O'Mahony Family Crest, Coat of Arms & O'Mahony Name Origin

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Origin of the Name O'Mahony

The O'Mahony family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. The name O'Mahoney is derived from the Gaelic O'Mathghamhana sept that was taken from the Gaelic word 'mathghamhan' meaning 'bear'. Variants of the name O'Mahoney include O'Mahony, Mahoney and O'Mahony. When Gaelic names were anglicized during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were often changed to Anglo equivalents that sounded most like their original Gaelic name. Their territory was the barony of Kineelmeaky which extended to the sea, where they had a fortified castle called Rosbrian off the coast of West Cork . Mathghamhan, whose mother Sadhbh was a daughter of Brian Boru, was the O'Mahony's ancestor. He was killed with many of his men at the Battle of Clontarf in the year 1014. Another famous bearer of the name was Count Daniel O'Mahony, General of the Irish Brigade in the service of France and hero of the battle of Cremona.