O'Dea ( ; ga, Ó Deághaidh, italics=no, formerly ), is an

Irish surname A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ...

derived from ', the name of a tenth-century

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meani ...

chieftain.

O'Dea clan origins

The O'Dea clan, also found as O'Day or just Day, came originally from

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

in Ireland where there is a fortified

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

over 500 years old known as O'Dea Castle at the townland of Dysert O'Dea (). The ruins of the Dysert O'Dea Monastery, round tower, and St. Tola's high cross are 265 metres to the south-southwest of the castle in the adjacent townland of Mollaneen (), near Corofin. ()

Edward MacLysaght Edgeworth Lysaght, later Edward Anthony Edgeworth Lysaght, and from 1920 Edward MacLysaght ( ga, Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta; 6 November 1887 – 4 March 1986) was a genealogist of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames ...

, the former

Chief Herald of Ireland The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...

, writing in his book, ''Irish Families'', began his discussion of the O'Dea family as follows: In another book, ''The Surnames of Ireland'', MacLysaght describes the O'Deas as "one of the principal Dalcassian septs", and about the name itself, he remarks, "The prefix O is now almost always used, but a century ago Dea was quite usual and the surname

Day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

was regarded as synonymous."

Ancestry

The O'Deas – together with the O'Quinns ( ga, Ó Cuinn, links=no) and the O'Griffins ( ga, Ó Gríofa, links=no) – belonged to the group, which was a branch of the Dalcassian tribe.

Notable O'Deas

* Addison O'Dea – American documentary filmmaker * Ann O'Dea – Irish journalist and businesswoman * Ben O'Dea – New Zealand beach volleyball player * Bob O'Dea – New Zealand rugby player * Brian O'Dea – Canadian smuggler and author * Cornelius O'Dea – Irish bishop * Danny O'Dea – British actor * Darrell O'Dea – Canadian musician and recording engineer * Darren O'Dea – Irish football manager and player *

Denis O'Dea Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boardin ...

– Irish actor *

Donnacha O'Dea Donnacha "The Don" O'Dea (born 30 August 1948) is an Irish professional poker player. In his youth, he was a swimmer, and represented Ireland in the 1968 Olympics. He was also the first Irish swimmer to swim 100m in less than one minute. His par ...

– Irish Olympic swimmer and professional poker player * Ebony O'Dea – Australian rules football player *

Edward John O'Dea Edward John O'Dea (November 23, 1856 – December 25, 1932) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Nesqually in Washington State from 1896 until 1907. When the Vatican renamed the diocese as ...

– American bishop * Ernest Charles O'Dea – Australian politician and union official * Fabian O'Dea – Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland, Canada * Jane Skiles O'Dea – American navy officer * Jim O'Dea – Australian rules football player *

Jimmy O'Dea James Augustine O'Dea (26 April 1899 – 7 January 1965) was an Irish actor and comedian. Life Jimmy O'Dea was born at 11 Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, to James O'Dea, an ironmonger, and Martha O'Gorman, who kept a small toy shop. He was one ...

– Irish actor and comedian * John O'Dea – American Civil War soldier * John R. O'Dea – Canadian businessman and politician * Jonathan O'Dea – Australian politician *

Judith O'Dea Judith O'Dea (born April 20, 1945) is an American actress. She portrayed Barbra in the 1968 George Romero classic horror film ''Night of the Living Dead''. Career In addition to her signature role, O'Dea has appeared in the television movie '' ...

– American film actress *

Ken O'Dea James Kenneth O'Dea (March 16, 1913 – December 17, 1985) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs (1935–38), New York Giants (1939–41), St. Louis Cardinals (1942 ...

– American baseball player * Kevin O'Dea – American football coach *

Larry O'Dea Larry Davies (1944 – 30 June 1997) was an Australian professional wrestler best known as Larry O'Dea. He was one half of the tag team known as "The Australians" with Ron Miller. Larry made his professional wrestling debut in the 1960s for ...

– Australian wrestler and promoter * Louis O'Dea – Irish politician * Luke O'Dea – Irish rugby player * Luke O'Dea – Australian football player * Mark O'Dea – British television presenter * Michael O'Dea – Irish politician * Michael O'Dea – Australian politician *

Mick O'Dea Mick O'Dea (born 1958) is an Irish artist best known as a painter of portraits and historical subjects. The second-youngest of five children, O'Dea grew up in Ennis, County Clare, the son of Mick and Margaret O'Dea. He displayed talent for port ...

– Irish painter * Pat O'Dea – Australian and American football player and coach * Patrick O'Dea – New Zealand civil servant * Paul O'Dea – American basketball player * Richard W. O'Dea - American politician * Stephanie O'Dea – American food and lifestyle writer * Steve O'Dea – Australian rugby player * Terry O'Dea – Australian darts player * Thomas O'Dea – Irish bishop * Tom O'Dea – American attorney and politician * Trent O'Dea – Australian volleyball player *

Willie O'Dea Willie O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as M ...

– Irish politician

References

External links

O'Dea Clan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odea Irish families Surnames Surnames of Irish origin Septs of the Dál gCais Anglicised Irish-language surnames

O'Dea clan origins

Ancestry

Notable O'Deas

See also

References

Further reading

External links