O'Keeffe () is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, particularly around

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

and Duhallow. The name comes from ''caomh'', meaning "kind", "gentle", "noble" Some reformed spellings present it as ''Ó Cuív'' and the feminine form of the original is ''Ní Chaoimh'', as the primary sept of the Eóganacht Glendamnach, the family were once

Kings 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 the 6th to the 8th centuries.

Naming conventions

History

The original Caomh, from whom the family descend, lived in the early eleventh century, and was descended from Cathal mac Finguine, celebrated

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 ...

and the most powerful Irish king of the first half of the 8th century. See the main article,

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 ...

, for more discussion, as well as Eóganacht Glendamnach, the specific sept of the family. The O'Keeffes are famous for claiming descent from the goddess Clíodhna and have a beloved story about her marriage to Caomh (Franklin, pp. 81 ff). Her sister Aibell competed for his affections but Clíodhna ultimately triumphed using sorcery. For all of their history the family has been strongly associated with

. Originally the territory of the family lay along the banks of the

Blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of River#Classification, river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial ...

, near modern

, and were active in the wars of the twelfth century between the O'Conors and the Eoghanacht dynasties of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. However, the arrival of the Normans displaced them, like so many others, and they moved west into the barony of Duhallow, where their territory became known, and is still known, as Pobal O'Keeffe, where the senior branch of the family had their seat at Dromagh in Dromtarriff Parish. The last chiefs of this branch were Domhnall O'Keeffe of Dromagh (d. c. 1655), who was prominent in the Catholic Rebellion of the 1640s, and his son

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Daniel O'Keeffe, who was killed fighting for King James at the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

in 1691. The family estates were confiscated in 1703, and sold to the Hollow Blades Company. Even today, Pobal O'Keeffe is still the area in which the name is most common, with surrounding areas of County Cork also including many of the name. It remains relatively rare outside that county. In 1890, more than two-thirds of the births under the name are recorded in County Cork. Like many of the dispossessed Irish nobility, the O'Keeffes were active in the service of the Catholic monarchs of Europe. In 1740 Constantine O'Keeffe (born c. 1670) was admitted to the French aristocracy on the basis of his Irish pedigree, and his long service. The bearers of the surname "Cuif", found in the

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

district of northern France, are descendants of O'Keeffe soldiers.

Ó Caoimh

* Brian Ó Cuív (Ó Caoimh) * Éamon Ó Cuív (born 1950), Irish politician

People named O'Keeffe

* Alfred Henry O'Keeffe (1858–1941), New Zealand artist and art teacher * Batt O'Keeffe, (born 1945), Irish politician * Ben O'Keeffe, (born 1989), Doctor and New Zealand Professional Rugby Referee * Bob O'Keeffe (1881–1949), Irish hurler * Ciarán O'Keeffe (born 1971), English psychologist specialising in parapsychology and forensic psychology * Corey O'Keeffe (born 1998), footballer * Daniel O'Keeffe (judge) (born 1943), barrister and Irish High Court judge * Dan O'Keeffe (1907–1967), Irish footballer * Danny O'Keefe (born 1943), American singer-songwriter based in Seattle, Washington * David O'Keeffe (lawyer), Irish jurist, professor of European law * David O'Keeffe (footballer) (born 1962), former Australian rules footballer * Declan O'Keeffe (born 1972), retired Irish footballer * Denis O'Keeffe, Irish hurler * Dennis O'Keeffe, British professor of social science * Eamonn O'Keefe, (born 1953) English-born Irish former footballer * Eileen O'Keeffe (born 1981), Irish former international hammer and discus thrower * Eoin O'Keeffe (born 1979), Irish composer based in the UK * * Frank O'Keeffe (1896–1924), Australian cricketer * Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), American artist * Ger O'Keeffe (born 1952), retired Irish footballer * Hank O'Keeffe (1923–2011), American basketball player * Ida O'Keeffe (1889–1961), American artist * Jessy Keeffe (born 1996), Australian rules footballer * James O'Keeffe (1912–1986), Irish Fine Gael politician * Jim O'Keeffe (born 1941), Irish politician * John O'Keeffe (writer) (1747–1833), Irish playwright * Jonathan O'Keeffe (born 1977), birth name of Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers * Kain O'Keeffe (born 1987), Australian actor * Kerry O'Keeffe (born 1949), Australian cricketer and sports commentator * Kevin O'Keeffe (footballer) (born 1952), former Australian rules footballer * Kristin Bair O'Keeffe (born 1966) American novelist * Lachlan Keeffe (born 1990), Australian rules footballer * Laurence O'Keeffe (1931–2003), British diplomat, ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the 'Velvet Revolution' * Miles O'Keeffe (born 1954), American actor * Molly O'Keefe (born 1986), American author * Natasha O'Keeffe (born 1986), English actress * Ned O'Keeffe (born 1942), Irish politician * Paddy O'Keeffe (born 1864), Irish hurler * Padraig O'Keeffe (1887–1963), Irish traditional musician * Pat O'Keeffe (1883–1960), English boxer * Patrick O'Keeffe (politician) (died 1973), Irish politician * Patrick O'Keeffe (writer) (born 1964), Irish-American short story writer * Peggy O'Keefe (1928–2019), Australian-Scottish pianist * Rhys O'Keeffe (born 1990), Australian rules footballer * Sean O'Keeffe (born 1982), Australian rules footballer * Susan O'Keeffe, Irish politician and journalist * Timothy O'Keeffe (1926–1994), Irish editor and publisher * Trevor O'Keeffe (1968–1987), Irish man who was murdered while hitchhiking in France

Fictional characters

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Byrne, Francis J., ''Irish Kings and High-Kings''. Four Courts Press. 2nd edition, 2001. * Charles-Edwards, Thomas M., ''Early Christian Ireland''. Cambridge University Press. 2000. * Franklin, D., "Cliodhna, the Queen of the Fairies of South Munster", in
Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Volume III, Second Series
'. 1897. pp. 81 ff * MacLysaght, Edward, ''Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins''. Irish Academic Press. 4th edition, 1998.

External links

at OKeefeClan.org
O'Keeffe
at the ''Irish Times''
O'Keeffe family pedigree
at Library Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:O'keeffe Surnames Ancient Irish dynasties Clíodhna Aibell Anglicised Irish-language surnames