So where did our Irish surnames come from? It is generally accepted that they came from quite a number of sources.
The first invaders to arrive in Ireland were the Celts who came here over the course of hundreds of years (1000 B.C.- 500 B.C). They were of Asian/European origin and they settled in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. They were more advanced than the native Irish who relied on Bronze tools and weapons while the Celts brought with them craftsmen who could fashion iron tools and weapons. Over the centuries the people began to assimilate each other’s culture.
The Gaelic language (Irish) became the dominant language and from it names emerged e.g. the Irish word for a blacksmith was Gabha (pronounde Gowa) and that gave rise to the Irish name Gowan and McGowan. Other examples include McTaggart (Mac and tSagart – son of the priest), Cleary (O’Cleirigh -descendant of the clergyman) and Murphy (O’Murchu – descendant of the sea-hound or Viking)
After the Celts the next invaders were the Norsemen or Vikings who first visited Ireland around 600 A.D. They gave us such names as Doyle (O’Dubhgall – descendant of the Dark Foreigner) and O’Loughlin (descendant of the Viking).
Then in 1170 the Normans came with their surnames e.g. FitzGerald (son of Gerald), Raymond le Gros (Some Redmonds of Wexford descended from him), Walsh, Burke, FitzMaurice, Barry, Barrett and FitzSimons to mention but a few.
300 years later Englishmen began to arrive as the English grip on Ireland began to tighten. Talbot, St. Lawrence, Colclough, Sweetman, Cheevers (Chivers), Tighe, Bunbury, Stopford, Loftus and Boyle were in their midst.
Another wave of Englishmen came in the aftermath of the Crowellian Conquest of Ireland 1640-1650. People named Acton, Conolly, Mathew, Agar, Conyngham, Maude, Alcock, Corballis, Maunsell ,Cuffe, Armstrong, Damer, Medlicott, de Montmorency, Bagwell, de Robeck, Barker, Dennis , Dick, Barrington, Barton and Ellis made up some of their number.
Apart from a small number of Hugenot refugees who came here in the 17th and 18th centuries Immigration ceased until it turned to Emigration in the 19th century during and after the Great Famine. Names such as Higgins, Gibbons, Cross, Cox and Rheinhart are a few examples of Hugenot names.