O'Callaghan or simply Callaghan without the prefix (anglicized from two separate surnames and clans, '' Ó Ceallacháin,'' Munster Clan. ''Ó Ceileacháin,'' Oriel Clan'')'' is an Irish surname.

Origin and meaning

Munster

The surname means descendant of Ceallachán who was the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of De ...

King of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

from AD 935 until 954. The personal name Cellach means 'bright-headed'. The principal Munster sept of the name Callaghan were lords of Cineál Aodha in South Cork originally. This area is west of Mallow along the Blackwater river valley. The family were dispossessed of their ancestral home and by the Cromwellian Plantation and settled in

East Clare East Clare was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1922. Before the 1885 United Kingdom general election the area was part of the Clare constituency. From 1922, shortly before the es ...

. The O'Callaghan land near Mallow, forfeited by Donough O'Callaghan after the Irish rebellion of 1641, came into the hands of a family called Longfield or Longueville, who built a 20-bedroom Georgian mansion there. In a twist of history, of the ancient O'Callaghan land returned to O'Callaghan hands in the twentieth century, when Longueville House was bought by a descendant of Donough O'Callaghan. The ancestral estate of the O'Callaghans, now a luxury hotel, is owned by William O'Callaghan.

Oriel

An entirely different sept, Ó Ceileacháin in Irish, is to be found in the counties Armagh, Louth, Meath and Monaghan. It has been anglicised as Callaghan, Kelaghan, Keelaghan, Kealahan and other variants. In

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, where it is widespread but has been found mainly in the parishes of Kells, Trim and

Athboy Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of Dublin. T ...

, it is mainly anglicised as Callahan, Callaghan or O'Callaghan (with local spelling variants). In

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

it is found in the form Kellaghan and Kelleghan. In

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

it is often found as Keelan. Members of the Ó Ceileacháin family were mentioned in 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 ...

as being lords of Uí Breasail, a district on the southern shore of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

, and priors of

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

in the 11th century.Annála Rioghachta Éireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland
/ref>

People

Callaghan

O'Callaghan

* Barry O'Callaghan (born 1969): CEO of Riverdeep Interactive Learning * Bill O'Callaghan (1868–1946): Irish hurler * Billy O'Callaghan (born 1974): Irish novelist and short-story writer * Cian O'Callaghan (born 1979) : politician, Irish Social Democrats * Con O'Callaghan (decathlete) (1908–1976): Ireland's first Olympic decathlete; brother of Pat O'Callaghan * David O'Callaghan (dual player) (born 1983) * David O'Callaghan (Kerry Gaelic footballer) (born 1987) * Denis O'Callaghan (born 1949): Australian rules footballer * Donncha O'Callaghan (born 1979): Irish international rugby union player * Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan (1797–1880): doctor, journalist, and leader of political movements in Ireland and Quebec * Gareth O'Callaghan (born 1961): Irish broadcaster & Author * Gary O'Callaghan, (1933–2017): Australian radio announcer * George O'Callaghan Irish footballer * George O'Callaghan-Westropp (1864–1944): Irish landowner and politician * George O'Callaghan, 2nd Viscount Lismore (1815 – 1898) Irish peer and British Army officer * Geraldine O'Callaghan: kickboxer * Jim O'Callaghan (born 1968): Irish Fianna Fáil politician *

John O'Callaghan (Medal of Honor) Sergeant#United States, Sergeant John O'Callaghan (floruit, fl. 1868 – 1870) was an American soldier in the United States Army who served with the 8th Cavalry Regiment (United States), 8th U.S. Cavalry Regiment during the Indian Wars. He was ...

(1850–1899): American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient * John O'Callaghan: Irish musician and DJ * José O'Callaghan Martínez (1922–2001): Spanish Jesuit, papyrologist and Biblical scholar * Joseph O'Callaghan (1824–1869): American Jesuit educator * Joseph T. O'Callahan (1905–1964): Captain, US Navy, Jesuit priest, Medal of Honor recipient * Kevin O'Callaghan Irish footballer * Kilian O'Callaghan (born 1963): ballet dancer and teacher, from Monkstown, Co. Cork * Leland James O'Callaghan (1915–1997): American businessman and politician from Georgia * Miriam O'Callaghan (camogie): 26th president of the Camogie Association * Miriam O'Callaghan (media personality) (born 1957): Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ * Mollie O'Callaghan Australian Olympic Swimming Gold Medallist * Pat O'Callaghan (1906–1991): first Irish athlete to win an Olympic medal * Robert O'Callaghan (British Army officer) (1777–1840):

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and politician * R. E. O'Callaghan (1855–1936): English vegetarianism activist, lecturer and writer * Seán O'Callaghan (1954–2017): IRA informer from Tralee, County Kerry * Sian O'Callaghan (1988–2011): murder victim from Swindon, Wiltshire, UK * Therése O'Callaghan: camogie player captain

Places

* O'Callaghans Mills, County Clare, Ireland *Liscallaghan, old Irish name for Fivemiletown, County Tyrone

References

External links

Callahan Genealogy and History website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan Irish families Surnames of Irish origin Anglicised Irish-language surnames English-language surnames