The O'Grady family, also styled O'Grady of Kilballyowen, is one of Ireland's noble families and surviving

Chiefs of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan ( Irish and Scottish Gaelic: ''fine'') in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland There are instances where Norman lords of the time like ...

. Their title is ''The O'Grady'' in English and ''Ó Gráda'' in Irish.

Naming conventions

History

They belong to the

Dál gCais The Dalcassians ( ) are a Gaels, Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent from Tál ...

kindred and are distant cousins to the

O'Brien dynasty The O'Brien dynasty (; ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) was an Irish Clan and noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After becoming King of Munster, through conquest he established hims ...

, but have since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

been based not in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, from where they originated, but in

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. The seat of the family,

Kilballyowen Kilballyowen () is the name of both a civil parish and a townland within that parish in County Clare, Ireland. The name is also occasionally used for the slightly larger Catholic parish of Cross. Kilballowen parish is located at the end of the ...

, is near the town of

Bruff Bruff () is a town in east County Limerick, in the midwest of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located on the old Limerick–Cork (city), Cork road (R512 road (Ireland), R512). The town lies on the River Maigue, Morning Star river, with two bridg ...

. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Gradys were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or

Dalcassians The Dalcassians ( ) are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent from Tál Cas. ...

who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

between about 500 and 100 BC. The name Standish was often used by the family; it derives from the marriage in 1633 of Darby O'Grady, The O'Grady, to Faith Standish. Some of the O'Grady family converted to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

(Anglican Communion) and produced a

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Until the ...

, Hugh Brady. The family also produced some prominent historians such as

Standish Hayes O'Grady Standish Hayes O'Grady (; 19 May 1832 – 16 October 1915) was an Irish antiquarian. Early and education He was born at Erinagh House, Castleconnell, County Limerick, the son of Admiral Hayes O'Grady. He was a cousin of the writer Standish ...

and

Standish James O'Grady Standish James O'Grady (18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the Celtic Revival, publishing the tales of Irish mythology, a ...

, as well as

Henry Fox Talbot William Henry Fox Talbot (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later 19th and 20th c ...

, inventor, scientist and photography pioneer, and the Australian poet

David Musgrave David Musgrave (born 1965) is an Australian poet, novelist, publisher and critic. He is the founder of and publisher at Puncher & Wattmann, an independent press which publishes Australian poetry and literary fiction. He is also Deputy Chair o ...

. The now extinct title in the

peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, the Viscount Guillamore, was held by the family.

References

* Burke, Bernard and Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, ''Burke's Irish Family Records''. London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. 5th edition, 1976. * Curley, Walter J.P., ''Vanishing Kingdoms: The Irish Chiefs and their Families''. Dublin: Lilliput Press. 2004. * O'Hart, John,
Irish Pedigrees
'. Dublin: James Duffy and Co. 5th edition, 1892.
Rough notes from the Araltas website
h1>

External links

from ''Ordnance Survey Letters'' by John O'Donovan and Eugene Curry, 1839 {{Dalcassians Septs of the Dál gCais

Naming conventions

History

See also

References