Royal Families of Ireland – Does your Irish surname make the list?
Have you ever wondered if any of your ancestors came from a wealthy family, perhaps even from one of the Royal families of Ireland? In this letter I will share with you the stories behind the Royal Families of Ireland, and their surnames, as well as sharing pictures of the many royal castles of Ireland.

For hundreds of years to up the arrival of the Normans in the late 12th century โ Ireland was divided into many autonomous kingdoms โ ruled over by a โRiโ or King. These Kings won their lands through military and political might โ the boundaries of their kingdoms were constantly changing with the ebb and flow of power.
In fact, you could say that it was this arrangement of โtribal independenceโ that made Ireland so vulnerable to invasion by a more centralised force down through the years.
Do you have a Royal Irish surname?
Weโre going to choose a particular point in time – roundabout 1515. Why?
By that time, the surname system had been fully introduced, so we can mention your surnames in connection with these royal families. Also, by that time, many of the Normans had been fully subsumed into Gaelic culture โ adopting Gaelic customs. What was left of the old English administration was in an area around Dublin called the Pale. Beyond that was โbeyond the Paleโ โ a land of individual chiefdoms and seeming lawlessness.
So, who were the royal families of Ireland around 1515? A well known English state paper of the time tells us that beyond the pale:
โthere reigneth more than 60 chief captains … that liveth only by the sword, and obeyth unto no other temporal person. Also there be thirty great captains of the English folk (Normans) that follow the same Irish order and every one of them makes war and peace for himself without any licence of the King.”
These 90 or so โcaptainsโ โ (by this time also known as โlordsโ rather than Kings) โ were the autonomous royal families of Ireland.
Lords of Ireland.
These Lords were spread through the 4 provinces of Ireland. They had their territory guarded by Gallowglass and the towerhouses and castles we see today. A Gaelic revival was also underway โ a remembering of Ireland before the invasions of the 1100s. The lords kept historians and genealogists, they reclaimed old royal inauguration sites, they entertained with their poets and bards.
They intermarried with other royal families to establish beneficial alliances and sponsored churches and monasteries on their lands.
The โoverlordsโ had the right to call up troops from the other lords in their area and extract some taxes โ but mostly all of the lordships were autonomous.
So, who were these families? I have listed the family names below.
Is your Irish surname amongst them? Is there a king in your Irish ancestry tree? If you’d like to find out more about where your ancestors came from why not sign up to our weekly Newsletter. We’ll help you discover how your ancestors lived, what their Irish homeland was like & lots more. Simply Sign up for your free weekly Letter from Ireland by clicking here.
Munster:
- McCarthy (Overlord)
- OโSullivan
- OโDonovan
- OโMahony
- OโDriscoll
- Finn
- Fitzgerald (Overlord)
- Roche
- Condon
- Barry
- Courcy
- Fitzmaurice
- Fitzgibbon
- OโBrien (Overlord)
- McMahon
- McNamara
- OโGrady
- OโConnor
- OโLoughlin
- Butler (Overlord)
- Power
- Tobin
- Purcell
- Kennedy
- MacBrien
- Ryan (Mulryan)
- Meagher
- OโDwyer
Leinster:
- MacMurrough (Overlord)
- OโByrne
- OโToole
- OโBrennan
- OโMore
- OโDempsey
- Fitzgerald of Kildare (Overlord)
- Fitzpatrick
- OโDunne
- Fleming
- OโMolloy
- Tyrell
- OโCarroll
- OโConnor
- MacCoghlan
- MacGeoghegan
- Nugent
- Plunkett
- OโFerrall
- Dillon
Ulster:
- MacClancy
- OโRourke (Overlord)
- MaGauran
- OโReilly
- Maguire
- MacMahon
- MacKenna
- OโNeill (Overlord)
- OโDonnell (Overlord)
- OโBoyle
- MacSweeney
- OโDoherty
- OโCahan (Kane)
- MacQuillan
- MacDonnell
- Savage
- White
- MacCartan
- Magennis
- MacCann
- OโHanlon
Connaught:
- Burke (Overlord)
- OโShaughnessy
- OโHeyne
- OโMadden
- OโKelly
- OโFlaherty (Overlord)
- Joyce
- OโMalley
- Barrett
- OโDowd
- OโHara
- MacJordan
- MacMorris
- Bermingham
- MacCostello
- OโGara
- MacDermot
- MacDonagh
Phew!
Did you see your surname amongst our list of Royal Families of Ireland? Interested in learning more about the Royal Families of Ireland?
Click here to read the story of one ancient Royal Irish family and their journey around the north half of Ireland over many centuries.
If you have any questions, thoughts, comments on any of these families – do let me know in the comments section below!
Slรกn for now,
Mike.
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