O’Callaghan of Munster Clan Society

An affiliated society of The Council of Irish Clans

Who are we?

We are the children of Irish ancestors who share a common ancestral homeland of Munster(ie counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary & Waterford in Ireland) and a surname derived from Cellachán Cashel, the formidable Chief of the Eóganachta tribe and King of Munster from AD 935 until 954 who, amongst many other famed accomplishments, is said to have subdued the Vikings and defeated the father of Brian Boru of the Dal gCais, in battle.

Common kinship is reflected in our surnames which are variations of Ceallachán and, through the turmoil of history, have found themselves transformed into numerous modern variants such as O'Callaghan, Callaghan, O'Callahan, Callahan, O'Kallaghan, Kallaghan Kallahan, Kalahan, Keelaghan, Kealahan & Keelan etc.

DNA testing reveals we are more than one bloodline, but history tells us that we were bound together into a single union, marked by a shared surname and membership of a historic fraternity.

Our Goals

Our prime goal is to establish an online forum where people descended from O’Callaghan Munster based families (or families from any of the numerous surname variants), can connect with each other with the purpose of:

· Fostering and facilitating a clan spirit, diversity, friendship and networking amongst clan members.

· Facilitating the preservation of the history, folklore, and traditions of our clan.

· Helping each other to understand our family roots and connections.

· Providing mutual support for member projects that provide fresh insights to the ever-changing structure and composition of our clan.

· Enabling members to organise international and regional gatherings (or forums), either online or in-person, with the purpose of allowing members to network with each other.

Our hope is to create an online clan community that is run by the members, for the members, with mutual member support and help being the order of the day.

We believe that such a clan society is needed because, unlike the days of old, when clan members lived in the same geographic area, modern life means that the clan members are dispersed throughout the world. In this new world, adjacency is no longer just a matter of geographic connection but rather one of technological connection. Thus, initially we are proposing to build a web site to facilitate connections between clan members.

However, before we proceed, we need to assess the demand for an O’Callaghan of Munster Clan Society. We are open to your suggestions for the structure and aims of the society. We shall leave this call open for the remainder of 2026 and, depending on the response, decide whether to move forward with establishing an O’Callaghan of Munster Clan Society.

Thus, if you are interested in joining this society either as a regular member, or as part of one of the volunteer teams (see section ‘are there ways I can help?’ below), or if you have any helpful suggestions, please contact us by emailing “O'CallaghanOfMunsterClan” (click to open an email client).

Should I Join This Society?

If you share our goals, and your ancestors bore the surname Callaghan (or any variant) either now or sometime in the past¹, plus those family members originated from Munster in Ireland, then this is the Clan society for you. To express your support, or interest in joining our clan society, please email us at “O'CallaghanOfMunsterClan” (click to open an email client).

Note 1: For example, the way inherited names work, the female line of Callaghans lose their Callaghan surname but clearly, they remain genetically part of the clan as much as any male and thus, would be very much welcomed into this society.

Is There a Membership Fee?

No, the society is run by volunteers (its members) with the goals outlined above.

How is the Society Structured and Organised?

The society will be run as a democracy by a team of volunteers, undertaking the critical tasks (see next section). Once the society has established itself, it is hoped that roles can be rotated annually (to share the load) and where there is more than one person putting themselves forward for a role, be decided by members votes.

Are There Ways I Can Help?

Currently, the society is in the very early stages of being set up. Thus, simply registering your support or interest in becoming a member is very helpful to us, since it allows us to assess the demand that exists for establishing this society.

As mentioned in the section describing ‘Our Goals’ (above), the aim is for the society to be run by members, for members. Thus, we want to minimise the need for management roles. While the vast majority of members would contribute to the society, by contributing either questions or answers in forums, for this society to function, some members would need to be part of the volunteer teams that facilitate aspects of the society. We are deliberately setting up a team of people to cover the differing tasks, to minimise the load on any one individual. The volunteer teams we are recruiting for, are:

· Writing Team (members who might write occasional short articles about Callaghan history, genealogy or family research for online webpages or a newsletter)

vacancies

· Media Team (members who help the society with publicity, social media postings etc)

vacancies

· Website Team (being part of the team that maintains and expands the society’s webpages, as the society grows)

Pat O’Callaghan, vacancies

· Admin Team (first point of contact for potential and existing members etc)

Ms Lizzi Callaghan, vacancies

· Advisory Team (members who might be willing to share their experiences of genealogy research to help other members)

vacancies

· Management Team (akin to "Ceann Fine" & "tánaiste" - being the public figurehead and senior executive overseeing operations)

Professor Joan O’Callaghan-Castella, Professor Joseph O'Callaghan, Professor Victor Callaghan

As explained above, we imagine these teams would not be permanent fixtures, and would function as fairly fluid units, with people contributing as and when commitments in their lives allow (ie as they juggle jobs, family and other commitments). At this early stage, we are also open to suggestions as to how to better manage an aspect of the clan society.

Thus, if you are interested in joining this society either as a regular member, or as part of one of the volunteer teams, or if you have any helpful suggestions, please contact us by emailing “O'CallaghanOfMunsterClan” (click to open an email client).

Further Information about the O’Callaghan of Munster Clan:

· Joseph F.O Callaghan, "Clan Callaghan: The O Callaghan Family of County Cork", 302 pages, publisher Genealogical.Com, Inc, published 23 Nov 2020 (revised edition), ISBN: 9780806359168, 2020 (revised)

· Chris O'Callaghan “Book of The Callaghan“, 396 pages, Co. Cork, Ireland, 2013, 2014, 2017 & 2020, ISBN: 978-0-9565354-2-9 (provides an in-depth factual account of Ceallachán Caisil). Click on Chris O'Callaghan to get a free download version of his book.

· Callaghan Info Webpage, discusses the history of the Munster based Callaghan clan (inclusive of all variations of the surname), explains and illustrates its Coat of Arms, together with providing numerous links to a multitude of interesting ‘Callaghan’ related information.

· Wikipedia O’Callaghan Website, Provides general information on all O’Callaghan clans, together with a list of notable Callaghans.

Finally, we hope you can join us on this journey, for what will surely be an interesting new adventure for our clan,

Professor Joseph O'Callaghan

Professor Joan O’Callaghan-Castella

Professor Victor Callaghan

Contact: O'CallaghanOfMunsterClan (click to open email client)

Our thanks to Dr Mike Fitzpatrick and Proinsias Mag Fhionnghaile, of the Council of Irish Clans, for their valuable guidance in creating this web page.