The Origin of the Carey Family of Ireland
by Patrick Carey
NOTES ON THE IRISH SURNAME CAREY with extra information on County
Tipperary, and the Clonmel area.
Generally regarded as stemming from Ó Ciardha and to a lesser
extent from, Ó Ciaráin/O Céirin/Ó Cearáin,
O Carráin, Mac Fhiachra and Mac Giolla Céire, CAREY
is widespread and very numerous in Ireland, and present, through immigration,
in considerable numbers in British cities such as Glasgow and Manchester,
as well as in the U.S.A.
The O Ciardha sept of the Southern Ui Neill were lords of Carbury
Barony Co. Kildare, until dispersed by the Normans in the late 12th
century. Edward Maclysaght says in More Irish Families (1982) p.50,
that 'the majority of the numerous families called Carey belong to
the O Ciardha sept of the southern Ui Neill'. The root word 'ciar'
means black or dark. They were a senior branch of the Cenel Cairpri,
descended from Cairpre, a son of Niall Noigiallaig king of Ireland
circa 400A.D. They feature frequently in the Annals: the first reference
being in the year 952 (14) in the Annals of the Four Masters to the
death of 'Ua Ciardha tighearna Coirpre' (O' Carey lord of Carbury).
More examples: the Annals of Tighernach for 993 (2), 'Mael Ruanaig
h-ua Ciardha (H. Ciardhai in The Annals of Ulster 993), ri Cairpri,
do marbadh la firu Teftha' (Mael Ruanaig O Ciardha, king of Carbury,
killed by the men of Teftha); in 999 (3) Aedh Ua Ciardha was blinded
by his brother Ualgharg Ua Ciardha, and the internicine warfare continues
when Ualgharg Ua Ciardha and Niall O' Ruairc, and the men of Teathbha
lead a foray into Gaileanga, Maelseachlainn (Melaghlin) territory,
in 1012 (6) only to lose their lives after first killing, among others,
the royal heir of Teamhair (Tara) Donncha Finn in a bloody encounter,
Annals of the Four Masters etc.; in The Annals of Ulster 1128 (3)
we read of the slaying of 'H Ciardhai ri Cairpri' (O'Carey king of
Carbury). These tribes had certainly been at war long before the Norman
de Berminghams arrived in their territory in the late 12th century.
There are plenty of transitional forms; in the Fiants we find: Maurice
Kerry, Co. Kildare 1561, Owen O'Kear, Co. Offaly 1572, John Kery,
Co. Meath 1578, Donogh O' Kare, Co. Longford, 1581, O'Kerry, Co. Longford
1582, James Cary, Co. Meath 1582, Margery Ny Kerrye, Co Cork 1600
and William O'Carie in Counties Longford and Westmeath in 1602. In
other records are Melaghlin Cary of Ballymorren (Ballymurreen) Co.
Tipperary 1620, John Kearie and Katherin Kery transplanted from Co.
Limerick 1653-54.
In Petty's Census of 1659 Cary (this would be O Ciardha) is listed
as a Principal Irish Name in Scrine Barony, County Meath with 7 families
and in the Ballybritt Barony of south Offaly with 8 families. McCarey/McCarrey
(Mac Fhearadhaigh probably or Mac Fhiachra perhaps) is listed in Moycashel
Barony in Westmeath with 20 families.
There is a legend quoted in Tony McCarthy's article on faction fighting
in Irish Roots Magazine 1993 no 3, where the faction fighting began
in Rearcross and Kilcommon Co. Tipperary North Region, that the Careys,
Farrells, O Tooles, Nowlans, Dohertys, Quigleys and Carrs came to
this area from Ulster in the early 17th century. It is worth noting
that, rather than Ulster, the original homeland of four of those families
was Leinster, and the O Tooles and Farrells were, like the (O Ciardha)
Careys, Kildare septs. In the 19th century R.C. parish records of
Kilcommon we should take note that both Carey and Carew occur frequently.
In the 17th century records for County Tipperary we have Unny Carey
of Roscrea, North Co. Tipperary; then Connor Cary and William Cary
of Killardry, John Cary of Rathlinn, William Cary and Daniell Kyary
of Relickmurry, all in Clanwilliam Barony, and Thomas Keare in Clonmel,
all in South Tipperary in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1664. Also in
the north suburb of Clonmel outside the walls, where the native Irish
lived, is recorded in the Poll Money Book for 1661, Teige Cary a gunstocker,
taxed at the lowest rate of 2s.
Also appearing in the 1664 Hearth Money Rolls for south Tipperary
are several Carew householders: John Carew, possibly two persons so
named, in Carrick-on-Suir, Teige Carrow in Kilmurry 3 miles north
of Carrick, Connell Carew of Cashel, Pierce Carrow/ Piers Corow in
Rathbeg, Slievardagh Barony and Ellice Carrew of Mologh 5 miles south
west of Clonmel in Co. Waterford.
Then we have John Carine in Rathconn, Middlethird, and Robert Carine
and Patrick Carine in Killardry and John Carran in Relickmurry in
Clanwilliam. To these latter must be added the preponderance of (O)
Carrane in all of the above areas whose instances are too numerous
to mention. Also a Donnell Carrine, labourer, is taxed at 2s, in the
north suburb of Clonmel, and a Donnogh Carran, mason, at 6s in the
east suburb of the town in the Poll Money Book for 1661. The origin
of these names would be O Corrain or variant O Carrain (of uncertain
meaning).
This leads on to the point that Carew in County Tipperary is simply
a form adopted by the indigenous Tipperary O Corrain at the end of
the 16th century, rather than representing the Norman family which
came into Ireland in the invasions of the 1170s, as some, e.g. MacLysaght,
have supposed. This point, stated by Paul McCotter in his article
on Anglo-Norman surnames in Irish Roots Magazine 1997, is supported
by other sources I have come across.
The genuine Cambro-Norman Carews, that is the senior branch of the
Cambro-Norman Fitzgeralds, stemming from the sons of William FitzGerald
de Carew son of Welsh Princess Nesta and Norman Gerald FitzWalter,
were situated from very early times in South East County Cork. Their
base was at Garryvoe. They appear in the Fiants; Robert de Carreu
was one of the 15 most important men in Ireland in 1235, Sir Nicholas
de Karreu 1298, Morris de Carew is in Edward 1's Irish Parliament
in 1300, Maurice de Carreu and Raymund de Carreu in 1302, Nicholas
de Carrew and John de Carreu are barons of Idrone in Co. Carlow by
1349. Later, still in Garryvoe, John Careue was pardoned for rebellion
in 1582. McCotter believes that Carew in East Cork still exists under
the distinct name of Carey (which he says, in West Cork is from O
Ciardha). And it should be remembered that both Woulfe and MacLysaght
give the Norman Carew as another source of Carey. On the other hand,
the usual source of Carey in Co. Cork is thought to be O Ciarain,
a sept located in Imokilly in the same south eastern corner( see Maclysaght's
I.F. p.52). In the Fiants we find Patrick O'Kearine in East Cork in
1570, several O'Kearane in Co. Cork in 1599, and Donnell O'Kearyne
in S.E. Cork/S.W. Waterford in 1602. Elsewhere can be added several
O'Kearin in Co. Limerick in 1601, a number of O' Kerine/Keryne (Irish
O Ceirin cognate with O Ciarain)) in Co. Clare in the same period
and Teige Kieryane in North Tipperary in 1664. In fact, in the Tithe
Applothments of 1826 Keareen is still present in South West Waterford;
and there is a Pierce Keryan of Fethard in 1824.
In some parts of County Tipperary it is also possible that Carey,
like Carew, derives from O Corrain/O Carrain. In 1981 a nonegenarian
Carey with roots in the Glen of Aherlow gave me his name in Irish
as O Corrain. In the Fiants in County Tipperary O' Carran and O'Carrane
are reported in Derryclowney in 1576, O' Carran in Loughkent, Melaghlin
Roe O' Carren in Cashel in 1591, Dermot O'Caryn of Ballinlotty(?)
in 1601, and Teige O'Carran in Rehill in 1602 The forms of O Carrain/O
Corrain present in large numbers in the Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls
of 1664/5 et al. are Carrane, Currane, Carrone etc. Petty's Census
of 1659 has for south Tipperary (O) Carrane as a numerous Principal
Irish Name in Iffa and Offa East and West with 22 families, Carrane
in Middlethird Barony with 34 families, Carren with 8, and in Clanwilliam
Barony he gives Carrane with 8. In County Waterford Petty notes Currane,
Curreene and Currin with 27 families. In North Tipperary Petty gives
11 families of Carrane.
Whilst on the subject, a farmer from Patrickswell, south west of
Clonmel, told me that where his family came from in the Clogheen area
(Iffa and Offa West) Carey and Carew are the 'same' name. Likewise,
a farmer from Powerstown told me that they shorten Carew to Carey
in his locality. I have found instances of the synonymous usage of
Carey/Keary/Ceary/Carew on the RC parish register of Powerstown, near
Clonmel, in the early part of the 19th century. The situation is similar
in Kilcommon parish in North Tipperary. This may be the result of
a common root in O Corrain/O Carrain, or more simply that both are
used as variants of O Ciardha. The third possibility that in these
areas they both derive from the Cambro-Norman name de Carreu appears
unlikely given McCotter's point (op.cit.) that the Norman Carews in
County Tipperary 'never numerous, had disappeared by the end of the
14th century, and whose surname has been culturally borrowed by the
O Corrain'. Finally, in support of O Ciardha, the interchangeable
use of Carey and Carew, noted by the Registrar General, R. E. Matheson,
in his reports on surnames in 1890 and 1901, took place in the counties
of Offaly and Westmeath, as well as Tipperary, areas one would expect
to find the dispersed O Ciardhas of medieval times.
Incidentally, looking at the Hearth Money Rolls of 1664 (Laffan)
for County Tipperary I have identified two 'groups' of other names
which may possibly have fed Carey in some parts. In the first group:
in the south region we have Thomas Carry in Gortgreslamy, Clanwilliam,
Grainne Carhe in Rathcoole in Middlethird, Morrish Carragh in Neddane,
Kilnamanagh and John McCarragh (although this form may also serve
for McGrath) in Cullen in Clanwilliam; in the north region we have
Matthew Carry and Rory McCarry in Modrinny, Lower Ormond, Uny Carrigh
in Ballymackey, James McCarry in Corbally and Derby Carragh of Kylemore
in Upper Ormond. These names may also be relevant to the formation
of Carew. The second group are O'Cahir in the south region: Richard
Cahyr in Bolicki and Connor Cahir in Craig Paidin in Slieveardagh,
and Thomas O'Cahir in Rathclock in Middlethird. These names are interesting
because they don't feature in any of the usual theories re. Carey,
yet they may very well be relevant in some areas. (In Irish, Carry
is normally O Carraigh, McCarry is Mac Fhearadhaigh or Mac an Charraigh
(see Woulfe), and O'Cahir is O Cathaoir).
By the 1850s County Tipperary had by far the largest number of Carey
households in Ireland, 239 (133 in the South Region and 106 in the
North Region) as shown in Griffith's Primary Valuation. The second
largest group, 177, was in County Cork, the third, 108, in County
Limerick, and the fourth 78, in County Mayo. The next largest group
would be in County Dublin with 65, but if you add the capital's figure
of 29 this would make 94, replacing County Mayo in fourth place. These
figures were taken after the famines of 1847-49. There would, therefore,
have been even more Carey families in the region prior to this disaster.
In the South Region of Co. Tipperary, comprising the baronies of
Kilnamanagh, Clanwilliam, Middlethird, and Iffa and Offa West and
East, there are 133 Carey households and 46 Carew households recorded
in Griffiths. A further 14 Carey households are recorded just over
the Suir in the county Waterford. Careys also feature in the earlier
records of 'Tithe Applotments' in all of the above baronies.
Before we look at Griffiths we might mention the 1787 Directory
of Clonmel in which we find the Rev. Richard Carey of the 'free school'
in Church Lane, and William Carey, a leather cutter, in Main Street.
My own family come from the townland of Powerstown in the civil
parish of Kilgrant, lying in the country between Clonmel and the village
of Kilsheelan on the River Suir. The civil parish of Kilgrant alias
Powerstown is in the barony of Iffa and Offa East. Powerstown is also
the name of the townland within the civil parish. Two other townlands
adjoining are known as Powerstown Desmesne, one of which lies within
the rural part of the civil parish of St. Mary's Clonmel.
In Griffith's Valuation we find John Carey at Ferryhouse in the
townland of Powerstown in Kilgrant.. The house, with two acres of
land, R.V. £3-5-0 p.a., lies right on the banks of the River
Suir and is known locally as 'Carey's Slip', for these Careys ferried
people over to the County Waterford bank of the river. This is the
likely 'cradle' of my own branch of the family. In the adjacent civil
parish of Kilsheelan to the east are John Carey with 7 acres of land
and a quarry at Cloghcarrigeen rateable at £11-19-0, and Thomas
Carey at Poulakerry with 3 acres, R.V. £4-4-0. In Kilsheelan
town is James Carey with a house R.V. at 5s. A larger land occupier
nearby was Patrick Carey of Temple-etney civil parish, adjacent to
the north-east, who held 99 acres and a graveyard, R.V. at £82-4-0.
Several middle to small landholders/householders of the name lie
in St. Mary's (Clonmel) and in rural Rathronan civil parishes, which
also border on Kilgrant to the west and north west; Patrick Carey,
for example, in Burgery Lands West with a house R.V. worth £6-3-0,
there too Mary Carey with hers of £4-3-0 and Brigid Carey on
the Dublin Road with hers worth 16 shillings; in Rathronan civil parish
with a dwelling R.V. of 14 shillings is Patrick Carey in Ardgeeha
Upper, and John Carey of Lawlesstown with 50 acres R.V. of £56-14-0
p.a. In the earlier records of the Tithe Applotments of 1827 Michael
Carey held 30 acres at Lawlesstown. Immediately to the north of Kilgrant
in Lisronagh civil parish is Michael Carey with a house of 5 shillings.
Altogether there are 30 Carey and 9 Carew householders in Iffa and
Offa East and West in the 1850 Valuation..
There are numerous Careys/Kearys/Carews in the two Catholic Parish
Registers which I have examined, St. Mary's, Clonmel, and Powerstown,
adjacent to the east, from their inception in 1790 and 1809 respectively.
Looking at the early entries in St. Mary's R.C. register we find,
among others, Mary Ceary and Margaret Ceary in 1793, Pat Ceary and
Timothy Ceary in 1794, Margaret Cary in 1797, James Carey in 1798,
Michael Ceary and William Ceary in 1799, John Ceary in 1800, Catherine
Carew in 1801, Brigid Carey in 1807, Catherine Carey in1810 and Mary
Carew in 1812.
Looking at the early entries in the Powerstown R.C. register, which
starts in 1809, we find in Hand A, Michael Carew, Eleanor Carew and
John Carew in 1809, Eleanor (different) Carey, Eleanor Carew, Michael
Carew and Joanna Carew in 1812; then in Hand B, Brigid Carey in 1814,
James Carey and Margaret Carew in 1815; then in Hand C, Mary Keary,
James Keary and Michael Carew in 1815, Brigid Keary, Mary Keary, Michael
Keary, Dionysius (anglicisation of a Gaelic first name) Keary in 1816,
John Carey in 1817 and Anastasia Keary in 1818. These latter two are
John Carey and Anastasia Hanley, spouses. John's name, as parent or
sponsor, is spelled Carey in 1817 (Hand C), Keary in 1818 (Hand C),
Carew in 1820 (Hand E), 1822 (Hand D), 1826 (Hand F) and 1828 (Hand
F), Keary in 1823 (Hand D) and 1824 (Hand D), Carey again in 1824
(Hand F), and Ceary in 1830 and 1832 (Hand G). The same hand even,
Hand D, spells John's name as Carew in 1822 and Keary in 1823, as
does Hand F, Carey in 1824 and Carew in 1826. In 1818 Patrick Kearey
(Hand D), spouse of Mary Lonergan, appears; his name is spelled Keary
in 1823 (Hand D), Carew in 1825 (Hand F), Keary in 1828 (Hand D) and
Ceary in 1832 (Hand G). In 1822 appears Mary Keary (Hand D), spouse
of Phillip Beresford, and in 1827 she is Mary Carey (Hand F), and
in 1836 she is Mary Carew (Hand D who spelt it Keary eight years before).
In 1828 we find Anne Carew (Hand F), spouse of John McGrath; her name
is spelled Ceary in 1829 and 1831 (Hand G). In 1831 John Ceary (Hand
G), spouse of Ellen Buckley appears; his name is Keary in 1836 (Hand
D).
It should be added that the name Curren occurs on the register in
1809, and Curreen in 1810.
One Protestant family of the name had some influence in the area.
In 1850 Rev. Robert Carey, the Church of Ireland Rector of Kiltegan
Parish, north of Clonmel, held properties in Clonmel and nearby Donaghmore;
he was the younger son of Rev. Richard Carey, buried at Kiltegan Church
in 1821, the owner of the free school in Clonmel (supra). Robert's
older brother, the Rev. Langer Carey, died 1830, is buried at Marlfield
Church, north west of Clonmel. (In the same graveyard also lie the
remains of William (1836) and Richard (1837) Carew). Langer's son
Richard Garret Carey had the property known as Glebabbey on the Waterford
side in the parish of Inishlounaght, about 4 miles from Clonmel. This
residence of 83 acres, later known as 'Carey's Castle', appears under
Richard Garret's name in Griffiths Valuation. This family were in
Clonmel from the mid 18th century. The brothers' father was John Carey
of Careysville, near Fermoy, Co. Cork, owner of a large estate, descended
from a 17th century planter from Devon. Their name was spelt Cary/Carew
in the 1659 Census and they are now extinct in Ireland.
The former corporation groundsman of the Glenabbey estate, after
the family died out, was a Jack Carey, a native catholic and no relation
to them, who was in his mid nineties when I met him in 1981. He said
he was an O Corrain and his family originated in the Glen of Aherlow.
In the same locality there are also several native smallholders recorded
in Griffiths, such as Patrick Carey in Inishlounaght with a house,
R.V. of 5 shillings , Martin Carey and John Carey in Kilronan with
4 acres, and John and Anne Carey in the same parish with 25 acres.
Appendices
1. In the six counties the largest group of Careys are in Co. Antrim,
to the north and west of Ballymena. I spoke by telephone to many of
them in 1983, and they described a Gaelic-Catholic background. Matheson,
in his reports of 1890 and 1901 on Irish surnames (Op. Cit.), recorded
the interchangeable use of Carey and Keern in the Ballymena district.
The name Keern suggests a root in O Ciarain/O Ceirin. Another smaller
group lie in South Fermanagh; O Ciardha has been given as their derivation.
In Claremorris, Co. Mayo, he registered the synonymous usage of Kirrane
and Carey. Kirrane in Irish is O Cearain , a variant of O Ciarain/Ceirin.
The O Ceirin were ancient lords of Ciarraighe in the nearby barony
of Costello in Co. Mayo; Fiacha Ua Ceirin appears in the Annals in
1155, Mathghamhain mac Cethernaigh Ui Cérin in 1224, etc. Maclysaght
gives O Ceirin as a source of Carey in Co. Mayo (I.F. p.52) Matheson
noted the synonymous use of Carey and Currane in Valencia and Cahirciveen
in Co. Kerry. (See the discussion of O Corrain in County Tipperary
in the main text).
2. It is interesting to note that the name Carey in Britain, although
indigenous in the form 'Cary' to Somerset and Devon, is found largely
in areas of high Irish immigration. Consulting the telephone directories
of 2001/2002 the highest proportion of Careys in Britain (not counting
London) occur in the Glasgow area with 186, and the Manchester area
with 134. David Dorward's scholarly dictionary, Scottish Surnames
(HarperCollins 1995) refers under Carey to the name's common occurrence
in the Glasgow area and gives O Ciardha as its source.
The results of random checks I made in other areas of Britain are
as follows: of the 17 Careys I spoke to from the Colchester telephone
Directory of 1980, 15 stated an Irish origin, 1 Bristol and 1 Norse(!).
From the 1982 Telephone Directory of the Swansea area, of the 18 Careys
I spoke to 16 stated an Irish origin, 1 Guernsey origin and 1 Cornish.
Of the 12 Careys I checked from the West Norfolk Telephone Directory
of 1988, 10 stated an Irish origin, 1 Guernsey and 1 Bristol. Though
even the Bristol area, albeit close to the source of west country
Carys, i.e. at Castle Cary in Somerset, with a high number of Careys
in the telephone book (for 2001) at 78, would have its proportion
of Irish immigrant Careys. Bristol is a long established centre of
Irish immigration.
Also a thorough examination of the IGF (Mormon) microfiche record
of the parish registers of Lincolnshire reveals many Irish surnames,
including Carey, from the early 17th century on. There are numerous
entries for Brad(e)y 1601, Car(e)y 1611, Carew 1603, Carrol 1691,
Caesy 1589/ Casey 1669, Cashin 1627, Conerey 1576, Conley 1667, Connel
1562, Connolly 1667, Daly 1595, Farle 1656/ Ferrell 1698, Kell(e)y
1566, Lerye 1566/ Leary 1634, McConway 1698, Murphy 1627, O'Neale
1612 et al. in the 18th century. Most of the above occur in the fenland
parishes of South Lincs. The early bearers have christian names such
as Mary, Joseph, Bridget, but over the years adopting names like Rebeccah,
Samuel, Suzannah. This is the case with Murphy, O' Neil etc. Some
early Careys: Francis Cary of Stainfield 1601, Joseph and Mary Carey
of Stainfield, Bridget and Thomas Carey of Legbourne 1692.
3. Attributions of arms proliferate on genealogical
sites on the internet
As far as Carey is concerned Irish bearers are frequently wrongly
ascribed the arms of Cary of Devon/Somerset: argent, on a bend sable
three roses of the field (barbed and seeded proper). This may be attributable
to the fact that there were two fairly influential settler families
called Cary: one at Whitecastle, near Moville County Donegal, and
one at 'Careysville' near Fermoy, County Cork. The former were Elizabethan
settlers from Clovelly in Devon, the latter allegedly from Devon also;
both became extinct in Ireland. They bore the above Devon Cary arms.
The Devon/Somerset Carys were knights deriving from an Adam de Karry
of Castle Cary, Somerset (where Cary is an ancient Celtic or pre-Celtic
river name) in the 12th century and gave rise to several peerages,
which all but one, Falkland, died out in the 18th century. The titles
stemmed from the marriage of William Car(e)y to Mary Boleyn, Queen
Anne Boleyn's sister. The above arms are also those of the family
of Carey (Careye until the 18th century) of Guernsey, a long established
family also of Norman origin who have never demonstrated their connection
to the Devon/Somerset Carys in spite of bearing the same arms. These
arms may also be picked up as key fobs and coasters in tourist/genealogical
shops and tourist board offices in Ireland, complete with gaelic derivations
on the back!
For those Careys of Irish extraction who desire arms I would refer
them to O'Hart's amazing Irish Pedigrees (1887) page 499, whose entry
for Keary/Carey (O Ciardha) of Fore, county Westmeath, gives the arms
as: azure, a lion passant, guardant or. Crest an arm in armour embowed,
holding a spear, point downward, couped all proper. Fig 1. Note that
the identical lion arms are ascribed to O'Carrie/ O'Carry in Burke's
General Armory (1883). According to O'Hart the Kearys of Fore, descended
from Dermot O Ciardha of Offaley who lived during Cromwellian times,
had reverted to the spelling Keary because a leading member of the
family spelling his name 'Carey' had become a protestant.
Apart from the Guernsey Carey arms (supra) the only other arms
appearing under 'Carey' in Burke are the completely different Gules,
a chevron between three lion's heads erased or, on a chief per fesse
nebulee argent and azure a pale of the last, charged with a pelican
close of the third, vulning her breast of the field. Crest a wolf
passant reguardant per pale argent and gules holding in the mouth
a rose branch flowered of the second, leaved and stalked vert. These
arms are ascribed to Carey /O'Carey in 'The Irish Book of Arms' (2001)
by Michael O'Laughlin of the Irish Genealogical Foundation, page 280,
plate 228. He has taken them direct from 'A Genealogical History of
Irish Families with their Crests and Armorial Bearings' by John Rooney,
published by O'Hart Publishing Company, New York, 1898. Fig 2.
Either of these arms would be more appropriate than the aforementioned
roses as a 'badge' for Irish Careys, as far as this modern passion
of allegiance to arms ascribed to a family of the same name is concerned.
In fact, there are no arms for Carey recorded at the Genealogical
Office in Dublin. Arms for Irish names are often non-existent or late,
excepting the Norman families who used them from medieval times, e.g.
Carew: or, three lions passant sable.
4. Regarding the Keary form of O Ciardha, the modern form of this
Irish surname since the mid 19th century is Carey. Patrick Woulfe
in Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall (1923) says that O Ciardha is 'generally
anglicized Carey'. MacLysaght says in Irish Families (1985) p. 52
that the O Ciardha 'in later times always used the anglicised form
Carey'. A look at the 1850s Griffith's Primary Valuation will show
therein 1308 Carey households compared to 68 Kear(e)y households over
all Ireland. Modern Telephone Directories for Ireland emphasise this
ratio still more.
In fact the highest number for Keary for any county in the Primary
Valuation is 11 for county Tipperary. This is compared to the 239
Carey, likewise the highest county figure, in the same county. By
the end of the century Keary had been absorbed by Carey. The same
process may be observed in neighbouring counties.
Works Consulted
Annals of Ulster, UCC Online Celt Corpus Edition 2001
Annals of Tighernach, Ibid.
The Annals of Ulster, Ibid.
Fiants, Calendar of Documents for Ireland
Census of Ireland 1659, William Petty
Poll Money Books for Clonmel, in the History of Clonmel, Rev. Burke
1907
Hearth Money Rolls 1664/5/6 in Tipperary Families, Laffan
Tithe Applothment Books, 1826/1827
Primary Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864, Richard Griffith
Parish R.C. Registers of St. Mary's Clonmel and Powerstown
Burke, General Armory, 1883
De Bhulbh, Sean, Sloinnte na h-Eireann, Irish Surnames, Limerick 1997
Hanks P. and Hodges F., Dictionary of Surnames, Oxford 1988
Hanks P. And Hodges F., Dictionary of First Names, Oxford 1990
Ó Droighneáin, Muiris, Ó Murchu, Micheál,
An Sloinnteoir Gaeilge agus an tAinmneoir, Dublin 2001
O'Laughlin, Michael, Irish Families Great and Small, Kansas City 1997
O'Laughlin, Michael, The Irish Book of Arms, Kansas City 2001
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families, Dublin 1985
MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families, Dublin 1982
MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland, Dublin 1985
Matheson, R.E. Varieties and Synonyms of Surnames and Christain Names
in Ireland, Dublin 1890, 1901
Woulfe, Patrick, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall, Dublin 1923
Articles
McCarthy, Tony, 'A Link with our Ancient Past' Irish Roots Magazine,
Issue 3, 1993
McCotter, Paul, 'The Anglo-Norman Surnames of Ireland', Part 2, Irish
Roots Magazine, Issue 7, 1997
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