HISTORY
OF IRISH CLANS
It is well known that the Irish
are a very proud nation. This
pride is seen in many aspects of
their lives - their
families, their heritage, and
most importantly their name. In
older times it was a serious
offence to sully someone's name,
and this remains true to this
day. Reputation is
all-important, the family name
is to be honoured and respected.
Many of Ireland's sons and
daughters who now reside far
from her shores share this
enduring pride in their Clan's
names.
The structure of Irish
surnamesIrish surnames are
common throughout the world,
particularly in America, England
and Australia. They have the
peculiarity of often having two
parts, rather than one, a legacy
from the days when Gaelic was
spoken throughout the land.
Hereditary surnames were not
used in Ireland prior to the
tenth
century; surnames were only used
for a single generation. A man
was known as 'son of', mac in
Gaelic, his father. Thus
Turlough, son of Art, was
Turlough Mac Airt. Turlough's
son Conor would be known as
Conor Mac Turlough.
Alternatively, if his
grandfather was considered a
more prominent figure, he would
be known as 'grandson of', Ó in
Gaelic. Thus Conor would be
known as Conor Ó Airt, meaning
Conor, grandson of Art. The
apostrophe commonly seen in
Irish surnames today is an
Anglicanized version of the
Gaelic accent, so that Ó became
O': Ó Baoill became O' Boyle in
English. Another common feature
of Irish surnames is the prefix
fitz, as in the names Fitzgerald
& Fitzpatrick. This is a legacy
from the Norman invasions of
Ireland, and is a corruption of
the French fils or 'son of'.
Since Mac and Fit' have the same
meaning they were
interchangeable at one time.
Influences on surnames
Ireland was one of the first
European countries to use fixed
hereditary surnames. Many of
these names show the strong ties
and influence of the Catholic
Church. The surname prefixes,
Gil and Kil, are derived from
the Gaelic giolla, meaning
'follower'. Therefore, Gilmartin
was 'a follower of St. Martin'.
Another prefix
with religious intonations is
Mul, taken from the Gaelic maol,
meaning bald. This referred to
the Irish monks, whose
monasteries dotted the country.
Other names are Anglicanized
versions of Irish descriptions
of character or personality:
Reilly (brave), Quinn
(intelligent), Kennedy
(helmeted), and Sullivan (black
eyed). Others indicate
occupations: Falconer, Smith,
Cooke, Taylor, Mason, Archer and
Harper.
Further complications arose
when the old Gaelic names were
transposed into English. For
example Carey, derived from the
Gaelic O`Ciardha, became Carew
or even Carr.
From the start, Ireland was
influenced from a variety of
foreign invaders. Modern Irish
surnames are the result of
intermingling with Nordic,
Anglo-Norman, Welsh, Scots and
English for over a millennium.
Many surnames are
interpretations of these
invaders homelands. For example,
Walsh (Wales), Cusack (Cussac),
Lyons (Lyons), and Joyce (Jose).
Clan and family remain the
cornerstones of Irish society
today. Irish people all over the
world share these values, and
encourage them in their own
children. Irish identity is
inextricably linked to ancestry
and heritage, the past always an
undeniable part of the present.
|
