Ó Meachair or O'Meachair (

anglicise Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

d as Mahar, Maher, Mahir, Marr, Meagar, Meagher, Meaher, O'Maher and O'Meagher) is a

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 ...

Irish surname. Ó Meachair literally means grandson/descendant of ('O' prefix) the kind, generous or hospitable (Meachair). By the Irish name convention, this becomes "descendant of a kind, hospitable chief (clan leader)". The Ó Meachair

sept A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

was part of the Ely O'Carroll

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

and was concentrated in the areas of

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

and Tipperary, notably the Barony of

Ikerrin Ikerrin ( Irish: ''Uí Chairín'') is a barony in County Tipperary, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 12 baronies in County Tipperary. Its chief town is Roscrea. The barony lies between Eliogarty to the south (whose chief town is ...

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 ...

. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Mahers 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 ...

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 ''Cóiced 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

during the first century BC.

Naming conventions

People

Mahar

* Alan Mahar (born 1949), English author and publisher * Andres Mähar (born 1978), Estonian actor * Andrew Mahar, Canadian judge * Buddy Mahar (born 1945), American basketball coach *

Frank Mahar Frank Edward Mahar (December 4, 1878 – December 5, 1961), was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played in with the Philadelphia Phillies. Mahar played in 1 game, going hitless in one at bat. He was born in Natick, Massachusetts and d ...

(1878–1961), American baseball player * Hendrik Isam Mahar (1928–1990), Indonesian Army officer * Kevin Mahar (born 1981), American baseball player * William F. Mahar Sr. (1919–2006), American politician * William F. Mahar Jr. (born 1947), American politician, son of the above

Maher

Marr

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

(born 1963), né John Martin Maher, musician from Manchester in England

Meagher

* Aileen Meagher (1910–1987), Canadian athlete * Danny Meagher (born 1962), Canadian basketball player * Edward Meagher (1908–1988), Australian politician * Frank Meagher (born 1897–?), Irish name Prionsias Ó Meachair, Irish hurler * Henry Meagher (1902–1982), Irish name Pádraig Ó Meachair, Irish hurler * Jack Meagher (1896–1968), American football coach * Jill Meagher (1982–2012), murder victim in Melbourne, Australia * Jim Meagher, founder of Meagher Electronics * John Meagher, several people, including: **John Meagher (born 1947), Irish architect, partner in De Blacam & Meagher ** John Meagher (Canada East politician) (c. 1805–1876), Irish-born merchant and politician in

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

** John F. Meagher (born 1948), Australian thoroughbred racehorse trainer ** John W. Meagher (1917–1996), American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient * Karen Meagher, English actress *

Lory Meagher Lorenzo Ignatius "Lory" Meagher (25 May 1899 – 17 May 1973) was an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. Born in Tullaroan, County Kilkenny, Meagher arrived on the inter-county scene at the a ...

(1899–1973), Irish hurler * Margaret Meagher (1911–1999), Canadian diplomat * Mary T. Meagher (born 1964), American swimmer * Patrick Meagher (hurler) "Wedger" (1890-1958), Irish name Pádraig Ó Meachair, Irish hurler *

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Ste ...

(born 1944), Australian actor * Reba Meagher (born 1967), Australian politician * Rick Meagher (born 1953), Canadian ice hockey player * Roddy Meagher (1932–2011), Australian jurist and judge * Thomas Meagher, several people, including: ** Thomas Meagher (merchant) (c. 1764–1837) Irish emigrant to Newfoundland, merchant and ship-owner ** Thomas Meagher (MP) (1796–1874), Irish businessman and politician, mayor of Waterford and MP for Waterford, 1847–57 **

Thomas Francis Meagher Thomas Francis Meagher ( ; 3 August 18231 July 1867) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sent ...

(1823–1867), leader of the

Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 The Young Irelander Rebellion was a failed Irish nationalist uprising led by the Young Ireland movement, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 that affected most of Europe. It took place on 29 July 1848 at Farranrory, a small settlement about ...

, Union general, acting Governor of the Montana Territory ** Thomas William Meagher (1902–1979), Australian medical practitioner, Lord Mayor of Perth, Western Australia * William Meagher (Irish politician) (died 1897), Irish businessman and politician * William R. Meagher (1903–1981), American lawyer * Willie Meagher (1895–1957), Irish name Liam Ó Meachair, Irish hurler

Other

* Fr Meachair Cup, an Irish inter-collegiate

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

tournament

References

Bibliography

* Ní Mheachair, Gabrielle, ''Ó Meachair: The Story of a Clan'', Ui Cairin Press (2014)

External links

Maher Matters
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