O'Mahony - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Mathúna
Meaning: “bear”
Traditional stronghold: Cork
The same root as McMahon.
Pronunciation: oh MAH-huh-nee; Irish Ó Mathúna: oh mah-HOO-nah
History of the O'Mahony name
The O'Mahonys descend from Mathghamhain ('bear'), an 11th-century chief of the Eóganacht Raithlind whose mother was a daughter of Brian Boru. Their original power lay around Bandon in the territory of Kinelmeky, and a major branch later ruled the remote Ivagha peninsula between Dunmanus and Roaringwater bays, building a chain of castles including Rosbrin, Dunmanus and Three Castle Head. Fínghin Ó Mathúna of Rosbrin, the 15th-century 'scholar prince', translated the travels of Marco Polo into Irish in his tower by the sea. The sept lost its lands in the 17th-century confiscations, but the name remains solidly west Cork and Kerry, and the O'Mahony clan gathering, begun in 1955, is among the oldest in Ireland.
Variants: O'Mahoney · Mahony · Mahoney · Ó Mathghamhna
Famous bearers of the name
- John O'Mahony - Co-founder of the Fenian Brotherhood in America and translator of Keating's history of Ireland.
- Danno O'Mahony - Ballydehob wrestler who won the world heavyweight title in 1935 with his famous Irish Whip.
- Dave Allen - Dublin-born comedian, born David Tynan O'Mahony, master of the barstool monologue.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Daly · Collins · Flynn · Healy · Casey