Ó Cléirigh
| O'Cleary Ó Cléirigh |
|
|---|---|
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| Country | Kingdom of Connacht |
| Parent house | Uí Fiachrach Aidhne |
| Titles |
|
| Founder | Cleireach mac Ceadach |
| Final ruler | Mhic Mac Comhaltan Ua Cleirigh |
| Cadet branches | Coulton Kilkelly Hynes |
O'Cleary (Irish: Ó Cléirigh) is the surname of a learned Gaelic Irish family whose members appear in historical records dating to the mid-Medieval Period. The O'Clearys were descended from the Connachta's Uí Fiachrach kindred and had been rulers of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne, a kingdom in what is now the south of County Galway. The name of the family means descendent or son of the cleric.
The family were subsequently expelled from their land by their cousins, the Clan Ó Seachnasaigh (O'Shaughnessy). From the early 11th or 12th century, they were based in Tír Chonaill, located in modern-day County Donegal, where they served as poet-historians, scribes and secretaries to the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell. They authored the Ó Cléirigh Book of Genealogies.
The name has been Anglicised variously as O'Clery, Cleary, Clark, Clarke and Clarkson.
Notable members of the clan included:
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