Geoghegan () is a surname of Irish origin. Often spelled without the prefix "Mac", the name has many variants, including Gehegan, Geoghan, Geohegan, Gahagan, Gagan, and Gagon which approximate the most common pronunciations of the name. It is usually pronounced , or . In Irish it is Mag Eochagáin, from " Eochaidh," a popular medieval Irish and Scottish Gaelic name deriving from

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''ech'', meaning "horse." The initial "G" of Geoghegan comes from the prefix Mag, a variant of Mac and the anglicised form Mageoghegan or McGeoghegan was formerly much used.

History

Correlation to ancient figures

The sept of the MacGeoghegans is of the southern

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties that claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who is believed to have died around c. 405. They are generally divided ...

, and said to be descended from

Niall of the Nine Hostages Niall Noígíallach (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...

. Niall was alive from the mid 4th century into the early 5th century. His father was

Eochaid Mugmedón Eochaid Mugmedón () was a legendary Irish king. According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta ...

, of the line of Erimhon, one of the sons of Esbain who it is said took Ireland from the Tuatha de Danann. Niall's mother was Carthann Cas Dubh, daughter of the king of Britain. Niall's first wife was Inné, mother of his son

Fiachu mac Néill Fiachu mac Néill (flourished 507–514) was a king of Uisnech in Mide of the Ui Neill dynasty. He was the son of the high king Niall Noígíallach. According to the king list in the ''Book of Leinster'', he succeeded his brother Conall Cremth ...

, from who the Geoghegan family are said to be descended. He also had seven other sons with his second wife, Roighnech. Niall's ancestry is claimed by Irish myth to trace back to Miledh of Esbain,

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

, whose wife

Scota In medieval Irish and Scottish legend, Scota is the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh and ancestor of the Gaels. She is said to be the origin of their Latin name ''Scoti'', but historians say she (and her alleged ancestors and spouses) was pur ...

was the daughter of the

Egyptian Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty () until the annexation of Egypt by the Roman Republic in 30 BCE. However, ...

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II (Egyptian language, Egyptian: ; ) was the last native ruler of ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt, Thirtieth Dynasty, reigning from 358 to c.340 BC. During the reign of Nectanebo ...

. From there the line is sometimes traced to Niul who was married to the daughter of Pharaoh Cingris.

Niall of the Nine Hostages

Niall ''Noígíallach'' (

for "having nine

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

s"), or in English,

, was a prehistoric Irish king, the ancestor of the

dynasties that dominated the northern half of Ireland from the 6th to the 10th century. Irish annalistic and chronicle sources place his reign in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, although modern scholars, through critical study of the annals, date him about half a century later. He is presumed by some to have been a real person, or at the very least semi-historical but most of the information about him that has come down to us is regarded as legendary. There are various versions of how Niall gained his epithet ''Noígíallach''. The saga "The Death of Niall of the Nine Hostages" says that he received five hostages from the five provinces of Ireland (

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

), and one each from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

, the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

and the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

.Tom Peete Cross & Clark Harris Slover (eds.)
"The Death of Niall of the Nine Hostages"
''Ancient Irish Tales'', 1936, pp. 514–517 Keating says that he received five from the five provinces of Ireland, and four from Scotland.

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating (; – ) was an Irish historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became a Catholic priest and a poet. Biography It was generally believed unt ...

, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'
1.48
/ref> O'Rahilly suggests that the nine hostages were from the kingdom of the Airgialla (literally "hostage-givers"), a satellite state founded by the Ui Néill's conquests in Ulster, noting that the early Irish legal text ''Lebor na gCeart'' (" The Book of Rights") says that the only duty of the Airgialla to the King of Ireland was to give him nine hostages.T. F. O'Rahilly, ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946 His son

is said to be the ancestor of the Cenél Fiachach, a clan which included several well known sub-clans or septs such as Geoghegan and O'Higgins, whose lands extended from Birr to Uisnech in southern Westmeath and part of north

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

and their southern territory became known as Fir Cell (land of the churches), and later the Barony of Moycashel. His son Túathal established a northern branch and his son Úathnemgenn a southern branch. Another son Crimthann was great-grandfather of a local saint

Áed mac Bricc Áed mac Bricc (died 589) was an Irish bishop and saint. Life Áed's principal church was at Rahugh (Ráith Áeda Meic Bricc) in modern County Westmeath. He was regarded as a patron saint of the Uí Néill The Uí Néill (; meaning "des ...

(died 589). On the other hand, it is claimed in the early 15th-century manuscript called

Leabhar Breac ('The Speckled Book'; Middle Irish: ), now less commonly ('Great Book of Dun Doighre') or possibly erroneously, ('The Speckled Book of the MacEgans'), is a medieval Irish vellum manuscript containing Middle Irish and Hiberno-Latin writings. T ...

that the Geoghegans are descended, not from Fiachu, son of Niall, but from a plebeian, Fiachu, son of Aedh. This claim so enraged the descendants of Fiachu, that they killed the author of the passage, even though he was under the protection of Suanach, the abbot of the monastery of Rahin. A branch of the MacGeoghegan sept settled in Bunowen, County Galway, and the name is found in that county as well as in their original territory. In the West it has been often shortened to Geoghan and even Gegan. In 1807, John Geoghegan of Bunowen Castle, County

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

assumed by royal licence the surname of O'Neill in lieu of Geoghegan and so his descendants.

Geoghegans

There have been several notable Geoghegans including: * Anthony Geoghegan (1810–1889), poet *

Chris Geoghegan Christopher Vincent Geoghegan (born 13 June 1954) is a former board member of BAE Systems (2002–07) and president of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. He was educated at Bishop Henshaw Senior High School in Rochdale, Lancashire an ...

, British board member of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

, and President of the

Society of British Aircraft Constructors A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

, * Conal MacGeoghegan, Chief of the Sept, translator of the ''

Annals of Clonmacnoise The ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'' () are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from prehistory to 1408. The work is sometimes known as ''Mageoghagan's Book'', after its tr ...

'' into English in 1627 * Eve Geoghegan, British baroque violinist *

Helen Gahagan Douglas Helen Gahagan Douglas (born Helen Mary Gahagan; November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and politician. Gahagan Douglas's acting career included success on Broadway theatre, Broadway, as a touring opera singer, and in Hollyw ...

(1900–1980), American actress and Congresswoman from California whose electoral defeat by

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

propelled him into national politics * Hugh Geoghegan (footballer), an Irish former footballer *

Hugh Geoghegan Hugh Geoghegan (16 May 1938 – 7 July 2024) was an Irish judge who served on the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2010 and on the High Court from 1992 to 2000. Early life Geoghegan was born on 16 May 1938. His father James Geoghegan was a judge ...

(1938–2024), Irish judge *

James MacGeoghegan James MacGeoghegan (1702-1763) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and historian. Life MacGeoghan was born in Westmeath near Uisneach in 1702. His father was a moderately wealthy farmer, belonging to the same prominent Geoghegan family as figures ...

(1702–1764), Irish priest and historian * John Geoghegan (b. 1956), midfielder, Accrington Stanley FC * John Geoghegan, Mayor of City of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, 1994–2003 * John Michael Geoghegan (1881–1847), Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

* Joseph Bryan Geoghegan (1816–1889), English music hall song writer and performer. * Joseph Geoghegan, (1937–2020) Vice President, general counsel and board member to the

Union Carbide Corporation Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn Máire Geoghegan-Quinn (; ; born 5 September 1950) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science from 2010 to 2014, ...

(b. 1950), Irish politician and former European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, *

Michael Geoghegan Michael Francis Geoghegan CBE (born 4 October 1953) is an international banking business executive, who served as the chief executive (CEO) of HSBC from 26 March 2006 to 31 December 2010. He joined HSBC in 1973 and had previously led the group's ...

(b. 1953), British former chief executive of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

* Richard Henry Geoghegan, British linguist known for his study of native

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

n languages and for introducing

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

to the anglophone world * Richard MacGeoghegan, commanded the defenders at the siege of

Dunboy Castle Dunboy Castle () is a ruined 15th-century castle on the Beara Peninsula in south-west Ireland near the town of Castletownbere. The castle's tower house and bawn were destroyed in the 1602 Siege of Dunboy, though its ruins remain open to the ...

at Berehaven, County Cork in 1601 *

Roche MacGeoghegan Roche MacGeoghegan (1580 – 26 May 1644), also known as Roque de la Cruz, was a seventeenth-century Irish Dominican prelate and Tridentine reformist. A member of an aristocratic family from County Westmeath, he obtained a mostly Roman Catho ...

(1580–1644), Irish Dominican prelate, "saintly and enterprising"

Bishop of Kildare The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Cat ...

* Sally Geoghegan, English Grange Hill actress * Sam Geoghegan UOBHC one time 6s player *

Simon Geoghegan Simon Patrick Geoghegan (born 1 September 1968) is an Irish former rugby union player who played at wing in England for London Irish and Bath and in the Irish Inter-provincial Championships for Connacht Rugby and the Irish Exiles. He finished ...

, Ireland rugby international player *

Tao Geoghegan Hart Tao Geoghegan Hart ( ; born 30 March 1995) is a British cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He rode for as a stagiaire in late 2015, and joined the team permanently for the 2017 season. He was the winner of the 2020 Giro d'Italia ...

, British professional cyclist with the

Ineos Grenadiers Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the Manchester Velo ...

cycling team *

Ted Geoghegan Ted Geoghegan (born August 10, 1979) is an American filmmaker and publicist. He grew up in Great Falls, Montana, attending private and public schools and studying film extensively. He attended the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana and a ...

(b. 1979), American movie director known for his movie ''We Are Still Here'' *

Thomas Geoghegan Thomas H. Geoghegan ( ; born January 22, 1949, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American labor lawyer and author based in Chicago. He has represented several unions and union groups, and written six books on labor unions, law, politics and his persona ...

(b. 1949), American labour lawyer and politician * Vincent Geoghegan, British historian * William Geoghegan & his brother

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

were, in the late 1800s, respectively head brewer and chief engineer of the

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

brewery in Dublin.

Moycashel lineages

The book ''Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation'' by

John O'Hart John O'Hart (; 1824–1902) was an Irish historian and genealogist. He is noted for his work on ancient Irish lineage. He was born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic and Irish nationalist, O'Hart had originally pl ...

lists the direct lineage from

to the ancestors of the modern day Geoghegans and Gahagans. This lineage also includes the MacGuigan's and McGuigan's of North America and Australia.

References

External links

Geoghegan web pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geoghegan Irish families Ancient Irish dynasties