Seán Mór Seoighe

Seán Mór Seoighe (fl. 1680) was an Irish steward, stonemason, and builder. He was the ancestor of many of the Joyce families of County Kerry, County Limerick, and County Cork, including that of the author James Joyce, Patrick Weston Joyce and Robert Dwyer Joyce.

Seoighe came from Connemara in County Galway, and relocated to County Kerry by about 1680 to work for William FitzMaurice, 20th Baron Kerry. His move may have been facilitated by the O'Malley family of Mayo, who had connections with the FitzMaurice family. An alternative tradition of the Joyces near Fermoy indicates that Seoighe came from the Kylemore-Ballynakill area near Letterfrack, and moved to Kerry along with his brother.

Seoighe became household steward for William FitzMaurice, who lived at Lixnaw, on the Brick river, south-west of Listowel. He appears to have been hired by FitzMaurice on the basis of being a stonemason and builder. Seoige oversaw the transformation of Lixnaw Old Court and its associated buildings, and was given land to settle in the area. Over the subsequent six generations, the Joyce family proliferated and spread beyond Kerry into the neighbouring counties of Limerick and Cork.

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