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, 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, Irish singer * Denis O'Rourke (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 (born 1981), Irish sprint hurdles athlete * Dominique O'Rourke, Canadian politician * Edward O'Rourke (1876–1943), Polish Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga, first bishop of Danzig (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 (1975–1988), American child actress * Jet O'Rourke (born 1983), Australian Pop/ Rock singer songwriter * Jim O'Rourke (baseball player) (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), Irish economist * Kevin O'Rourke (actor), 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 (born 1937), Irish politician * Míceál O'Rourke, 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) * P. J. O'Rourke (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