Dwyer — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Duibhir
Meaning: 'descendant of Duibhir (dark, dun-coloured)'
Traditional stronghold: Tipperary
Pronunciation: DWY-er; Irish Ó Duibhir: oh DIV-ir
History of the Dwyer name
Ó Duibhir, combining dubh, 'dark', with odhar, 'dun-coloured', belongs above all to the glens of Kilnamanagh in Co. Tipperary, the upland country between Thurles and the Limerick border, where the O'Dwyers held out as a fighting sept long after the Normans took the richer lowlands. They lost their lands in the Cromwellian confiscations, when Colonel Edmund O'Dwyer led Tipperary's resistance and thousands of his men took service in foreign armies. The name, with and without the O, spread through Munster and into Wicklow, where Michael Dwyer led United Irish rebels in a five-year guerrilla campaign in the mountains after 1798 before transportation to Australia, where he is buried in Sydney's Waverley Cemetery.
Variants: O'Dwyer · Dyer · Dever
Famous bearers of the name
- Michael Dwyer — Wicklow leader of the 1798 rebellion who fought on in the mountains until 1803, later transported to New South Wales.
- William O'Dwyer — Mayo-born emigrant who rose to be the 100th Mayor of New York City.
- Mick O'Dwyer — Waterville footballer and the most successful manager in Gaelic football history, winning eight All-Irelands with Kerry.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Kennedy · Carroll · Hogan · Tobin · Keating · Egan