Geoghegan
Encyclopedia
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
origin.
Usually spelt nowadays without the prefix Mac, the name has many variants, including Gehegan, Geoghan, Geohegan, Gagan, and Gagon which approximate the most common pronunciations of the name. It is usually pronounced gay-gan, ge-heg-an or go-hee-gan. In Irish it is Mac (or Mag) Eochagáin, from Eochaidh. The initial "G" of Geoghegan comes from the prefix Mag, a variant of Mac and the anglicised form Mageoghegan was formerly much used.
History
The sept of the MacGeoghegans is of the southern Uí NéillUí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
, and said to be descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
. Niall was High King of Ireland from the mid 4th century into the early 5th century. His father was Eochaidh Muigh-Medon, of the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic line of Erimhon, one of the sons of Esbain who it is said took Ireland from the Tuatha de Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....
.
Niall's mother was Carthann Cas Dubh, daughter of the king of Britain. Niall's first wife was Inné, mother of his son Fiacha, from who the Geoghegans are said to be descended. He also had seven other sons with his second wife, Roighnech. Niall's ancestry is claimed by Irish legend to trace back to Miledh of Esbain, King of Spain, whose wife was the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh Nectonibus. From there the line is sometimes traced to Niul (from whom the river Nile got its name) who was married to the daughter of Pharaoh Cingris (all known only in Irish legend).
As High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, Niall reigned from the ancient Irish royal seat at Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
, in modern County Meath. During his reign he conquered all of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and much of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He took a royal hostage from each of the nine kingdoms he subjugated, hence his famous nickname. He gave each of his sons a territory to govern. Fiacha was given a large area in the midlands. His descendants were known as Cenel Fiachaigh, anglicised at Kenaleagh and their territory was known by that name until Elizabethan times when it became the "Barony of Moycashel", County Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
.
Niall is also famous for bringing St. Patrick to Ireland as a slave. It is said that Fiacha refused baptism from the saint himself at Carn, near Castletown-Geoghegan
Castletown-Geoghegan
Castletown Geoghegan in County Westmeath, Ireland, lies south west of Lough Ennell near the county town of Mullingar. Castletown was the seat of the Geoghegan family of the medieval Barony of Moycashel, County Westmeath. The family were descendants of the Southern Ui Neill. They were major...
. The old name for this place was Carn Fhiachaigh, or Fiacha's burial mound.
On the other hand, it is claimed in the early 15th-century manuscript called Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac is an Irish language publisher based in Indreabhán in the County Galway Gaeltacht of Cois Fharraige.Specialising in fiction, and named after the 15th century manuscript Leabhar Breac, the publishing house was founded in 1995 by Darach Ó Scolaí and Caomhán Ó Scolaí...
that the Geoghegans are descended, not from Fiacha, son of Niall, but from a plebeian, Fiacha son of Aedh. This claim so enraged the descendants of Fiacha, that they killed the author of the passage, even though he was under the protection of Suanach, the abbot of the monastery of Rahin.http://www.geoghegan.org/clan/
Time of Cromwell
The MacGeoghegan's were of considerable importance up to the time of CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
when they suffered severely through war and confiscation. Fifteen MacGeoghegans, chiefs of Cenel Fiachaigh or Kinaleagh, are mentioned in the "Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
" between 1291 and 1450. The last of these was Richard MacGeoghegan, who, after fighting with great gallantry, was killed at the Siege of Dunboy
Siege of Dunboy
The Siege of Dunboy took place at Dunboy Castle on 5–18 June 1602, during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. It was one of the last battles of the conflict and was a victory for the English Army.-The Castle:...
in 1602. Five of the sons of Charles MacGeoghegan of Sinan, Co. Westmeath, were killed during the Jacobite War
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
in Ireland; and in the eighteenth century MacGeoghegans appear as soldiers on the continent, mostly in the service of France. The MacGeoghegan estates in Co. Westmeath were very extensive and were held by a number of different branches of the chiefly family. The most important of these properties was at Castletown, now called Castletown-Geoghegan
Castletown-Geoghegan
Castletown Geoghegan in County Westmeath, Ireland, lies south west of Lough Ennell near the county town of Mullingar. Castletown was the seat of the Geoghegan family of the medieval Barony of Moycashel, County Westmeath. The family were descendants of the Southern Ui Neill. They were major...
. By the end of the seventeenth century the bulk of these vast estates had been confiscated or their owners, who ranked among the leading gentry of the county, outlawed.
Notable Geoghegans
There have been several notable Geoghegans including:- Michael GeogheganMichael GeogheganMichael Geoghegan CBE is an English businessman, who served as HSBC Group's chief executive from 26 March 2006 to 2010. He joined HSBC in 1973 and has previously led the group's South American and European operations.-Early life:...
(b. 1953) the HSBC Group's chief executive - Thomas Geoghegan (b. 1949 ) is a Chicago labor lawyer and politician
- John Geoghegan (b. 1956), Midfielder, Accrington Stanley FC
- Helen Gahagan Douglas (1900-1980) American actress and Congresswoman from California whose electoral defeat to Richard M. Nixon propelled him into national politics.
- In the late 1800s William Geoghegan was head brewer, and his brother Samuel was chief engineer, at the GuinnessGuinnessGuinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
brewery in Dublin. - Roche MacGeogheganRoche MacGeogheganRoche MacGeoghegan , also known as Roque de la Cruz, was a seventeenth-century century Irish Dominican prelate and Tridentine reformist. A member of an aristocratic family from County Westmeath, he obtained a mostly Roman Catholic childhood education before, in his twenties, moving to Iberia and...
(1580–1644), the Dominican, "saintly and enterprising" Bishop of KildareBishop of KildareThe Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Catholic Church, the title has been merged with that of...
; - Richard Henry GeogheganRichard H. GeogheganRichard Henry Geoghegan was an Englishman of Irish descent. As a young man he lived for a while in Washington State and then moved to Alaska...
, linguist who designed the EsperantoEsperantois the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
flag. - Richard MacGeoghegan who commanded the defenders at the siege of Dunboy at Berehaven Co Cork in 1601
- Conal MacGeoghegan, Chief of the Sept, translator of the "Annals of ClonmacnoiseClonmacnoiseThe monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....
" into English in 1627 - Priest and historian James MacGeogheganJames MacGeogheganJames MacGeoghegan was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and historian.-Life:He came of a long family long settled in Westmeath and long holding a high position among the Leinster chiefs, and was related to Richad MacGeoghegan, who defended the Castle of Dunboy against Carew, and also to Connell...
(1702–1764) - Anthony Geoghegan (1810–1889), poet
- St. Hugh of Rahue between TullamoreTullamoreTullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district.Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In...
and TyrrellspassTyrrellspassTyrrellspass is a Georgian village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located 81 km from Dublin and is situated in the south of the county on the R446 road. Tyrrellspass won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1969.-History:...
in Co. Westmeath) was of the family which became MacGeoghegan when surnames were adopted. The saint's crozier was in the possession of the MacGeoghegan family for many centuries. Through intermarriage, it passed to the Nagles of Jamestown House, Co, Westmeath. - A branch of the MacGeoghegan sept settled in Bunowen, Co. Galway, and the name is found in that county as well as in their original territory. In the West it has been often shortened to Geoghan and even Gegan. In 1807, John Geoghegan of Bunowen Castle, Co. GalwayGalwayGalway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
assumed by royal licence the surname of O'Neill in lieu of Geoghegan and so his descendants. - The brothers Lawrence and Sebastian Gahagan, who were sculptors of note in London between 1760 and 1820 were Irishmen called Geoghegan at home.
- John Geoghegan. Mayor of City of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada 1994–2003