Irish America

Irish America

Irish Surname

Roots: The O’Briens

By James G. Ryan

January/February 1996

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The O'Briens are one of the great Gaelic families of Ireland, and were the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Thomond, which takes in much of the modern county Clare and also the adjacent parts of counties Limerick and Tipperary. The family name is derived from Brian Boru (925-1014 A.D.) who was King of Thomond and rose to become High King of Ireland. Brian Boru is best … [Read more...] about Roots: The O’Briens

Irish Roots: Quinn, Quinlan and Quigley

By James G. Ryan

March/April 1994

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Although the Irish language, or Gaelic, does not have a letter "Q," the distinctive sound of the accented "C" in some Gaelic names has caused them to be anglicized phonetically with this sound. Examples include Quinn, Quinlan, and Quigley, none of which are connected other than by their initial letter. Quinn is perhaps the most common of these names. It is derived from the … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: Quinn, Quinlan and Quigley