Callaghan or
O'Callaghan is an
Irish surname.
Origin and Meaning
This surname means descendent of
Ceallachán who was the
Eóganachta King of Munster from AD 935 until 954. The personal name
Cellach means ‘bright-headed’. The principal
sept of the name Callaghan were lords of
Cineál Aodha in
South Cork originally. This area is west of
Mallow along the
Blackwater river valley. The family were dispossessed of their ancestral home and by the
Cromwellian Plantation and settled in
East Clare. In 1994,
Don Juan O'Callaghan of
Tortosa was recognised by The Genealogical Office as the senior descendant in the male line of the last inaugurated O'Callaghan.
The Callaghan land near Mallow, forfeited by Donough O'Callaghan after the Irish rebellion of 1641, came into the hands of a family called Longfield or Longueville, which built a 20-bedroom Georgian mansion there. In a twist of history, 500 acres of the ancient Callaghan land returned to Callaghan hands in the twentieth century, when Longueville House was bought by a descendant of Donough O'Callaghan. The ancestral estate of the Callaghans, now a luxury hotel, is currently owned by William O'Callaghan.
People
- Morley Callaghan - Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.
- Barry O'Callaghan - CEO and controlling shareholder of Riverdeep Interactive Learning
- John O'Callaghan - DJ and Producer from Ireland, mostly well known for his hit "Big Sky"
Places
Other
See also
Other Munster families
