Clan McGrath (Clann Mac Craith)

McGrath Mac Craith
Country	Ireland
Parent house	O'Brien
Titles	Coarbs of Termonmagrath and Protectors of the Priory of Lough Derg 12th - 17th Century Ollamhs and Hereditary Poets to O'Brien, Princes of Thomond 13th - 16th Century Patrons of the Bardic School of Cahir, Co. Tipperary 16th Century Bishop of Strasbourg (Roman Catholic), Peter (Mc) Creagh 1705 AD Bishop of Cork and Cloyne then Dublin (Roman Catholic), Peter (Mc) Creagh 1676 - 1693 AD Archbishop of Cashel (Anglican), Miler McGrath 1571 - 1622 AD Bishop of Clougher (Anglican), Miler McGrath 1570 - 1571 AD Bishop of Down and Connor (Roman Catholic), Miler McGrath 1565 - 1580 AD Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland (Roman Catholic), Richard (Mc) Creagh 1564 AD Bishop of Clonfert, Matthew Mac Craith 1482 AD Bishop of Killaloe, Dearmoid Mac Craith 1463 AD Bishop of Killaloe, Tadhg Mac Craith 1423 AD Bishop of Killaloe, Mathghamoin Mac Craith 1391 AD Bishop of Ardagh, Simon Mac Craith 1224 AD
Founded	Early 11th century
Current head	By sept Chief
Ethnicity	Gaelic Irish

The Clan McGrath (Irish: Clann Mac Craith), is an Irish Clan. The name McGrath is derived from Mac Craith, recorded in other written texts as Mag Craith, Mag Raith and Macraith, including the Annals of the Four Masters and the Annals of Ulster. McGrath is a surname of ancient Irish origin, ans borne by the descendants of a number of septs, each with a common origin in the Kingdom of Thomond, a Kingdom that existed before the Norman invasion and located in north Munster.

Tradition states the McGraths are of Dál gCais or Dalcassian ancestry, stemming from Cormac Cas, King of the Province of Muster in the 3rd century AD. The Irish surname Mac Craith is considered to be patronymic in origin, being a name derived from the first name of the original bearer. The prefix ‘Mac’ in Mac Craith, denotes ‘son of’ and the commonly accepted translation of ‘Craith’ is Grace / Prosperity or Divine Grace. Therefore, the literal translation of McGrath is ‘son of divine grace’.

As the native Irish language was replaced by English, so the spelling of the family name Mac Craith was transformed. The most widely used anglicised spelling of Mac Craith is McGrath. However other variants exist, including Magrath, McGraw, Macrae, MacCrae, McCreagh, MacGraith, Megrath, MacReagh, MacCraw, McCreath, MacGrae, Makrayth, McKray. These are simply anglicised variations of the same name.

Other variants of the name include O'Raw, O'Rawe, O'Rae, McRae, Rae, occurrences of the name are found in Antrim, Dublin, Galway, Mayo. The late Dr. Edward Mac Lysaght, theorized as to the exact original Gaelic name of which O' Raw is the anglicized form. Mac Lysaght suggests that the name may be an anglicized form of Mac Raith or Mac Craith, which is pronounced Mac Raa, which is also anglicized as Rea, McCrea and McCray and is related etymologically to Mc Grath, Mac Craw and Mac Graw. In this case, the surname comes from the Gaelic "Mac Craith", meaning "the son of Craith" ("Craith" itself is Gaelic for "prosperity").

During the High Kingship of Brian Bóruma Mac Cennéide or Brian Boru as he is more commonly referred, the Mac Craith Clan as a separate entity did not exist and the ancestors of the Mac Craith possibly formed part of a wider family group.

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