map
(O)Molloy 127 : arms 179, 218 : Mac Moruinn 129 O’Mulrennan : map
map Moss 200 (O)Mulrian 26, 145 : arms 183,
Molohan 132 Mac Moylie 200 219 : map
(O) Molon(e)y 26, 29, 78,128 : arms Moynagh 18 (O) Mulrooney 130 : map
179, 218 : map Moyne 126 (O) Mulroy 207 : map
Molphy 207 (O) Moynihan 27, 207 : map O’Mulryan 145
(O) Moltolle 154 Mucklebreed 22 O’Multilly 154
Molyneux 24, 132, 200, 204 Muckley 131, 201 Mulvanerty 199
Mac Monaghan : map O Mughrdin 129 O’Mulvenna : map
(O) Monaghan 43, 125 128, 200 : _ Muimhneach 113 Mulvenny 207
arms 179,218 : map O Muircheartaigh 130 O’Mulvey : map
Mac Monagle 207 O Muireadhaigh 133 (O)Mulvihil(l) 12, 24, 132, 200 :
Monagher 207 Mac Muirgheasa 131 arms 180,218 : map
_ Monday 21, 200 O Muirgheasa 130, 131 Mulville 132
O Mongain 125 O Muirghuis 130 O’Mulvochery 199
(O) Mongan 125 : map Mac Muiris 130, 131 Munconry 60
Mongey 207 O Muirthile 107 Mungan 125
Monk(s) 128, 200 (O) Mulally 118, 134 : arms 176, Mungovan 207
Monnelly 200, 207 217 : map Mac Murchadha 132, 133
Montgomery 210 (O) Mulcahy 131 : map OQ Murchadha 132
Montague 24, 200 Mulclohy 131 O Murcl:din 129
(O)Mooney 49, 129 > arms 179, O’Mulconry 60 : arms 163, 212 : O’Murhila 107, 200
218 : map map Murley 107
(O)Moore 11, 21, 28, 38, 77, 129, O’Mulcreevy 143 : map Murnane 201, 207
189 ,202s:.armseljos 218: Mulderrig 201 (O)Murphy 13, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28,
map» O’ Muldoon : map 31, 32, 132, 210 eiaenas she,
218 : map
Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

244
 Mac Murray 27, 133 : map O- Niallain 135 Pakenham 194
(O)Murray 18, 133, 200,210 : map Mac Nicholas 20, 207 : map Palmer 200, 209
Murrigan 200 Mac Niff 207 Parker 209
O’Murrihie 132 (O) Nihil(1) 22, 30, 136, 203 : map Parnell 187, 194
Murrily 107 Nilan(d) 135 Parogan 87
MacMurro(u)gh 22, 109, 133, 190, Nix 207 Parrican 87
200 Noble 209 (Mac)Parson(s) 195
Murry : see Murray Nochtin 134 Mac Partlan : map
(O) Murtagh 130 : map Nocton 134 Patchy 87
Mac Murty 207 de Nogla 134 Patrick 87
O’ Myer 200 Mac Nogly 134 Patterson 200, 210
Myers 200 (O) Nolan 136 : arms 181, 218 : map O’Pattan : map
Noland 24 Patton 200
Mac Naboe 201 , 207 (O) Noonan 11, 137 : map Paumer 209
(O)Naghten 118, 134, 200 : arms- (O) Noone 200, 207 : map Pearce, Peirce 195
180, 218 : map Normile 202 Pender 139, 204
Nagle 16, 94, 134, 204 : arms Normoyle 29, 207 Penrise 143
180, 218 : map Norreys 209 Peoples 207
(Mac)Nally 134 Norton 200 Peppard : map
Mac Namara 17, 26, 27, 29, 40, 55, _ Nowlan : see Nolan Persse 192
108, 135, 147 : arms 181, O Nualldin 136 O’Petane 200
218 : map O Nuandain 137 Petit 209
Mac Namee 207 : map Nugent 16, 120, 137, 204 : arms Petty 209
Nanany 120 181,218 : map Peyton 200
de Nangle 63 Nullee 128 Mac Phaidin 42
Nangle 63, 134, 204 (Mac)Nulty 74, 137 : map Phair 19
_Nangles 17 (O) Nunan 137 (O)Phelan 28, 79, 84, 138 : arms
O Naoidheandain 137 Nyhan 207 181,218 : map
Mac Naois 126 Nyland 135 Mac Phelim 20
Mac Naughton 134, 192, 200 MacPherson 195
O’Naughton : see O’Naghten O : please see footnote. Philbin 207
_ Navan 18 Oakes 21, 200 Phylan 207
O Neachtain 134 Mac Oda 17 Pierce 195
Mac Neachtain 192 _ Odell 19 Piper 209
Neagle 134 O hOdhrdin 106 Pléamonn 88
Mac Necollen 201 O hOgain 105 Plunket(t) 138, 204 : arms 181,
(O) Nee 200, 207 : map Ogan 108 218 : map
Neenan 137 Oge 19 le Poer 138, 209
Nehane 207 Mac an Oglaoich 134 de la Poer 189
Mac Neice 126 Mac Oidealbh 63 Mac Polin 207
(O)Neil(lan 135 : arms 181, 218 : O hOiledin 106 Pollard 18
map Mag _ Oireachtaigh 94 Potter 209
(O) Neill 17, 25, 29, 31, 47, 64, 75, O hOireachtaigh 22, 101 Powell 94, 200
99,103, 104, 126, 136 : arms Mac Oisdealbhaigh 63 Power 16, 17,31, 138, 204, 209
181,218 : map O hOisin 197 : arms 181,218 : map
MacNeill 31 : map Mac Oitir 63 A’Preith 19
O’Nelan 135 Oliffe 41 (de) Prendergast 17, 139, 191, 204 :
Mac Nelis 207 : map Oolahan 106 map
Nerney 108 O hOrchain 30 Preston 18, 195, 204 : map
(Mac)Nestor 29, 202 : map Ormond(e) 18, 207 : map O’Prey 195207
Netterville 204 : map Oswell 106 Prior 207
Nevill(e) 197, 200 : map Outlawe 194 Proude 209
(Mac)Nevin 199, 200 : map (Mac)Owen(s) 19, 116, 200 Prout 209
Newell 200 Owenson 116 Prunty 202, 207
O’Newill 200 Puirséil 139
O’Neylan(d) 135 Mac Pad(d)en 27, 42, 200 Punch 204 '
Neylon 29 Mac Padine 42 Purcell 139, 204 : arms 181, 218
: map

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.

245
 Mac Quade 139 Ray 200 O’ Rogan : map
(Mac) Quaid 23, 139 Raymond 142 Rogers 21, 144, 201, 210
Qualter 207 Mag Reachtain 192 Mac Roghallaigh 65
(O) Queally 112. : map O- Reachtaire 141 Rohan 208
Quee 207 Reagan 142 de Rodiste 144
Queenan 207 Reagh 19 O’Rolan : map
(O) Quigley 21, 140 : arms 182, 219 Rearden 143 O’Ronan : map
: map Reardon 144 Ronayne 208
O’ Quill : map Reavey 200 Rooke 145
Mac Quillan 66, 74, 140 : arms 182, O’Reddan : map Roolane 201
219 : map Reddington 201 (O) Rooney 144 : map
Quillane 66—- Rede 209 Rorke 145
Quillen 66 Redehan 201 Mac Rory 20, 144, 201 : map
O’ Quilligan : map Redmond 142, 204 : arms 182, Rossiter 204, 208 : map
Mac Quilly 140, 199 : map 219 : map Rossney 208
Quilter 207 Mac Redmond 49 : map Rothe 148, 195, 204 : map
Quilty 201 Reeves 201 O’Rourke 35, 51, 96, 121, 141,
(O) Quin(n) 15, 31, 32, 134, 141: (O) Regan 142 : arms 182,219: map 145 : arms 183,219 : map
arms 182,219 : map Reid 201, 209, 210 Roussel 209
Quinane 68 O’Reidy : map Rowan 202
(O) Quinlan 59, 140 : arms 182, 219 (O) Reilly 18, 25, 32, 35,51, 70, (O) Rowe 201
Quinlevan 59, 140 143, 145, 149, 154 : arms Rowland 201
Quinlisk 200 183,219 : map Rowley 201
Quinlivan 29 Relehan 207 O Ruaidh 18
(O) Quinnelly 116 : map Reynolds 141, 201 : arms 182, Mac Ruaidhri 144
(O) Quinney : map 219 : map O Ruanaidh 144
(O) Quirivan 117 Rhys 143 (O) Ruane 208 : map
(O) Quirke 200 : map Mag Riada 97 Rudden 202
Mac Quoad 139 O Riagdin 142 Mac Ruddery 17, 191, 200
O Riain 145 de Rupe 144
Rabbitt(e) 68, 200 Rice 143, 201, 204 de Rupefort 144
(Mac) Rae 97 Mac Richard 19,50 Rush 201
(O) Rafferty 141 arms 182, 219 : Mac an Ridire 191 Russell 195, 209, 210
map (O) Rigney 202, 207 : map Ruth 195, 204
Rafter 202 Riney 207 Rutledge 201
Raftery 141 Ring 201, 202 Ruttle 30
Raftiss 207 _O’Rinne 201 (O) Ryan 25, 26, 28, 31,145 : arms
Ragged 209 O- Riordain 144 183,219 : map
_ Ragget 148, 207 (O) Riordan 143 : arms 183, 219: Ryder 201
O- Raghaillaigh 143 map O’Rynne 30
Mac Raghnaill 141 O’ Rive 201
_O’Rahilly 143 : map Roarke 145 de St Aubyn 152
O Raifeartaigh 141 McRoarty : map St Leger 204
Mac Raith 97 (O) Roarty 141 : map Salmon 201
Mag Raith 97 Mac Rob 192 Sandys 148
O Raithbheartaigh 141 O- Robhartaigh 141 Santry 18
O- Raithile 143 Robinson 210 de Sarsefeld 146
Raleigh 200 Roche 16, 122, 144, 204 : arms Sarsfield 16, 35, 145, 204 : arms
Mac Rannal 63 141, 147, 201 : arms 183,219 : map 183,219 : map
. 182,219 : map Rochfort 144, 204 O’Saura 201
O Raogdin 142 Rock 201 Saurin 204
Rath 18 Rodden 202, 207 Sauvage 209
(O) Rattigan 207 : map Roddy 207 Savage 201, 209 : map
Ratty 22 O’ Rodehan : map Savin 201
O’Raverty 141 _ Rodgers 144, 201, 210 Scally 208
O’ Rawe 207 O Roduibh 94 (O)Scanlan 146 : arms 183, 219 :
O’Rawley 200 Roe 201 map

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O / Daly see under Daly.
Mac — Scannlain 146 (O) Sheehan 148 : arms 184, 219 Somerville 201
O Scannlain 146 (Mac)Sheehy 148 : arms 184, 219 : Spain 18
(O) Scannell 146 : map map Spellissy 208
Scared 150 (O) Sheehy 149 (O) Spellman 201, 208 : map
Scaret 150 Mac Shehe 148 (O) Spillane 201, 208 : map
Scarry 208 Sheil(s) 149 Stack 27, 196, 204 : map
_ Schaill 22, 203 Shell(e)y 22, 201 : map Stacpoole 204
O Scolaidhe 146 Mac Sheoinin 108 Stafford 204 : map
O- Scollain 146 Shepherd 209 Staunton 17, 42, 201, 204
Mac Scollog 199 (Mac)Shera 17, 87, 203 Mac Stay 208
Scullin 146 (O) Sheridan 149 : arms 184, 219 : Stevenson 210
Scullion 146, 202, 208 map Steward 209
(O) Scully 146 : map Mac Sherone 17 Stewart 209, 210
O Seachnasaigh 147 (Mac)Sherry 17, 202 : map Stokes 196
O Séaghdha 148 (O) Shiel 149, 201 : arms 184, 219: Stone 131, 201
O Sealbhaigh 22 map Stritch 204, 208
_O’Seanan 147 Shields 149, 201 Stuart 210
O Seanain 147 Shinagh 90 Studdert 28, 208
Mac __ Seanlaoich 147 Shine 30 Mac Suibhne 150
Mac Séartha 87 Shinnick 199 O Suileabhain 150
O Seasnain 30 Shinnock 90 Sugrue 27, 208 : map
Seery 199, 208 Shonogh 90 Sullahan 23
_ Segrave 204 : map Shortall 204 : map (O)Sullivan 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29,
OO Seighin 30 Shovelin 203 315.38, 73, 79) 95e983 150%
Serjeant 209 Shoye 109 arms 184, 219 : map
Seoighe 109 (O) Shryhane 208 : map Summaghan 208
Mac Seoninin 17, 49 Shunny 90 Summers 201
Sewell 201 Mac Shardane 108 Mac Suirtain : arms 174, 216
Sexton 30, 201 : map Mac Shurtan 108 Sutton 18
Shanan 199 Mac Shurton 108 O’Swally 201
Shallow 22, 201 O Siadhail 149 (Mac)Sweeney 27, 148, 150 : arms
Shalvey 201 Silke 201, 208 184,219 : map
Mag Shambhradhain 96 _ Sinnott 204, 208 : map Sweetman 189, 204 : map
Mac Shanaghy 90 O Siodhachain 148 Swift 196, 201, 204
O’Shanahan 147 : map Mac a tSionnaigh 90 (Mac)Swiney 150
Shanahy 90 OQ Sionnaigh 90 Switzer 18, 30
O’Shanassy 148 O Sirideain 149 Swords 201, 202
MacShane 17, 19, 20, 26, 38, 62, Mac _ Sithigh 149 Synge 196
200 : map Mac Siurtain 17, 108 Synnott 204
(Mac)Shanly 147 : arms 183, 219 : Skehan 201
map Skerrett 41, 149 age
(O) Shannon 147 Skiddy 189 Taaffe 151, 204 : arms 184,
de Sharisfeld 145 Mac Skimmons 67 219 : map
Sharkey 202 Skynner 209 Mac Tadgh 24
Mac Sharry 89 : map Slane 18 _ Taggart 208
Shasnan 201 O’Slattery : map O Taithligh 154
O’Shaughnessy 51, 104, 139, 147, Slowey 127, 202 Talbot 204 : map
148 : arms 183,219 : map Sloyan 203 Tallon 21, 204 : map
Shaw 196 Mac Sluaghaidh 128 Tally 154
(O)Shea 25, 27, 148 : arms 184, Small 201 Talty 29, 208
219 : map Smallwoods 201 Tangney 208
O’Sheaghyn 148 Smith(e) 21, 25, 32, 38, 96, 20, Tanner 209
Sheahan 148 209, 210 Tannian 208
Sheares 187, 196 Snee 208 Tansey 208
(O) Shee 148 McSolly : map (O) Tarpey 208 : map
(Mac)Sheedy 29, 201 : map (O)Somahan 201 : map Tarrant 201
(O) Sheedy 201 Somers 201 Tath 151

Surnames are indexed in alphabetical order, the prefixes Mac, O and De being disregarded;
e.g. for O | Daly see under Daly.
 Taylor 210 O Treasaigh 153 Wakeman 209
Taylour 209 O’Trehy 153 : atins sS5e0e208: Waldron 204, 208
Teahan 208 map de Wale 154
Teeling 204 de Treo 154 Waleys 209
Mac Teige 19, 26, 62, 144 _ Trim 18 Walker 210
Mac Teigue 200 O Troightigh 153 Wall 154, 204 : arms 185, 220:
O- Teimhin 30 Troy 12, 153 : arms 185, 220: map
Terence 68 map Wallace 18, 210
Mac Terlagh 68 de Troye 154 Walsh -16, 25, 26, "22a 2Geeoue
Mac Ternan 151 O Tuama 154 155, 204, 209 : arms 185,
Terry 68, 204 OQ Tuathail 153 220 : map
Mac Thigearnain-t51 O- Tuathair 209 Mac Walter 20
O’Thina 154 Tucker 201, 209 Warburton 125
Mac __ Thoirdealbhaigh 68 Mac Tuile 154 (Mac)Ward 27, 156, 202 : map
Mac Thomas 20 Mac a’ Tuile 154 Warner 209
Thom(p)son 32, 210 QO Tuile 154 Warnock 202
Thornton 201 O Tuine 154 Warren 201
Mac Thréinfhir 153 Tuite 204 : map Waters 201
Thulis 22, 203 (Mac)Tully 154 : arms 185, 220 Watson 210
_ Thynne 30, 154, 201, 208 Tunny 208 Mac Wattin 42
O- Tiemhin 154 O’Tuohy : map Webbe 209
(Mac)Tiernan 151, 152 : arms 185, Turley 68 Mac Weeney 208 : map
220 Mac Turlogh 68 Weir 201, 208
(O) Tierney 151, 152, 200 : arms Twigley 140 Welby 18
185,220 : map (O) Twomey 154 Weldon 40, 204
Tighe 20 O’Tyernie 152 Westropp 51, 197
O Tighearnaigh 15, 152 O’Tyne 201 : map Whelan 28, 138
Mac Tighearndain 151 Tyrrell 77, 204 : map Wheleghan 208
O Tighearnain 152 White 197, 201, 204, 209, 210:
Mac Tigue 20 Mac Uaid 139 map
Timlin 208 O hUaithnin 107 Whitehead 201
Toal 152 O hUallachdin 105, 136 Whoolehan 106
Tobin 25, 152, 204 : arms 185, Mac _ Uidhilin 140 Wilde 197
220 : map O hUidhrin 41 Wilhere 203
Togher 201 O hUigin 104 Mac William 19, 49, 75
Toher 209 O hUirthile 107 Wilson 210
O’Tolleran : map Ulf 156 Wise : see Wyse
O’Tomelty : map Mac an Ultaigh 74, 137 Wogan 204 : map
Tone 196 Uniacke 204 Wolfe 156
(O) Toner 18, 202 : map Urell 208 Woodeman 209
Tonra 208 Ussher 197, 204, 209 Woods 38, 201, 210
O’Toole 50, 80, 152 : arms 185, Ungerdell 101 Woolahan 208
220 : map Woolfe 156
O’Toomey : map McVaddock : map Woulfe 156, 189, 204 : arms
Toorish 31, 201 Vahey 83 185, 220 : map
Torran 200, 201 Mac Vaittin 42 Wrafter 202
Torrance 201 du Val 154 Wren 201
Torrens 201 de Vale 154 Wright 210
Tougher 209 Vallelly 208 de Wylde 197
Touhy : see O’Tuohy Varrily 31 Wynne 201
Toukere 209 Vaughan 124, 201 Wyse 204, 209 : map
O’Towey : map Mac Veagh 83 : map
(O) Trav(e)y 153 : map Veall 204, 208 Yeats 198
Trainor 153 Verdon 204 : map De Yermond 203
Trant 204 : map Verling 208 Yong 209
O’Trassy 153 Victory 201 Young 20, 209, 210
(Mac)Traynor 153 Vyneter 209 Yourell 208
(Mac)Treanor 153
Treacy 153 Wadding 204 : map Zorkin 202

248

KNOWSLEY LIBRARY SERVICE

fn
|a

6=
Other titles from Irish Academic Press

Guide to Irish Mythology

Daragh Smyth

Celtic Place-Names of Scotland

William J. Watson

Directory of Irish Archives

Helferty & Refaussé, eds.

Pale Rainbow:
Gaelic folksongs and translations
Brian O’ Rourke

Celtic Britain and Ireland

AD 200-800
Lloyd & Jenny Laing

John Blake Dillon,

Young Irelander
Brendan O’Cathaoir

William O’Brien
and the Irish Land War
Sally Warwick-Haller

Irish Stone Bridges:

History and Heritage
Peter O'Keeffe

Jacket design: )ARLATH HAYES

From the reviews of More Irish Families
An Encyclopedia of Irish Name Lore

‘This is a marvellous book, of very great general interest. . . . It is packed with fact, and once
you take it up to read a particular reference, you will find yourself reading on’ Irish Press.

‘Anyone who has ever worked in an Irish newspaper office will be aware of the abiding interest
in genealogy, especially among those second and third generation Irish abroad who are trying
to establish family connections, or as they are more popularly known nowadays, “roots.”
‘Scarcely a week goes by in which the editor does not receive several letters containing re-
quests for information about ancestors, lineage, family background.
‘Dr MacLysaght is rather remarkable in that this latest volume comes late in life. “In fact”
he says, “‘it is my valediction, for at the age of ninety-four it is unlikely that I will write any
more on the subject.”
‘That simple sentence conceals a vast amount of information about Irish families. . . . This
volume crowns a distinguished career of dedication and research which has greatly enriched our
knowledge’ Cork Examiner.

“Together with the original Jrish Families, the book presents the result of the labours of Dr Ed-
ward McLysaght. They will stand as a monument to this 97-year-old Irish scholar. Libraries
and genealogists who wish to have an encyclopedia of Irish name lore at their elbow will invest
in this rara avis, a definitive work’ Nova Scotia Genealogist.

‘This compulsion to keep browsing on from name to name can be ascribed to MacLysaght’s
captivating style, a unique blend of the scholarly and the mundane. . . . This is the kind of book
it is — compendious, accurate, yet full of fascinating anecdotes and witty asides. With its compa-
nion volume Irish Families, it will undoubtedly continue to make readily available for genera-
tions to come, much sought-after information on family names ranging all the way from Abbott
to Yourell’ Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.

‘A very handsome and worthy follow-up to the original and major contribution to a tremendous
study. ... There is an outstanding amount of learning behind a book like this’ Belfast Newsletter.

‘Edward MacLysaght must be the doyen of Irish writers. Here he is distilling still further infor-
mation from his study of half a century’ Irish Times.

This volume is not limited to those studying genealogy and family history; it will be of interest
to historians and demographers as well’ American Reference Books Annual.

‘A most absorbing book and a monument to Dr MacLysaght’s incredible industry’ Irish Independent.

The fourth (revised and enlarged) edition of Edward MacLysaght’s

IRISH FAMILIES: Their Names, Arms and Origins

with 27 full-colour plates — depicting 243 family arms — by Myra Maguire, ANCA, formerly
Q
Heraldic Artistic to the Genealogical Office, Dublin Castle, is now also published by Irish Academic
Press. ‘For anyone with an interest in genealogy this book is a must. It is, and is likely to remain
so, the standard reference work in this field’ Cork Examiner.
5
>
=
8rS