Gaelic sept

Mulcahy

Ó Maolchathaigh

“descendant of the devotee of St Cathach ('battle')”

🏔 Tipperary · Tiobraid Árann 🏔 Waterford · Port Láirge 🏔 Limerick · Luimneach

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

A south Tipperary sept; General Richard Mulcahy carried the name through the independence war as IRA chief of staff and then, hardest of all, through the Civil War's other side.

Their world Around 1922 — Partition — Free State & Northern Ireland. The Treaty splits the island, and it splits the movement too.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Maolchathaigh
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Maolchathaigh — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Mulcahy an Irish name?

Mulcahy is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Mulcahy (surname)”

Mulcahy is a surname of Irish Gaelic origin. The anglicized form of "Ó Maolchatha" which in Gaelic means 'a descendant of a devotee of Cathach', a personal name meaning "Warlike". The name is thought to originate in County Tipperary, however the earliest mention of the family appears in the Annals of Inisfallen in 1317 and subsequent references in and around the Churches of County Kerry in the 15th century.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Hayes · Limerick, Tipperary Hickey · Tipperary, Limerick Kiely · Waterford, Limerick O'Brien · Limerick, Tipperary Ryan · Tipperary, Limerick Sheehy · Limerick, Tipperary Wall · Limerick, Waterford Wallace · Limerick, Waterford Aylward · Waterford Butler · Tipperary Cahill · Tipperary Cantwell · Tipperary Carew · Tipperary Carroll · Tipperary

Quick answers

Is Mulcahy an Irish name?

Mulcahy is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Maolchathaigh.

What does the surname Mulcahy mean?

Mulcahy (Irish: Ó Maolchathaigh) means “descendant of the devotee of St Cathach ('battle')”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Mulcahy from?

The historic homeland of the Mulcahy name is Tipperary, Waterford, Limerick. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Mulcahy?

Ó Maolchathaigh.

Looking for the Mulcahy family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Mulcahy ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

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