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Irish Surnames

Roots: The O’Brien Clan

By James G. Ryan

April 1992

July 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment

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’Brien Clan

Roots: Reynolds and Haughey

By James G. Ryan

March 1992

June 30, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This month we are featuring the families of our new Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Albert Reynolds, and our previous Taoiseach Charles Haughey. Both names are Gaelic in origin and both exemplify the interesting variation in name-forms which can occur in the change of Gaelic names to an anglicized form. Although Reynolds is also an English name of Norman origin, almost all of the … [Read more...] about Roots: Reynolds and Haughey

Roots: Unusual Irish Names

By James G. Ryan

November December 1993

June 24, 2026 by Leave a Comment

My recent article on "That's Not an Irish Name" has prompted a lot of comment from readers with interesting names, and theories about their derivation. I must also acknowledge one mistake. Bill Delaney of Philadelphia corrected me on the name Delaney, which had been given as an example of the many Norman names with the prefix "De." Delaney, however, is of course, derived from … [Read more...] about Roots: Unusual Irish Names

Roots: That’s Not an Irish Name!

By James G. Ryan

July August 1993

June 17, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Names such as Kelly, Murphy, O'Brien and Ryan are distinctively Irish and are widely known to be so. However, there are many names which are Irish but this fact is far from obvious. Names such as Holland, King, Waters, Rabbitte, Woods, Smith, Kidney, Bird, Salmon, Moore, Traynor, Moss, Fox and Dean and many others can be of Irish origin due to some strange evolutions of … [Read more...] about Roots: That’s Not an Irish Name!

Roots: The McCooey Clan

By Mary Egan

Fall 2025

November 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment

The McCooey surname has Armagh roots, deriving from the Gaelic name Mac Cumhaigh, meaning “son of Cú Mhaighe,” which translates to “hound of the plain.” This surname is an Anglicized form of a patronymic, where the “Mac” signifies “son of,” and the personal name Cú Mhaighe was common in the region of Armagh. Famous individuals with the surname McCooey include the Gaelic poet … [Read more...] about Roots: The McCooey Clan

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September 10, 1923

On this day in 1923, the then Irish Free State was admitted into the League of Nations, the predecessor to today’s United Nations. After the League of Nations was first established in 1919, there were many efforts made by some organizations in Ireland in to join the League. However, this task proved more difficult due to some opinions that joining a body founded by England would make it harder for Ireland to achieve independence. After joining on this day, WT Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council in Ireland, made a speech on the Irish admittance to the League of Nations.

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