O'Cleary or O'Clery () is the surname of a

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

Irish family. It is one of the oldest recorded surnames in Europe It is related to

Cleary (surname) Cleary is an Irish surname, which derives from Gaelic Ó Cléirigh/Mac Cleirigh, meaning 'descendant or son of cleric'. It is also often Anglicized as Clark . Notable people with the surname include: *Audrey Cleary (1930–2019), American politici ...

and often Anglicized as Clark.

Naming conventions

The name has been Anglicised variously as O'Clery, Cleary, Clery, Clark, Clarke and Clarkson.

People with the surname

Ó Cléirigh

* Mac Comhaltan Ua Cleirigh, King of

Uí Fiachrach Aidhne Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne (also known as Hy Fiachrach) was a kingdom located in what is now the south of County Galway. Legendary origins and geography Originally known as Aidhne, it was said to have been settled by the mythical Fir Bolg. Dubhalta ...

, fl. 964 *

Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh (fl. 1603 – 1616), sometimes anglicised as Lewey O'Clery, was an Irish Gaelic poet and historian. He is best known today as the author of ''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill'', a biography of Red Hugh O'Donnell. Life Bo ...

(

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1595–1630) *

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (), sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'', assisted by Cú Choigcríche ÓCléirigh, Fearfeasa ÓMaol Chonaire, and Pe ...

(ca. 1590–1643), considered the chief author of the chronicle of medieval Irish history known as the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

'' * Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh (died 1664)

O'Clery

* Keyes O'Clery * Conor O'Clery

Cleary

* Bernard Cleary (1937–2020), Canadian politician *

Beverly Cleary Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia * Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Beverley, Western Australia, a town * Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada * Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City ...

(1916–2021), American author * Bill Cleary (born 1934), American hockey player *

Brendan Cleary Brendan Cleary (born 1958) is a poet who was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland but lives in England. Early years and career Cleary attended Carrickfergus Grammar School in Northern Ireland. He moved from Northern Ireland in 1977 to Middles ...

(born 1958), Irish poet * Brian P. Cleary (born 1959), American humorist, poet and author *

Daniel Cleary Daniel Michael Cleary (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. He currently ...

(born 1978), Canadian hockey player * Gabriel Cleary, Irish engineer *

Ivan Cleary Ivan Cleary (born 1 March 1971) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 199 ...

, rugby league footballer and coach *

Joe Cleary Joseph Christopher Cleary (December 3, 1918 – June 3, 2004), nicknamed "Fire", was a Major League Baseball pitcher for one game in 1945. The right-hander was born in Cork, and he was the last native of Ireland to appear in a major league game ...

(1918–2004), Irish baseball player * John Cleary (disambiguation), several people *

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

(1917–2010), Australian author *

Jon Cleary (musician) Jon Cleary (born August 11, 1962)
BMA. is a British-born, American

Mark Cleary (professor) Mark Cleary (born 1954) was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford in Yorkshire from 2007 to 2013.Yorkshireuniversities.ac.uk (2007)New VC for Bradford Retrieved 31 October 2007. He took over in 2007 after the previous vice-chancello ...

(born 1954), Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

* Michael Cleary, several people * Nikki Cleary (born 1988), American singer * Paul Cleary (born 1976), Australian middle-distance runner *

Phil Cleary Philip Ronald Cleary (born 8 December 1952) is an Australian political and sport commentator. He is a former Australian rules footballer who played 205 games at the Coburg Football Club, before serving as the member for Division of Wills, Wills ...

(born 1952), Australian commentator * Patrick Roger Cleary, founder of

Cleary University Cleary University is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Livingston County, Michigan. It also has an education center located in Detroit. Cleary University offers certificate, ABA, BBA, MS, and MBA progr ...

* Sean Cleary (footballer) (born 1983), Irish football player * Sean Cleary, Irish rugby league footballer *

Thomas Cleary Thomas Francis Cleary (24 April 1949 – 20 June 2021) was an American translator and author of more than 80 books related to Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, and of ''The Art of War'', a treatise on management, military stra ...

, American author and translator * William J. Cleary (1870–1952), American politician

Clarke

Austin Clarke (poet) Austin Clarke (Irish: Aibhistín Ó Cléirigh) (9 May 1896 – 19 March 1974), born in 83 Manor Street, Stoneybatter, Dublin, was one of the leading Irish poets of the generation after W. B. Yeats. He also wrote plays, novels and memoirs. C ...

(1896–1974), Irish poet * Henry Edward Clarke (1829–1892), businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada *

Henry Joseph Clarke Henry Joseph Clarke (July 7, 1833 – September 13, 1889), who sometimes used the middle names Hynes and O'Connell, was a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Born in Donegal (now in Ireland) on July 7, 1833, Clarke moved with his fa ...

(1833–1889), Premier of Manitoba, Canada, 1874–1878 *

Peter Clarke (tennis) Peter Clarke (born 8 July 1979) is a former professional tennis player from Ireland. Clarke made the round of 16 in the boys' singles event at the 1996 Australian Open. He appeared in seven Davis Cup ties for Ireland, playing 12 rubbers, of whi ...

(born 1979), Irish tennis player *

Philip Clarke (politician) Philip Christopher Clarke (15 April 1933 – 6 July 1995) was an Irish business consultant and competitive cyclist, who had been an Irish Republican Army member in the 1950s. As a cyclist, he competed in the first two Rás Tailteann races, and rep ...

(1933–1995), Irish Republican Army member and politician * Tom Clarke (Irish republican) (1857–1916), executed for his part in the 1916 Rising

Other institutions

, a private business school in Michigan, United States *

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb), formerly Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly & Cox and Cleary, Gottlieb, Friendly, Steen & Hamilton, is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York Cit ...

, an international law firm *The

Clery Act The Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (formerly the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act), signed in 1990, is a federal statute codified at , with implementing regulations in the U.S. Code of Federal Regu ...

of United States law *

Clerys Clerys was a long-established department store on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland, a focal point of the street. The business dates from 1853, however the current building dates from 1922, the original having been completely destroyed in the 1916 ...

, an Irish department store

References

Bibliography

* ''Oxford Concise Companion to Irish Literature'', Robert Walsh, 1996. * ''Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, His Associates and St Anthony's College Louvain'',

Nollaig Ó Muraíle Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's ''Leabhar na nGenealach'' in 2004. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009. Life and career A native of Knock, County Mayo, Ó Muraíle ...

(editor),

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably ...

, Dublin, 2007.

External links

O'Clery family pedigree
at Library Ireland
Ó Cléirigh ancestor search at ''Irish Times''Clan Ó Cléirigh DNA Project
at

Family Tree DNA FamilyTreeDNA is a division of Gene by Gene, a commercial genetic testing company based in Houston, Texas. FamilyTreeDNA offers analysis of autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA to individuals for genealogical purpose. With a database ...

The O’Clerys: hereditary historians and poets
at

History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:O Cleirigh Surnames Irish-language surnames Surnames of Irish origin Irish families Irish writers Irish Brehon families Families of Irish ancestry