
O'Rourke ( ga, Ó Ruairc) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
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
O'Reilly ( ga, Ó Raghallaigh) is a group of families, ultimately all of Irish Gaelic origin, who were historically the kings of East Bréifne in what is today County Cavan. The clan were part of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Bréifne kindred a ...
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 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
Andrew Patrick O'Rourke (October 26, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was a judge and politician from New York State. A Republican, he served as the County Executive of Westchester County, New York from 1982 to 1997.
He was the Republican candi ...
, 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
Sir Brian O'Rourke ( ga, Sir Brian na Múrtha Ó Ruairc; c. 1540 – 1591) was first king and then lord of West Breifne in Ireland from 1566 until his execution in 1591. He reigned during the later stages of the Tudor conquest of Ireland and hi ...
(1540–1591), hereditary lord of West Breifne in Ireland
*
Brian Oge O'Rourke
Brian Oge O'Rourke ( Irish: ''Brian Óg na Samhthach Ó Ruairc''), c. 1568 - 28 January 1604, was the penultimate king of West Breifne, from 1591 until his overthrow in April 1603, at the end of the Nine Years' War. Due to the successive deaths ...
(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
Declan O'Rourke (born April 26, 1976) is a singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland.
Career
Early career to 2010
At the age of 13, when living in Australia with his family, O'Rourke was given his first guitar by a priest in Kyabram who recogn ...
, Irish singer
*
Denis O'Rourke
Denis John O'Rourke (born 26 July 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. He served fifteen years as a councillor on Christchurch City Council, and served six years as a Member of Parliament representing New Zealand First.
Early years
Born ...
(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
Edward O'Rourke, full name Eduard Alexander Ladislaus Graf O'Rourke ( pl, Edward Aleksander Władysław O'Rourke; lv, Eduards O'Rurke; October 26, 1876 in Minsk – June 27, 1943) was a Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga and the first head ...
(1876–1943), Polish Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga, first
bishop of Danzig
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
(Gdańsk)
*
Frank O'Rourke (disambiguation) Frank O'Rourke may refer to:
* Frank O'Rourke (writer) (1916–1989), American writer
* Frank O'Rourke (Australian rules footballer) (1906–1978), Australian rules footballer
* Frank O'Rourke (baseball) (1893–1986), Canadian baseball player
*Fran ...
, 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
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 ...
(1975–1988), American child actress
*
Jet O'Rourke
Jet O'Rourke is a musician and architect from Adelaide, South Australia. He started performing in Adelaide and released a solo EP, ''Are Ya Gettin' On?'' which reached #93 on the ARIA Singles Chart and featured the single 'Fight the Good Fight' ...
(born 1983), Australian Pop/ Rock singer songwriter
*
Jim O'Rourke (baseball player)
James Henry O'Rourke (September 1, 1850 – January 8, 1919), nicknamed "Orator Jim", was an American professional baseball player in the National Association and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a left fielder. For the period 1876� ...
(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)
John O'Rourke (11 February 1945 – 7 July 2016) was a professional footballer. His position was centre forward.
During his career he played for Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough, Coventry City, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers and AFC Bournemouth.
...
(born 1945), English footballer
*
John O'Rourke (baseball)
John W. O'Rourke (August 23, 1849 – June 23, 1911) was an American 19th-century baseball player. Between 1879 and 1883, he played in the National League with the Boston Red Caps (1879–1880) and in the American Association for the New York Met ...
(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
Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, (born 25 March 1963) is an Irish economist and historian, who specialises in economic history and international economics. Since 2019, he has been Professor of Economics at New York University Abu Dhabi. He was Prof ...
, 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
Michael James "Mickey" O'Rourke (March 19, 1878 – December 6, 1957), was an Irish-Canadian soldier and dockworker. O'Rourke was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest, most prestigious decoration for gallantry in the face of the en ...
(1878–1957), Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
*
Mike O'Rourke (baseball)
Michael Joseph O'Rourke (September 1, 1868 – March 3, 1934) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (19th century), Baltimore Orioles of the American Association (19th century), American Association in eight ga ...
(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
Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American libertarian political satirist and journalist. O'Rourke was the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and a regular correspondent for ' ...
(1947–2022), American political satirist, journalist, and writer
*
Patrick Henry O'Rourke (1837–1863), Irish-born Civil War colonel
*
Peter O'Rourke (footballer)
Peter O'Rourke (1 June 1873 – 10 January 1956) was a Scottish football player and manager. In two spells as manager of Bradford City, he won the FA Cup in 1911 as well as two league titles, the Football League Second Division in 1908 and the ...
(1874–1956), Scottish footballer and manager
*
Ryan O'Rourke
Ryan Patrick O'Rourke (born April 30, 1988) is a college baseball coach and former American professional baseball pitcher. He is the volunteer assistant and pitching coach at the College of the Holy Cross. He played college baseball at Merrimack C ...
(born 1988), American baseball player
*
Sean O'Rourke
Sean O'Rourke (born 22 May 1955) is an Irish journalist and broadcaster who works for the Irish public broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). From September 2013 until his retirement in May 2020, he presented the '' Today with Seán O' ...
, Irish journalist and broadcaster
*
Steve O'Rourke
Steve O'Rourke ( – ) was an English music manager and racing driver. He is known for being the manager of Pink Floyd, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments is negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player an ...
(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 Walton and O'Rourke (Paul E. Walton and Michael O'Rourke) were a famous team of cabaret puppeteers who founded the Olvera Street Puppet Theatre in Hollywood in 1935.
Within the puppeteering community Walton and O'Rourke were considered one of the f ...
, 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