www.callaghan.info
The Origin and Variations of The Callaghan Surname
The
surname Callaghan can be traced back
to Ceallachán Caisil,
the name of the formidable Chief of the Eóganachta tribe
and King of Munster (in Ireland) from AD 935 until 954 who, amongst many
other famed accomplishments, is said to have defeated the father of Brian Boru
of the Dal gCais, in battle! Caellachán is thought to be a
diminutive form of the Gaelic word Ceallach,
the origin of which is unknown, but suggestions for its meaning(1)
include bright-headed (as a personal
name) or strife/war (in the sense of
fight or contention for superiority). Ireland spent much of its life occupied
by foreign powers that anglicised Irish names giving rise to many variants.
Moreover, the lack of standardised spelling (the first dictionary, written by
Robert Cawdrey, wasn’t published until 1604!) meant
the process of converting what may be identical oral sounds into written words
also generated numerous variations. Added to this, Irish names contain many prefixes(2) and silent letters that
clerks of occupying powers, or those involved in immigration procedures, would
often drop somewhat randomly. These situations
created multiple alternatives of surnames. In the case of Ceallachán this gave rise to versions such as Ceileacháin,
Ceilahan, Callachan, Calachan,
Ceilaghan, Ceallaghan, Cellachain, Cellachan, Cellaghan, Callaghan,
O'Callaghan, Callahan, O'Callahan, Calahan, Callagan, Calagan,
Callighan, Kalahan, Kallaghan,
Kallahan, O'Kallaghan, Kellaghan,
Kelleghan, Kellahan,
Kelahan, Keelaghan, Kealahan
& Keelan. Some
variants of names can be related to particular septs as, for example, Ó Ceileacháin is especially
popular with septs found in the Irish counties of Armagh, Louth, Meath and
Monaghan whereas, in Munster (Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary &
Waterford), Ceallachán is favoured
over Ceileacháin
(perhaps because of the direct mapping of the name to the ancient king,
although some argue the spoken sound of Ceallachán
better matches the variants of 'Callaghan'
found in Munster).
After Ceallachán
Hereditary
records(3) place the original
location of the sept bearing the
name Ceallachán as being in the
barony of Kinlea, in County Cork, an area they lost during the Anglo-Norman
conquest under Strongbow (12th century) causing them to relocate to
the vicinity of Mallow in the North of the county (with their main strongholds
being castles at Clonmeen and Dromaneen).
Here they experienced some four centuries of dominance, enjoying many earlier
Gaelic customs such as the creach or cattle-raid; one chief of the Callaghan family (Donncha
O'Callaghan, 1537-1578) was reputed to have conducted more than two hundred
raids across Ireland. They remained in Cork until the Cromwellian plantation
period (and the Irish rebellion of 1641) where, following the final surrender
of 1652, they lost their ancestral lands and were transported to East Clare (in
the barony of Tulla, where the name of Clare village of "O'Callaghans Mills" remains in testament to
that resettlement). In further testament to those troubled times, just prior to
being forcibly evicted from their Cork lands, it is reported that at least
seventeen Callaghan’s had been declared outlaws! 20,000 acres (of 24,000 acres)
confiscated from the Callaghan’s were recorded as belonging to one Donncha O'Callaghan, making him the
most important Callaghan at that
time to be dispossessed of property. It seems that other members of the sept
either remained as tenants of the newly-installed
English owners or fled to Europe. Interestingly, the Dublin Genealogical Office
(in 1994) supported Don Juan O'Callaghan of Tortosa, Spain, in his claim to be
the closest modern male descendant of Donough
O'Callaghan adding supporting evidence to the exodus of many Callaghan’s to
Europe during the turbulent years (giving rise to the oddity that the surname Callaghan is a reasonably well known in
Spain!). In more modern times the descendants of the Callaghan sept have joined the broader Irish diaspora, being found
in almost every country of the world. Meanwhile, back home in Ireland, and in
an interesting twist to the story(4),
the 20th Century, saw a branch of the Callaghan family returning to live in the ancestral land they were
evited from in the mid-fifteenth century!
Talking of miraculous things, apparently there was a Saint Callaghan, or Ceallachán, who was a monk at Clontibret
(County Monaghan, Ireland) with a feast day of the 24th of
September.
The Callaghan Coat-of-Arms
In
terms of the Callaghan Coat-of-Arms,
such adornments have a somewhat chequered history, sometimes having
associations with occupying powers and specific strands of families. Thus,
while what is often regarded as a coat-of-arms for all Callaghan's, in reality was associated with a particular sept. However,
modern times have seen a more generous adoption by the wider Callaghan fraternity. In the case of
the Callaghan coat-of-arms, the
official description is “Argent in base a
mount vert, on the dexter side a hurst of oak trees, therefrom issuant a wolf
passant towards the sinister all proper”. According to one plausible
explanation, the oak trees shown on the coat of arms, depict an oak forest that played a vital role in aiding the
inauguration of Ceallachán as king (and were a backdrop to the scene), with the wolf
being an Irish wolfhound, a royal animal. The dexter and sinister, are terms
for right and left. Alternatively, (or maybe as well as) the druids (whose
influences had left their mark) believed the oak tree was the most noble and
ancient of trees forming a connection between the real and otherworld and so it
had special meaning. The motto which is often attached is “Fidus et audax” (Faithful and
bold) with bold being strong or determined.
More Recent Records
The first written
record of the name Callaghan (with that particular
spelling - the most widespread anglicised version) is held in the Birth Records of County Cork, dated 1605, for one John O' Callaghan. In the 2011 census, the total number of people bearing
either the name O'Callaghan or Callaghan in Ireland was of the order 13,000
(not as large as you might imagine!), but it still placed the name in the top-40 of Irish surnames in use. So, what have the more modern members of the Sept been
doing? You need only type “Callaghan” into a search engine to be flooded with
pages relating to more modern Callaghan’s, and their impressive exploits. As
you would expect, Callaghan’s in the public eye are returned in the first pages
of search engine results, featuring the likes of the former British Prime
Minister, Leonard James (Jim) Callaghan, William (Bill) O'Callaghan, an Irish senator, George Astley Callaghan, a British Admiral of the Fleet, Callaghan, Governor of several British colonies
including the Falkland Islands, and the Bahamas, Ian Robert Callaghan, a professional English footballer who holds the
record for most appearances for Liverpool FC, Bill O'Callaghan an
Irish hurler who played for Cork, Tommy Callaghan a Scottish professional footballer who played for
Celtic, and Georgina Callaghan, the English born singer & songwriter, better
known by her show-business name of “Callaghan” who resides in the USA. That small sample shines a light on the
impact and spread of the Callaghan Diaspora, or perhaps it says more about
possible bias in Internet search engines! Whatever, these are just the tip of iceberg of the international
Callaghan family, as you will discover should you search the web yourself. You
will find URLs ranging from personal pages, through general lists such as
Wikipedia’s “Notable-Callaghan’s” to more specialised lists such this web sites “Callaghan’s in Academia”. Just thirty minutes of web searching will take
you on an inspiring journey to meet the global Callaghan family!
Some Words Of Caution!
Of course, it needs
to be remembered that many of these tales come from a very misty past, so they
are not without contention (none more so than names). Therefore, it is not
surprising that scholars (and others) take various positions according to their
interpretation of the fragments of the past that have survived but the reality
is that, what truths that may have existed, are somewhat obscured by mists of
history and so, in many respects, legends and facts will probably always be
inseparably intertwined but hopefully that will not diminish their value in our
lives!
And Finally ……..
If you
bear the name Callaghan, or perhaps
have ancestors that bore the name somewhere in your family tree, then you are
joined to a fraternity whose shared genes or spirit drive the dreams that make
us who we are, and who we will be; while we may never meet, we are all part of
a great adventure whose story is still unfolding :-)
Notes:
(1)
Concerning the meaning of Callaghan, another view is that it was
derived from or "frequenter
of churches"
(2)
Prefixes to Irish names are
formed as follows; Bean Uí means wife of, ní in a girl’s name means daughter of, and ó means descended from (eg grandfather or earlier ancestor). That said, the “O” in Irish surnames was frequently
dropped to simplify official record keeping (especially when immigrating to
countries like the USA where clerks frequently dropped the “O” prefix which, in their eyes,
complicated alphabetical filing!).
(3)
Hereditary surnames are said to
have been introduced to Ireland sometime after 1100. For example, in the case
of the Callaghans, Murchadh Ua Ceallachán who lived in the early eleventh century, and a
grandson of the original King Ceallachán, was the first to transit the surname hereditarily.
(4)
After the Ceallachán/Callaghan sept forfeited their Cork land it was taken
over by the Longfield family who, in 1720, built a
grand house on original Ceallachán/Callaghan
land. Reinforcing the vigour of these changes, in 1795, Richard Longfield
became Baron Longueville. However, in a twist of fate,'Longueville House' and land was returned to the Callaghans in 1938, when it was purchased (from the Longfields) by Senator
William O'Callaghan whose son Michael and wife Jane opened it to the public
in in 1969 as a simple Bed & Breakfast. More recently, their eldest son
William, with his wife Aisling, now run it as a luxurious guesthouse, with William
(Bill) O'Callaghan acting as head chef in its
highly acclaimed restaurant specialising in 'field-to-fork' food (food from its working farm). The
family are direct descendants of Donough O'Callaghan who fought in 1640 rising. This surely was an amazing twist of fate
that took these lands and the families concerned on an
adventure through numerous generations that was beyond the wildest imagination
of all but those harbour indestructible dreams and who never lose fate!
Some Additional
Sources of Information:
·
Chris O'Callaghan “Book of The
Callaghan“(PDF download
of contents and introduction), 365 pages, Co. Cork, Ireland, 2014, ISBN:
978-0-9565354-2-9 - The first in-depth
factual account of Ceallachán Caisil, the formidable Chief of the Eóganachta
tribe and King of Munster during the period 934-954. The book details 6 years
of research to reveal a successful and popular king whose legendary exploits
have given him a special place in Irish history
·
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) - A well-researched book that traces the O'Callaghans (and variants of the name) from their beginnings in Munster Ireland through the upheavals
of history which have seen their progeny scattered around the world.
·
‘CallaghanInfo’
webpage discussing Ceallachán Caisil
·
Wikipedia Entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O'Callaghan
·
Edward MacLysaght, "Irish
Family Their names, Arms and Origins", Irish Academic Press, 1957, 1982, 1991, ISBN
0-7165-2364-7
·
Longueville House – In case you are planning a visit to the Blackwater Valley, where the O'Callaghan clan
lands were, this small hotel has is situated on property confiscated by
Cromwell in 1650 but which returned to the O'Callaghans in 1938, when the Longfield family sold the
property to Senator William (Bill) O'Callaghan, and continues to be run by his
descendants.
Constructive comments are welcome.
Last Updated: 19
November 2024