O'Somebody
The prefix
O'Brien is an illustrious name; this name supposedly comes in a direct line from Brian Boru, the great king of the eleventh century. Not all O'Briens are descendants of Brian Boru; some versions of the name are a corruption of “O'Byrne” or derive from the Norman surname Bryan. Many O'Briens come from County Clare or the town of Killaloe, where Brian Boru had a palace.
In Clarecastle, you can visit the ghost of Maire Rua O'Brien, widow of the seventeenth-century rebel soldier Conor O'Brien. She had a black stallion that helped her get rid of unwelcome suitors; they would ride the horse at a gallop to the edge of the Cliffs of Moher, the horse would stop suddenly, and the suitor would keep on going straight down.
The name O'Connor also has a long history; it's a very old Gaelic surname. The O'Connors descended from King Conchobar of Connacht, who died in the tenth century. Roderick O'Connor was the last high king of Ireland. O'Connors became lords of Counties Mayo and Clare (in the Burren, they built Ballinalacken Castle).
The O'Connors from County Offaly trace their descent to a king of Ireland from the second century C.E.; they fought hard against English rule in the 1500s and as a result were more or less destroyed as a wealthy dynasty, although the name did survive. O'Connors were a dominant family in County Sligo from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, but lost all of their possessions after Cromwell.
The O'Donnells were prominent in County Donegal in the fourteenth century. One of their members, Red Hugh O'Donnell, was famous for his bravery fighting the English under Queen Elizabeth I. After Cromwell, the O'Donnells spread through Counties Mayo and Leitrim, and there are still many of them there, as well as in west Donegal. Many O'Donnells emigrated to the United States and Australia.
One of the most famous O'Malleys was Grace O'Malley, who became an excellent sailor and a “Pirate Queen” in the 1500s. She fought a sea battle against the Turks one day after giving birth to her son. She also visited Queen Elizabeth to ask for clemency for all of her family's piracy; O'Malley must have impressed the queen, because she got what she asked for.
The O'Malleys were a famous seafaring family who controlled most of the west coast of Ireland from their base at Clew Bay in County Mayo. The name is still common in County Mayo. It was sometimes Anglicized to “Melia.”
O'Neill is one of the most common surnames in Ireland; it's among the ten most common names in Counties Antrim, Derry, and Tyrone. The O'Neills are descended from medieval kings of Ulster, who ruled the northern province for four centuries before being put down by the English.
The O'Neill family coat of arms
They controlled a number of other clans, but had the hardest time keeping their own rival factions of O'Neills living harmoniously. Hugh O'Neill was their last chief; in 1603, the English general Mountjoy destroyed the O'Neills coronation chair at Tullaghoge. Many O'Neills fled to Europe, especially Spain, where they flourished as statesmen and soldiers.
O'Reilly is another very common name, especially in the north; it's the most common name in Counties Cavan and Longford. In Irish it means “descendant of Raghallach” (one of the kings of Connacht). The O'Reillys were a warlike group known for their skill with cavalry. They were also successful medieval traders and produced a number of archbishops and bishops. They traced their descent to the fourth-century king Uí Briúin Breifne. They lost most of their property under Cromwell.
The name O'Rourke comes from “O'Ruairc,” which means “descendant of Ruarc;” the name Ruarc comes from the Norse word hrothekr, or “famous king.” Variants on the name include O'Rorke, Rourke, Roark, and Rooke. They trace their ancestry to Brian, the fourth-century king of Connacht; the Ruarc name comes from a tenth-century king of Breifne.
The O'Rourkes fought the O'Connors for control of Connacht until the twelfth century, when the O'Connors won. The O'Rourkes also fought with the O'Reillys. Their stronghold was in County Leitrim. Many O'Rourkes went to Europe after Cromwell confiscated their property, where they thrived in church and state; many of their descendants became important people in Poland and Russia.
