
O'Rourke ( ga, Ó Ruairc) is an
Irish Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
clan based most prominently in what is today
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority f ...
. The family were the historic rulers of
Breifne and later
West Breifne
The Kingdom of West Breifne (Irish ''Breifne Ua Ruairc'') or Breifne O'Rourke was a historic kingdom of Ireland that existed from 1256 to 1605, located in the area that is now County Leitrim. It took its present boundaries in 1583 when West Breifn ...
until the 17th century. The O'Rourke Clan Chieftain is at odds with the
O'Reilly Chieftain because both clans contest each other for the title Prince of Breifne.
[ Newerkla, Stefan Michael (2020), Das irische Geschlecht O'Reilly und seine Verbindungen zu Österreich und Russland he Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia In: ''Diachronie – Ethnos – Tradition: Studien zur slawischen Sprachgeschichte iachrony – Ethnos – Tradition: Studies in Slavic Language History'' Eds. Jasmina Grković-Major, Natalia B. Korina, Stefan M. Newerkla, Fedor B. Poljakov, Svetlana M. Tolstaja. Brno, Tribun EU, pp. 259–27]
(accessible online)
here pp. 263–265.
Naming conventions
People
O'Rourke may refer to several people:
*
O'Rourke (baseball)
Thirty-four individuals who played professional baseball at the major league level before 1900 lack identified given names (there are hundreds of other players of which this is true from the twentieth-century Negro leagues). All 34 played between 1 ...
, baseball player
*
Andrew O'Rourke, judge and politician from New York State
*
Beto O'Rourke
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate ...
(born 1972), American politician in Texas.
*
Brian O'Rourke (1540–1591), hereditary lord of West Breifne in Ireland
*
Brian Oge O'Rourke (1568–1604), lord of West Breifne
*
Bud O'Rourke (1919–2001), American basketball player
*
Colm O'Rourke
Colm O'Rourke (born 31 August 1957) is a Gaelic football manager, former player, retired secondary school principal, sports broadcaster and columnist. He has been manager of the Meath county team since 2022.
O'Rourke's league and championsh ...
(born 1957), Irish footballer
*
Danny O'Rourke (born 1983), American soccer player
*
Declan O'Rourke, Irish singer
*
Denis O'Rourke (born 1946), New Zealand politician
*
Dennis O'Rourke
Dennis O'Rourke (14 August 1945 – 15 June 2013) was an Australian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker.
Early life and education
Dennis O'Rourke was born on 14 August 1945 in Brisbane. For most of his childhood, Dennis O'Rourke lived i ...
(born 1945), Australian documentary film director
*
Derval O'Rourke
Derval O'Rourke (born 28 May 1981) is an Irish former sprint hurdles athlete. She competed internationally in the 60 and 100 metres hurdles, and is the Irish national record holder in both events. She participated in two Indo ...
(born 1981), Irish sprint hurdles athlete
*
Edward O'Rourke (1876–1943), Polish Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga, first
bishop of Danzig (Gdańsk)
*
Frank O'Rourke (disambiguation), multiple people
*
Hayden Rorke
William Henry Rorke (October 23, 1910 – August 19, 1987), known professionally as Hayden Rorke, was an American actor best known for playing Colonel Alfred E. Bellows on the 1960s American sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie''.
Early life
Rorke was ...
actor
*
Heather O'Rourke (1975–1988), American child actress
*
Jet O'Rourke (born 1983), Australian Pop/ Rock singer songwriter
*
Jim O'Rourke (baseball player) (1850–1919), American professional baseball player
*
Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke (born January 18, 1969, Chicago, Illinois) is a Tokyo-based American musician, composer and record producer. He has released albums across varied genres, including singer-songwriter music, post-rock, ambient, noise music, and tap ...
(born 1969), American musician and producer
*
John O'Rourke (footballer, born 1945) (born 1945), English footballer
*
John O'Rourke (baseball) (1849–1911), American baseball player
*
Joseph O'Rourke (disambiguation) Joseph O'Rourke may refer to:
*Joseph Cornelius O'Rourke (1772–1849), Russian nobleman and military leader
*Joseph O'Rourke (professor), researcher in computational geometry
*Joseph O'Rourke (activist)
Joseph F. O'Rourke (May 15, 1938 &ndash ...
, multiple people
*
Kathy Kirby
Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's "Secret Love (Doris Day s ...
stage name of Kathleen O'Rourke, pop singer
*
Kevin O'Rourke, Irish economist
*
Lou Ann O'Rourke
Lou Ann O'Rourke was an American bridge player. She died on Monday, December 16, 2019.
Bridge accomplishments
Wins
* North American Bridge Championships (1)
** Roth Open Swiss Teams (1) 2007
Runners-up
* North American Bridge Championship ...
, (died 2019), American Bridge player
*
Malachy O'Rourke
Malcahy O'Rourke is a Gaelic football manager and former player.
Career
He played for Fermanagh for more than ten years, but was only on the winning side twice in that period in the championship (both time against Antrim).
When he was stud ...
, Irish footballer and manager
*
Mary O'Rourke
Mary O'Rourke (; born 31 May 1937) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil, Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy leader of Fianna ...
(born 1937), Irish politician
*
Mícéal O'Rourke, an Irish classical pianist
*
Michael O'Rourke (gambler) (1862–1882 alias "Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce"), a professional gambler of the Old West
*
Michael James O'Rourke (1878–1957), Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
*
Mike O'Rourke (baseball) (1868-1934), Major League Baseball pitcher
*
Mike O'Rourke (athlete) (born 1955), New Zealand javelin thrower
*
Paddy O'Rourke (disambiguation) Paddy O'Rourke may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Paddy O'Rourke (association footballer) (1934–2011), Irish footballer for St Patrick's Athletic
* Paddy O'Rourke (cricketer) (born 1965), New Zealand cricketer
* Paddy O'Rourke (Down footballer) (born 1 ...
*
P. J. O'Rourke (1947–2022), American political satirist, journalist, and writer
*
Patrick Henry O'Rourke (1837–1863), Irish-born Civil War colonel
*
Peter O'Rourke (footballer) (1874–1956), Scottish footballer and manager
*
Ryan O'Rourke (born 1988), American baseball player
*
Sean O'Rourke, Irish journalist and broadcaster
*
Steve O'Rourke (1940–2003), manager of rock band ''Pink Floyd''
*
Tammy O'Rourke
Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She had her breakthrough starring as Carol Anne Freeling in the supernatural horror film ''Poltergeist'' (1982), which received critical acclaim and ...
(born 1971), child dancer and actress
*
Timothy O'Rourke, American college football head coach
*
TS O'Rourke
TS O’Rourke (born 1968) is an Irish author.
His novels include:
*''Ganglands'' (Breffni Books, 1996; Breffni eBooks 2010).)
*''Death Call (A Carroll & Grant Mystery)'' (Breffni Books, 1997; Breffni eBooks 2010).
*''The Republican – An Iris ...
(born 1968), Irish author
*
Ualgarg O'Rourke, (died 1346), king of West Breifne
See also
*
O'Rourke (Livonian family)
O'Rourke family of Livonia is a branch of Irish O'Rourkes. It descends from Cornelius O'Rourke (1736-1800), who went to Russian military service and became commandant of Dorpat. From his sons begin two family branches, the Livonian Lutheran bran ...
*
Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O'Rourke. It is the largest privately owned construction company in the United Kingdom.
History
The company was founded b ...
, a construction firm in the UK
*
Walton and O'Rourke, a famous team of cabaret puppeteers
*
O'Rorke The O'Rorkes were the historic rulers of Breifne.
O'Rorke may refer to several different people:
People
* Patrick O'Rorke (1837–1863), Irish-American colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War
* Sir Maurice O'Rorke (1830–1916), N ...
*
Rourke
Rourke is a surname that refers to:
*Allan Rourke (b. 1980), Canadian professional ice hockey player
* Andy Rourke (b. 1964), English bass guitarist
* Colin P. Rourke (b. 1943), British mathematician
*Constance Rourke (1885–1941), American author ...
References
External links
O'Rourke family pedigreeat Library Ireland
The Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russiaby
Stefan M. Newerkla, with chapter 3.2 on the family O'Rourke in the Russian and Austrian context
{{Kingdom of Connacht
Ancient Irish dynasties