Roots Archive
Roots: The McCooey Clan
The McCooey surname has Armagh roots, deriving from the Gaelic name Mac Cumhaigh, meaning “son…
Irish Roots: O’Connell, Connolly, Conlon and Connellan
William Connolly The name Connolly is derived from several different roots….
Roots: The O’Sullivans Past & Present
The O’Sullivan Clan of Munster has produced fine military leaders, sporting heroes, politicians, movie stars,…
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Roots: O’Malley and Molloys
These two families, although unrelated, share the same origin of their names, i.e. both are thought to derive from the Gaelic word for chieftain. The O’Malley family (from the Gaelic […]
Roots: The Connolly Family
The Connolly family are an ancient sept of Ireland’s western province of Connacht. The Gaelic form of the name is O’Conghaile. The original sept dispersed and in time three separate […]
Roots: The O’Neill Family
There are several different septs of the O’Neills in County Clare (where the name is also spelled O’Nihill), in Waterford and in Carlow. The most famous of the O’Neills, however, […]
Roots: The Brady Family
The Brady family name derives from the Gaelic McBradaigh which was originally anglicized as McBrady, but the “Mc” is very seldom used in modern times. The vast majority of this […]
Roots: The Kavanaghs
Unlike most of the families covered in this column, the origin of the Kavanaghs or Cavanaghs can be traced back to one specific person. This was Donal, the son of […]
Roots: The O’Neills
There are several different septs of the O’Neills in Counties Clare (where the name is also spelt O’Nihill), Waterford and Carlow. The most famous of the O’Neills, however, are the […]