O’Riordan is a surname of
Irish origin. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Riordans were one of the chiefly families of the
Éile
Éile (; , ), commonly anglicised as Ely, was a medieval petty kingdom in the southern part of the modern county of Offaly and parts of North Tipperary in Ireland. The historic barony of Eliogarty was once a significant portion of the kingdom.
...
tribe who in turn came from the
Dumnonii
The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a Britons (historical), British List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes, tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Cornwall and Devon (and some areas of present-day Dorset and Somerset) in the further pa ...
or
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''CĂłiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinste ...
who were the third wave of
Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
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 ...
during the first century
BC.
Famous people with this surname include:
*
Aodhán Ă“ RĂordáin
Aodhán Ă“ RĂordáin (; born 22 July 1976) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2024. He previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for ...
(born 1976), Irish politician
*
Brendan O'Riordan, Irish football player
*
Brian O'Riordan (born 1981), Irish rugby player
*
Cait O'Riordan
CaitlĂn O'Riordan (born 4 January 1965) is a British musician. She played bass guitar for the Pogues from 1983 to 1986. She later played with Elvis Costello as well as Bush Tetras and several other projects. She uses the name Rocky O'Riordan ...
(born 1965), British rock musician
*
Conal Holmes O'Connell O'Riordan (1874–1948), Irish dramatist and novelist
*
Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan ( ; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band The Cranberries. O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of ...
(1971–2018), Irish singer and songwriter
*
Don O'Riordan (born 1957), Irish football player and coach
*
Eugene O'Riordan, Irish author and professor of mathematics
*
Jerry O'Riordan (fl. mid-20th century), Irish hurler
*
Julius O'Riordan (born 1966), British DJ
*
Mark O'Riordan
Mark O'Riordan (born 1980 in Croom, County Limerick) is an Irish athlete who plays hurling with his local club Croom and with the Limerick senior inter-county team. He also plays with the Limerick senior football team.
Playing career
Club
...
(born 1980), Irish hurler
*
Michael O'Riordan
Michael O'Riordan (; 12 November 1917 – 18 May 2006) was the founder of the Communist Party of Ireland (3rd) and also fought with the Connolly Column in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
O'Riordan was bo ...
(1917–2006), Irish communist; founder of the Communist Party of Ireland
*
Mossy O'Riordan
Maurice Francis "Mossy" O'Riordan (1926 - 27 August 2008) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Cork senior team.
Born in Blackrock, County Cork, O'Riordan first played with the Cork senior team at the age of twen ...
(fl. mid-20th century), Irish hurler
*
Rachel O'Riordan
Rachel O'Riordan (born 1974) is an Irish theatre director. She is the artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, London.
Early life and education
Born in Cork, Ireland to poet and novelist Robert Anthony Welch and Angela O'Riordan Welch, O ...
(born 1971/1972), Irish theatre director
*
Robert O'Riordan (born 1943), Canadian author
*
Seán Ă“ RĂordáin
Seán Pádraig Ă“ RĂordáin (3 December 1916 – 21 February 1977), sometimes referred to as an RĂordánach, was an Irish language poet and later a newspaper columnist. He is credited with introducing European themes to Irish poetry, and is wi ...
(1917–1977), Irish poet
See also
*
Riordan, a surname
*
Irish clans
Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or in Irish, plural ) included the chief and his Patrilineality, patrilineal ...
References
{{surname
Anglicised Irish-language surnames
Surnames of Irish origin