O'Rourke () is an Irish

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 ...

clan based most prominently in what is today

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

. The family were the historic rulers of

Breifne The Kingdom of Breifne or Bréifne (), anglicized as Breffny, was a medieval overkingdom in Gaelic Ireland. It comprised what is now County Leitrim, County Cavan and parts of neighbouring counties, and corresponds roughly to the Roman Catho ...

and later

West Breifne The Kingdom of West Breifne (Irish: ''Breifne Ua Ruairc'') or Breifne O'Rourke was a historic kingdom of Ireland that existed from 1256 to 1605, located in the area that is now County Leitrim. It took its present boundaries in 1583 when West Br ...

until the 17th century. The O'Rourke Clan Chief was at odds with the

O'Reilly O'Reilly () is a common Irish surname. The O'Reillys were historically the kings of East Bréifne in what is today County Cavan. The clan were part of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Bréifne kindred and were closely related to the Ó Ruairc ( ...

Chief because both clans contested each other for the title Prince of Breifne. Newerkla, Stefan Michael (2020), Das irische Geschlecht O'Reilly und seine Verbindungen zu Österreich und Russland he Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia In: ''Diachronie – Ethnos – Tradition: Studien zur slawischen Sprachgeschichte iachrony – Ethnos – Tradition: Studies in Slavic Language History'' Eds. Jasmina Grković-Major, Natalia B. Korina, Stefan M. Newerkla, Fedor B. Poljakov, Svetlana M. Tolstaja. Brno, Tribun EU, pp. 259–27
(accessible online)
here pp. 263–265. The O'Rourke chief was seated at O'Rourke's Tower House which was on the north side of

Lough Gill Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". Location a ...

, County Leitrim, and which is now

Parke's Castle Parke's Castle is a 17th-century Manor house. It was originally known as Newtowne and is situated on the shore of Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland. Parke's Castle was built on the site of an earlier 16th century O'Rourke (''West Breifne, Uí ...

Naming conventions

Notable people

O'Rourke may refer to several people: * O'Rourke (baseball), baseball player *

Andrew O'Rourke Andrew Patrick O'Rourke (October 26, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was an American judge and politician from New York State. A Republican, he served as the County Executive of Westchester County, New York from 1982 to 1997. He was the Republic ...

, judge and politician from New York State *

Brian O'Rourke Sir Brian O'Rourke (; c. 1540 – 1591) was first king and then lord of West Bréifne in the west of Ireland from 1566 until his execution in 1591. He reigned during the later stages of the Tudor conquest of Ireland and his rule was marked by ...

(1540–1591), hereditary lord of West Breifne in Ireland * Brian Oge O'Rourke (1568–1604), lord of West Breifne * Bud O'Rourke (1919–2001), American basketball player *

Colm O'Rourke Colm O'Rourke (born 31 August 1957) is a Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager, former player, retired secondary school principal, Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcaster and columnist. His National Football League (Ireland), ...

(born 1957), Irish footballer * Danny O'Rourke (born 1983), American soccer player *

Declan O'Rourke Declan O'Rourke (born April 26, 1976) is a singer-songwriter from Kinvara, Ireland. Career Early career to 2010 At the age of 13, when living in Australia with his family, O'Rourke was given his first guitar by a priest in Kyabram who recog ...

, Irish singer *

Denis O'Rourke Denis John O'Rourke (born 26 July 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. He served fifteen years as a councillor on Christchurch City Council, and served six years as a Member of Parliament representing New Zealand First. Early years Born ...

(born 1946), New Zealand politician *

Dennis O'Rourke Dennis O'Rourke (14 August 1945 – 15 June 2013) was an Australian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. Early life and education Dennis O'Rourke was born on 14 August 1945 in Brisbane. For most of his childhood, Dennis O'Rourke lived i ...

(1945–2013), Australian documentary film director *

Derval O'Rourke Derval O'Rourke (born 28 May 1981) is an Irish former sprint hurdles athlete. She competed internationally in the 60 and 100 metres hurdles, and is the Irish national record holder in the former. She participated in two In ...

(born 1981), Irish sprint hurdles athlete *

Dominique O'Rourke Dominique O'Rourke is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament for the riding of Guelph as a member of the Liberal Party since 2025. She previously served as a Guelph city councillor from 2018 to 2025, representing War ...

, Canadian politician *

Edward O'Rourke Edward O'Rourke, full name Eduard Alexander Ladislaus Graf O'Rourke (; ; 26 October 1876 – 27 June 1943) was a Russian-born Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga and the first head of the bishopric of the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk). Ea ...

(1876–1943), Polish Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga, first

bishop of Danzig A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(Gdańsk) *

Frank O'Rourke (disambiguation) Frank O'Rourke may refer to: *Frank O'Rourke (writer) (1916–1989), American writer *Frank O'Rourke (Australian rules footballer) (1906–1978), Australian rules footballer *Frank O'Rourke (baseball) (1893–1986), Canadian baseball player *Frank O ...

, multiple people *

Heather O'Rourke Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She had her breakthrough starring as Carol Anne Freeling in the supernatural horror film ''Poltergeist'' (1982), which received critical acclaim a ...

(1975–1988), American child actress * Jet O'Rourke (born 1983), Australian Pop/ Rock singer songwriter *

Jim O'Rourke (baseball player) James Henry O'Rourke (September 1, 1850 – January 8, 1919), nicknamed "Orator Jim", was an American professional baseball player in the National Association and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a left fielder. For the period 1876� ...

(1850–1919), American professional baseball player *

Jim O'Rourke (musician) Jim O'Rourke (born January 18, 1969) is an American musician, instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his numerous solo and collaborative music projects, many of which are instrumental, and has bee ...

(born 1969), American musician and producer *

John O'Rourke (footballer, born 1945) John O'Rourke (11 February 1945 – 7 July 2016) was a professional association football, footballer. His position was centre forward. During his career he played for Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town, Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, Coventry ...

(1945–2016), English footballer * John O'Rourke (baseball) (1849–1911), American baseball player *

Joseph O'Rourke (disambiguation) Joseph O'Rourke may refer to: * Joseph Cornelius O'Rourke (1772–1849), Russian nobleman and military leader *Joseph O'Rourke (professor) Joseph O'Rourke is the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor of Computer Science at Smith College and th ...

, multiple people *

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 20 May 2011) was an English singer. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song C ...

, stage name of Kathleen O'Rourke, pop singer *

Kevin O'Rourke (economist) Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, (born 25 March 1963) is an Irish economist and historian, who specialises in economic history and international economics. Since 2019, he has been Professor of Economics at New York University Abu Dhabi. He was Profes ...

, Irish economist *

Kevin O'Rourke (actor) Kevin O'Rourke (born January 25, 1956) is an American film, stage, and television actor, best known for his role as Scott Sherwood in ''Remember WENN'' (1996–1998), Edward Bader in ''Boardwalk Empire'', and as Spencer Tracy in '' The Aviator' ...

, American actor * Lou Ann O'Rourke, (died 2019), American Bridge player *

Malachy O'Rourke Malachy O'Rourke is a Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player for the Fermanagh county football team, Fermanagh county team. He has been manager of the senior Tyrone county football team, Tyrone county team since 2024. ...

, Irish footballer and manager *

Mary O'Rourke Mary O'Rourke (; 31 May 1937 – 3 October 2024) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister f ...

(born 1937), Irish politician *

Míceál O'Rourke Míċeál O'Rourke is an Irish pianist who is best known for his recordings of works by John Field. Born and raised in Dublin, O'Rourke obtained a degree in music from University College, Dublin. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Paris where ...

, an Irish classical pianist * Michael O'Rourke (gambler) (1862–1882 alias "Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce"), a professional gambler of the Old West * Michael James O'Rourke (1878–1957), Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross *

Mike O'Rourke (baseball) Michael Joseph O'Rourke (September 1, 1868 – March 3, 1934) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Balt ...

(1868–1934), Major League Baseball pitcher *

Mike O'Rourke (athlete) Michael David O'Rourke (born 25 August 1955) is a former New Zealand javelin thrower. He represented his country at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and at three Commonwealth Games. He was National champions Javelin (men), national champ ...

(born 1955), New Zealand javelin thrower *

Paddy O'Rourke (disambiguation) Paddy O'Rourke may refer to: Sportspeople * Paddy O'Rourke (association footballer) (1934–2011), Irish footballer for St Patrick's Athletic * Paddy O'Rourke (cricketer) (born 1965), New Zealand cricketer * Paddy O'Rourke (Down footballer) (born 1 ...

P. J. O'Rourke Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American author, journalist, and political satirist who wrote twenty-two books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, etiquette, and economics. '' Parliament of Whores'' ...

(1947–2022), American political satirist, journalist, and writer * Patrick Henry O'Rourke (1837–1863), Irish-born Civil War colonel * Peter O'Rourke (footballer) (1874–1956), Scottish footballer and manager * Ryan O'Rourke (born 1988), American baseball player * Sean O'Rourke, Irish journalist and broadcaster *

Steve O'Rourke Steve O'Rourke ( – ) was an English music manager and racing driver. He was the manager of Pink Floyd, a position he held from 1968 until his death. Among his accomplishments was negotiating Pink Floyd's split with bass player and main songwr ...

(1940–2003), manager of rock band ''Pink Floyd'' *

Timothy O'Rourke Timothy O'Rourke was an American college football player and coach. He was born on 04 Jan 1882 in Waterbury, Connecticut, son of Irish Immigrants Timothy O'Rourke and Ellen Allman. He served as the co-head football coach at Villanova College (now ...

, American college football head coach * Ualgarg O'Rourke, (died 1346), king of West Breifne * William O'Rourke, New Zealand cricketer

References

External links

O'Rourke family pedigree
at Library Ireland
The Irish O'Reilly family and their connections to Austria and Russia
by Stefan M. Newerkla, with chapter 3.2 on the family O'Rourke in the Russian and Austrian context {{Kingdom of Connacht Ancient Irish dynasties Irish families Irish royal families

Naming conventions

Notable people

See also

References

External links