Gaelic sept

O'Gara

Ó Gadhra

Also: Gara, Geary, Guiry, O'Geary

“descendant of Gadhra, perhaps from gadhar, ‘a mastiff’”

🏔 Sligo · Sligeach 🏔 Mayo · Maigh Eo 🏔 Cork · Corcaigh 🏔 Kerry · Ciarraí 🏔 Limerick · Luimneach Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

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

The story

A Connacht family of the same stock as the O'Haras. When the two families separated, around the end of the tenth century, the O'Garas took the southern part of the Luighne lands, in Mayo, and became lords of Sliabh Lugha. After the English invasion of Connacht, the Jordans, Costellos and others drove them out. They settled in Coolavin, Co. Sligo, and built their castle of Moygara at the north-eastern end of Lough Gara. It was Fergal O'Gara's patronage that gave us the Annals of the Four Masters. Branches settled in Munster before the end of the 16th century, and Woulfe says the name flourished in Cork, Kerry and Limerick as Geary and Guiry.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Gadhra
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Gadhra — 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 O'Gara an Irish name?

O'Gara 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 →

Where the O'Gara country is

County Sligo County Mayo County Cork County Kerry County Limerick Cork Limerick Tralee Sligo Killarney Cobh Midleton Mallow 4 castles in Sligo 13 castles in Mayo 37 castles in Cork 14 castles in Kerry 14 castles in Limerick

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Langan · Mayo, Limerick, Kerry, Cork Canty · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Cremin · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Curtin · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Hallinan · Cork, Limerick, Mayo Harnett · Limerick, Kerry, Cork Leahy · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Linehan · Cork, Limerick, Kerry O'Rahilly · Kerry, Cork, Limerick Scanlon · Cork, Kerry, Sligo Sheehan · Limerick, Cork, Kerry Shine · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Barrett · Mayo, Cork Buckley · Cork, Kerry

Quick answers

Is O'Gara an Irish name?

O'Gara is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Gadhra.

What does the surname O'Gara mean?

O'Gara (Irish: Ó Gadhra) means “descendant of Gadhra, perhaps from gadhar, ‘a mastiff’”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname O'Gara from?

The historic homeland of the O'Gara name is Sligo, Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Limerick. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for O'Gara?

Ó Gadhra. Related spellings: Gara, Geary, Guiry, O'Geary.

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

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